Hey all, I was just wondering, as I want to start case modding my XBOX360... I was wondering what LEDs exactly have to be used for the ring of light on the front of the XBOX360, and what is the EASIEST way of installing them? Are they the same on the wireless controller?

also, how much is that lexan type plastic/glass stuff and how much does it generally cost. And how are Cathodes hooked up to the 360.

AND PAINTING. What is THE BEST WAY to paint the 360 case? I know Canadian Tire sells Automotive Paint (motomaster, etc) that I used to use on the regular XBOX Consoles when case modding those... Is it the same thing for this? (Primer, paint, clear coat)?

Thanks for ANY advice given.

http://www.icp4ever.com/Xbox/Tutorials/360/Ringoflight/
Theres a ring of light tutorial

as quoted "The ring of light SMD's are 1204 right angle, but the ones from jade swords works just fine if you turn them on their side like i did. The center one is a 0603. "

So I need 4x1204 Right Angle SMT Leds (I am gonna get Blue), and I need a SMT 0603 LED for the led thats blue as well? How does this work out with the controllers (wireless)

also, is it easy to damage the pcb and make it so the light never comes on again or is it pretty solid.

oh and thankyou for that link, it gave me a good look @ what is coming. those LEDs are DAMN small.

Yeah the controllers use the 0603 smt as well. As lon as you know what your doing and take your time you should have no problems at all

Oh, and where can I buy these LEDs, can I get Lexan Glass (buy it) online? and what type of paint should be used. I am not sure what colour I want to paint this XBOX360 (core). If I want to case mod it and all and sell it I am sure that it will be hard to sell without a hard drive.

http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/smd-smr10/
^Right angles
http://www.ledtronics.com/ds/smd-0603/
^Surface mounts

I used to do a lot of painting/case modding with the original XBOX, ie, painting, LED Lighting, Cathode lighting. Never did a window, i did one once but the guy said he didn't need the plexi or lexan glass and i was like, sure whatever, so i just cut the window and smoothed it out and he was happy.. but i dont know how cuz with no plexi you're asking for a world of dust to get in there.

Do I really have to buy them in packages for $22.00 each?

anywhere else i can buy those smt leds for cheaper?

...hope someone can get an answer...

any mod can close this thread, i got different questions now that I will post in a new topic.

ive done smds and leds i think smds are easy but if your just starting try leds they work just as good

nah i've done alot of leds on the regular xbox so im good with wiring / soldering (used to do a ton of mod chips for PS1/PS2/XBOX as well

They have some 0805 and 0603 Surface Mount LEDs
www.lsdiodes.com

In my Ring of light mods, I use all 0603 SMT LED's, turned on their side for the outside ring.

The stock bi-color LED's are common anode, which makes it difficult to replace with a similar bi-color because most (like the ones for the Xbox 1 for example) are common cathode.

So, instead I use two 0603 LED's on each corner, one for the normal color and one for the error color.

For the normal color, you jsut solder the LED to the common anode, and the cathode for the "green," which is right next to it.

However, things get more interesting for the error code. The anode and "red" cathode are not next to each other, the "green" cathode is between them, so you cannot just solder the LED in.

What I do is solder the LED to the cathode side (I used to do it to the anode side, but the other side works better), then run a short piece of wire to the anode pad to power the LED.

The center LED and the controllers are very straightforward, jsut replace the 0603 green LED with a replacement 0603 of any color, observing correct polarity of course.

Diagram on the ROL board:



An example of my ROL mod, in this one I soldered the error code LED to the common anode, but I've ,pre recently discovered it works a lot better to solder the LED to hte cathode then run the wire to the anode. Don't mind the flux on the board, I hadn't cleaned it off yet.

Hmm.. i actually understand that. Actually.. anode and cathode.. those words confuse me.. i have no idea what they mean. lol

Question G0t M4xx 21.. when you solder these.. is your soldering iron mucho tiny? Like ub3rly crazy thin and pointy? Because i would love to do this, but my soldering iron seems pretty big for the job... If you do have a special one, can u tell me what model, where you got it, etc? And how thick was that wire you used? like 30?

Oh.. and would LEDs be easier?

Anode = positive
Cathode = negative

And yeah the wire was 30 gauge solid. I use it a lot for trace repair, LPC rebuilds, D0 wire, etc.

Yeah I have an uber small tip on my soldering iron, 0.5mm i think. I have a Weller WES51 iron, it has really cool temp. control (it actually has a temp sensor in the tip).

And I'm really happy cause my hot air reflow tool comes in on Monday! W00t

Very very interesting. Hot air reflow tool... sounds kinda kinky actually. I wish i knew what it was. lol.

It's this: (thats actually the one i got, its a knockoff of the Hakko 850D, but it's actually identical)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=7610584017

Thats pretty sweet. So it basically just makes installing and uninstalling SMDs way easier? If so, then that is crazy.