The nekkid keg...

[dc4bs]

Hi all,

  Anyone know of any reason it would be a bad thing to remove the ginormous plastic "shell" on the Kenwood Keg (C710)?

  I have very limited space to install this unit and removing the outer shell makes the unit at least 20% smaller in 2 dimentions...  It goes from 2.5 x 7 inches to 2.0 x 5.5 inches.

  With the shell on, I can't see any other option to installing the unit out in plain sight in the rear cargo area of my blazer.

  With the shell off, I can easily fabricate a custom mounting bracket to install the stripped down unit in at least 2 different concealed locations in the truck that the large housing simply will NOT fit.

  There are 2 open slots in the sides towords the back of the inner, metal housing.  Looking at the shell, these open into air pockets on the sides of the unit but the pockets appear to be completely enclosed spaces so I'm thinking they are probably not necessary for cooling...

  Would simply covering those 2 slots with plates (or even ductape? ) to prevent dust/debris from entering the unit lead to any overheating issues?

  Obviously, I'm not worying about warrantees on this unit as I got it on Ebay to begin with...  

  Thanks for any advice/tips anyone has on installing the unit this way.  Any and all ideas are appreciated.

Thanks,
  dc4bs

[skew]

I would say go for it. I have installed a few cx910's without the case with no problems. I had to leave the bottom plate intact to support the main board and act as a heatsink for the powersupply mosfet.

[judb]

I have run one on my desk without being hooked to any case at all.. just the board.  The CPU doesnt have a heat sink and doesnt get warm to the touch at all in my experience.

[FiftyPence]

I was thinking the same thing just the other day, nice to know it wont cause any problems.  Thanks fellas

[dc4bs]

Thanks for the info guys.

(Begins to ponder hacking a 120Gb drive that sill won't fit all my mp3s... )

-dc4bs

[FiftyPence]

Jeez matey, over 120GB of MP3s is alot.

I only have like 16GB but i only gad a 10gb cartridge so i couldnt fit all my music on that.

Its nice to have all the music on one cartridge i guess, then when you are out with a nice girl you can ask 'what music would you like honey' to which she replies 'what have you got' then i can say 'well, take a look' and a list a mile long appears in front of her with everything  

[eggm4n]

Mine's been naked for months.  It really depends on how clean your install area is.  I've seen folks who wrapped it in "Press and Seal" wrap.  My favorite is buying a project box from Radio Shack, and cutting the right amount off to protect the inside.

Bottom line: dirt, moisture, and extreme dryness are your enemy.

[Terry_Kennedy]

Jeez matey, over 120GB of MP3s is alot.

No, it isn't. Look here.

[dc4bs]

So OK...

One custom, home-brew mounting bracket made from an old cookie bake sheet (to piggy back  the keg on the Kenwood nav unit mounts) and lots of swearing later, it's IN!

http://hometown.aol.com/dc4bs/images/nekkid_keg.jpg

Yes, it IS a really tight fit.  I had to partly disassemble the stack to get it through the door and rotated into place.  Then I had to reassemble it by feel in that tiny cubby hole space cause you can't get both hands in there AND see what you are doing at the same time!

The final step getting the screws down through the nav unit brackets into the floor of the cubby was non-trivial as well.  I have a screwdriver with a little claw gripper on the end to hold a screw while you work with it.  I don't know if I could have gotten the whole thing nailed down in there without it.

I took lots more pics than this and may eventualy make a full "How to upgrade a 2005 Blazer sound system" web page.

Depends on how ambitious I feel this weekend.

dc4bs