BYO crash cart

TL;DR, get a cheap streaming capture card, a tiny keyboard, HDMI cable, and OBS on your laptop. You now have a more reliable method of consoling into servers than most colo carts.

1. Why This ‘Guide’ Exists

• Colo or data center crash carts are unreliable/broken, or missing.
  • “Does this monitor even work or is my sever dead?”
• You really only need HDMI in, keyboard/mouse out, and a screen you control
• Carrying your own gear means you don’t need to rely on luck to get what you need.

2. What You Need:

• USB UVC capture card ($15-$25)
  • Make sure it supports 1080p@30fps. I use this one. When that link dies, search: "USB 3.0 Video Capture Card 1080P HDMI UVC"
• Rii Mini Keyboard
  • Link - Rechargeable, works with everything. Or use any USB keyboard/mouse if you hate fun.
• HDMI cable
  • Just enough to get to your laptop from a top-of-rack server. A few meters.
• Optional: VGA to HDMI adapter
  • For VGA equipment. Pick one with USB power. That means it’s active, which you need. Direction matters. Passive adapters won’t work.
• Mandatory: Velcro straps
  • If you don’t own these already, I don’t know what to tell you. Actually, I do.

3. How It Works

1. Plug server HDMI -> USB capture card
   (Use VGA adapter if applicable)

2. Plug capture card -> laptop (USB-A or USB-C)

3. OBS or any webcam viewer picks it up instantly
   OBS, VLC, ffplay - whatever. Shows up like a webcam, which means you could even share it over Zoom… for some reason.

4. Plug in your keyboard -> you’re in. Watch your server boot, panic loop, or whatever.

Around $60. No more begging for a crash cart. No more VGA monitor in your closet. You are the crash cart now.