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It took me about 5 hours (not really solid hours, there were lots of distractions) for the initial build last Saturday and then part of Sunday was spent troubleshooting a noise issue on the switches and mangling the case.

You didn't ask, but I might as well document these random notes somewhere.

I inverted the "dep" switch to match the original hardware. This involved a small change to gpio.c. I found this online, but I don't remember where.

--- gpio.c.orig 2016-11-30 11:16:31.179825850 -0600
+++ gpio.c 2016-11-30 11:28:58.572940485 -0600
@@ -232,6 +232,10 @@

//printf("\nFP off\n");
// at this stage, all cols, rows, ledrows are set to input, so elegant way of closing down.

• // JEB: We want to invert the "dep" switch to match the original hardware
  
• // so we just filp the bit.
  
• 
  
• switchstatus[2] ^= 1<<9;
  
  return 0;
  }
  
  I was experiencing noise on the SR switch bank. Basically everything would work with 11 switches flipped, but once I flipped the 12th I would get noise and the value would fluctuate. It was the same issue as described in this thread and had the same solution: a resistor on the SR bank with a lower value. Also in that thread is a link to the source of a test program that tests all the leds and then goes into a switch test loop. I plan on taking that code and adding command line switches so we can just jump to specific tests, but I need to contact the original author to see if we can get it up on github or something.
  
  Physically: I had to bend the bottom switch mounts to get the board to line up with the acrylic panel. I also didn't bother with securing the board or the panel to the case: friction alone holds it pretty well. I did mount the wood blocks on the back of the board, but those blocks aren't secured to the case. I drilled a hole on the top to allow HDMI and usb power to go through and I made a cut-out on the side to allow access to the USB and network ports on the PI. It looks terrible. I may try to find a new box and use something like this to expose USB and HDMI.

Check out Silicon Cowboys on Netflix.

And for an even more thorough account, an awesome book called Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing written by the Co-founder/CEO of Compaq.

I don't think a lot of people realize how much of a role Compaq played in standardizing hardware by being so hellbent on backwards compatibility as a major strategy.

The RF output is through an RCA jack, so you can use any RCA composite audio cable successfully from the computer to the TV. To connect to the actual antenna jack on the TV, most people use this adapter: https://www.amazon.com/CESS-Female-Connector-Coupler-Adapter/dp/B01G0Q4DE6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1TLA1RRC2PG4L&keywords=rca+to+f+connector&qid=1551152077&s=gateway&sprefix=rca+to+f%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-4

You can also use one of those old game switches with the "devil's fork" and get a 75 Ohm balun like this:https://www.amazon.com/Fancasee-Matching-Transformer-Converter-Connector/dp/B07FFNTNQV/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=75+ohm+balun&qid=1551152146&s=gateway&sr=8-5 You can probably find those still at WalMart or Target. The first option above is the better one, but the last one will so, especially on a budget.

I've got a couple of these. Bidirectional, but you have to plug into the appropriate SATA port, depending on which direction you want to go.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0096BEJDI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521809266/

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourth-Scherz/dp/1259587541/