Shuttle XPC EL Faceplate Mod (SS51G) (beware 56kers)

halfab

Hi All,

I got one of those cool SS51Gs a while back and saw that the EL Faceplate was available but since not many places I can order from have this item, I decided to make my own mod..

I got some A4 EL sheet and an inverter suitable for 2m of EL wire.. and this is the result.


I know it looks a bit rough .. but it looks ok in the end.


A test outside the case..



Nice glow in the dark image here.. Must do something about that 3.5" bay and stealth that CDRW.. I dont know how to make a moving EL Panel for the CDROM though..


And in normal lighting..

Pretty cool ..

I can post full instructions if ye want!!

Any more Ideas on customizin' the XPC ? besides stealthin''?


Cheers

Eric

Wossack

Oo thats gorgeous! Very well done

Oh wondering where you can buy a4 el sheet from...?

yellum

sweet

PPC

yeah tis
pld

halfab

The EL Sheet came from Farnell , it was about 50 euro but I have about half that left.

It is a bit more expensive than the standard EL face plate that Shuttle offered, which stands at $49.



There is a colour difference when the unit is off, so the bays have to be done..

yellum

Originally posted by halfab

I can post full instructions if ye want!!

Eric, please do, would make a nice resource for this forum.

halfab

I hope this isnt too much of a strain for 56Kers



While messing around with some EL Wire and inverters I spotted some EL Sheet kits on Farnell. It is an electronics store much like Maplins. A few weeks later I saw that Shuttle had released a glowing front for the XPC range. Here. This gave me the idea to try it myself and the Home Brew EL XPC Mod was born.

Ok so what is an EL Sheet?
EL stands for Electro Luminescent and when an AC voltage is applied, the electro luminescent material emits light. An AC inverter is needed to supply the necessary 2KHZ AC Voltage. This was a popular mod a while back to light up your case badge.

Before taking the plunge I got a small bit of EL Sheet and cut it to suit just to see how it would look in the end.


Looks good. Now to try the real deal.

Parts Needed.
EL Sheet + (Z-Axis Conductive Adhesive tape, Kapton insulating tape and copper pads.) Included in kit.
EL Inverter (An inverter suitable for 2M EL Wire was used)
Standard PC Molex Connector
A plug and socket for inverter to EL Sheet.
Some suitable wire


Tools Needed.
Soldering Iron
Wire Cutters
Insulation Tape or Heat shrink tubing.
Sharp strong knife or Stanley
Straight edge Like a steel ruler or Square.
Allen Key to remove front from Shuttle XPC.
A fine tipped marker.

halfab

The EL Sheet we have is an A4 size (slightly larger than Letter size).


Excuse the poor shot.This is a pic of the EL Sheet




A Shot of the back of the sheet

For the EL Sheet to work each copper contact pad must make contact with the outer silver conductor, and the inner silver conductor. The pads are adhered to the silver conductor with very thin adhesive tape (Z-axis conductive), and can be given further support by using tape.
Lets get the easy stuff out of the way first.
1. Remove XPC face plate by unscrewing the 4 allen screws.
2. Seperate the front into its individual components. Silver Suround,
Paper Backing and blue perspex front.

halfab

3. Using either the Paper backing or the front outline the ports and cutouts as shown in the pictures.

When cutting the EL sheet you must make sure that you have sufficent area of outer silver conductor to support the copper contact. This creates a slight problem because on the opposite side of the outer conductor we have a black border. This means that you cannot just cut the sheet in one piece as the black border will show through the front of the case. Have a look blow to see how I did it.


4. After you have cut out the pieces place them on the silver surround and flip them over.




Shuttle were kind enough to leave a cutout in the plastic so mark this out on the back of the EL Sheet. This is so you can place the copper contacts in the correct spot.

A pic with the wires already connected to
the copper pads and insulated with Black Tape


5. Place the contacts on the silver conductors using the included conductive adhesive pads. Make sure that the contacts only touch the silver part, as shorting will result otherwise.

halfab

6. I needed two sets of contacts as I had two seperate EL sheets.Use the kapton tape to insulate the outer silver conductor from the inner copper contact, as shown in the pic. 7. Wire up the inverter to supply it with 12V. The outputs are AC so it does not matter which way the wires are connected to the output (O/P).






8. Take it for a test run.



9. Reassemble. Shuttle already have a hole in the casing also so no drilling required.

halfab

10. Bask in the warming glow


This is very cool. It looks way better in person.




And off. Boring!!


Final Thoughts

This is a very cool mod but it may not be very economical. Although who said moddin' your PC makes financial sense.
The one thing to watch is that the pads sometime lift from the silver conductors and sparking occurs,as a result of sparking back deposits are left which act as an insulator so the sheet won't work. It is best to be sure and take your time and you will be happy with the results.
You do get one hell of a bang if you touch the two outputs by mistake. The first time it felt like a static shock like getting out of a car. The second bang (second ?? I know ) was very strong, I dont think its very harmful, it is like the bang you get from an electric fence.

(c) Techseekers.net

halfab

I hope that is ok for ye.. If there is anything left out or there are
some questions not answered I would be happy to help..

Yellum.. you might change the topic name to warn that its a bit image heavy.

like 56ker beware .. or something.

yellum

Thread stickied. More of this kind of thing lads !