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Post by valhalla on Sept 21, 2020 11:19:57 GMT 1
It's still very early days on this one, but I thought I would post some of the bits and bobs that I have been doing on the new trolley for the workshop.
The agenda is fairly straightforward - this needs to cover all the Garage Assistance software requirements (GA4) with all of the booking-in/out, job-sheets, invoices, and accounts. So it has to be comfortable to work-from, as I'm tapping away at it a fair bit. It does, however, have to be the only PC that has this (single license) so it must be tough and reliable. Making the machine mobile means I'm not having to walk back and forth too much as I add notes, but it does mean I'm in danger of dumping old engine oil on it.....
It also needs to house the frequently-used scantool (Autocom CDP+) and be easy to use that system from, even though that is a self-contained laptop in its own domain.
The third main requirement is to house and use the Picoscope equipment, and that is the biggest part of fitting htis trolley out, as that is going to require a boom to get the test-leads over each engine-bay. I have a good idea how I'm going to do this, but ideas may vary as raw materials present themselves.
The base trolley was kindly donated by one of our forum, and that has already been cleaned-up and oiled, ready to accept all the new equipment. As posted elsewhere, the first (difficult) bit was to make the screen-housing, which has turned-out a bit of a Titanic;
however it is a necessary part to making the machine robust, as the workshop is not a very clean place, and things do fly around.....
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Post by trickydicky on Sept 21, 2020 18:27:13 GMT 1
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Post by Dragon on Sept 21, 2020 21:36:39 GMT 1
Looking good, when I saw that trolly it brought back memories of searching around for those floppy disc's
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Post by valhalla on Sept 21, 2020 23:40:53 GMT 1
They really do look top-notch. The Pico connector manifold looks a little pricey, but no doubts it would really set this trolley off! I think I'll have a browse through the Warwick site tomorrow, and maybe have a think about where the spend the money. The Pico manifold would solve one major problem I have been debating, and that is how to switch leads over for ignition/NVH/pressure/etc. away from the standard BNC-to-banana leads when the Pico is tucked away inside the cabinet.
What I'm definitely not going to do is let my helping-hand browse through that site, as he is dangerous enough already, and I do have to earn a living out of any money left over at the end of the week.....
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Post by valhalla on Sept 21, 2020 23:46:42 GMT 1
Looking good, when I saw that trolly it brought back memories of searching around for those floppy disc's These days, and with this trolley in its rejuvinated form, the main problem is tripping over the Ethernet lead trailing from back of the cabinet. Fortunately, the days of floppy discs are long-gone for this trolley, as I'm seeing (already) the telltail signs of grinding dust appearing around the open back on it. Until I get it all sealed-up and finished, I'm going to have to be a bit careful about moving parts inside the cabinet.....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2020 0:01:13 GMT 1
Sorry for crashing the thread...
I too have a large investment in Pico equipment which I use daily. On some of the more advanced diagnostics with the Hybrids and diagnosing the three phase brush-less electric fuel pumps etc I sometimes wonder how technicians solve their problems without it.
I am also tooled up with the Pico WPS600c hydraulics transducer, which comes in very handy with modern CVT and ECVT electronic transmissions. The good thing about this type of equipment seems to be that you can hand over to the customer factual evidence rather than just provide an opinion.
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Post by trickydicky on Sept 22, 2020 1:34:02 GMT 1
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Post by rhyds on Sept 22, 2020 9:56:13 GMT 1
Looks good to me, my only suggestion would be to ensure there's good clean/filtered airflow for any PC gear or anything else with a fan to keep it happy.
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remmington
Apprentice
Owns Spark Eroder
Posts: 4,971
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Post by remmington on Sept 22, 2020 18:53:34 GMT 1
I died at the price of the breakout leads. I been making mine for years myself. But what a resource if you have money! Good link trickydicky
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Post by trickydicky on Sept 22, 2020 19:11:00 GMT 1
I died at the price of the breakout leads. I been making mine for years myself. But what a resource if you have money! Good link trickydicky Not cheap admittedly, but the service is fantastic and they just keep coming out with clever little bits and bobs all the time.
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Post by valhalla on Sept 22, 2020 23:17:52 GMT 1
The same PP985 boom kit direct from Pico themselves is £149 + VAT
What I'm hoping to achieve here is to get something that has all the important bits correct (leads, connectors, etc.) and try to make or reuse other things that need "repurposing" around the various wookey-holes in the workshops to give as close to a professional look as I can get, but without the outlay. I'm thinking that if I can make something that basically does all the jobs (holds the tools safely, easy to work-at, doesn't tip over......) then I can refine things as I go along, but also I can use this as a "Sunday afternoon" little exercise each week to sort the main workshop out.
I am thinking that the BNC manifold solution from Warwick is one of the few items that really is a good way to get this project up-and-running. I have done a bit of costing-up, and I reckon I could go a fair way to spending the same money for all the individual items, and not get the same quality as just going for this. The cabinet will let me site the Picoscope almost directly behind the bulkhead connections in the side panel (I measured this tonight) so I can go for the shortest internal lead lengths they do - keeping the risk of internal noise transmission down to a bare minimum.
I'm also having one or two thoughts about building the 4425 into this cabinet, as it has the benefit of the floating grounds for mobile work, and I may just put the 4423 in there instead, at risk of me using the older and inferior unit more than the better one for most of my work. The 4425 was bought for this job, and it would be better protected in the cabinet......
