Antec ISK110 almost complete

I decided to postpone any more updates until I got hold of an HDD to put in it. Here I have installed a borrowed 320GB WD Scorpio Black into the system.

A subassembly attaches to the side of the chassis that is underneath the motherboard. This comes with two stick-on strips of a phenolic type of material for the crossbars to insulate the HDD/s from shorting out when they are mounted. You can just see the red coloured material (a strip of which is also mounted under the power supply board where it attaches to the chassis, which is on the right) through a couple of the holes of the lower crossbar due to slight misalignment. As you can see the subassembly and power cabling provide for up to two 2.5” laptop type HDDs to be mounted. The SATA cable I used is the one that comes with the motherboard – being usefully short.

From the front we can see it going and running Windows 7 which this HDD already had on it and which happened to have the right boot drivers in the CriticalDriverDatabase, which being a standard school image was a lot of different ones. The cable layout is the best I can do with this chassis. The black cables uppermost are the front panel USB and audio connectors and should stay in place without getting caught in the fan as they are quite stiff. I have used some cable ties on the power loom at lower and the front panel jumper cables to sort of tie them all together reasonably tidily. When the lid goes on it will simply press this loom down in place without pushing it towards the fan. Note the redundant extra 4 pins of the CPU power connector to the left, the redundant Molex power connector to the right, and the redundant PCI expansion slot far left which has come in handy to help route the SATA cable. This is one of the cables that came with the motherboard – they are usefully shorter than anything else I could find – in this chassis, short is better than long. As I suggested before, the best enhancement I think Antec could make to this chassis would be to put some tie-on loops into the edges to help keep cables in place.

Next time I will probably have the covers on and be installing and configuring Windows 7. And after that it will be entertaining or useful to compare the tiny PC to a number of other similar form factors that are out there today.

Antec ISK110 takes shape

Have decided to push ahead with this as time permits. It has been “fun” working with the small chassis. For example you have to unclip the plastic side panel next to the power supply in order to fit the power supply cable because there isn’t direct access to it from above – the chassis gets in the way. Getting the corner screws for the board in was fairly tricky, but achievable. It is quite a squeeze to get all the cables connected and in place sort of neatly. The hardest by far is the front panel connections (power switch and indicator lights) because the cables that are connected to the audio and USB sockets just happen to go right across that set of jumpers due to the layout of the GA-E350N WIN8 board and the way the cables come out of the front panel. As it turns out the GA-E350N is a pretty well specced board so that there were in fact jumpers to connect both of the front panel USB cables as well as the front panel audio which means this system will have 8 USB ports available.

At this point I decided as I did not have a HDD handy and would have to borrow one, before going too much further with the assembly it would be a great time for a “smoke test”. Normally when I assemble a new system I test the motherboard outside the chassis. Usually the power supply leads are long enough to do this if you put the chassis on its side on a desk and run the leads out, then you can run the motherboard just sitting on top of its cardboard box or some other suitable surface. When you are assembling a motherboard from components like a CPU and memory, you want to be able to test these are all installed properly before you put the thing inside the chassis because there is quite a lot of work to do from that point on and I don’t want to waste a lot of time installing a board if it turns out to have some sort of problem. In this case the board was preassembled and known to be working so the test was done with it installed in the chassis but without having fully completed the assembly.

The board with only the power cables connected internally. On any board which only has power cables connected you can start it up with a small screwdriver or some other metal object to carefully short the power switch pins on the front panel connector jumpers.

The same board with all the front panel cables connected. Note the clip on side panel next to the power supply removed as mentioned above.

Both photos show the display output from the VGA. I first tried with a HDMI to DisplayPort cable connected to the HDMI socket on the board and DP socket on the screen. This however resulted in a blank screen. It was fortuitous that I eventually did manage to find a spare VGA cable and hook it up because it almost looked as though the board had somehow blown up and was only going to spin the fan – as there is no onboard speaker to make a useful beep. (When that happens you have to try disconnecting every peripheral to see if there is a short or overload or something).

Getting the cables in tidily will be the next big challenge and I do think Antec should have built some sort of tiepoints into the side so that cable ties can be anchored to them to help tie back cables. It will just be a rats nest.

Antec ISK 110

About a month ago I wrote about this chassis which I decided I could afford to buy. I have a spare Gigabyte GA-350N WIN8 Mini-ITX board about the place I intend to put into this thing when I get round to it.

With just a very quick look at it out of the box the ISK 110 has dropped the skinny little fan that the ISK 100 had mounted to the side of it. Why I am unsure as although my board has its own CPU fan and probably will get by without the case fan, it would be hard to source the equivalent elsewhere. So I hope the dropping of the fan from this chassis was a well thought out decision as some situations may still require one. In the photo you can see through the side of the chassis the holes in the I/O shield that it comes with, which can be taken out easily and replaced with the one that comes with the M/B. This proved to be necessary as the built in shield blocked off a USB port.

