HACK
YOUR HARDWARE
28 | MAXIMUMPC | JUL 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
EXPERT
Connect Your X-Fi to aFront-Panel Connector
W
e’re feeling so inundated by all the blue LED lighting emanating from our PC peripherals that we’re starting to long for the green LEDs of
yore. Whatever your color preference, it’s possible to swap out the LEDs on any device. We demonstrate with an old keyboard, but this
technique applies to optical drives and cases as well. You can fi nd replacement LEDs of various sizes and colors at your local Radio Shack.EXPERT
Replace Blue LEDsa
(^12)
(^34)
(^56)
(^78)
1 0^9
b
(^12)
(^34)
(^56)
7
c
d
To access the original LED, remove all the screws
from the back of the keyboard and remove the
small circuit board housing the LED (it should be
the only circuit board in your keyboard). Using a
soldering iron, heat the solder on the back of the
board and carefully pull out the old LED.
When you replace an LED it’s important that the polarity on
the LED and board are matched. Most boards will have +/-
indicators printed on them, and the longer leg of your new
LED should align with the positive, or cathode, side. You can
also test the polarity by carefully touching the LED’s wires
to a 9-volt battery to see which orientation produces light.
Apply a little solder to your iron and carefully
solder the new LED from the back of the circuit
board. Trim the legs of the LED with a pair of cut-
ters and make sure they’re not touching. Repeat
the steps for any additional LEDs you want to
change, and then reassemble the keyboard.
I
ntegrated audio has come a long way since its dodgy beginnings, but we still can’t resist the aural
lure of Creative Labs’s X-Fi soundcards. The problem is that these cards don’t have the appropriate
plugs to accommodate the front-panel sound ports on most new cases. X-tap.com sells adapters for
$30, but it’s also possible to make your own X-Fi harness to maximize acoustic accessibility.
We found all the necessary parts for less than $10 at Digikey.com (image A): a white 10-position,
2mm connector (part no. 455-1151-ND) that snaps into the top of the X-Fi soundcard, small terminal
connectors (part no. 455-1127-1-ND) that fi t into the white connector, a black connector housing
(part no. WM2522-ND) that’ll connect to the case’s front-panel audio connectors, and at least fi ve
long terminal connectors (part no. WM2515-ND) that go into this black housing block. The wires
themselves can be harvested from an old Ethernet cable. You’ll also need a pair of needle-nose pliers
and a set of wire cutters.
Cut a fi ve-inch section of network cable and separate out fi ve individual wires. Strip 2mm of in-
sulation from each end of the wires and carefully crimp one of each connector type (long and short)
on either end of each wire (image B).
Now, with the white 10-position connector oriented as shown (image C), insert the wires via the
small-connector end. If done properly, the small metal tab on the connector should lock into place
when pushed deep enough. You’ll want to insert wires into positions 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, leaving the
other slots empty. Position 1 is ground, 2 is headphone left , 4 is headphone right, 6 is mic input, and
8 is the voltage for the microphone. Now follow the diagram to insert the long-connector end of the
wires into the black housing (image C). Wrap some tape around your wires to create a fi nished cable
(image D).
If your case uses a front-panel audio connector that’s individually wired and labeled, matching
the fi ve connectors should be easy. Make sure that each wire is insulated from the others with some
electrical tape to prevent shorting out your X-Fi. If your case’s front-panel audio connector is a black
housing block corresponding to AC’97 or HD audio specs, refer to http://tinyurl.com/47olau for de-
tails on how to correctly arrange the prongs in your black housing block to match the front-panel one.