HDD LED panel (bezel) lights

Since no one is selling HDD panel lights, it looks like I'll have to make my own.

Here's the thing, I don't want those leds to stick out like a sore thumb on the bezel.

what's the best way to do this?

Reply to
dilbert firestorm
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Also There is flat rectanhular LED.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

They have things to hold LEDs to panels, I've never been sure exactly what they were called, something like "bezels".

You could just drill smaller holes, then glue (I think I'd use epoxy) the LEDs behind the holes, so they light up through the holes but the LEDs don't actually stick out through the holes.

Or, take a blank panel, cut out some or most of the plastic, then glue a piece of clear plastic over that hole. Then mount the LEDs behind clear plastic.

I'm not sure what you have in mind, but other than using blue LEDs, you might consider using bicolor LEDs, so they mean something with one signal, and another color with another signal. Originally, those were bipolar LEDs, two different color LEDs in the same package, apply voltage in one direction, the green LED would come on, apply voltage in the other direction, the red LED would come on. But in more recent times, they've added similar LEDs with three leads, so one lead is ground, an which LED is on depends on which terminal the positive voltage goes to. Then of course you can get a third indicator, by turning both LEDs on at the same time, so you get a color that combines the two colors of the two LEDs.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Black

One company makes tray components for custom setups. I don't think they have any provision for LEDs.

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You could do your own out of Plexiglass. I have placed T1 3/4 LEDs in plexiglass. It takes a drill template (metal) while you're drilling, to help control things. (It's better if you own an actual drill press.) Plastic tends to pull the drill bit. I've done a couple 4x12 LED matricies in Plexiglass, without the stuff cracking. You use the thickest stuff you can find at Home Depot (0.220").

My setup is for an illumination application, rather than a readout. It's pretty hard to make a tasteful readout display, that isn't blinding, or alternately, invisible.

You should have some spatial separation, so you can stick LabelMaker labels underneath. If your LEDs are placed too close together, you won't be able to tell at a glance, which hard drive is active.

They make various kinds of retaining rings.

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Or stuff like this, with a hex nut on the back to hold them into a bezel. Real overkill.

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I would consider buying mounting hardware, if I was working in aluminum to make my own 5.25 tray interface.

When working with material like Plexi or Lexan, I try to find the thicker stock (0.220") and drill #2 holes in it. I have a box of 0.75" stainless #2 screws I use for little projects. I use screws because I can't find the right glue here.

A perfboard of the Radio Shack variety holds the LEDs in place. Then the perfboard is fastened in proximity to the bezel with the LED holes. So the perfboard holds the LEDs. But if you use one or two-piece retaining hardware for the LEDs, you can random-wire to the back of them, and make a rats nest. The retaining hardware holds the LEDs in place. For the project I was doing, the Plexiglass was intended to be protective, and provide a surface that could be wiped down on occasion, with a little alcohol for cleaning. The Plexiglass prevents water spray from getting to the perfboard circuit board.

Paul

Reply to
Paul

those are going to be hard to cut for.

Reply to
dilbert firestorm

that frontx thing is interesting and has possibilities.

this would work better & easier to do than modding a filler pan in a complicated way.

this version has 6 small bays + 2 large bays.

what search terms did you use to find it?

Reply to
dilbert firestorm

Use Tony's suggestion of the flat rectangular LEDs. Drill a hole in your faceplate slightly smaller in diameter than the width of the LED. Use something like clear silicone adhesive to hold them in place, using enough to fill the hole. Once it has set, you can trim the excess off the outside of the faceplate so its flush, and the light from the led will look like a soft glowing point of light on the face plate :-)

Maybe something like these:

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Plenty of colors to choose from, and certainly cheap enough :-)

Reply to
SC Tom

I've been providing referrals to FrontX for a long time. I don't remember how I found it.

Buying from them is a dollars versus time thing. If you're in a hurry, then they can solve a few problems for you. But they don't have every possible thing you could ever want. They certainly haven't taken their business to any extremes (rheobus controllers, USB hubs etc). They're mainly focused on cables and connectors.

