Lazer3D case

[DragWx]

I got mine, installed my X16 into it, and I'm as happy as can be with it so far.

Here's some stuff I noted down in case it's helpful for anyone else:

• The random white square with the slot in it is for when you mount an expansion card; it goes on the outside when you do.
• Board first, then power/reset buttons.
• The Pico-ATX power supply is right up against the side, and the cables butt against the side of the case, so you'll need to be comfortable with bending them around. I unplugged the Molex cables too.
• On my faceplate, the backside is just glossy and I don't think there's a peel-off on it. At least, that's what I'm telling myself after spending 20 minutes on it.
• The VERA shifts around when you plug cables into it, so be gentle. I dunno if it's just my board or if this is just how it is. I didn't notice before because I'd hold the VERA to plug cables into it, which you can't do when the board's in the case.
• My bottom plate came with all of the standoffs pre-installed, and it would probably have been a good idea to check that they were all in securely before mounting the board. They're probably fine, I just didn't think to do it. (EDIT: I've since checked, they were rock-solid, so there was nothing to worry about!)
• Purple plate gang represent.
• Power button on the right gang represent.
• Definitely didn't drop a screw onto the carpet gang represent.

I'm so incredibly happy to have this in a case finally, and I like this case in particular; it was exactly the form factor I wanted and everything.

The final thing I would be looking for is, a really nice Commander X16 badge to put on the front, one that's nice and silvery and with the rainbow logo on it.

[Xiphod]

I'm still not getting the random-white-square, even after having the serial-network card expansion.

They make other Pico-ATX power supplies with the components/cables on the other side (but then they cover some of the components of the board, so some people might not prefer that).

Good idea on double checking the pre-installed standoffs - I actually hadn't considered that.

Purple plate + power button right, I'm with you! (well, if you mean on the right when facing the system from the front; also I suppose some might not call it purple)


Do you mean stickers like THESE below? I had some for VCF last weekend, and found a few extras after unpacking. Should have encouraged Kevin to include one in each X16 shipment.

[DragWx]

Well ok, the color's actually periwinkle, which is right on the border between light blue and lavender, but my eyes perceive periwinkle as being slightly more purple than blue.

This was actually an interesting thing my friends were talking about a while back; everyone has their own thresholds for where the "color boundaries" are (for example, cyan vs green, blue vs purple, orange vs yellow, etc), and while I'd expect people with protoanomaly or deuteranomaly to see periwinkle as "definitely blue", people with normal vision can still be conflicted on which side periwinkle actually sits on for them.

Those stickers would've been a cool pack-in, I agree; it's not too late to start including them if they aren't already.

For a case badge though, I was looking for something that was like what's already printed on the case, except as a nicer-looking silvery badge that can stick over it, kinda like how the C64 has that nice stick-on badge on the case. It's such a minor thing though, so I'm not going out of my way for it, but I'd definitely be interested if one suddenly appeared.

For that random white square with the slot in it; if you go to the order page for the Lazer3D case, and look at the photo of the backside, you can see it all the way on the right, with the expansion card's metallic bracket fitted into it. I don't have an expansion card so I don't know how useful it is, but it's definitely shown there.

[Xiphod]

"random tab" goes like this...

[Gerry]

What do you do if you have both the low-profile ESP32 and Dual-MIDI cards plugged in at the same time? This is a development board specifically designed to develop and test new software and hardware. And either card blocks access to the other two plug-in slots?

Gerry

[DragWx]

I'll be honest with you: I was not planning on using more than one expansion card when purchasing this case, if I use any at all since I don't even have a riser board.

I did have an idea for a project that would require one of those breadboard-style DIY cards though, but I was going to run without the top lid while I worked on that, taking the card out when I was done with the project. (Not a card I was going to permanently install, in other words)

The only other option I know of is to put the X16 in a regular computer case, and then you can put all of your cards in the normal way, and several people here have done that, and is what I was going to do if I outgrew the Lazer3D case. (The only problem is that I really don't like how regular PC cases look, and the better looking ones won't fit the X16 without modifications that I don't feel like doing )

[Gerry]

If that's how you plan to use your CX16 and Lazer3D case, that's great. At the time the Lazer3D case came out, there weren't any plugin cards for the CX16. But, given the title of this CX16 'Development' board and it has slots to add cards, it seems obvious that there should have been some discussion about the size of the plug-in cards to fit inside this case. Now, if you argue that, at the time, no thought was given about the size of the plug-in cards because the focus was mounting the CX16 board in a cool case and getting it out the door ASAP, then I would buy that.

I have both the low-profile ESP32 Network and Dual-MIDI/Wavetable plug-in cards. They both work great and should be considered for addition in the next generation of the CX16 which, as I understand it, will be reduced in size and will only have slots for cartridges. But if you have a Lazer3D case and you want to test for electrical interference or crosstalk between the two cards, then you can't put the Lazer3D lid on it without removing it's left-rear quadrant, let alone putting a monitor on top of it. I've owned PCs since the Apple IIe and plug-in cards were just a part of the design of the computer. When you look at today's desktop PCs, plug-in cards are ubiquitous and a part of the case design. So, how can someone designing a case not think about the size of the plug-in cards to fit inside the case?

If I had known the Lazer3D case was going to have this problem, I would have never bought it. I don't like this problem being minimized by Lazer3D. The email response I got from them was very dismissive and they are now re-designing the case. So I find this situation frustrating but there's nothing I can do about it.

As an engineer that has had to deal with short-sighted designers who don't think through their designs, it's easy to point fingers when I've been around to see this many times. I would like Lazer3D make good on their error and replace my case with a proper fitting one. Then I will be happy.

Thank you,
Gerry