My Favorite Kind of Test

I was planning to use a HotRod for the control panel, as I am a wiring newbie. I realize tha this was a controversial decision. The HotRod made sense for me, due to the low cost and ease of use. However, I couldn’t bear the thought of a giant purple CP with the HotRod logo hanging off my cab like a Frankenpanel, so I special ordered one with a black background. It would be a considerable wait for a custom, but luckily they had a black one with a white logo in it already made. I decided to go for it due to my impatience and the sales reps promise that the logo would peel off easily. A few days later, the CP arrived and I did some “testing” with Connor, my 4 year old son. The logo did, indeed, peel right off with some GooGone (great stuff, by the way), and now that the CP was in hand, the planning for the rest of the cab could begin in earnest.

The angle of the CP was exactly the same as the angle on the original CP, which was a tremendous boon. The plan was to set the CP right on top of where the original CP would be, with some overlap due to the oversized top on the HotRod. So, everything was made to the width of the CP. The back would be left open to allow plenty of room for a monitor or TV. I built the cab very carefully, but made one serious error. I didn't have a counetrsink bit, and thought I'd be able to get the screws drilled in deep enough to cover and paint over with some putty. However, in practice, the old MDF on the sides was too hard, and so some of the nails were visible. Next time I will know better, but for a first timer, with a limited budget and time, it was certainly not a huge deal.