This IBM Industrial Rackmount Monitor Enclosure

Got this 1980s rack mounted housing for my IBM Industrial PC and its associated monitor. So let's install a 7534 CRT display inside and see how it looks.

[@jazzbumsmike]

I think you can remove those two back rubber feet and screw the screw back in through the ledge -- if that makes sense. great video!

[@LGRBlerbs]

Yes indeed, that's what you're supposed to do. Thankfully it's held in quite nicely either way, though I'll have to do it up right if I decide to keep it inside this enclosure permanently :)

[@joshuagibson2520]

@@LGRBlerbs is it painful to be such a perfectionist? Seems like it would be.

[@beavis6363]

It was killin' me. Yep remove the rubber feet, put the brackets back in. Get some weight off those tiny pems and screws before you break a screw or crack the plastic around the pems. I'm not saying I know it would happen but life's experience says CAUTION. Oh, I think it's own matching wooden box atop the PC box would look fantastic!

[@donaciuxx]

@@LGRBlerbs get small rack and decorate its sides with wood/fake wood

[@shaunmctavish1335]

I was watching and saying the same thing aloud like Clint could hear me all the way in Minnesota 🤣

[@pseudotasuki]

Clint needs to come clean and admit that he's building the world's most inefficient datacenter.

[@pseudotasuki]

And geez, I would love to build a wooden rack for this thing. Maybe give it some vintage accents.

[@karlramberg]

It's not cloud computing. Its just a little higher humidity computing.

[@actuallyusingmyrealnameher5061]

It could work as a mining rig if you’re looking for bronze age copper 🙂

[@drboom2]

If I had infinite money and if it wasn't horribly inefficient, I would totally make a period correct datacenter. Maybe not this era of hardware, but like 90s Unix hardware. That would be really cool.

[@cheapasstech]

Looks so Fallout this way

[@rommix0]

Never realized how much I missed Blerbs. Glad to see you found the time to do these again.

[@LGRBlerbs]

Happy to hear that, I'm glad to be back 👍

[@Zizzily]

You need to run the DOS X-10 controller on this so you can have a whole industrial rack that controls your desk light.

[@LGRBlerbs]

...I actually love this idea

[@denodon123]

Home automation the vintage way definitely seems like the perfect use for some classic industrial hardware these days. Though I suppose the fans might get a little annoying…

[@obd6HsN]

The sense of relief at the end when the all the rotating parts spin down and silence returns .... palpable. And you're right: you need a matching wooden case, no matter the cost.

[@tomschmidt381]

Wow that was a blast from the past. I designed inhouse test equipment during the 1970s & 80s and used the same IBM industrial PC and monitor for a piece of test gear.

[@supergeek0177]

What was it like back then to work on/with?

[@willm5032]

I'm glad Blerbs is back, it scratches an itch for random weird bits of ancient tech that I didn't know I had. Tbh so does the main channel but yaknow

[@a_funyun]

"I'm rambling" Yes you are and by god am I going to listen to it

[@johnwalden7638]

This looks so badass.If I had to choose I would totally go with another wooden box for the monitor and then put some sort of swivel mechanism between them so the monitor can rotate.

[@Jordan_Is_Here]

Yeah that sounds good

[@221b]

Fantavision! That demo animation came pre-installed on my first PC back in ~1991 or so and I used to watch it all the time as a kid. I've wanted to watch it again for years but I didn't know what it was called. Thanks to this video I was able to l was able to look it up on KZbin and see it again.

[@aserta]

All you need now is the industrial keyboard module (i'm 99.9% sure there's one from IBM) and a rack to mount it all in and it's set. Maybe look at old hospital/schools surplus sales? It might cost a pretty penny, but it would be worth finding one IMHO.

[@artchic528]

It’s official, Clint is preparing for the zombie apocalypse by hoarding enough vintage computers and electronics to make his own internal network to attempt to store and preserve the entirety of human knowledge. All encased in a lovely wood grain exterior.

