Hiding Button Pannel

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GuardianAsher
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Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:30 am
Location: Lubbock, TX

Hiding Button Pannel

Post by GuardianAsher »

I f*cked up the button/LED panel for my Antec Super LANBOY case. Please don't ask how. >.< Right now, I have a temp button wired to the mobo for power.

Anyway, here's my idea. Take one of the placeholders on the 5.25" drive bay, drill holes in it, and wire up a complete button/LED assembly as a replacement. I also want to get a fan control knob, and wire my 120MM case fans in succession.

What I'm not sure about are what types of switches to use. I know they need to be momentary biased switches with a normally-open position, but I'm not sure what rating they need to be. Looking at Radioshack, I see ratings of .5A at 125VAC, up to 3A at 250VAC. I know there is no way that tiny short of pins can generate 250VAC, so I think I'd be safe with these:

3A 250VAC Momentary Switches

Or maybe even these:

1.5A 125VAC Mini Momentary Switches

For my LEDs, I run into the problem of again not knowing particular specs. I saw these two, one red and one green, with assemblies that just screw in:

Green LED w/ Holder

Red LED w/ Holder

I figure these would be perfect to mount into the 5.25" drive bay, or maybe even drill holes into the top of the case itself and mount them there.

As for the fan controller, I would like to find a simple but decent quality knob-type controller. Perhaps something like this:

Vantec NXP-301 Fan Controller

I figure I can pluck the circuitry out of this controller, and make a bracket to mount it to the 5.25" drive bay cover.

Please give suggestions/oppinions.
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Bigal
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Posts: 430
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2001 9:00 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

Cool switches

Post by Bigal »

I recommend you install a lighted LED switch, such as the Vandal Resistant Illuminated Switch that you see here: Image

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... cts_id=784

Several colors are available, but blue is the cheapest one right now. You must ground the case of this switch properly, otherwise static electricity from your body will blow out the LED if you walk across the carpet and touch it to turn your machine on. Grounding just means something as simple as wrapping some bare wire around the housing and then attaching the wire to your case or PSU.

You are right about needing a momentary contact switch. Same thing for the reset button.

For the fan control issue, I recommend using a variable resistor, wired as a rheostat. This means connecting to two of the three terminals - the wiper and one end point. You need one that's rated for a good bit of power dissipation if you are running multiple fans in one circuit. You will have an easier time using multiple rheostats that are rated for lower power dissipation, one for each fan.

You might instead consider the Sunbeam Theta TP101 Fan Controller, as shown below:

Image

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=4026

This gives you lots of control, via software, over your fans. I haven't tried one yet, but I hear they are pretty good. :D

I do like that Vantec NXP-301 Fan and Cold Cathode light controller, especially for that price. That should work great too. Why not just paint it to match your case color, rather than rip out the circuit board? There's nothing wrong with some adjustable knobs on your front panel. :rolleyes:
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