Macro Black

Hard drivin'

Time to take a look at the front panel lighting; first off, the Power/HDD activity light. This uses the my own Power HDD Circuit. The difference between this and the original circuit is only 3 red and 3 blue LEDs are used here instead of the 8 of each used in the original, plus the slightly unusual construction used.



The components were to be assembled on to a piece of strip board which was first cut to size and shape. The lid from a Vimto softdrink bottle was stuck to the stripboard using double sided sticky tape. This lid will house the LED array. The Vimto lid was lined with some chrome tint to make a reflector for the LEDs to help concentrate the light forward.




A 0.8mm drill was used to make holes from the stripboard side through plastic lid and the reflector to allow the LED leads to be pushed through and soldered to the stripboard. The rest of the components were then soldered to the board. A somewhat unorthodox construction method was employed to complete the circuit construction.




Once the circuit had been built and tested, a diffuser was super glued to the front of the LED array. The diffuser was made from clear Acrylic, cut to shape and sprayed with window frosting bought from a local art shop, although most DIY stores sell similar products. On the right is a side view of the finished module.



Before fitting the unit was again tested. Blue for no HDD activity... red when the HDD is strutting its stuff.



The indicator unit was stuck to the PCs front facia, behind the chrome biohazard logo, with double sided sticky tape on the diffuser. Imagine the LED array behind the small biohazard symbol... Silver with the PC powered down...



...blue when the PC is switched on and red during HDD activity.