Computersphere - moding a JVC Videosphere into a computer

[thydzik]

I have had this idea for a while now, most of the parts, have just been too lazy. By starting a thread and posting it should get me motivated.

This project involves modding a JVC Videosphere into a working computer . I shall name it the Computersphere.

It will consist of two parts:

First part
Restoration of a Videosphere into its brand new condition, this will mostly include cleaning and buffing the plastic. I plan to use a 8.4" colour TV to replace the existing black and white TV. However, all existing knobs and switches will remain and be operational. I have a feeling there is going to be some custom fancy circuitry to convert the analogue dials to digital.

Second part
Once the Videosphere looks and functions brand new, I will insert a VIA EPIA M from a previous modding project. This should be fairly straight forward as there is plenty of room. DVD rom drive in the base, red neons in the base and the top, as there are already ventilation holes.

Picture of the JVC Videosphere




Onto the modding...

First pictures of my videosphere (yes, it is already gutted, I was too eager to take it apart)





Now lets look inside





Very dirty inside. I keep everything except for the tube.

Next I plan to sand any deep scratches and buff the plastic shell.

[Hooblah]

interesting!, i was looking for something that resembled a astronauts helmet and couldnt find anything.. you just found the closest thing yet!

love to see what you do to it

[R3Dl2ULZ]

this has some huge potential.
here hoping you pull it off!

[thydzik]

Thanks for all the kind words

I should mention prices, and note it will all be in Australian dollars.

I picked up the Videosphere about 3 years ago of eBay for about $200.

I will also mention, I am going to try and include everything, even the mundane stuff. So with that said.
Here are some pictures of me washing it. Basically I removed everything that could be removed and scrubbed it with a bit of detergent and brush. The condition is actually quite good, few scratches but nothing major.






This is the colour LCD TV I purchased of eBay about a year ago for $150. I spent a while looking for one that could fit the nicest in the existing hole. The actual tube is specified as 9".





I started also picked up a few sheets of various grade wet and dry for $1.30 each.

[samwise123]

nice. will watch this space.

[TheLobb]

very nice indeed.

cant wait to see the final product

[Qnut]

Ive been a Lurker on here a long time , never bothered to post - Just enjoyed the reading -

That right there caught my eye and sparked my first post!

Big thumbs up to this project - Subscribed-

[TheLobb]

sif lurk on ocau.

[thydzik]

Progress with the cleaning of the Videosphere is as follows:
Have purchased some buffing/polishing compound that is supposed to be very good for plastics, it is called Polac (but also goes by the name Vonax).
Purchased from abrasiflex for $24.20. It can be purchased cheaper from ferrofin but are in the eastern states. Whilst this is fairly expensive, it was a very large bar.



I already owned a cloth polishing disc 3.5” disc which I attached to an electric drill, and then secured to a bench vice.



This has become my makeshift polishing wheel.



After much experimenting and much wasting of time, I have come to method that produces satisfactory polishing results.

1. sand with wet & dry 320/400 grade paper any deep scratches.
2. Move to 600 grade wet & dry all over the plastic
3. Move to 1200 grade wet & dry all over
4. Finally finish by buffing with Polac all over. Abasifles recommended dry buffing.

Pictures of one half using this procedure below, I will buff it more later.



I have started looking at how the tuning was achieved on the Videosphere, I have realised it is impossible for me to use the existing tuners. Below are pictures of the VHF and UHF tuners. It was quite intriguing looking at technology that was over 30 years old.

[thydzik]

Here is the last update for the year, going on holidays and won't be back till mid January.

I have started to try to mount the LCD TV into the Videosphere. Firstly removed the LCD from the plastic housing


This is a photo of the back of the LCD


First fit test. You would not believe how close this panel is to not fitting. When choosing the TV I only was concerned about the LCD size fitting the hole, I did not think about the housing. Being a cheap quality LCD the housing protrudes a fair bit. You can observe that the housing isn't quite flush and this is for two reasons, the LCD is slightly too big, and the hole is actually curved due to the curved screen of the original CRT.


The way I solved the LCD size problem was grinding the corners down. This was fairly dangerous as it was easy to damage the LCD, I still haven’t tested the LCD to see if it still works. Before grinding I disassembled the metal housing, this was so that I could see where the glass was as you do not want to be grinding that.


Here is a photo of the ground corners of the metal housing; I will explain what the cardboard is for next.


This now solved the LCD not fitting problem. The next problem was the gaps caused by the curved hole. This was solved by using car body filler. First I made a cardboard template with the exact same size hole as the Videosphere.
You can observe the LCD metal housing on top of the cardboard below.


It was secured to the Videosphere with some tape.




Car body filler was applied liberally over the cardboard.


And the sanding process began.


I decided to buy myself an early Christmas present to speed things up. $125 from Bunnings, includes the Flex Shaft and 55 accessories.


This was the finished results after another layer of car body filler. It took me a while to get used to the Dremel as I was taking too much out of some areas and leaving indents.


I am quite happy with the results so far. This will be painted black making any imperfections harder to see. Below is a photo of the LCD metal housing over the hole. The hole is slightly uneven and small and that will be fixed up next year.

[Marcel.]

w0w thats really cool, cant wait to see how it turns out.

Id like to get my hands on one of them screens to mount in the front of my case its like exactly the right size.

Good luck!

[xinzhitan14]

wow this looks good! if you painted the casing white it would look like an astronaught's helmet haha

[BenJ]

Neat!! Keep the progress updates coming.

BenJ

[s3kemo]

100% pure awesome.

[sumguy55]

thats cool. what type of motherboard ram etc. you putting in?