Need Ideas for Toaster Oven Mod

A

antoniohawk

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
326
Lately, I've realized there are a lot of different computer items that I would like to bring together so I'm not looking around for cables and memory card readers, etc. In comes the toaster oven. What I need from you guys/gals is some advice on what to cram into this little beast. It's not big enough for a sff pc, but there are some other things that I want to put in it. Here's a list of what I have thought of so far.
  • 7 or 8 in 1 media card reader
  • hard drive
  • firewire ports
  • usb ports
  • iPod dock
I could possible put an enternal cd or dvd drive/burner in there, but I don't really have much use for one. At the moment, I think that I want to keep the toaster looking as stock as possible, but that might change with time.

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you're nuts... like me... the mac mod kid.

i doubt you'd fit even a mini itx mobo in a toaster!

try a microwave or something.
 
You definitely need to get a slot-insertion DVD or CD drive to cram in there, be nifty to slip in CDs as if they were toast... Gives a whole new meaning to 'burning a few songs'... :cool: Not sure who still makes that kind tho or if there's even burners that take discs thru slot instead of on a tray, even notebooks seem to come with mostly tray drives these days.
 
You should just make the toaster into an external hotswap hard drive rack :cool:

BOING, "Hard drive is done"

Could setup a serial control to pop up the drive when a backup is done if you wanted.
 
the button to start making toast needs to become the button to turn on your PC... and take the "poping toast" a little further -- have it pop up when the PC reaches your desktop...


lol, that's so excessive that I love it!
 
Impulse said:
be nifty to slip in CDs as if they were toast...
Click to expand...
So, Impulse, what goes into a toaster? Toast? :D
or if there's even burners that take discs thru slot instead of on a tray, even notebooks seem to come with mostly tray drives these days.
Click to expand...
Panasonic makes a few slim drives that feature CD- and or DVD-rewriting capabilities. Here is one such example,

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-133-003&depa=0

and the DVD burner version,

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-133-004&depa=0
 
Thanks for the replies everyone, but I don't want to make a computer out of it. It's not big enough for a sff pc
 
if the mini itx board is small enough that I can put one in my printer mod, were pretty sure that you can put one in the toaster.
 
I have an mini-itx board and I test fit it. The point is that I don't want another computer. :rolleyes:
 
then again... a toaster comp would be sort of cool.

and you would almost certainly win cpumag's mad reader mod contest... $1500 gift certificate to newegg. :rolleyes: don't know about you but that'd get my drill & hacksaw out really quick... if i had the $$ for a mod.
 
that would certainly be *different*. and here, different seems to be a good thing.

i might try a toaster pc if nobody else does... after i finish my mac se mod
 
starhawk said:
that would certainly be *different*. and here, different seems to be a good thing.

i might try a toaster pc if nobody else does... after i finish my mac se mod
Click to expand...
It has been done before as previously stated. :)
 
I've seen a Nintendo made into a PC, so I see no reason you can't fit everything you need to in there. And the toast button being the power switch is the best idea yet.
 
Any ideas for an external hard drive inside of a toaster with all of the things that I listed above? Those are the kind of suggestions that I'm looking for. :)
 
K1NGDEAD said:
http://www.angrygames.com/LP_Toaster.htm
Click to expand...

That Article said:
hehe...ok well, it might fool a few people, but most of you realize that the LanParty toaster is not real. A figment of my imagination, and the actual rendering done by my 'little brother', a VERY talented Ben Beckwith, who currently works for Epic Games (makers or Unreal Tournament/UT2003). The other pics I just threw in to try and make a good story to fool some people =)
Click to expand...

:) ;)
 
It *is* a good idea... and some companies do sell mini-itx boards that are not made by Via, so it's a very useful idea.
 
antoniohawk said:
Where can I get the 3.5" USB2 circuit boards that this guy uses in his mod? Actually, what would be better, a usb one or a firewire one for the hard drive? I need usb and firewire ports anyway.
Click to expand...

Most tests show the performance difference between the two is negligible tho FireWire tends to have slightly lower CPU utilization.
 
antoniohawk said:
Where can I get the 3.5" USB2 circuit boards that this guy uses in his mod? Actually, what would be better, a usb one or a firewire one for the hard drive? I need usb and firewire ports anyway.
Click to expand...

it actually depends... if you have only firewire 400, then go with usb 2.0... but firewire 800 kicks the @$$ off of usb 2. and it's a real shame you can't use gigabit ethernet.

here's why:

-9mdb serial: 53 kbps 53,000 bits per second maximum (legal limit)
- usb 1.1: 240 mbps 240,000,000 bits per second max. (w/ superconducting wire)
- firewire 400: 400 mbps 400,000,000 bits per second max. (w/ superconducting wire)
- usb 2.0: 480 mbps 480,000,000 bits per second max. (w/ superconducting wire)
- firewire 800: 800mbps 800,000,000 bits per second max. (w/ superconducting wire)
- gigabit lan: 1.0bbps 1,000,000,000 bits per second max. (w/ superconducting wire)
 
:confused: um... impulse, i believe i said something to the effect of them being theoretical.

:cool: not that it matters. what you said is true.

:p either way, to get those conditions, you would need:
- superconducting cables
- no signal loss
- a system whereby data packets arrived, were routed, and departed instantaneously.

obviously, there is a reason why these are 'theoretical' maximums.
 
Connectors would probably work ok in between the two toast slots, tho it might not look nice with the cables coming off the top of the toaster if you're gonna have stuff permanently hooked up to those ports... If you're just gonna use them for controllers and USB keys then having them on the top would probably be quite convenient.

The enclosure looks like it'd work... As for the media card readers, if you want to get something simpler (with a removable bezzel and less plastic) that may be easier to work with you could get one of the standard internal 3.5 bay media card readers they sell, tho you'd probably have to re-wire it to use it externally... That Dazzle model would work fine otherwise.

Sandisk makes one that has a slightly thinner profile which you may prefer for positioning within the toaster I think.
 
Ok, I've finally begun working on this project again and have made a little progress. I'll take some pics and post them up in a little bit. I have a few questions regarding usb devices. I have a usb memory stick reader, and the ide to usb converter in the toaster. Is there a way to use a single usb wire for them both? I will also be adding a usb hub if that makes a difference. Time to take those pics...
 
If I'm understanding you right, it'd probably be easiest to just build a hub into the insides of the toaster (a 4-port or something) and hook up the reader and converter to that as well as the other hub you'll be using for external hookups.
 
So an internal hub with the memory stick reader, ide to usb converter and external hub plugged into it? That sounds like a really good idea, thanks. :)
 
can it still make toast? why not change one side to electronis and leave the othe plain, used a lot of thermal barier (tripple pane glass) that would be cool.
 
take a toaster apart and you'll see why it's also nearly impossible ;)

altho you *could* probably do it with a 4-slot toaster... maybe.
 
I've got a 4-slot toaster and I doubt you could get it working split like that unless you did some heavy-duty modifications, sticking in a heat absorbing pane in between isn't gonna cut it.
 
hmm... try this: you have a 4-slot toaster and you bar off only one slot as still operational, tinkering with the mechanics enough to achieve this. you stick a half inch of insulation between two 'walls' of that three-pane glass... that should be enough.

if you wanted to go really nutso you could use carbon-carbon material. that's what the black tiles on the space shuttle are made of, lol. it'd dissipate the heat in like no time.

of course you could also just use a quartet of 120mm fans blowing hot air into that slot, away from the computer guts... which should do the trick ;)
 
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