Wanted - front panel led change

[sixties keith]

i am completing my flagship x3 xbox and wanted to change the front ring to blue to suit the LCD and blue strip lights id added. however i cant seem to get it right as there's a nasty split on the ring when im done. (ie light doesn't go all the way around) never had this problem before but its just not right. reied replacing the led with different ones but there were 5mm and not 3mm so that was even worse.

duno y i can get it right but i was hoping either someone already has one modded for sale or hopefully someone could mod one for me. just let me know how much your looking for the work. anyways im based in the uk and hopefully someone on here can help me out

cheers guys

[AwesomeNurd]

If you wait sometime I can do it for you, I've ordered common cathode LEDs from China (blue/red/purple), I will let you know when I will get them.

[xman]

@ 60s, I use twin 3mm LEDs on each side. There much easier to come by, very cheap and I find the colours more uniform anyway. My preference is one blue and one white each side so 4 X 3mm LEDs all up. You do need to chew out the shielding that is molded into the plastic so the twin LEDs fit side by side but only like a 1.5mm and also trim a small piece off each end of the clear ring. Now what is critical is that the LEDs shine directly at the end of the clear ring end or most of the light is lost. Trimming the ends off the clear ring makes this less critical. I alter the bios so on boot up, the ring is blight blue, (blue LEDs on only), and the second stage of the boot up process, ( blue LEDS and white LEDs are on). This results in a light blue colour which I find much less distracting than the bold blue. It actually looks more like a faint purple but unlike the purple created when using red and blue LEDs mixed. That purple is very bright. I would try 1st trimming the clear ring ends and make sure your LEDs are actually aligned before buying someone elses.

[sixties keith]

@AwesomeNurd - that's NP mate just let me know when you get the stuff and ill let you know mate.

@xman - that sounds really nice mate never thought of adding 2 leds per side. however i did know about being able to have different colors but im not that bothered. if i had a solid dark neon blue ring to match the ports / side strips id be happy. don't want it too light a color or it wont match the rest of the xbox.

if someone could do it that would be great. Ive got 3 here done im not happy with so would rather just pay for the final part of my mod.

edit another mod Ive just thought of - could someone point me to some decent quiet fans i could get off eBay. would love one with blue led but the quiet fan is the most important thanks

[sixties keith]

so....does anyone have a blue front ring already done or can some1 do one for me

[AwesomeNurd]

Hey Keith, you can do it yourself, it's really easy to do, as xman said, you can install two 3mm LEDs or (I prefer) the common cathode LEDs (same as the original one) you can cut off the legs on the top side of the PCB and solder the led where you've cut the old one, or you can desolder the original LED completely but there is a risk that you damage the traces. I did a few this way but I used flux and solder sucker and the result was great, at the moment I don't have dual colour LEDs, I've found a seller on eBay but he is selling them in a 50 pack, and I don't really need that many for 6 quids. so I've ordered a 20 pack from China for 2 quids but it will take ages to arrive (hopefully as my last item I've bought from China was lost ... :/)

[sixties keith]

i know i could do it myself Ive just lost hope a little after not getting results with the 3 spare front boards i had. for some reason no matter where i place the led's they never seem to light the whole ring

not bothered about the multiple led if mine just stayed pure blue all the time i would be happy. thats why i rather just throw a couple of quid to someone and finally got it done. think anyone would do it for me

could someone also point me to some good silent fans, possible with blue led lights in them. doesn't have to have the leds but i want my xbox super quiet lol


(my flagship xbox so far - 3 with 3cp and lcd - upgraded hdd to 160gb, removed all metal housing, side strip lights added with controller port mods also. custom etched xecuter jewel with led mod.

future mods - front led ring, ir dongle mod, silent fan led silent fan looking into 128mb ram upgrade and taking the wireless controller dongle apart in internally wire also. possible another vinyl instead of painting

[sixties keith]

so can some1 knock one up or sell me one they have? i still cant get desired results flip sake

[sixties keith]

bump

[bigkidoz]

And i would appreciate if you could post up some links for suitable LED's, ebay or other is fine.