[@Bartman3010]

On one hand I feel like it should all be one whole unit so that the monitor can't just slide around when resting on top. On the other, that would make this whole setup extremely heavy and cumbersome to tote around. You could make it so the pieces slide out and are easy to transport, but that's three bulky pieces you'd have to lug around. With each one in their own enclosure, you can encase them and essentially forget about them. If it's for the purpose of showing off to people I'd probably make it one whole unit to prevent people from knocking things over.

[@aserta]

An old and easy fix for broken pot stems is to drill a hole in both parts of the broken stem and then pour epoxy in both sides with a little bit extra between them, then set it in place and let it cure, like 4 days. The hole needs to be just small enough to fit inside the diameter of the pot, you're essentially coring it, so this is a hand operation, no powered tools required. I'd get metal flake epoxy that works on plastics (3M makes some).

[@chipdamage1002]

I swear, from the thumbnail I genuinely thought this was an Adrian's digital basement vid when I clicked. Neat setup!

[@dwaynezilla]

Gotta love that BRRM BRRM BRRM BRMM of the drives at startup

[@mikewifak]

First NIN shirts, now this. We get it, Clint, you’re having an industrial phase.

[@LGRBlerbs]

Ha

[@tigrom01]

These animations are fantastic

[@TylerComptonShow]

It makes me happy to see that you have a dedicated workshop area! I know what a difference that can make.

[@dreammfyre]

You definitely need to get a “big old rack mount” for this.

[@redstar993]

Both this and the rack-mount industrial PC make me feel oddly nostalgic; as a kid I often had to stay at my dad's place of work after school, which was a dyeing mill in central NC. An amber monitor in one of these was attached to one of the machines he attended to, and I remember a co-worker of his laughing when I said I was good at "using Windows" then showing me a PC sitting in a rack eactly like the one shown in that footage at around 8:10 and telling me "no Windows here!" Luckily, my aunt also worked there in a much less "industrial" office setting and she had a Windows 95 PC that my cousin had snuck a copy of Dungeon Master II on to. Fun times!

[@ErnoSallinen]

This is one of the most beautiful computers I have ever seen.

[@onooooooooooo]

You cover so many oddities and this is so dumb. I love it.

[@dozern]

Looks really good, and I agree on getting a seperate box for the monitor. Both for estehics and for actually being able to move it without help. Both units in one box will be "movable by wheels on the unit" or simply a dolly.

[@beesbeesbees6289]

I was just thinking yesterday how I've missed blurbs! So glad they're back and moving stuff is slowing down for you :)

[@henryokeeffe5835]

These are made to be together. In one wooden enclosure would be amazing!

[@dennisp.2147]

You need a half rack with both in it and a rackmount keyboard mouse combo. Take the thin side panels off of the rack, and cover them with woodgrain vinyl. et Voila! Oh and I'm pretty sure, based on fuzzy memories working on industrial racks 25 years ago, those two tabs are intended to bolt into the bottom of the monitor and then into the frame, to support the weight of the monitor.

[@JeremyLevi]

Hard agree. An era appropriate half rack with a keyboard drawer would be "the tits", especially with an industrial grey F77 Model F Keyboard in it (biggest of the models F that will fit in a standard 19" rack). Get a set of the reproduction Industrial SSK blue keys on there to complete the look.

[@SteveMaves]

Was wondering which IBM keyboard would fit in a rack mount slide out keyboard tray, thanks!

[@JeremyLevi]

@@SteveMaves Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the biggest one that will fit. The PC/XT Model F is just a tiny bit too wide. The F77 is 16.5" wide so fits nicely. You could opt for the smaller F62 that omits the numpad if you want more room for a mouse but rackmount keyboard drawers are usually deep enough that you can just put the mouse in front of or behind the keyboard.

[@organiccold]

Welcome back! Please don't go away for to long, we missed u

[@justinnamilee]

You 100% need to keep the enclosure as it completes the set. Full size rack, let's go!!!

[@Mr_Top_Hat_Jones]

That looks amazing! I didn’t realize how much I’d been missing the blerbs.

[@catriona_drummond]

I got a 19 inch rack for audio equipment that you can roll around on wheels that I abused for my home server. Something similiar might be fun for this especially as the wheels would make it less unwieldy. Works for a wooden case too, I suppose.

