MaximumPC 2004 12

Rig of the Month

If you have a contender for Rig of the Month, e-mail

[email protected] with high-res digital pics

and a 300-word write-up.

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136 MAXIMUMPC DECEMBER 2004

McKinney didn’t have

much trouble working with

the relatively thin metal on

the body, but the heavy-

duty steel of the coin box

was a different story.

0 T H I S M O N T H:^ Shaun McKinney’s LAN Party On Wheels

erhaps it was fate that

led Shaun McKinney

and his fellow Clan 42

mates to stumble upon an “old

and broken” (that’s their story

and they’re sticking with it)

newspaper dispenser. It turned

out to be the perfect housing

for a custom rig they’d long

been dreaming about—a rig

that could accommodate an

uninterruptible power supply,

a rock-solid Linux server with

quality hardware, and all the

networking equipment neces-

sary for an instant LAN party.

Of course, finding the dis-

penser was the easy part. The

bodywork alone took months.

Using a Dremel tool and count-

less disks, McKinney chopped

away at the box, removing

unwanted ele-

ments, adding

windows, and

even extracting

a 65-pound

block of con-

crete from the bottom.

Next, Bondo

was applied

to practically

everything in order to smooth

out problem areas and fill in the

coin slots. That was followed

by primer, then many coats of

paint, and finally custom-cut

diamond plate that was treated

to look worn.

of the Month

T H I S MO N T H:Shaun McKinney’s LAN Party On Wheels

erhaps it was fate that

led Shaun McKinney

and his fellow Clan 42

mates to stumble upon an “old

and broken” (that’s their story

and they’re sticking with it)

newspaper dispenser. It turned

out to be the perfect housing

for a custom rig they’d long

been dreaming about—a rig

that could accommodate an

uninterruptible power supply,

a rock-solid Linux server with

quality hardware, and all the

networking equipment neces-

sary for an instant LAN party.

Of course, finding the dis-

penser was the easy part. The

bodywork alone took months.

Using a Dremel tool and count-

less disks, McKinney chopped

away at the box, removing

unwanted ele-

ments, adding

windows, and

even extracting

block of con-

crete from the bottom.

Next, Bondo

to practically

everything in order to smooth

out problem areas and fill in the

coin slots. That was followed

by primer, then many coats of

paint, and finally custom-cut

diamond plate that was treated

to look worn.

6-inch pneumatic inflatable tires with heavy-duty

casters make for a smooth ride. Mongoose bicycle

pegs are attached to the back of the rig for steering.

The LED on the right reveals the

goings-on of a 900VA UPS—a crucial

component in the event of a breaker

failure.

What used to be the coin box now serves as

the home for five four-port switches (McKinney

wanted to isolate major heat-producing parts

from the mobo) and a Sony PSOne 5-inch LCD

that provides system information.

The top half of the dispenser accommodates

a 15-inch BenQ fp547 LCD, not to mention a

handy keyboard/mouse tray. All the other gear

is relegated to the bottom half, and still there’s

room to spare.