It’s shown on the kitchen table which is currently my main work surface. Hope to get onto it soon but I am very busy up until the time when I finally get the old flat handed back to the property managers.

Well here is another shot, this one with the GA-350 WIN8 board installed, but no cables connected yet. The built in cables are for the front panel switch, LEDs, USB and sound ports. One issue is you are not going to get tidy cabling inside a chassis like this for the simple reasons of lack of space and lack of things to tie cables to. I might be able to tie to the side of the CPU heatsink though. Not shown are the power cables which are separate. There is an internal power supply board which gets 19V from an external laptop-type supply and converts this to the various voltages. It comes with a cable that connects to the board and also provides for HDDs etc.

Projector Calculations [3]

Miscellaneous considerations:

• The difference in pricing between the G6350NL and the G6250WNL is quite small / insignificant.
• The choice of projector will depend on what aspect ratio you use most often. The G6350 is 4:3 native. This means at 1024x768, if you use a 16:10 source you will only use 640 of the vertical pixels and the rest will be wasted. The G6250 is 16:10 native. At 1280x800, if you use a 4:3 source you will use only 1066 of the horizontal pixels and the rest will be wasted. However this is a slightly higher overall resolution, 852800 vs 786432, and if you are using 16:10 then the numbers come out as 1024000 vs 614400 so there is a significant benefit there.
• Currently we have the possible placement heights of the centre of the projector’s lens as being at either 2.4 metres (preferred) or 3.1 metres from the ground. The bottom of the screen will be 2.2 metres from the ground. With the screen 2.3 metres high the middle will be vertically 3.5 metres from the ground. There may be some tilt of the projector to get its image to the right height, although at 20 metres this will be small. Horizontally the projector can be straight on. It is important to allow for a reasonable zoom range with the projector distance because when the projector is tilted up or down, keystoning adjustments necessary to straighten the picture will also enlarge or shrink the picture, which then has to be rezoomed to fit.
• The seating distance range implies the placement of seats should normally leave a large gap at the front, but go nearly all the way to the back of the hall.
• In this particular installation, control of ambient lighting falling onto the screens is fairly critical.

Note: the same projection calculator is available at the ProjectorCentral website (Calculator Pro under the Research section on the left)

Projector Calculations [2]

Again here is the calculator: http://www.elitescreens.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=264

• This time I went for the native 16:10 model EB-G6250. The calculator does not have this model, so I used the similar Powerlite Pro G6050W.
• Screen Gain 1.0
• Throw distance 20 metres
• Calculator lists 8 lenses but only 6 of these are current with the G6250 model. Of these only three have the range required to work at 20 metres.
• Long Throw Lens ELPLL06
  • 2.3 metres high, 4.3 metres diagonal, 3.6 metres wide.
  • Throw range 17-24 metres.
  • Seating distance range 4.7-21.8 metres.
  • Image brightness 134 nits.
• Middle Throw Lens ELPLM04
• 4.7 metres high, 8.8 metres diagonal, 7.5 metres wide.
• Throw range 16-26 metres.
• Seating distance range 10-45 metres.
• Image brightness 30 nits.
• Middle Throw Lens ELPLM05
• 3.2 metres high, 6.1 metres diagonal, 5.1 metres wide.
• Throw range 16-26 metres.
• Seating distance range 7-30 metres.
• Image brightness 61 nits.

Based on the above data the recommended choice of lens would be the ELPLL06.

Projector Calculations [1]

Well, I am working up some numbers for the school gym’s proposed projector installation. Projection can be quite a tricky business because you have to try to work out an optimum screen size for a venue and then with big installation projectors you are looking for the right lens as well for a long throw or short throw or whatever situation you have.

I started with the projection calculator here: http://www.elitescreens.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=264

• The projector model being Epson EB-G6350 but as this model is not listed the similar Powerlite Pro G6150NL was instead selected.
• Setting a custom aspect ratio of 16:10 (1.6:1) to begin with.
• Screen Gain 1.0
• Throw distance 20 metres
• Calculator lists 8 lenses but only 6 of these are current with the G6350 model. Of these only three have the range required to work at 20 metres.
• Long Throw Lens ELPLL06
  • 2.1 metres high, 3.9 metres diagonal, 3.3 metres wide.
  • Throw range 17-23 metres.
  • Seating distance range 4.3-19.9 metres.
  • Image brightness 159 nits.
• Middle Throw Lens ELPLM04
  • 4.4 metres high, 8.4 metres diagonal, 7.1 metres wide.
  • Throw range 17-25 metres.
  • Seating distance range 9.2-45 metres.
  • Image brightness 33 nits.
• Middle Throw Lens ELPLM05
  • 3 metres high, 5.6 metres diagonal, 4.7 metres wide.
  • Throw range 17-25 metres.
  • Seating distance range 6.2-28.5 metres.
  • Image brightness 71 nits.

