John30_06
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Subject: Modding the Rio Karma for Oversized Hitachi IDE Drives- 30,40,60GB - Part 1
Some of the info and pics I've already posted elsewhere on the forum. For the sake of having it all in one place for other wanna-be modders to reference, I'm reposting it all here, so if the mods want to delete those other posts, I've no problem with that.
Some pre info:
I was a cabinet-maker/remodeler for 30 years, still have my own shop. I’m not implying that a person needs that kind of tool access or experience because there’s all kinds of ways to mod a kittie. In fact, one tool I never bothered to pick up that would be very handy is the dremel. Tools I did use include a jigsaw, sharp chisels, bandsaw, steam-iron, wood rasps & files. I think most all those could all be improvised one way or another.
I got into Karma ownership ironically about 2 years ago when Rio were folding their doors. It took my first Karma(warrantied) dying and leaving me DAP stranded for over a month to plant a hair up my ass to learn about fixing these music marvels. I began buying fuxored units, fixing them up, learning the do’s and don’ts, etc.
Soon, I wanted a bigger Karma for all the obvious reasons, and looked at how previous tweakers modded theirs. So, I’ve learned from what they did as well as my own mistakes. I wanted the bigger IDE Hitachi hard drive, which is only available in 9.5mm thickness due to the dual platters. And I also wanted the original 1700 mA longlife battery. This was non-negotiable.
The Karma is extremely well designed, yet there’s maybe 1 mm extra space between the battery and the back. Not quite enough space to jam the bigger drive in there.
What I found needed to be modded would be the back of the case, the rubberized grip, and the dock(for those like myself who like to use the dock) The front-case would be fine as is, although I would end up painting it to match the back.
Since the battery sits at the very back, my first solution was to make a heat-conductive stamp a bit larger than the battery, and push enough space, maybe 1.5-2mm enough to allow the bigger drive to nestle in comfortably and still be able to close the case.
I had just the material, an aluminum T-square for drywall, which was slightly wider than the Li-lon battery. Simple thing to cut a block off on a miter-saw, round the edges on a grinder or sander- important point when the heat is applied. I had 4 or 5 cases from damaged or otherwise given-up on players or ones I had accumulated and fixed.
I drilled a hole in the center of the block, tapped it out with the same thread as the tip of a soldering iron I have, and cut a threaded piece of bolt to attach the block to the iron, thinking this was a neat solution. However, the soldering iron won’t heat the block up enough, as it’s only designed to heat its tip. Also, I had no idea of the melting point of the plastic the Karma cases are made of, or any of that. Strictly play-it-by-ear all the way here. I ended up using a clothes iron to heat the stamp up enough to try the mod.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
Previously I had chiseled out all extraneous tabs, blocks, etc in the case-back that would hinder either the battery or the bigger hard-drive. Keep in mind that the new drive won’t extend all the way to the back of the case, but it is wider dimensionally than the battery, so more plastic has to be removed for it from the case-back, including the stainless-steel screwtab brace at the bottom of the case. The flat part of it that the front screws to does not interfere, but the angled part that screws into the back will impede the new drive and has to go away.
The first guy who modded a Karma for a bigger drive back in 2005 just tossed this, which was sloppy imo.
Easiest way to solve this is to hammer the right-angle brace flat and cut it lengthwise, saving the part that protrudes for the screws of the front-case. I used a metal cutting blade on a jigsaw, although a hacksaw could possibly work- it’s a difficult little piece to cut. Luckily, the back-case has a couple of plastic tabs that locate the brace in and out. For vertical placement, the retainer needs to be roughly parallel with the bottom edge that is covered by the grip. I ended up using 2-part epoxy to glue this in place to the bottom of the case-back, but the epoxy I used failed later on when I painted the inside. Whoda thunk? So I redid this one with fiberglass resin.
(I forgot that Jim Thompson had already figured this part, so I ended up having to relearn what he’d already illustrated in his modding tutorial on his karmalimbo page.)