[@upcoast]

love the look before the cover. When it's all the same color

[@MarkyShaw]

This made my Monday just a little bit better. Thank you, good sir.

[@abergethirty]

Back in the 90's I used to build these cable testers that were tall rack mount cabinets on wheels and the displays were these same monitors. Even then they were kind of old, but I bet they are still using them.

[@the-retro-center-espanol]

the wooden furniture looks wonderful.

[@awd42]

I love this so much. The IBM rack enclosure from VCF is great too, but if you can't find one of those, I'd love to see these in an old Digital (DEC) or Sun Microsystems rack. "Crossing the streams", I know, but those have their own vintage style which this would look right at home in. (A lot more so than the newer, black IBM/Lenovo racks.)

[@richardlamb7305]

Honestly, between you, Linus and his team, and Jason over at Metal Jesus Rocks; Ya'll are the majority of the after work decompress and I can't thank you enough. You should totally start making some LGR shirts and hoodies! Guaranteed you'll have the buyers, including me👍

[@THEBACONATOR20]

And me! Didn't know I wanted one until this comment

[@JustEasyIT]

I am so glad you didn't sell out like the rest of the tech youtubers and pitch an ltt screwdriver. Thank you for keeping it Classy Clint.

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

I spent $200 and 3 months waiting for someone to fix a Compaq CRT monitor I brought back from Computer Reset. Once I finally got it back and had to pay for it, I actually didn’t need it anymore since I had encountered and gotten others.

[@LoremTheOtter]

The first 3 seconds are just great metal asmr. Thanks Clint.

[@famitory]

instead of a telco/datacenter rack, a rolling flight case might be cool. then you've got the perfect setup for taking it to conventions.

[@CommodoreGreg]

I'm just happy to see this mated with the right PC instead of ending up in a trash heap!

[@nuitarik]

So happy for the new video! Know you have been busy but definitely missed this channel

[@Zippan84]

One wooden enclosure for both units for sure would look great!

[@jasonsteele901]

For sure a second wood case... I think it would look so cool. Bringing two worlds together. Nice vid too.

[@DavidGalich77]

Wow oldies but goodies! Keep um' rockin'

[@thebiggerbyte5991]

The wooden enclosure looks great, and of course you had it custom made, but the 'rolling IBM fridge' would be my choice if one comes along. Either way, it is a superb system, and I am totally jealous. :)

[@Bukkarooo]

I know you had the custom wood rack made for the PC, and it'd probably be costly to do this, but I think the best final look would be a full wood enclosure with two racks so you can have both in a single wooden mini-rack case thing. Two wooden enclosures will be also great and probably more convenient, but there's something my brain likes about a dedicated wood rack that holds both as a big single unit.

[@aaronfrance6760]

I love the big refrigerator idea. Put it with your arcade machines to play classic PC games standing up lol. I definitely think this setup looks cooler than the VCFMW one but jeeze it looks like it could scratch that beautiful wood enclosure easily.

[@carlgray6764]

two separate boxes defiantly the way to go !

[@matguy1000]

i love the 'Aliens' era aesthetic. kinda fallout-ish too

[@ragdolltech3526]

Ever since I was a kid I've always loved all on one PCs, so I lean towards doing that, one big wood box for it all. But like you said you already bought that one box...

[@HAGSLAB]

I would love to see them both in a proper rack! With wood side panels as someone else suggested 😁👌🏻 Monitor looks amazing in that enclosure. Love it.

[@diarx1]

Definitely get another enclosure made, well worth it and would look awesome. Might I suggest adding some spring loaded PA speaker style handles to the sides while you're there (the ones that aren't too deeply recessed), though you would have to make sure the handles are placed nearer to the centre of gravity if the monitor/PC are very front heavy.

[@26cjones]

It'd be cool and totally LGR like if you got a giant retro 48U server rack, installed the industrial pc and monitor into but also put in your modern networking and server gear too.

