So just an update. This project fell off the radar. Unfortunately.

 

I have now reached 15 drives. And the problem now is my cables aren't able to reach the bottom set of drives. Also, my racks are a pain to put new drives in. I hate to say it, but I think a Norco 24bay is in the future.

 

But for the record, the setup works and has been awesome. Just will never be completed as other life priorities have taken over.

For archival sake, I will restore the broken photo links in the thread. Thanks for those that participated and see you next unfinished project I start.

 

And sorry, UnRaid Vintage Coke Machine probably won't happen either. /sniff

Sorry to hear it's been abandoned before it was completed ... but I can certainly understand.  I have a LOT of unfinished projects I've started over the years that have been relegated to a back burner which I'm sure will never actually be lit 

 

But this was SO nice !!    And it sure seem like it was effectively "done" ... or at least "done enough" that it could have had a nice spot upstairs where you could show it off !!    As for SATA cables not reaching your drives -- SURELY 36" cables would work:  http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10226&cs_id=1022602&p_id=5131&seq=1&format=2

 

I was going to continue Gman. I thought I figured it out. I just found this for $10 each:

 

3 drive cages from Corsair.

 

for 80$ I get 24 slots. Just need to make the frame to hold them all.

 

and for another $4, 2 SSD.

 

To bad I am Canadian. End cost goes from $84 to $200

Still cheaper than the Norco. 1st world problems. I just really hate having to spin this radio around to add drives. It's getting fraking heavy.

I just really hate having to spin this radio around to add drives. It's getting fraking heavy.

 

How about putting the radio on top of a piece of 3/4" plywood with a Lazy Susan Bearing between the two? I am not sure how heavy the radio is so you would have to get a bearing that would support the weight. Also I would want a locking mechanism to stop it from spinning by its self.

 

Or mount it on a heavy duty set of casters (with locks on two of them, so it doesn't move "uninvited" 

7 Years Later.....

 

This Unraid Radio has moved into an old 1851 stone home we are renovating. 
It is protected by a APC 1500 VA UPSD and now has

• Upgraded Motherboard and  CPU (i7-4790k)
• 24 GB Ram
• 4 SSDs
• 16 Drives (39TB)

It also hosted an echo show for awhile
 

Finally committed to a 16TB Parity drive so I can start trimming down the drive count
Drive with most powered on hours is over 11y, 6m, 29d, 19h

 

Other than getting dusty (which I did a full tear down and clean out as CPU temps were hitting 100), it has run like a champ and cooling drives working great. When I am done the house, I will get back to mounting Motherboard, PSU and SSDs correctly along with finishing the front and back panels.

The small radio on top may become a gaming PC.  

 

Edited April 24, 20224 yr by ChuckTSI

It has now been 11 years. The radio has seen its share of issues.
Most Seagate drives have died.
I lost two controller cards due to overheating once I reached 16 drives on them (8 each)
New controller cards now have a fan sitting on them.

I will be at 85TB of storage by end of day (new drive coming in).
My oldest drive I just took out was a 1TB WD. 15+ years powered on.
The other drives unassigned

DEVICE | DISK | MODEL | HOURS | DAYS | YEARS

/dev/sdb | apps | WDC WDBN | 49085 | 2045 | 5.60

/dev/sdc | cache | ADATA SU650 | 21970 | 915 | 2.51

/dev/sdt | disk10 | WDC WD30EFRX | 60807 | 2534 | 6.94

/dev/sdj | disk11 | WDC WD160EDGZ | 6266 | 261 | 0.72

/dev/sdr | disk12 | WDC WD40EFRX | 60958 | 2540 | 6.96

/dev/sdm | disk15 | WDC WD120EDAZ | 37949 | 1581 | 4.33

/dev/sdi | disk4 | WDC WD120EDBZ | 31425 | 1309 | 3.59

/dev/sdk | disk6 | WDC WD30EZRX | 81700 | 3404 | 9.33

/dev/sds | disk7 | WDC WD30EZRX | 89181 | 3716 | 10.18

/dev/sdf | disk8 | WDC WD30EZRX | 100665 | 4194 | 11.49

/dev/sdg | disk9 | WDC WD30EZRX | 106479 | 4437 | 12.16 << Has 4 Million Load Cycle Counts. O.o

/dev/sdq | parity | ST16000VN001 | 32269 | 1345 | 3.68

/dev/sdd | unassigned | ADATA SP550 | 3239 | 135 | 0.37

/dev/sdu | unassigned | ST3000DM001 | 76518 | 3188 | 8.73

/dev/sdl | unassigned | ST32000542AS | 46005 | 1917 | 5.25

/dev/sdo | unassigned | WDC WD10EAVS | 133436 | 5560 | 15.23

/dev/sdh | unassigned | WDC WD20EARX | 108495 | 4521 | 12.39

/dev/sdp | unassigned | WDC WD20EARX | 116225 | 4843 | 13.27

Only issue now is the fans are rattling (200mm fans). but I cut out the fan mounting plate specifically for that brand of FAN that is no longer.
I have toyed with moving into a proper 4u case.