Build: Chumby Guts kit

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By Becky Stern
Posted 2009/11/15 @ 7:39 am
Category Computers & Mobile, General, Open Source Hardware

When I put together my Chumby Guts kit, I had to stop and scratch my head a few times because I didn’t know how to orient a part or which screws to use. I filmed the second time around, to share with you how easy it comes together! Now all that’s left is to build a plush enclosure for it. Keep an eye out for an upcoming CRAFT Video about that!

Subscribe to the MAKE podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

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8 Responses to Build: Chumby Guts kit

Dale Wheat on November 15th, 2009 at 8:02 am said:

Excellent video! Thanks for sharing. You make it look so easy! Is there anything you can’t do?

I’d really love to play with one of these Chumby Guts kits. Let me know when you get tired of your and I will take it off your hands

Dale

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- Becky Stern on November 16th, 2009 at 3:41 pm said:
  
  Yeah, there’s a bunch of things I can’t do, like reach things on tall shelves! =]
  
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KentKB on November 15th, 2009 at 9:12 am said:

As always you nailed it,I can hardly wait to see a plush body take form.
Hmmm, maybe a Cyclops?

kentkb

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Ryan on November 15th, 2009 at 9:57 am said:

Is it important to leave those pink putty pad things on the boards? It seemed like leaving them on made it more difficult to set the boards when screwing everything down, so I took them off…

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Duane Maxwell on November 15th, 2009 at 12:26 pm said:

@Ryan – yes, it’s very important to have those. They are used to transfer heat from various components to the heatsink. Without them, the electronics may overheat and fail.

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Mark on December 15th, 2009 at 8:19 pm said:

I think my odds of putting this together without this video would have been approximately zero.

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Dan Watts on February 28th, 2010 at 11:32 am said:

There is no way that I would have figured out the correct assembly procedure without this video – thanks!

However, after I powered up my Chumby I found one problem – it wasn’t responding when I clicked the flex switch (i.e. no control panel). According to a Chumby forum post, the 2 leads from the plug should be soldered to the switch at the positions marked “COM” and “NO”. On the switch I received, the COM position is the bent brass tab on the side of the switch. The video shows the leads soldered to the 2 straight plugs at the end of the switch. Perhaps there is more than 1 switch type shipped with the kits?

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- Becky Stern on February 28th, 2010 at 11:37 am said:
  
  Nope, I have the same one, but I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t working! Thanks for fixing the problem for both of us! I’ll put a note in the YouTube video about it. Cheers!
  
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