[xman]

LEDs, you want LEDs? These are Chinese sourced ones I use lots of. Oww that's right, only the Chinese make them now. Why so cheap, "You don't pay for any fancy overheads". Seriously though BKP, I use shitloads of these LEDs from these clowns and I buy them by the 100 because most are around $4.00 for 100 anyway. Here's a link to there site anyway. there post isn't the quickest for Chinese, usually around 2 weeks but you will get them.
http://stores.ebay.com/LED-Wholesale-Wo ... 7675.l2563

[sixties keith]

thanks xman, those led's will be handy for my ring mods etc.

i know it sounds silly wanting to buy a pre done led mod but i tried the front panel mod myself (3rd time) again but still cant get the whole ring lit perfectly there's still a 'join' were the 2 half circles meet. can anyone knock me one up and ill throw them whatever coin they want.

started modding my x3 xbox added my strip lights to sides and front and removed all the metal shielding of controller ports. removed most of the fan and side metal shielding and added a fan mod (80mm with 4 blue leds) also adding the ring led mod to my custom etched excuter 3 jewel.

then i'll do the dvd dongle mod and possible look into an internal wireless mod for one of my Logitech (guide for wireless controller mod?) also want to either change or remove the power led from the 3cp does anyone have any experience taking them apart

[AwesomeNurd]

Just a few screws for the CP Keith
I have one with only white LEDs instead of the red leds by the way. The primary lights don't turn on, I'll have a closer look at it later.

[xman]

The post would kill you if I did a LED ring from Australia. Have you tried aligning the LEDs with the panel powered up but off the machine itself so you can align it perfectly?. You'll only need the wires that go to the LEDs themselves so two flying leads pushed in the connectors and connect them once the machine is powered up.

[AwesomeNurd]

Here are the common cathode LEds on eBay UK, just cut the legs of the original LED and solder this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360448417973? ... 1423.l2649

[sixties keith]

@xman - thanks man i never thought of that will try that with a few of the boards ive already done and see how it goes.

no what you mean about postage from Australia bought some kit for auz as well as a vinyl skin (not cheap)

@Awesomenerd - there great man, never thought of just replacing them with 3 pin leds. are there any more combos with blue being one of the options?

also does anyone know where i can get a decent quiet blue led fan. the only one i could find i bought and it was poor. decent fan but the leds are wick. also came with a mole connector so when i wired it into the fan port the leds didn't even come on. now i have to have it at 100% 12v power from the hdd

[bigkidoz]

LEDs, you want LEDs? These are Chinese sourced ones I use lots of. Oww that's right, only the Chinese make them now. Why so cheap, "You don't pay for any fancy overheads". Seriously though BKP, I use shitloads of these LEDs from these clowns and I buy them by the 100 because most are around $4.00 for 100 anyway. Here's a link to there site anyway. there post isn't the quickest for Chinese, usually around 2 weeks but you will get them.
http://stores.ebay.com/LED-Wholesale-Wo ... 7675.l2563

Thanks Steve, i'm used to buy stuff from dodgy chinese sites, my last order took 7 weeks to arrive

[asbo]

also does anyone know where i can get a decent quiet blue led fan. the only one i could find i bought and it was poor. decent fan but the leds are wick. also came with a mole connector so when i wired it into the fan port the leds didn't even come on. now i have to have it at 100% 12v power from the hdd

IMO quiet/silent fans and LED fans live in separate categories, people who want their PCs quiet tend to want them unobtrusive too, the manufacturers seem to share that opinion. Couldn't you just wire some LEDs up at the rear of the case near the fan?
I have a translucent, supposedly quiet, fan here that I could attach some blue LEDs to for you if you'd like? I like everything as near as silent as I can get it(hypersensitive hearing makes everything sound like a roar), so I had this on my xbox but took it off and put a completely silent fan on years ago. So I don't know how quiet it would be for you.
I'd also happily do a front panel for you except the LEDs I have are all 2 pin 5mm types so I don't think they'd fit? I've never changed the LEDs before as I have mine off

[sixties keith]

@asbo

cheers for the reply mate. ano what you mean about the sound my old xbox had the 12v mod sounded like a first gen overhead projector lol the new fan i got it alot quieter, running 12v off the power supply its about the same as the stock fan on 30-40%

have very little room in the machine now as along with the chip and lcd and usb wiring Ive also added 24 strip lights and am adding a ring mod as well as the ir dongle mod and wireless controller mod lol so that's why i didn't bother with more lights at the back.

as for the front ring if you can do it that would be great but im also trying it out myself with some 3 pins leds i didn't know you could get. its really hard to get a solid blue ring without 'joins' believe me Ive tried maybe im just fussy. also needs to be 3mm leds as 5mm leds do ft but it bulges the board slightly lol

[AwesomeNurd]

@Keith, the LEDs I showed are the same as the original ones Just different colors I had one that I gave to my nephew a month ago