I have an Interesting Problem

[KvHagedorn]

How strange. There seem to be two schools of thought regarding the motherboard mounting screws. Both of my computers have NO grounding through screwing to the case. I used nylon screws and washers throughout. This works well for me. I used no metal screws since I was primarily worried about ground loops in my mainboard. Can anyone offer any reasons why we should/shouldn't be using metal screws?

One idea for you, Paul, since you have a new case and p/s.. try it the other way. You can find the 6/32 nylon screws and washers at Lowe's or some other large hardware store.

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[ALBPM]

Hi KvH,

I assume you put washers between the mobo and the standoffs. I have a friend who always uses the paper washers or electrical tape between the mobo and standoffs to prevent shorts especially with ABIT mobos. He claims the ABIT systems he builds this way never have lockup problems. He says the mobo is adequately grounded through the power cable.

Paul

[KvHagedorn]

Yes, that's how I do it. There's a trick to getting the washers aligned properly between the mainboard and case. Take some round toothpicks and break them in half, placing the blunt end in the case mounting holes. Then place a washer on each toothpick and slide the mainboard over the toothpicks as well. Remove each toothpick as you insert each screw. There should be sufficient grounding through the power supply. A similar problem sometimes occurs in car stereos. If you ground in two separate locations, a gound loop can be created, causing noise. In a computer this noise is not heard, but might occasionally manifest itself as messed up voltage of some sort. I'm not really an expert, but this approach works for me.

btw, have you made any big holes in your new case yet?

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[ALBPM]

Thanks KvH, I was just going to ask how the "HECK" do you get the washers to stay on the standoffs while positioning the mobo...LOL

No plans on cutting holes in the Addtronics case. This Baby has 11 fans in it and runs VERY cool. Makes a bit of noise but that doesn't bother me (That Tim Allen thing)


That personal touch..Heheheh

Paul

[This message has been edited by ALBPM (edited 01 November 1999).]

[KvHagedorn]

ROFL.. what a behemoth! It's got a name, but what about a home port for the SS Darth Mahl? I like your doorstop.. did you use that to Christen it? =P

btw, I think Beck's must be the official beer of MURC. Always been my favorite, Ant drinks it, now you too.. Guess good taste shows its face in more ways than just video cards

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[Greebe]

Hey Paul, where you hiding the floor anchors and the tydown straps?

[KvHagedorn]

btw, I LIKE it!

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[ALBPM]

Yup, it's big with plenty of ventilation. The castors and the swing out doors on the sides make life easy though. Addtronics has a new model that's 12 inches wide. Now that's HUGE!!

Paul

[KvHagedorn]

What are you gonna do next time Kruzin holds a LAN party? I think you need a trailer and a 1 ton truck.

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[PaulS]

I don't think it matters what material your motherboard standoffs are made from. If you grab a meter and check, you'll find there is no continuity between the motherboard's ground and the copper circle surrounding the holes - just make sure that you don't use screws with to large a head. Your motherboard earth should be electrically isolated from the chassis.

Paul

[KvHagedorn]

Well, I don't have a scanner. Probably spent too darn much on my case. Here's a pic of it though.. merely a yacht, no ocean liner here =P



Of course, there's this case's big brother. A big black double wide supertanker of a server case..





This doesn't really convey an impression of the size though.. it's 19"wide, 28"high, and amost 29"deep. Maybe when I get a house it will fit in..

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[Livius]

Hi! I have recently added a TV Tuner to one of my setups, but I have noticed that whenever I touch the cable jack I get a little… electrocuted (just a few volts, obviously, but there’s some current running loose). Do you think that plugging the cable into my TV Tuner is dangerous for the health of my PC? (I think that the problem actually comes from my TV set – I use a splitter and a second cable to connect to my PC, and there’s no current at the end of my first cable.)

L

[KvHagedorn]

Livius- I would not plug this into my computer. Try another cable splitter. Most of them are pure junk. Go to someone who does professional A/V installation and ask for a Channel Master or similar grade splitter. It'll probably cost you 8-10 bucks if it's any good. Are you using cable TV or an Antenna? Before you split the signal (just plain, out of the wall) are you seeing the problem?

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Kind Regards,

KvH

[Scytale]

And if it's the shielding (of the cable) 'electrocuting' you then you'd better be careful anyway.

[ALBPM]

Just a quick update.....

I took KvH's advice and got some nylon washers and placed them between the mobo and standoffs. I still had to use the metal screws couldn't find enough 6/32" nylon screws. I did however use the nylon washers on the top of the mobo to insulate the screw heads from the mobo as well.

So far it's been almost three days without a lockup

I also noticed another benifit with using the nylon washers. They are almost 1mm thick and raise the mobo so the AGP and PCI cards are seated just a bit deeper in their slots than without the washers.

Anyway, this is another option for anyone experiencing lockups and spontaneous re-boots. Besides it's a cheap fix, a couple bucks for the washers and about an hours time to pull out the mobo and install the washers.

BTW the Tooth Pick Technique works GREAT!!

Thanks KvH,

Paul