Lian Li PC-CK101 Locomotive PC – We go mobile and cut the cables (Retro Part 2)

1 - It's all just a matter of drive?! 2 - Installation of the drive module 3 - Power supply and switch 4 - Wireless communication 5 - Video and sound without cables 6 - A day in the museum (1) 7 - A day in the museum (2) 8 - A day in the museum (3) 9 - Summary and Conclusion

Is it all just a matter of drive?

The old wheels have to come off, as two new drive axles have to be installed instead. The transmission of power from the engine to the two axles is initially 1:1 via gear wheels to the front axle and then via toothed belt to the second driven axle. A first attempt without a second drive axle, which was supposed to find out whether the SSD conversion could perhaps be saved, failed. Without a toothed belt (and the resulting tension), the axle rattles a bit and the drive via only two wheels also doesn’t have enough grip on the rails to function smoothly.

So I discarded this first idea again and build in everything after all. The SSD has already been relocated, so there is enough space for the entire drive unit.

The cover of the floor opening was the only part that could be unscrewed before painting, which results in ugly tear-off edges in the paint when removing it and also requires some force. Well, it’s down on the ground, but this action is still somewhat pointless.

The installation itself is unproblematic, if you have some experience as a child with stable construction kit or Lego. Nevertheless, I recommend a temporary tension load of the second axle during installation, because otherwise the assembly of the bearings with two small screws each becomes too fiddly.

The connection cable is routed and attached to the case’s base using the included clips, which adhere sufficiently well to the base thanks to the attached adhesive tape. Finally, the new wheels are put back on, whereby one must already pay attention to the correct positioning of the notches when installing the axles!