Help with HDD Converter

[designedforhell]

I have two 2.5 to 3.5 HDD converters that I’m going to be using in an up-coming project, there the cheep ones with no cover or anything. I have seen others like this on e-bay with LED’s on the PCB that I would assume indicate drive activity. Does anyone know how to add that LED to the converters?

Pic of my converters...

 

[jpmkm]

I want to say pin 39 is the activity line but you'd probably better doublecheck that before you go wiring anything up. You should be able to throw an LED on that line and have it light up.

 

[designedforhell]

I’ll poke around with the Fluke and tell you what I find thanks

 

[xonik]

Tie the anode of the LED to a +5 V source. Tie the cathode to pin 39 on the IDE connector. You should also connect a ~150 ohm resistor in series with the LED for current limiting purposes.

 

[Shmuckety]

Doesn't the resistor depend on what type of led you are using

 

[xonik]

Yes, in this case I selected the resistor for 33 mA current limiting. Then if you look at the I-V characteristic of a given LED you can see what voltage that corresponds to. For most LEDs, that's above the forward bias voltage. Adjusting the resistance will adjust the current through the LED, changing the brightness. More current, more brightness...

 

[designedforhell]

Thanks for the info, I’m hoping to have more time to work on this in the next day or two…

Here are the Specs on the LED’s I’ll be using;

Emitted Color: Blue
Size (mm): 3mm
Lens Color: Water Clear
Peak Wave Length (nm): 460~470
Forward Voltage (V): 3.2 ~3.6
Reverse Current (uA): <=30
Luminous Intensity Type Iv (mcd): 4000(Typical) 5000(Max)
Life Rating: 100,000 Hours
Viewing Angle: 20 Degrees

Absolute Maximum Ratings (Ta=25c)

Max Power Dissipation: 80mw
Max Continuous Forward Current: 30mA
Max Peak Forward Current: 75mA
Reverse Voltage: 5 ~ 6V
Lead Soldering Temperature Range: 240c (<5 Sec)
Operating Temperature Range: -25c ~ +85c
Preservative Temperature Range: -30c ~ +100c

 

[designedforhell]

OK, +5v to pin 39 with a ~150ohm resistor is working fine (as seen below) though I guess the HDD LED on the front of the computer actually indicates all IDE activity and not just Hard Drive activity because it lights up a lot more then the one on the converter board.

Thanks!

I have a really crapy Digi-cam... See!