[@LGRBlerbs]

Yeah I'm tempted to do that! Already have two smaller racks that I use for my home network and storage and stuff, so it might be fun to consolidate

[@thereallemac]

You have to build a wooden enclosure for the monitor-in-the-metal-frame! It will look awesome! Go for it!

[@mengisto]

Two boxes gets my vote for best looking setup :)

[@jtfernandez5594]

I love this channel, welcome not-back because you didn't leave.

[@flavortown3781]

i never knew i wanted a rackmounted PC thanks

[@Tomd4850]

I like the idea of the industrial monitor in its own wood enclosure with the ability to stack it on the industrial PC enclosure, but I think it should all still go together in some sort of rolling furniture.

[@flaminggasolineinthedarkne4]

the animations were so cool

[@Quickened1]

Back when computers still used stick figures, and sounded like a small airport! Love that enclosure, would leave it just like it is until you decide on a case. Pros and cons either way. If you have the desktop space for it, the separate boxes might be the way to go. If not, a roll around rack enclosure might be it. No matter what, that is a very cool setup!

[@Pixbomb-omb]

I like the rack idea, with a tray for the keyboard.

[@guerillagrueplays6301]

I think that either the unified wood enclosure for both or matching enclosures sounds really, really neat, and like an excellent way to display these pieces while keeping them usable.

[@davidromeroblaya7920]

It's not stupid. It's retrofuturistic and I love it.

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

Just build another wooden box for the monitor enclosure, or put them both in a new large wooden enclosure. The good news is that since it sits on top of the existing case enclosure, it doesn’t take up any more room than then unit already did.

[@MD4564]

I like the idea of the wood enclosure idea, kinda industrial kinda thing.

[@dodgeman777]

There must a be a cool industrial rack unit around that would be the exact number of units high for the monitor, the tower and a slide-out keyboard or tray. Bring the industrial PC home!

[@dillabetes]

I am actually very surprised you don’t already have some sort of new-old-stock server rack!

[@LGRBlerbs]

If they weren't so space-consuming I might! I've certainly had a few chances to pick some up, just never had the room 😩

[@unknownsomebody3039]

You could include a drawer for the keyboard between the computer and Monitor inclosures. The wood looks awsome, through!

[@LGRBlerbs]

Definitely, a sliding keyboard tray would be rad

[@reggiep75]

Custom made wooden box for both the monitor and the PC. You know it'll make you happy 😉👍

[@glonch]

12U Desktop Rack would be awesome!

[@mtx247]

Anything that makes you happy is not a waste of money. You go get that huge wooden fridge case! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

[@ItsBBP]

I'd assume that those two bits the rear feet sit on are to secure the back of the monitor into the frame, You remove the rear feet and screw in the two mounts.

[@MrDDawson]

As soon as he sat the enclosure/frame down I knew I would like this video! If you build it, they will come.

[@bradsmith8977]

Hey I missed the Blerbs thanks for bringing it back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@SnipE_mS]

new place is looking great Clint!

[@LGRBlerbs]

Thanks!

[@thesteelrodent1796]

that bracket mount for the monitor makes it look a much more perfect match for the PC than the monitor by itself. An authentic 1980s IBM rack with the refrigerator door is probably not easy (or cheap) to come by, but rack equipment without a rack just doesn't look right. Hauling around a rack is however not particularly easy - they're not exactly designed to be movable - so a custom box for the monitor to match the PC is probably your best solution. You can get custom racks made, possibly even with woodgrain if you want, but one-off units will always be pricey

[@BilisNegra]

Wow! If I were to test those two monsters together on the same desk, I'd be genuinely concerned that it might collapse!

[@retrogamestudios6688]

It really tied the room together

[@detfan1982]

So glad thar blerbs has finally made a return!

[@thecloudywizard]

I agree it would be very aesthetically pleasing with the monitor/enclosure also in a wood enclosure stacked on top.

[@Mercgribern]

I get the feeling like this deserves a weird 70s graphic and screen allowing you to access the various programs in the Nostromo's database along with asking Mother what the story is. Yes this came from the 80s. Sticking with it. 'What's the story, Mother?'

