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_posts/2024-08-14-front-mount-240mm-radiator-in-cooler-master-storm-scout-2.mdf.md

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+---
+title: "front-mount-240mm-radiator-in-cooler-master-storm-scout-2"
+date: 2024-08-14
+type: post
+author: Beej
+tags:
+  - Hardware
+---
+
+(posted here: https://linustechtips.com/topic/201317-how-to-remove-the-hard-drive-cage-from-a-cm-storm-scout-2-for-water-cooling-and-air-flow/#comment-2729332)
+
+to answer that last question in more detail (only 10 short years later =)... at least on my revision of the case, the very top bay for 5-1/4" drives was indeed fastened with several rivets... i count roughly 8 attaching it to the front panel, 2 to the mobo back plate panel, 4 on the top and then 2 more if you want to separate the top cage from the middle cage... i wanted to remove both the top and middle cages (to install a 240mm radiator, see why below) so i left the two cages riveted together, but that then meant i still needed to detach the middle cage from the bottom cage, which required 2 more rivets.
+
+nearly all of the rivets are a straight shot with a drill, EXCEPT the 4 on the top require removing two individual pieces from the outer top of the case, to be able to hit the top of the rivets with a drill... first the upper plastic comes off with 6 easy latches, look under the top lip and you'll find 3 bendable plastic latches on each side, 2 towards the back of the case and 1 up front... there are also smaller internal plastic latch pins (like in most toys) in the middle of this plastic near the handle... be gentle, i probably broke the tips of one set but it still all went back together very solid when i was done anyway... after that top panel is removed, there are 6 screws to remove what appears to be a handle reinforcement bracket ... then you can slide the last plastic piece up there back about a quarter inch to unlock and lift up, with the front panel wires giving just enough slack to get a drill onto the 2 rivets that last panel covered up... the other 2 rivets are already exposed after the first top piece comes off.
+
+why do this? =)
+
+i started out this case with an i7-5280 cpu and just the 120mm Corsair H80i GT cooler in the back fan position, which seemed like plenty of cooling power at the time (the double thick rad, with both push & pull fans was supposed to be decent)... but now i want to throw a i7-14700k in there which seems like it deserves a 240mm radiator ... if you have this case, you know it doesn't have an ideal top radiator mount story... it requires you to have either the fans or the rad sticking externally out the top of the case ... which is then easily "knuckle grindable" by accident when using the handle, no bueno... as mentioned the rear of the case is a very typical 120mm opening only, that leaves the front area as the last possibility... the definitely more straightforward approach in the front would be to put the radiator in place of the two lower drive cages, problem there is that it seems pretty well known at this point that it's best to have the topmost point of your radiator ABOVE the CPU block where the pump is... and the cpu block winds up pretty close to the top of the case... all AIOs have some air, which apparently increases over time due to evap though the hoses (wild)... air inherently rises to the highest point in the loop and forcing it to rise into your pump means lots of no bueno stuff: sub-optimal water circulation, maybe even none, annoying gurgly noises, premature pump failure... so i'm hoping by opening that upper drive cage cavity, i'll be able to mount the radiator juuust above my cpu block... and still have the bottom cage available for a few drives... looks like at least 3 x 3-1/2" drives inside the cage and could probably do a couple 2-1/2" SSDs slapped on the top and left side ... let alone the m.2 SSDs that we all do on the mobo these days
+
+----------
+
+everything came together well!
+very pleased with result
+
+love that the top of radiator does indeed wind up sitting nicely higher than the pump and the tubing is perfectly positioned as well
+
+bottom half of radiator is mounted with long bolts.
+i didn't realize the top wouldn't be aligned with any bolts but a well placed zip tie feels very solid
+
+overall there's 8 case fans total...
+- 4 x front push-pull inbound on the radiator - 2 were the red rgb that came with the case and 2 came with the AIO
+- 1 x front bottom inbound cold on the drive cage
+- 2 x top exhaust - new Noctua NF-P12 redux-1300 PWM 4pin
+- 1 x back exhaust
+- the PSU fan is also an intake
+
+fired right up to CPU idling @ 30 degrees
+no fan or pump rattle
+fans run nice quiet rpm
+
+threw the nVidia 4070 i had from another build in here and my son is getting good FPS on everything (Call of Duty, etc)
+
+good'nuf!
+
+![cages removed]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/1 - cages removed.jpg)
+![front - top cage]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/2 - front - top cage.jpg)
+![remove top]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/3 - remove top.jpg)
+![remove bracket]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/4 - remove bracket.jpg)
+![lift last top panel]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/5 - lift last top panel.jpg)
+![upper rivet]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/6 - upper rivet.jpg)
+![last upper rivet]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/7 - last upper rivet.jpg)
+![final result]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/8 - final result.jpg)
+
+![radiator installed]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/9 - radiator installed.jpg)
+![installed - side]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/10 - installed - side profile.jpg)
+![30 degrees at idle]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/11 - 30 degrees idle.jpg)
+![upgraded parts]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/12 - upgraded parts.jpg)
+![full package on desk - front]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/13 - full package on desk - front.jpg)
+![full package on desk - side]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/coolermaster-case/14 - full package on desk - side.jpg)

