Tutorial: Dvd Activity Led Options

[dzv]

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Warning and Disclaimer
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I take no responsibility for any damage that may be incurred by following this guide. Perform these mods at your own risk.

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I've noticed quite a few people have recently been asking how to install a DVD activity indicator LED. Well, I posted this quick tute a while back in somebody else's thread, and I decided to start a new thread to make it easier for people to find...

If you want a DVD activity LED, there is a DVD activity line in the DVD connector. The pic below shows which pin it is. I would recommend soldering to the pin on the underside of the motherboard. The pin goes high (up to around 3-5v) during DVD activity. So you should be able to just hook up a LED, with the appropriate resistor, between this pin and any ground point. Don't ask how to calculate which resistor to use, read the other pinned topic about that.

[GQMFSmooth]

i just did this and the hd actitivy light mod and i used 220ohm resistor for both and it looks good bright but not to bright to distort the color

[dzv]

No offense, but there's a reason why I didn't quote which resistor value to use...

The resistor you need depends on the specifications of the LED you are using, the supply voltage, and how bright you want it to light up. That's why I recommend people to read the thread about calculating which resistor to use.

Congrats on your successful mods, though

[JohnA]

Thanks again DZV! If you did them, how did you do HDD & NET activity as i've seen a couple of ways of doing HDD.

[JohnyBlaze]

thank you, just what I was looking for.

[RuFf rYdA]

nice tutorial, man i bet that took long
an all nighter

[Arch~Angel]

Excellent Tut,

The qestion I have is about the versions of XBox's. Is this the same pin location on all versions of XBox's. I have been looking for a nice clean method to do a HDD & DVD LED Act light and this one is very clean as long as they are the same for all versions....

Thanks,

Arch~Angel

[dzv]

I believe it is the same on all versions of Xbox. The easiest way to find out is to test it with a multimeter while you put a disc in. You should see the voltage jump up and down as the disc is being read.

[zhaka]

Great work dude! Awesome, another thing to make my box better! But do you have to solder the Led onto the bottom of the mobo or can you tap into one of the yellow wires (I'm a little nervous about removing my motherboard as I've never done it before, )? Or would that be causing a short circuit?

This post has been edited by zhaka: Sep 23 2003, 01:49 AM

[Luke77]

<bump>

This post has been edited by Luke77: Sep 23 2003, 10:05 AM

[SKoT]

Taking out your motherboard is a snap just read some of the other tuts, just make sure u put it somewhere out of reach of small puppies.

[dzv]

@zhaka You can tap into the wire, it'll work.

[zhaka]

I finally took out my mobo for the first time, and soldered the wire into the proper place:


Now I just need to drill a hole in the faceplate of the box...I'm planning on putting it right next to the DVD-Drive space.

[SKoT]

Yus that should look good wut color u planning on doing neway?

[zhaka]

I was planning on using a green 3mm led, with 470k ohm resistor, but when I tried it to see if the led would light up with Halo in the Drive, it didn't light up at all. But when I touched the wire that I had soldered under my mobo alone to the sheilding of the Xbox, my EvoX dashboard's Dvd Status went from "Game" to "No disc" while I held the wire down, and when I let go of it, it says "Checking" very quick, and then "Game" again. So I know theres a clear connecting between my mobo and that wire, I think maybe I shouldn't be using a resistor though...what do you guys think??