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
In any event, before this step, I went about heating up the heat-stamp, and also plugging in the soldering iron. Once the stamp is hot enough, I think the iron will maintain heat. I learned you need to be patient at this point, since too much heat and pressure will either overmelt the plastic of area you want to push out, or vaporize it totally. Both of these failures occurred on different backs I was experimenting with, although I did get it right with one out of the 4 original. So I ended up with one back I considered successful and 3 failures. Not a good enough %-age.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
At that point, I had read and enquired about fiberglass application, but that was the total of my experience. Well, not quite, since I had quite a bit of experience with similar resins in other scenarios. In any case, go to Plan B at this point; fiberglass is what makes it work, as it is forgiving, easy to apply, sandable, paintable- its entire raison is to patch and fill. Voila. Plan B is better than Plan A!
Plan B- fun with Fiberglass
While I was doing this, I ordered 3 new 30Gig 1.8” Hitachi hard-drives from OceanElectronics off ebay. They were extremely reasonably priced, and I had no issues whatsoever with the 2 I used. I emailed OceanElectronics about swapping up the 3rd and the difference in cash with one of their 40Gig drives, and they were totally cool about it. Both drives were advertised as being 7mm thick, but I was almost certain this was a mistake in the listing- which it turned out to be. Also, their 40Gig drives are refurbed- and I can’t prove it, but I think they have the same stiction issue as the 20Gig drives that caused much misery for Karma owners, courtesy of Hitachi. In fact, the 40Gig I got from them failed within a week, but they were cool about replacing it, and so far, the replacement has given me no issues.
So I went about cutting out the remaining 3 backs enough that the battery would fit comfortably through them.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
Now, to me, the easiest way of doing something is usually the best. I could have used a junk front-case, a bad logic-board, a bad battery as a model for my fiberglass modded back, but I didn’t have a bad 9.5mm hard drive. Just the new ones I’d ordered. So I masking-taped the inside of the cutout back case anywhere that resin could seep in, and covered the battery on top of the drive with waxed-paper. I had already cut a piece of fiberglass cloth for the patch, that overlapped the cutout area of the back, as well as the thumb-grip. Masking tape on the thumb-grip as well, and just about ready for a pour.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
A note here on the thumb-grip. You may not think it is worth fooling with to mod this piece, but I feel it is vital. The grip is molded to fit the factory player size, and it pushes against the battery, which pushes against the hard-drive. Now the area it covers on the battery is only about ½” x 1 ½”, but to me that is enough to accelerate drive failure from pressure. Here I was able to take the heat stamp, heat it up, and apply it to the area of the grip that overlaps the battery. It is easy to overdo it here, and the rubberized coating will make an ugly tear if you do. The tabs that interlock the back go away at this point, either with heat or a knife.
I know that most folks who want to do this will not have access to all the tools I have, but there are ways of improvising, such as just using the steam-iron. A hair blow-dryer also can soften up the grip, which then can be gently stretched over something wider like a broom handle.
Okay, so we’ve got the back snapped on, everything taped off. Try to make the wax-paper as flat as possible as it will influence the way the fiberglass epoxy sets up. I also highly advise using a painter’s respirator doing resins, paint, and anything else with toxic solvents. Not the cloth or paper masks, but the type you’d put on for a gas attack. They’re available at paint stores, auto body suppliers, and maybe at Surplus stores.
I mixed about ½ ounce of resin at a time in throwaway waxed cups just because I couldn’t accurately mix a smaller amount with the hardener. You still throw most of it away.