Based on the above data the recommended choice of lens would be the ELPLL06. If we run the numbers again with a 4:3 screen which is the native aspect ratio for the G6350 (its resolution is 1024x768) then it comes up to a screen that is 2.5 metres high instead.

Using PowerShell with Active Directory

Our next little jaunt in PowerShell will be to learn how to use it to configure Active Directory accounts. For example, you may have a need to change a particular property of a group of Active Directory users, such as the logon script or profile path, when you need to stage a rollout of a new script or profile. Again, this is something I have done a lot of work with in the past using VBScript, but of course I want to extend my knowledge in PowerShell to achieve the same thing.

Over here we have a list of Active Directory cmdlets:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee617195.aspx

Well, that is quite a list (see below) and I suspect with my growing knowledge of general capabilities of PowerShell that it won't take long for me to figure out how to process a group of accounts all at once in a script. It looks like the sort of kludges or difficult procedures that have required fairly complex code that didn't always work as expected in VBScript could be a thing of the past.

Essentially it looks like I would be using Get-ADUser to retrieve a group of users and then iterating through them calling Set-ADObject each time in order to change the desired property of each user object.

Generally, we would run this script on a domain controller. However, we can run it on a desktop or some other computer provided it has the RSAT installed, as described in this blog article:

blogs.msdn.com/b/rkramesh/archive/2012/01/17/how-to-add-active-directory-module-in-powershell-in-windows-7.aspx

 

Cmdlet	Description
Add-ADComputerServiceAccount	Adds one or more service accounts to an Active Directory computer.
Add-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy	Adds users, computers, and groups to the Allowed List or the Denied List of the read-only domain controller (RODC) Password Replication Policy (PRP).
Add-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject	Applies a fine-grained password policy to one more users and groups.
Add-ADGroupMember	Adds one or more members to an Active Directory group.
Add-ADPrincipalGroupMembership	Adds a member to one or more Active Directory groups.
Clear-ADAccountExpiration	Clears the expiration date for an Active Directory account.
Disable-ADAccount	Disables an Active Directory account.
Disable-ADOptionalFeature	Disables an Active Directory optional feature.
Enable-ADAccount	Enables an Active Directory account.
Enable-ADOptionalFeature	Enables an Active Directory optional feature.
Get-ADAccountAuthorizationGroup	Gets the Active Directory security groups that contain an account.
Get-ADAccountResultantPasswordReplicationPolicy	Gets the resultant password replication policy for an Active Directory account.
Get-ADComputer	Gets one or more Active Directory computers.
Get-ADComputerServiceAccount	Gets the service accounts that are hosted by an Active Directory computer.
Get-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy	Gets the default password policy for an Active Directory domain.
Get-ADDomain	Gets an Active Directory domain.
Get-ADDomainController	Gets one or more Active Directory domain controllers, based on discoverable services criteria, search parameters, or by providing a domain controller identifier, such as the NetBIOS name.
Get-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy	Gets the members of the Allowed List or the Denied List of the RODC PRP.
Get-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicyUsage	Gets the resultant password policy of the specified ADAccount on the specified RODC.
Get-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy	Gets one or more Active Directory fine-grained password policies.
Get-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject	Gets the users and groups to which a fine-grained password policy is applied.
Get-ADForest	Gets an Active Directory forest.
Get-ADGroup	Gets one or more Active Directory groups.
Get-ADGroupMember	Gets the members of an Active Directory group.
Get-ADObject	Gets one or more Active Directory objects.
Get-ADOptionalFeature	Gets one or more Active Directory optional features.
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit	Gets one or more Active Directory OUs.
Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership	Gets the Active Directory groups that have a specified user, computer, or group.
Get-ADRootDSE	Gets the root of a domain controller information tree.
Get-ADServiceAccount	Gets one or more Active Directory service accounts.
Get-ADUser	Gets one or more Active Directory users.
Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy	Gets the resultant password policy for a user.
Install-ADServiceAccount	Installs an Active Directory service account on a computer.
Move-ADDirectoryServer	Moves a domain controller in AD DS to a new site.
Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole	Moves operation master (also known as flexible single master operations or FSMO) roles to an Active Directory domain controller.
Move-ADObject	Moves an Active Directory object or a container of objects to a different container or domain.
New-ADComputer	Creates a new Active Directory computer.
New-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy	Creates a new Active Directory fine-grained password policy.
New-ADGroup	Creates an Active Directory group.
New-ADObject	Creates an Active Directory object.
New-ADOrganizationalUnit	Creates a new Active Directory OU.
New-ADServiceAccount	Creates a new Active Directory service account.
New-ADUser	Creates a new Active Directory user.
Remove-ADComputer	Removes an Active Directory computer.
Remove-ADComputerServiceAccount	Removes one or more service accounts from a computer.
Remove-ADDomainControllerPasswordReplicationPolicy	Removes users, computers, and groups from the Allowed List or the Denied List of the RODC PRP.
Remove-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy	Removes an Active Directory fine-grained password policy.
Remove-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicySubject	Removes one or more users from a fine-grained password policy.
Remove-ADGroup	Removes an Active Directory group.
Remove-ADGroupMember	Removes one or more members from an Active Directory group.
Remove-ADObject	Removes an Active Directory object.
Remove-ADOrganizationalUnit	Removes an Active Directory OU.
Remove-ADPrincipalGroupMembership	Removes a member from one or more Active Directory groups.
Remove-ADServiceAccount	Removes an Active Directory service account.
Remove-ADUser	Removes an Active Directory user.
Rename-ADObject	Changes the name of an Active Directory object.
Reset-ADServiceAccountPassword	Resets the service account password for a computer.
Restore-ADObject	Restores an Active Directory object.
Search-ADAccount	Gets Active Directory user, computer, and service accounts.
Set-ADAccountControl	Modifies user account control (UAC) values for an Active Directory account.
Set-ADAccountExpiration	Sets the expiration date for an Active Directory account.
Set-ADAccountPassword	Modifies the password of an Active Directory account.
Set-ADComputer	Modifies an Active Directory computer.
Set-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy	Modifies the default password policy for an Active Directory domain.
Set-ADDomain	Modifies an Active Directory domain.
Set-ADDomainMode	Sets the domain functional level for an Active Directory domain.
Set-ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy	Modifies an Active Directory fine-grained password policy.
Set-ADForest	Modifies an Active Directory forest.
Set-ADForestMode	Sets the forest mode for an Active Directory forest.
Set-ADGroup	Modifies an Active Directory group.
Set-ADObject	Modifies an Active Directory object.
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit	Modifies an Active Directory OU.
Set-ADServiceAccount	Modifies an Active Directory service account.
Set-ADUser	Modifies an Active Directory user.
Uninstall-ADServiceAccount	Uninstalls an Active Directory service account from a computer.
Unlock-ADAccount	Unlocks an Active Directory account.