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Post by valhalla on Sept 22, 2020 23:27:11 GMT 1
Looks good to me, my only suggestion would be to ensure there's good clean/filtered airflow for any PC gear or anything else with a fan to keep it happy. I'm thinking that the main PC will be fairly cool just under the top surface of the cabinet. I haven't mounted it yet, hence no photos, but that will need to happen soon.
The position of the main PC at the top of the internal void means that it can receive some airflow over the top of the keyboard & tray that slides out, as the front of that will be open. I'm also hoping that the top surface of the cabinet stays fairly cold, as it's a big area of steel that doesn't have much going-on on top of it, just siting the Autocom laptop on there as-and-when that needs to be used on a desk.
The main PC is one of those beloved Lenovo M93p Tiny's that I keep gonging on about; they are compact, fairly well sealed, and fast (and cheap.....) so they fit this sort of job very well. This particular one has been bench-tested in the house for nearly a year now, so I know it is reliable, but also that it doesn't seem to emit much hot air when it is stressed. However, now you have mentioned it, it might be as well for me to check that I'm not about to block its ventilation slots with anything I do. These M93p's seem to pull cold air from the front face of the unit, and fan it through and out the back in a diagonal route, but as I said, stressing it in the house rarely brough the fan into play - only the occasional software update seemed to do that!
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remmington
Apprentice
Owns Spark Eroder
Posts: 4,971
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Post by remmington on Sept 23, 2020 6:07:16 GMT 1
The same PP985 boom kit direct from Pico themselves is £149 + VAT What I'm hoping to achieve here is to get something that has all the important bits correct (leads, connectors, etc.) and try to make or reuse other things that need "repurposing" around the various wookey-holes in the workshops to give as close to a professional look as I can get, but without the outlay. I'm thinking that if I can make something that basically does all the jobs (holds the tools safely, easy to work-at, doesn't tip over......) then I can refine things as I go along, but also I can use this as a "Sunday afternoon" little exercise each week to sort the main workshop out. I am thinking that the BNC manifold solution from Warwick is one of the few items that really is a good way to get this project up-and-running. I have done a bit of costing-up, and I reckon I could go a fair way to spending the same money for all the individual items, and not get the same quality as just going for this. The cabinet will let me site the Picoscope almost directly behind the bulkhead connections in the side panel (I measured this tonight) so I can go for the shortest internal lead lengths they do - keeping the risk of internal noise transmission down to a bare minimum. I'm also having one or two thoughts about building the 4425 into this cabinet, as it has the benefit of the floating grounds for mobile work, and I may just put the 4423 in there instead, at risk of me using the older and inferior unit more than the better one for most of my work. The 4425 was bought for this job, and it would be better protected in the cabinet...... Am I tight? Boom kits! I been using the same short bungee strap mounted on the raised vehicle bonnet - hooked to the upper catch for years. ---------------- I get your point about "grinding dust" - it gets everwhere.
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Post by trickydicky on Sept 23, 2020 10:04:27 GMT 1
The same PP985 boom kit direct from Pico themselves is £149 + VAT What I'm hoping to achieve here is to get something that has all the important bits correct (leads, connectors, etc.) and try to make or reuse other things that need "repurposing" around the various wookey-holes in the workshops to give as close to a professional look as I can get, but without the outlay. I'm thinking that if I can make something that basically does all the jobs (holds the tools safely, easy to work-at, doesn't tip over......) then I can refine things as I go along, but also I can use this as a "Sunday afternoon" little exercise each week to sort the main workshop out. I am thinking that the BNC manifold solution from Warwick is one of the few items that really is a good way to get this project up-and-running. I have done a bit of costing-up, and I reckon I could go a fair way to spending the same money for all the individual items, and not get the same quality as just going for this. The cabinet will let me site the Picoscope almost directly behind the bulkhead connections in the side panel (I measured this tonight) so I can go for the shortest internal lead lengths they do - keeping the risk of internal noise transmission down to a bare minimum. I'm also having one or two thoughts about building the 4425 into this cabinet, as it has the benefit of the floating grounds for mobile work, and I may just put the 4423 in there instead, at risk of me using the older and inferior unit more than the better one for most of my work. The 4425 was bought for this job, and it would be better protected in the cabinet...... Am I tight? Boom kits! I been using the same short bungee strap mounted on the raised vehicle bonnet - hooked to the upper catch for years. ---------------- I get your point about "grinding dust" - it gets everwhere. Boom photo for inspiration only 😂, I would never buy such a thing. I would probably have a go at bodging one together. I would buy the pico cart mount kit for £60 odd quid though if I were doing a diag cart project
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2020 19:35:43 GMT 1
The same PP985 boom kit direct from Pico themselves is £149 + VAT
I have the PP985 boom kit from Pico. Being honest about it I'm not liking the quality of it. When displayed for marketing purposes it looks OK but when you buy it and put it together, well that is another story. The boom that holds all the cables is technically designed for wall mounting, with a drilled hole in the end to locate to the pole via a 13 mm headed bolt, i.e. M10. You'd like to clip your cables on the boom from the front so that they can be easily picked off, but I've tried locating the boom both ways and neither way seems to work well. The other problem being that when you are "well equipped" with test equipment you can use all the sections of the boom up easily, which then causes the boom to sag, and starts to look unprofessional. The Pico boom requires a strut brace adding to ensure that it can cope with the weight of all the clamps and equipment we use on a daily basis.
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