Throwaway 1/2" paintbrush, ymmv as far as size. Dab around the edges of the back, which is facing up, obviously, then lay the cloth on so the resin you’ve dabbed holds it in place. Then either pour it on and lay it out with the brush, or just lay it on, keeping in mind you’ve got about a 5 -10 minute working window before the resin starts hardening. You’re not going to get it perfect on your first pour, and you’re not supposed to. This is to re-establish a one-piece back that you can build on more evenly later on. After an hour or so, the resin should be hardened enough to start trimming and cleaning up, although it will still be relatively soft.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
Some pre info:
I was a cabinet-maker/remodeler for 30 years, still have my own shop. I’m not implying that a person needs that kind of tool access or experience because there’s all kinds of ways to mod a kittie. In fact, one tool I never bothered to pick up that would be very handy is the dremel. Tools I did use include a jigsaw, sharp chisels, bandsaw, steam-iron, wood rasps & files. I think most all those could all be improvised one way or another.
I got into Karma ownership ironically about 2 years ago when Rio were folding their doors. It took my first Karma(warrantied) dying and leaving me DAP stranded for over a month to plant a hair up my ass to learn about fixing these music marvels. I began buying fuxored units, fixing them up, learning the do’s and don’ts, etc.
Soon, I wanted a bigger Karma for all the obvious reasons, and looked at how previous tweakers modded theirs. So, I’ve learned from what they did as well as my own mistakes. I wanted the bigger IDE Hitachi hard drive, which is only available in 9.5mm thickness due to the dual platters. And I also wanted the original 1700 mA longlife battery. This was non-negotiable.
The Karma is extremely well designed, yet there’s maybe 1 mm extra space between the battery and the back. Not quite enough space to jam the bigger drive in there.
What I found needed to be modded would be the back of the case, the rubberized grip, and the dock(for those like myself who like to use the dock) The front-case would be fine as is, although I would end up painting it to match the back.
Since the battery sits at the very back, my first solution was to make a heat-conductive stamp a bit larger than the battery, and push enough space, maybe 1.5-2mm enough to allow the bigger drive to nestle in comfortably and still be able to close the case.
I had just the material, an aluminum T-square for drywall, which was slightly wider than the Li-lon battery. Simple thing to cut a block off on a miter-saw, round the edges on a grinder or sander- important point when the heat is applied. I had 4 or 5 cases from damaged or otherwise given-up on players or ones I had accumulated and fixed.
I drilled a hole in the center of the block, tapped it out with the same thread as the tip of a soldering iron I have, and cut a threaded piece of bolt to attach the block to the iron, thinking this was a neat solution. However, the soldering iron won’t heat the block up enough, as it’s only designed to heat its tip. Also, I had no idea of the melting point of the plastic the Karma cases are made of, or any of that. Strictly play-it-by-ear all the way here. I ended up using a clothes iron to heat the stamp up enough to try the mod.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
Previously I had chiseled out all extraneous tabs, blocks, etc in the case-back that would hinder either the battery or the bigger hard-drive. Keep in mind that the new drive won’t extend all the way to the back of the case, but it is wider dimensionally than the battery, so more plastic has to be removed for it from the case-back, including the stainless-steel screwtab brace at the bottom of the case. The flat part of it that the front screws to does not interfere, but the angled part that screws into the back will impede the new drive and has to go away.
The first guy who modded a Karma for a bigger drive back in 2005 just tossed this, which was sloppy imo.
Easiest way to solve this is to hammer the right-angle brace flat and cut it lengthwise, saving the part that protrudes for the screws of the front-case. I used a metal cutting blade on a jigsaw, although a hacksaw could possibly work- it’s a difficult little piece to cut. Luckily, the back-case has a couple of plastic tabs that locate the brace in and out. For vertical placement, the retainer needs to be roughly parallel with the bottom edge that is covered by the grip. I ended up using 2-part epoxy to glue this in place to the bottom of the case-back, but the epoxy I used failed later on when I painted the inside. Whoda thunk? So I redid this one with fiberglass resin.
(I forgot that Jim Thompson had already figured this part, so I ended up having to relearn what he’d already illustrated in his modding tutorial on his karmalimbo page.)