[@MistaMaddog247]

Yeah you should make a wooden enclosure for the monitor, not only to match the one on the industrial PC but to use on that sweet looking workbench. It would be good for running diagnostic programs or what have. Plus it would make it feel more useful as well.

[@josuelservin]

I would love to see them in a big refrigerator size rack, but the cherry on top should be a wood grain vinil wrap!

[@jacobscarberry4799]

Long-sleeved LGR? This fan approves!

[@randomthingschannel2692]

Im partial to rackmounted equipment and that is just cool looking!!!

[@spyczech]

Cool to see an App State shoutout, it was my second school to Asheville but I had loads of friends go there. I got a nice i7 setup during the height of the shortage from unc Asheville good to keep an eye on ur college's surplus deals

[@wolvenar]

Love these lesser known industrial system videos.

[@EJ22bakadesu]

I've been at AppState since '03 first as a student and now as a full time employee. IIRC I think some of these were from the old physics electronics lab I worked in as a grad student.We had tons of old PCs in there up until 2012 or so for doing ASM in real mode DOS, they just recently surplussed a whole pile of 286s and the like.. I've worked in IT up here too and we haven't have any IBM equipment in the data centers that I'm aware of.

[@LGRBlerbs]

The same group of surplus auctions I got this from had a pile of 286-era things from App State as well! Some PS/2 Model 30s, generic beige clone PCs with Computek badges and so on. Neat stuff.

[@ax14pz107]

I went to app state as well in 03. Where were these computers located? My time was spent in the CAP building. My degree was chemistry though and not physics. We had an old 90s computer running an ancient version of SUSE for a super accurate thermometer. All our other instruments had self contained computing equipment.

[@EJ22bakadesu]

@@ax14pz107 2nd and 3rd floor of that building, mostly the physics electronics/electrostatics lab on the second floor but also we had a few in the astronomy wing on the third. Dr Gray is retiring this year so I think that's prompting the clean out.

[@EJ22bakadesu]

@@LGRBlerbs Nice, I did get an old Apple IIc dropped off in my office out of one of these piles. I have to go pick up my old thesis machine as well as some of this clean out is due to one of my former advisors retiring this fall.

[@ax14pz107]

@@EJ22bakadesu I think I remember those labs. Did they ever fix the damn elevators or are they still extremely slow?

[@zlt3po]

You mentioned fridge, and I had a blinding insight: NUKA COLA FRIDGE TERMINAL

[@cfjr9453]

Congrats it looks amazing! I vote for the wooden route.

[@Boedie92]

Would love to see this go in its apropriate fridge style cabinet Clint! Somehow I get Fallout vibes seeing this beast.

[@joethemanager1]

9:13 dig the dutch angle - really feels like a disturbing kids movie from the 90's

[@jruonti]

A beige rackmount thingie. It needs it. Gonna be awesome. Sure prefer 80´s but think something from the 90´s could work too.

[@ogami1972]

Definitely go with the wood boxes, very classy and belies your modular synth-sibilities.

[@GameDesignerJDG]

Really good looking. Seems like a good purchase. I'm looking to put together a modern rack, so this was some nice retro inspiration.

[@Taisen_Des]

It looks nice and rock solid. An extendable keyboard rack tray could also complement the set. In the case of going with the wood option: I would add a wooden box for the monitor, and another larger lower wooden box, with space for the pull-out keyboard tray, and with several lower shelves for storing originals IBM manuals and 5.25" floppys. ... and maybe an industrial UPS on the lower level. 🤔 And very important: I would place 4 solid swivel casters at floor level, so that I could move the whole thing around comfortably. (The 3 wooden boxes would have some kind of fastening system between them, to keep them together). The bottom box should be designed/manufactured with the right height to make it comfortable for a seated person to interact with the keyboard and monitor. 👋

[@n.stephan9848]

I'd say go either for putting both of them in one wooden enclosure and call it the world's bulkiest all-in-one, or get a separate wooden enclosure for the monitor, since you already have one for the PC. I definitely like the wood aesthetic.

[@wisid]

An awesome match, thanks for showing