_posts/2024-08-20-Gen2-GuliKit-TMR-PS4-joystick-drift-fix.md

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+---
+title: "Gen2 GuliKit TMR PS4 joystick drift fix"
+date: 2024-08-20
+type: post
+author: Beej
+tags:
+  - Hardware
+---
+
+posted here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R8FIYBK1X56SJ/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0D9Q16NJX
+
+Bottom line up front, just like other reviewers have said, my controller went from REAL BAD jitter on the right stick to absolute ZERO drift, pegging very very close to center w/o any tuning... super happy with the result!
+
+I bricked two!! other PS5 controllers a few months back attempting to install the older yellow hall effect sticks, really painful learning?? experience =( Recently stumbled on a very positive YT review of these new TMR GuliKits over the previous gen and gathered the courage to try again.
+
+If you have the gusto to dive in and pull this off, my hat is truly off to you. I found the whole process very very nerve racking.... my tips:
++ Be SUPER careful with the two ribbon cables, those things are so prone to bending and breaking when you're trying to get them back in.
++ if you haven't soldered (much) before, please watch some general videos, especially on modern "surface mount" "PCB"
++ USE FLUX PASTE!! - i had no idea how helpful and important this is for not having super close-by joints unintentionally fuse together and getting clean solder joints in general... seriously, don't skip this... i started with the MG Chemicals 8341 10ml syringe and it's been great... and we can then just get the 50ml jar for refilling the syringe
++ Get yourself a decent soldering iron... the WEP 926D has been very decent for me and I'd expect everything in that $50 range to be.
++ Based on videos & my own experience, go with the "razor blade" shaped soldering tip.
++ Doing some quick searching, 300C seems like a good safe starting point for typical lead solder.
++ Get a decent desoldering sucker iron! ... the joysticks have 14!! connections to get all the solder removed so that you can a) remove the old one and b) cleanly insert the new one... having a heated sucker this time around really improved my odds of not melting other stuff like past attempts with a "hot air rework station" (bad investment in my opinion). I just got the economy priced orange "KeenWise" sucker and I can attest, it does a decent job, sometimes requiring a few shots to get a joint fully cleared. I wasn't quite ready to invest the $100+ in a more upscale "948" unit. Maybe the "929" would be good too.
++ Be very careful not to put too much heat on anything for too long, both de-soldering and soldering... i've definitely irreparably killed stuff just in the desoldering step and i have to assume it's due to heat
++ Make sure you find the right iFixIt teardown for your exact controller MODEL #... the controller guts change just enough over time.
+
+![image1]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/GuliKit-TMR-1.png)
+![image2]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/GuliKit-TMR-2.png)

_posts/2024-09-13-saxy-ebike.md

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+---
+title: "Sax'y eBike =)"
+date: 2024-09-13
+type: post
+author: Beej
+tags:
+  - Kids
+  - Outdoors
+---
+
+The bike is a Rad Power, Rad Mini 4
+![image1]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/sax-ebike1.png)
+![image1]({{ site.baseurl }}/images/uploads/2024/sax-ebike2.png)