Faceplate with LED's

[Ohsay]

Ok im working on a faceplate right now thats going to have leds on it, moulded in with a putty, its going to have a rings of led's around the power, and three lines vertically(horizontally) up (accross)the plate, one in the middle, one to the right (above) of the disc slot, and one to the left (under) the mem card slots.

and also a power button above the usb door.
now my problem is power, im planning on taking the wire from the button and feeding it through (under the putty) the usb door, to the back down to the bottom, and have a longer wire run UNDER the xbox to the back where a battery pack can be secured,

also with a vinyl sticker or something to stick and cover the wire at the bottom of the xbox so it doesnt get broken or whatnot.

I was also playing with the idea of making it powered by one battry and have that in the usb slot, but then the usb's would be unuseable. bummer.

any ideas or better soloutions on how to power it?

[Air Effex]

You lost me at "Ok im working"

[SpaceGhost2K]

First, your best bet (easiest, cheapest, most convenient, cleanest) would be to get an AC to DC adapter in the right voltage for your LEDs. Amperage is as important as voltage, so make sure you're getting something that puts out like 3 D batteries and not 3 AA batteries (which are both 1.5 volt)

You affix them to the plate, you wire them, some in series and some in parallel so you can control how much voltage you need, and then you test it with the adapter. Once they're all working, solder them, and run the cord from the adapter under your console and to a power outlet.

Now, you COULD use a USB plug and plug it into the back, which would give you five volts. The problem lies with plugging it into the front. I have not found a USB plug that didn't stick out too far so that it couldn't be used.

I DID find a marking pan that draws lines of electricity conducting ink so you don't need a bunch of wires, but I haven't tried it out because I was hung up on the USB thing. I REALLY want it to be self contained so I'm letting that stop me from moving forward.

[Ohsay]

yeh i've been looking for smal enough usb's to try and make it self contained but as you've found out its quite hard, ive picked up a few usb hubs etc, and taken them apart they are relitivley small BUT its the side you plug the usb into, not the usb itself, the only thing i could think of really is to take the door off, and get some moulding putty over the hole and try and work it into the design, but a bit ugly it may be.

Also, where did you find this pen?

[Ohsay]

You lost me at "Ok im working"

ha!!!

[SpaceGhost2K]

I either got the pen at Radio Shack or at Harbor Freight. I still need to send you some plates and I can toss the pen in there. It's still sealed. I think it cost me eight bucks. We haven't talked about what I get in trade for the plates, either.

[Eddie_the_Hated]

I actually have to head out at the moment, but tonight when I get back, I'll see if I have a solution to your guy's USB woes.

MY response would be to just open the doggone case, and affix a 5v/12v line, but there are non-warranty-voiding options too. See what I can find in my bits box, maybe we can work out an arrangement of some variety.

[SpaceGhost2K]

I actually have to head out at the moment, but tonight when I get back, I'll see if I have a solution to your guy's USB woes.

MY response would be to just open the doggone case, and affix a 5v/12v line, but there are non-warranty-voiding options too. See what I can find in my bits box, maybe we can work out an arrangement of some variety.

I think he wants something he can just hand to someone and have it work, not something that required getting inside the box.