Tablets holding back kids in classrooms

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/63695412/Tablets-holding-students-back

This is a pretty good example of why a tablet is not really suitable for a learning environment. Due to the lack of a keyboard :)

Antec ISK 100 / ISK 110 HTPC Chassis

The Antec ISK 100 (now superseded by the ISK 110) HTPC chassis is a worthwhile consideration for HTPC enthusiasts. It measures only 222 x 78 x 212 mm making it small enough to be mounted on the back of a LCD display that has accessible VESA mounting holes.

A small desktop stand and VESA mount adapter (not shown) are included with the case.

As you can see it is a very compact case that will fit low profile Mini-ITX boards. The case is supplied with an external mains adapter similar to the type provided with a laptop, which produces an output of 19V. The internal power supply board which can be seen inside the top of the chassis converts this into the standard motherboard voltages. There is also space inside the chassis for a very slim fan as can be seen, and for up to two 2.5” HDDs under the motherboard (accessible via a removable side panel). The back panel takes standard I/O shields.

I will be interested to see if the Gigabyte boards I have will fit inside this chassis and approximately what power usage they normally have. Hopefully they can be put into this chassis so that I can make a nice portable HTPC at home, or a tiny computer for work.

Some reviews

• http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1185-page1.html
• http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Antec/ISK-100/1.html
• http://www.overclock.net/t/1330425/build-log-antec-isk-110-tinier-than-tiny

UPDATE: I have checked and found my existing Mini-ITX based system with the Gigabyte GA-350N WIN8 board consumes no more than 50 watts from the mains, running off an old inefficient desktop power supply and driving a desktop HDD. I expect the internal power usage to be in the range of 30-35 watts, well within the 80 watts or so that the internal power supply in this chassis will be able to produce.

UPDATE2: I was pleasantly surprised to find there are a considerable range of Mini-ITX boards made, many of which have a CPU socket instead of an embedded chip. Still, the onboard unit was significantly cheaper and has done everything needed of it.