[Tfug] 1U keyboard+monitor drawer

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Zack,

On 11/30/2012 3:06 PM, Zack Williams wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 1:51 PM, Bexley Hall<bexley401 at yahoo.com>  wrote:
>> Or, is this the sort of kit for which they're going to
>> charge an arm, leg and half your manhood??  (presumably
>> due to low sales volumes and big data center budgets!)
>
> I went looking for a kit a few years ago, and wasn't able to find
> anything that allowed me to add my own keyboard/monitor.   I ended up
> getting a used 1U with keyboard and mouse off of Craigslist for

(and, including monitor -- from your comments below)

> relatively cheap ($50? $75? Something like that) which has served me

What a deal!  :>

> well.    Like most things that are "datacenter" related, the used
> market is full of gently used products at a small fraction of the
> original price.
>
> I think the reason that they sell them as all-in-one units is that
> most of the time, the monitor has to fit the width/depth of 1U (most
> 17" and some 4x3 ratio 19" monitors would probably fit), and to flip

Yes.  IME, most monitors would have no problem with the thickness.

> it up you need a spring/hinge contraption in the back that has the
> right amount of torque for the weight of the monitor so that it will
> keep it in place at the angle it's adjusted to.

I had assumed a "friction hold" where you "bend" a pivot point
until it's in the right orientation.  Note that you can also
move some of this mechanism to the part of the bracket that
is fastened to the drawer (instead of the "monitor end")

Dunno.  I'm not a mech eng but it doesn't sound like it would be
an impossible problem to solve.  I would imagine the bigger
issue would be "lack of demand" -- why reduce the price and
increase the "risk"/effort required on the part of the customer
when the customer *probably* has money set aside for this sort
of thing in their budget (or, end of year budget boondoggles)

> That said, on my unit at least, the monitor is held in with a standard
> 4-hole VESA mount, and could probably be swapped out when it breaks.
> Same for the keyboard, assuming I can find a replacement with a
> suitable width.  I do wish it had a cable management arm, but
> nothing's perfect. :)

I have a spare arm I got in an auction lot that you are welcome to.
It's 1U with about a 20" extension (?) and will easily accommodate
a power cord, video, mouse and keyboard cables.  No idea if your
existing drawer has provisions to attach it but I'm sure you could
drill a hole and run a bolt through it.  Let me know...

--don