Spindicator Clone with Pulse and Trail Effect

Introduction

Although my "original" Spindicator itself was just a clone of this one, mine was well received by the geeks around the world! :) A fellow diy tinkerer made an even better one with PWM control (very cool, indeed!).

Recently, I was asked to do something similar for a custom XBOX 360 enclosure project. So I got back to the drawing board and came up with a design that would have the following features:

• works from the 5V DC provided by the motherboard
• the running light should leave a trail
• has 4 green LEDs (like the Guide button on the XBOX 360 controller)
• small form factor (not greater than 2" x 2")

This is a short demo of the finished circuit currently sitting in one of my test PCs:

Mini SIM Card to Micro SIM Card conversion

Introduction

After months of waiting for my new mobile phone when I finally received it and wanted to use it it turned out that it takes a micro SIM card instead of the mini SIM card my previous phone has been using. I knew that the SIM cards have gone through some extensive shrinking in the past, it just simply didn't occur to me that I might run into this problem.

After some research I figured that my provider would charge me for issuing me with a new, smaller SIM card, not to mention the additional delay.

XBOX 360 Controller Rumble Light Effect Mod

Introduction

A friend of mine asked me if I could jazz his Halo 4 Edition XBOX 360 wireless controller up a little bit in the short time he was visiting me. Originally, I offered to make this modification, but when I opened up his controller it soon became obvious that it's not possible: in this new controller the color of the lights around the Guide button is not determined by the color of the LEDs. White LEDs are used and the plastic ring around the button filters the light, in this case, to blue. Not wanting to disappoint my friend, after some thinking I came up with this very simple addition to his controller.

Tutorial: Panelizing PCBs in Eagle

Introduction

Panelizing PCBs is often required when making a smaller PCB than the minimum size a fabrication house accepts. However, it is not straightforward for the hobbyist to do it without expensive software tools.

In the below example I am using Eagle 6.3.0 and a small design of mine, the Spindicator Clone.

I use Eagle to design my circuits - the free version is enough for most hobbyists and there is a wealth of information, tutorials on how to use several aspects of it.

XBOX 360 Controller Multicolour START Button mod

Four different colours for the four different players

Introduction

A couple of days ago I was playing Halo 4 online when my team mates asked if I could change the colour of an XBOX 360 controller's LEDs (around the start button). After a few milliseconds of thinking (how difficult can it be to replace a few LEDs on a PCB) I replied: yes. A few minutes later, however, it got me thinking: maybe I underestimated the task and the LEDs are in some hard to reach places or are of some special shape I cannot find anywhere. (When I last time opened my controller I didn't pay any attention to the LEDs as, in general, I am not interested in such mods.) So I decided to do it, just to see if it's at all possible. As it turned out after a few minutes, it is possible and it is very easy.


Starting point: an unmodified XBOX 360 controller