The W65C265SXB gets a SXY case

Don't worry — my favourite single-board computer remains the 6502-based classic MOS/Commodore KIM-1, and I've got some future projects in the works. But these were recently on sale on Amazon and I couldn't resist getting a little sort-of RPi-sized SBC that runs the 16-bit 65816, the W65C265SXB. With 32K of RAM and a flash option, plus lots of UARTs and I/O, it seemed more practical for projects than the WDC MyMENSCH even if the Mensch is a little smaller. Serial and power are provided over a single on-board USB connection and it has a built-in ROM monitor. Handy!

The big question was finding it a case, since it was inconvenient to be slapping the bare board down all the time. Here's the current solution.

Having messed with it for a couple weeks, I've decided I like a lot of things about this little bright red board, but not everything: in particular the form factor needs to keep up. Today's SBC world is all RPis and clones, and if Western Design Center reworked this to fit in RPi cases, they'd probably sell a boatload even though the product enclosure explicitly disclaims it as a consumer product. Instead its dimensions (82mm x 63mm, or a hair under 3.25" x 2.5") are just different enough to not fit well in any purpose-built SBC case I could easily find.

My first attempt was a QILIPSU (does anyone know where they come up with these brand names? Do they drop acid and play Scrabble?) junction box I found on Amazon that measured 5.1"x3.1"x2.8". The internal mounting plate is always smaller than the box, so the real measurement you care about is the distance between the mounting screws inside. This one was inexpensive and nearly a perfect fit for the SXB.

At 89mm x 68mm, the board sat almost exactly square on the plastic mounting plate and the screws could be ... coerced to go through the holes (don't tighten all the way down, you'll bend it). But I found that access to the board was highly limited: after all, this is for things sitting outside you don't want exposed to the elements. I couldn't see the LEDs and I couldn't access the pin headers without unscrewing everything and taking the top off, and the box was too deep to be comfortable working in. I sent it back.

The second attempt, and the one I'm using now, is a more expensive TICONN junction box at 5.9"x3.9"x2.8".

It has a clear lid so I could see what's going on and snap closures that were easier to get into, so I bought it. The fit of this one is not so precise; the screw holes in the mounting plate cause the board to be slightly off-centre. Although it's even deeper, it's also a little bigger, which turned out to not be a bad thing.

After deciding just to go with it, I got out a borer and drilled a hole for the USB cable to exit (and big enough for my fingers to put the cable back in if needed). This hole is dead on in the middle and the board is slightly off, though it looks fine from outside. Ideally you'd use cable glands for this but I'm not putting this unit on sprinkler or weather station duty ... yet.

Now I can see the LED(s), and if I want to hook it up to something, I just open the lid and attach jumpers. Because it's a bit wider than the other box, it turns out it's easier to work in. When I'm done, I close the lid and loop up the cable (or remove it). I'll have more to say about this fun little device later, but for now there's a nice unofficial 265SXB Guide you can read.