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Airman Builds ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’ Computer
American Forces Press Service ^
| Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs, USAF
Posted on 11/01/2007 4:15:39 PM PDT by SandRat
| SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras, Nov. 1, 2007 – In the spirit of Halloween, an airman here built his very own version of “Frankenstein’s monster.”
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Russell, Armed Forces Network Honduras chief engineer, shows off the "Frankenstein computer" he built from spare parts and a shipping box. The computer took about two weeks to build. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs, USAF
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. |
|
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Russell, chief engineer for American Forces Network Honduras, is somewhat of a computer guru. When his wife called and said she needed a new computer, he combined his know-how, spare parts, cardboard and a few dabs of glue to create his “monster.” Yes, he used “cardboard” and “glue.”
“Tinkering with computer hardware is one of my hobbies,” he said. “Usually I’ll upgrade my (personal) computer one piece at a time and keep all of the old stuff.”
Russell has a treasure chest full of spare parts -- hard drives, video cards, motherboards -- in his bedroom. He was lacking only one critical piece to bring his creation to life.
“I had all of the pieces, but I didn’t have a case,” he said. “But it’s really expensive, because it costs just as much to ship a case here as it does to buy it. And why spend 50 bucks when I can just use what I have?”
With “Plan A” being an expensive off-the-shelf computer from a retail store, Russell nicknamed his creation “Plan B” -- any good monster has to have a name right?
After a quick sketch-up of his project, the Seattle native headed to the base exchange to purchase the remainder of his supplies: glue, three cardboard shipping boxes and a box cutter. Inside the box, “Plan B” sports an 80-gigabyte hard drive, a DVD burner, a gigabyte of memory, a laptop mobile processor and an AM/FM/TV tuner card.
The computer took about two weeks to build, since he had to wait for the glue to dry and cure after each computer component was added. The irony is that the computer, built from a shipping box, may not survive the trip to his wife’s address in Texas in once piece.
“I’m afraid to send it, because I’m afraid it will break in shipping. It will just be a ‘box of parts’ when it gets there,” he said with a laugh.
For now, the computer serves as his personal juke box and an interesting conversation starter.
Russell’s regular duties as chief engineer include maintaining the technical radio and television equipment for AFN. He and his co-workers maintain 24-hour broadcast capabilities for Soto Cano.
Adding to his resume, Russell also has started sitting in as a co-host for the afternoon rock show. At 6 feet, 5 inches tall, the sergeant’s unofficial disc jockey name is “The Big Show.”
Russell joined the military on April 17, 1996, and enlisted as a broadcast maintenance troop. Joining the Air Force, he said, seemed like a natural choice to build on the engineering skills he learned in community college.
“I didn’t want to landscape for my uncle any more, and I wanted to use my engineering skills,” he said. “My step-dad was an Air Force pilot, so I grew up on a lot of Air Force stories.”
Although he cross-trained a few years ago to work as an intelligence analyst, Russell was pulled back into his old career field to take this remote tour to Honduras. He’s slated to leave here in December for Menwith Hill, England, where he’ll work in intel again.
Fortunately, after his move, Russell will have plenty more boxes to go with his extra computer parts; maybe a “bride of Frankenstein” is in the future.
(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sonny Cohrs is assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo Public Affairs.)
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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: airman; computer; frankenstein; monster
1
posted on
11/01/2007 4:15:42 PM PDT
by
SandRat
To: SandRat
But can it swing an 9 iron? (USAF dad bump)
2
posted on
11/01/2007 4:21:22 PM PDT
by
steveo
(Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.)
To: SandRat
Hey, that doesn’t meet FCC Class “B” interference regulations.
3
posted on
11/01/2007 4:25:50 PM PDT
by
Dr. Sivana
(Not a newbie, just wanted a new screen name.)
To: SandRat
Hey look, I can do that too!...
To: SandRat; ALOHA RONNIE; RonDog; Liz; patriciaruth
Air Force Sergeants ROCK! (From a former TV tech @ AFN Frankfurt...)
5
posted on
11/01/2007 5:04:27 PM PDT
by
Libloather
(Hillary donors find their way to the cover of Time. And the very next day they're doing it...)
To: SandRat
‘Although he cross-trained a few years ago to work as an intelligence analyst, Russell was pulled back into his old career field to take this remote tour to Honduras.’
He re-trained, only Chaplain assistants can “Cross Train”...Just one of my old AF pet peeves.. Retied AF Chief
6
posted on
11/01/2007 7:43:29 PM PDT
by
ThomasPaine2000
(Peace without freedom is tyranny.)
To: MD_Willington_1976
You may not have it in a case yet, but at least you have it breadboarded.
7
posted on
11/01/2007 8:57:02 PM PDT
by
Erasmus
(My simplifying explanation had the disconcerting side effect of making the subject incomprehensible.)
To: Libloather
Did you ever have to go to Heidelberg on a radio maintenance job? I think that I was listening to AFN on 1143 out of Heidelberg in 1997, from the Stuttgart area. Lots of local news from Kaiserslautern, Ramstein, Patton Village, etc...
8
posted on
11/01/2007 8:59:44 PM PDT
by
Erasmus
(My simplifying explanation had the disconcerting side effect of making the subject incomprehensible.)
To: Erasmus
...had the first hour of Rush @ 1900 local.
9
posted on
11/01/2007 9:00:40 PM PDT
by
Erasmus
(My simplifying explanation had the disconcerting side effect of making the subject incomprehensible.)
To: SandRat
I visited an office where one of the people there had constructed a PC case out of LEGOs. It was really cool.
10
posted on
11/01/2007 9:05:24 PM PDT
by
MistrX
To: MD_Willington_1976
A relative upgraded to a laptop, and gave me his hand-me-down Gateway Slot 1. The thing is useless. Can't even salvage the chassis without major Dremeling.
A standard PS won't fit, either.
So...I'm moving the hard drive and internal modem to an old Athlon 1700 I have, taking up space. That chassis is only slightly stronger than card board, but it is metal. Almost as soft as lead, but not as heavy.
To: Erasmus
I was stationed at Headquarters AFN Frankfurt as a television maintenance tech back in the day when Ronaldus Maximus was president. Unfortunately, Rush wasn't on the air just yet. I was in the building, on the other side of Bertramstrasse, when this thing went off.
Frankfurt PX Bombing
12
posted on
11/02/2007 4:37:57 AM PDT
by
Libloather
(Hillary donors find their way to the cover of Time. And the very next day they're doing it...)
To: Erasmus
It’s in a case now... an old K-6-2 case... it was too big for a Packard Bell case I fished out of the dumpster!
To: Calvin Locke
Just get a fancy piece of plywood and screw the motherboard to the plywood...
To: MD_Willington_1976
Yeah, I was going to say “big deal” as well. Computers aren’t that complex to put together.
15
posted on
11/02/2007 7:25:02 AM PDT
by
AppyPappy
(If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
To: MD_Willington_1976
lol yeah, I had my mobo, PSU, HDDs, laying out on my desk for a while until my wife got pissed and made me either get a case or get rid of it.
To: SandRat
yes the computer’s name is HAL, and its first words were; “Dave, what are you doing Dave?”
To: MD_Willington_1976
Plywood? I’ve been using a couple of scrap 1x12s...
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