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
In any event, before this step, I went about heating up the heat-stamp, and also plugging in the soldering iron. Once the stamp is hot enough, I think the iron will maintain heat. I learned you need to be patient at this point, since too much heat and pressure will either overmelt the plastic of area you want to push out, or vaporize it totally. Both of these failures occurred on different backs I was experimenting with, although I did get it right with one out of the 4 original. So I ended up with one back I considered successful and 3 failures. Not a good enough %-age.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
At that point, I had read and enquired about fiberglass application, but that was the total of my experience. Well, not quite, since I had quite a bit of experience with similar resins in other scenarios. In any case, go to Plan B at this point; fiberglass is what makes it work, as it is forgiving, easy to apply, sandable, paintable- its entire raison is to patch and fill. Voila. Plan B is better than Plan A!
Plan B- fun with Fiberglass
While I was doing this, I ordered 3 new 30Gig 1.8” Hitachi hard-drives from OceanElectronics off ebay. They were extremely reasonably priced, and I had no issues whatsoever with the 2 I used. I emailed OceanElectronics about swapping up the 3rd and the difference in cash with one of their 40Gig drives, and they were totally cool about it. Both drives were advertised as being 7mm thick, but I was almost certain this was a mistake in the listing- which it turned out to be. Also, their 40Gig drives are refurbed- and I can’t prove it, but I think they have the same stiction issue as the 20Gig drives that caused much misery for Karma owners, courtesy of Hitachi. In fact, the 40Gig I got from them failed within a week, but they were cool about replacing it, and so far, the replacement has given me no issues.
So I went about cutting out the remaining 3 backs enough that the battery would fit comfortably through them.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
Now, to me, the easiest way of doing something is usually the best. I could have used a junk front-case, a bad logic-board, a bad battery as a model for my fiberglass modded back, but I didn’t have a bad 9.5mm hard drive. Just the new ones I’d ordered. So I masking-taped the inside of the cutout back case anywhere that resin could seep in, and covered the battery on top of the drive with waxed-paper. I had already cut a piece of fiberglass cloth for the patch, that overlapped the cutout area of the back, as well as the thumb-grip. Masking tape on the thumb-grip as well, and just about ready for a pour.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
A note here on the thumb-grip. You may not think it is worth fooling with to mod this piece, but I feel it is vital. The grip is molded to fit the factory player size, and it pushes against the battery, which pushes against the hard-drive. Now the area it covers on the battery is only about ½” x 1 ½”, but to me that is enough to accelerate drive failure from pressure. Here I was able to take the heat stamp, heat it up, and apply it to the area of the grip that overlaps the battery. It is easy to overdo it here, and the rubberized coating will make an ugly tear if you do. The tabs that interlock the back go away at this point, either with heat or a knife.
I know that most folks who want to do this will not have access to all the tools I have, but there are ways of improvising, such as just using the steam-iron. A hair blow-dryer also can soften up the grip, which then can be gently stretched over something wider like a broom handle.
Okay, so we’ve got the back snapped on, everything taped off. Try to make the wax-paper as flat as possible as it will influence the way the fiberglass epoxy sets up. I also highly advise using a painter’s respirator doing resins, paint, and anything else with toxic solvents. Not the cloth or paper masks, but the type you’d put on for a gas attack. They’re available at paint stores, auto body suppliers, and maybe at Surplus stores.
I mixed about ½ ounce of resin at a time in throwaway waxed cups just because I couldn’t accurately mix a smaller amount with the hardener. You still throw most of it away.
Throwaway 1/2" paintbrush, ymmv as far as size. Dab around the edges of the back, which is facing up, obviously, then lay the cloth on so the resin you’ve dabbed holds it in place. Then either pour it on and lay it out with the brush, or just lay it on, keeping in mind you’ve got about a 5 -10 minute working window before the resin starts hardening. You’re not going to get it perfect on your first pour, and you’re not supposed to. This is to re-establish a one-piece back that you can build on more evenly later on. After an hour or so, the resin should be hardened enough to start trimming and cleaning up, although it will still be relatively soft.
http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w156/John30_…?action=…
This post was edited on 2007-07-28, 10:12 by 
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