More Drone Station Features
The back of the case features a plastic cover over a metal panel, with two fan mounts blocked. The purpose of this design will become more apparent as we build our system, but the short story is that the system can be assembled with either the plastic cover or metal panel removed.
A universal PC power jack occupies the rear panel’s lower-left corner. Support for international power standards relies on the type of power supply you choose.
The lower-right corner features an Ethernet jack. Network standards, like the power supply, depend on the hardware you install.
Latch handles fold up and spin 180° to slide a hasp around 3/16”, releasing the DRN-STN’s front and back halves.
The DRN-STN’s double-wall outer housing appears to be rotationally molded in a similar fashion to the carrying cases of large wind instruments, relying on the flexibility of the plastic to keep those latches tight. Unlike those hinged enclosures, the DRN-STN uses large locator pegs and sockets to align its front and rear halves.
The trip from Dongguan wasn’t so kind to our review sample, though; the front and back panels got smashed together hard enough to remove the required 3/16” of interference. Three of the latches instead flop around loosely when we tighten them, even though no damage is visible. My quick and dirty solution is to put rubber spacers at the locator socket bottoms, adding space between the front and rear enclosure sections.
