Laptop Briefcase mod.

So my laptop, my baby, her screen casing broke along with the hinges. In an effort to save her, i'm doing a briefcase mod. So far:

-I've mounted the screen to the case giving her 1/2" clearing from the case itself (in theory, you could throw her against a wall and the screen would be fine)
-The rest of the system is mounted on a smaller briefcase which opens up (a compartment for my mouse, charger, etc)

My next step plans involve:

-Disassembling an oscilloscope and embedding it in the case. If i can do this mod correctly, then I can hook it up and use it like a visualizer for when I play music.
-Using the keys I extracted from my friend's typewriter as keys for the keyboard
-Getting a new LCD screen, maybe 2 so I can have a fold-out dual-monitor system.

I attached a photo below, and The thing about the briefcase is that it's brown leather, and has brass number locks on them. When I open up the case, it looks like a spy kit.

Here's my problem: I understand dieselpunk design principles, but since the LCD cable is short, I had to place her LCD in the bottom corner of the screen. Symmetry is a hard thing to do here. I'm also having a hard time finding GOOD reference images for dieselpunk spy technology. Do you guys think you can help out? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated as well, since this is my first hardcore laptop mod.

(also, sorry the pic is of poor quality. I get poor lighting in my apartment)

Attachments:

Picture 11.jpg, 217 KB

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tome Wilson on March 17, 2013 at 5:27pm

It sounds like it's going to weigh a ton when it's finished. The only two concerns I'm thinking of so far are overheating and the tube size of the oscilloscope.

Other than that, it should be a fun project. For inspiration, I would recommend checking out the International Spy Museum in Washington DC. They have a wonderful collection of famous spy gadgets.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ceramic Bullet on March 17, 2013 at 5:46pm

D: If only that wasn't almost completely across the country, I would definitely go!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Cap'n Tony on March 17, 2013 at 10:58pm

Promising start! I like the O-scope idea. How do you plan to connect it? Just plug the CRT into the audio display system and let it floresce all psychadelic-like?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ceramic Bullet on March 18, 2013 at 3:45pm

That's what I hope. It shouldn't be too cumbersome since I have an audio splitter and won't take up all my jacks&ports

Cap'n Tony said:

Promising start! I like the O-scope idea. How do you plan to connect it? Just plug the CRT into the audio display system and let it floresce all psychadelic-like?