BATC Forum

I've recently built a Portsdown 4 and am using the 7" screen as mentioned by Gareth G4XAT on page 24 of CQ-TV 289.
Unfortunately this screen has different mounting point spacings from the official Pi 7" touchscreen, which would appear to rule out the SmartiPi Touch 2 Case, which has been mentioned on the forum previously. Any other suggestions? FWIW, the screen's horizontal mounting holes are spaced approx. 155mm apart, while the vertical spacing is about 93mm.

I would suggest a 3D printed case. I have been working on a design with Colin, G4KLB. We can send you the STL files.
Mounting the screen is easy, it just requires two brackets making, one for either side to fit to the case. You can either 3D print something or just bend a sheet of aluminium.
Mike

Thanks Mike, looks good, but regrettably I don't have a 3D printer myself.

How about one of these, but mounted on its back, ie standing upright and 'looking up at you'?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/406288742719
or something like this?
https://www.tme.eu/gb/details/g1507/des ... es/gainta/
I googled "console instrument case" which throws up several options.
Gareth

Thanks Gareth,
that first one looks like a contender, but I'm not sure if heat and ventilation will be a problem in that orientation.

I've used a small fan and in/out vents on my first one, nothing on the second but used a clamshell wraparound passive heatsink and sprayed the box inside with nickel spray to keep the RFI in. Very little temp difference reported between them. Use decent stick-on heatsinks and it will be fine. If it overheats the height would give good convection with a few well placed holes.
Gareth

Thanks again Gareth, that's good to hear.

As an update, I opted for the case that Gareth suggested. My chassis-bashing skills are poor at the best of times, I managed to cut out the hole for the touchscreen, but, even after filing, it's still a bit rough.
As for the case itself, it's a good size, with ample room should you wish to add Langstone functionality and a speaker on the top panel too.

G4GHD wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 20, 2025 10:50 am

I've recently built a Portsdown 4 and am using the 7" screen as mentioned by Gareth G4XAT on page 24 of CQ-TV 289.
Unfortunately this screen has different mounting point spacings from the official Pi 7" touchscreen, which would appear to rule out the SmartiPi Touch 2 Case, which has been mentioned on the forum previously. Any other suggestions? FWIW, the screen's horizontal mounting holes are spaced approx. 155mm apart, while the vertical spacing is about 93mm.

I've built mine (still work in progress as I need to add a second PA, the one installed only gives me 2 watts out. I'll reduce that to 1 watt to feed a 25 watt amp)
Built into a 19 inch rack case (not cheap) and made with steel, so creating holes for the 7 inch display and fan took longer than I was hoping
Front panel has a display unit for the temperature controlled fan.
Inside, left to right, 2 watt PA, 12v to 24v converter, EasyCap unit, Pluto, sequencer (delay volts to PA), 12v distribution board, 12v to 5v board with hombrew heatsink araldited onto the voltage regulkator (got too hot without it).

I tried a Media PC case which came with a touch screen mounted on the front (pulled out and 7" RPi display installed) which worked well as the original PSU provided both 12V and 5V which I controlled with individuals converts for each device. I/O was done via modified With a full set of hardware PCI slot blanks. With installed it was a little cramped, even with a makeshift mezzanine level added, but it last a while before I decided to try a 19" rack server case which had more space but was a lot more heavy.

I am now working on a 10/12U 10" mini rack version as this combines a light weight flexible framework for alterations and upgrades with portability. The a a lot of off cheap the shelf parts available and even more 3D printable ones.