VOGONS

Crazy if not stupid idea for a unusual 'home lab', but probably building it anyway.

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First post, by simon_e_hall

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After a couple of beers and watching YouTube and in need of a new project, came across lots of videos of people creating some rather cool 'home labs', but fully aware I do not have the space, budget or interest in modern stuff like AI.

But I did have a bit of an odd ball idea, I have an SBC dual P3 on a passive backplane not doing much work.

file.php?id=189316

I do not have a rack, but can clear a space in a book shelf.

So my plan:

1. Clear a shelf in the bookshelf next to my desk
2. Install some sort of shelf with rails in now empty bookshelf, so can pull out and have easy access
3. Get a new passive backplane, maybe one with a bridge chip so I can have multiple PCI and ISA slots
4. Install that on shelf
5. Get and install random unusual PCI and ISA cards I see out in the wild now and then (but never use to get and then regret not getting them) and then enjoy, tinker, play, e.g. saw a HF/VHF Ham radio card once for cheap, but never got that and have regretted that ever since

So, anyone tried doing this before (had a quick look but saw nothing, maybe because it is a stupid idea) or have suggestions for unusual PCI and ISA cards to try if I can find them?

Last edited by simon_e_hall on 2025-09-03, 09:33. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 4, by chinny22

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If it works for you then it's not crazy!

I remember someone here used the motherboard tray from an old case to mount his setup under a desk.
It was for somewhere "strange" like kitchen or garage which was why they didn't want a stranded case and the setup did make sense.

Few others have made cases out of cardboard boxes or wood (and made them look good) So I say go for it!

Reply 2 of 4, by simon_e_hall

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Well, proof of concept and extendable shelf installed in the bookcase, with space to spare on top.

Decided to leave a nice amount of room on the bottom for 2.25" drive bays and construct some sort of drive tray below, should be enough space to fit 6 x 5.25" bays in along with the frame to support it, for the removable storage side of life.

Got a new backplane on the way, with approx. 14 slots (ISA/PCI), which should fit on the shelf, when that arrives will move the power supply and 'front panel' around.

On the home lab side of life:
Compute side is sorted with the SBC, it has Windows Server 2000 in RAID (4 x 8GB Disk on Modules on a dedicated card) already setup, so can just (famous last words) transplant that to the new backplane.
Storage side, thinking of getting another RAID card, maybe with more than 4 slots (maybe 8? Then RAID it again), and doing what I did with Windows 2000 and installing Disk on Modules into it, so it is compact and efficient.
Network/Router side, will look at that later once the backplane and main setup are fully working, but should be easy enough to get multi port network cards
Lab side of life, not too sure yet, radio over TCP/IP, video, have a few ideas looking at the cards gathering dust in my collection, or a mixture of everything I can think of.

Reply 3 of 4, by dionb

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Not too crazy at all. My only concern would be buildup of dust over time. I've contemplated something similar myself - putting motherboards in drawers just high enough to fit the cards in. Unfortunately I never found the ideal set of drawers so I abandoned that idea.

I've seen even more eccentric things. This GA-7IXE board and attached peripherals hung on the wall was for several years the home server of a friend of mine:

The attachment servertje.jpg is no longer available

Reply 4 of 4, by simon_e_hall

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dionb wrote on 2025-09-04, 13:43:

Not too crazy at all. My only concern would be buildup of dust over time. I've contemplated something similar myself - putting motherboards in drawers just high enough to fit the cards in. Unfortunately I never found the ideal set of drawers so I abandoned that idea.

I've seen even more eccentric things. This GA-7IXE board and attached peripherals hung on the wall was for several years the home server of a friend of mine:

The attachment servertje.jpg is no longer available

That setup is rather out there, I like it!

Dust is a concern on my mind, I was thinking when everything is in some sort of Perspex/acrylic cover, and maybe some fans with filters in the future.

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