Paul

Reply to
Paul
[snip]

I always heard them called tri-color LEDs, since turning both on gives you yellow. With a 2-lead version that means applying AC, which switches between the colors.

BTW, I used to know someone who was only familiar with mixing PAINT colors, and couldn't accept that mixing red and green gives you yellow. Also, yellow and blue make white (as in white LEDs).

Reply to
Mark Lloyd
[snip]

Somewhere I've seen round LEDs with flat tops.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

One might just try cutting off the rounded end of the LED. That's just plastic of some sort, made to act as a lense. I'm not sure how it affects what you see, but it won't cost anything much to cut off a bit and try it.

Michael

Reply to
Michael Black

It's a lot of work, when just as easily you could look for a LED with the packaging you want instead.

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You can also visit your local electronics store, and see what they have in stock. But watch the pricing. One item available locally was $3.00 a unit, while Newark had them for $0.22 each. Makes a big difference between make-or-break on budget. I have one electronics store in town which is not "RadioShack" or "The Source", and their prices are rather high.

When I bought LEDs from Newark, I bought several bags of 50 matched LEDs.

LEDs are available over a wide range of efficiencies. Modern LEDs can be blinding at 20mA, whereas some older (junk, floor sweepings) LEDs you can barely see them at the 20mA current flow level. The RadioShack "bag of assorted LEDs" tended to be the less desirable type. You have to shop pretty carefully on a site like Newark, to get a good one, with just the right color, the right intensity for the application and so on. It can take *hours* to find the right one. The LEDs on Newark are not floor sweepings. But LEDs have specs, and if any company still makes the inefficient LED types, you might still buy one by accident.

Modern LED production equipment, is great at sorting the product. When you buy a bag of 50 LEDs, the intensity and color temperature can be relatively closely matched. If you looked at my LED arrays here, you would see little variation across the array. But one bag of LEDs, isn't even remotely similar to another bag of LEDs (color could be quite different, on white LEDs). If you have a project that needs 100 LEDs, depending on the electrical circuit used, you may notice a mismatch between portions of the array. I used Vf sorting, to make LED combinations with better intensity balance, and no current limit resistor in the path (my power source happens to be current limited).

On a computer output, the Front Panel header already has the current limiting resistor in place.

If you design your own readout LEDs, it is your responsibility to determine whether a current limiting resistor is already present, or you need to connect one in series with your LED. A very basic knowledge of electricity theory, helps to avoid "a blinding flash of light followed by nothing" :-)

For example, connecting to the Activity# on an IDE connector, I'd probably use a series resistor with that.

|\| +5V ---- 330 ohm ----| |----------+ Activity# --+ 1/4 watt |/| red \|__ controller LED /| signal | GND

So in that example, the hard drive may have an open collector transistor on its end. Which jams to ground or floats open circuit. When it jams to ground to turn the LED on, you want to limit the flow of current. If the Vf of the LED is 2V, the voltage across the resistor is 5V minus 2V or 3V.

3V divided by 330 ohms is approx 10mA (half the LED current rating). The resistor power dissipation is V^2/R or 3V * 3V / 330 = 27mW, which is much less than the 250mW shown in the drawing for the resistor. I could also use a 1/8th watt resistor without burning it out. For hobbyists, you don't always have a good selection of resistors available, but again, doing a power calc ensures you aren't doing something totally outrageous (smoke comes from resistor).

There are plenty of web sites with these details, and I've already written too much.

Paul

Reply to
Paul

I'd just put a cutoff wheel in my "Dremel tool" and see what happened.

Except for some white ones, I haven't bought LED since the early days, when they weren't much better than floor sweepings. I've pulled so many out of scrap equipment that the only reason I'd need to buy LED was for something very specific.

Even for white LEDs, it's certainly more convenient to buy an LED flashlight and take them out of that, likely cheaper too.

MIchael

Reply to
Michael Black

I've got some right here--they came from Mountain Mods. The light itself is actually a bit recessed.

Reply to
Loren Pechtel

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