Wiring Gamecube LEDs?

zack

zack

Well-Known Member
Hey guys, so I have two projects going right now. One is my portable Gamecube which I will work on more when I get the right parts, and the other is my original Gamecube which I will be slightly modifying to look cooler. I'm changing the color of the Gamecube's LED, wiring the LEDs from the installed Xeno GC to the outside, giving it a transparent window, and adding LED's to the interior of the disc drive area. Anyways, my question is about the LEDs I'm adding to the disc drive area. I have the LED's physically installed, but where do I wire them? Is there a recommended spot on the Gamecube that can supply about 3 volts for the LEDs?

By the way, here's a picture. It's looking pretty cool!
24ooe29.jpg
 
Not sure where you installed them exactly, but the lid switch might be a convenient spot to run your wires. It has 5v and you could just put a resistor in front of the LED. Other than that just poke around with a multimeter and you are sure to find 3v somewhere workable. The controller ports have 3v... It's lookin good so far btw. Did you make the window with the original black "puck", or something else?

gclidswitch.jpg
 
I'll try the lid switch or maybe testing around with the multimeter. I just want to be extra careful not to damage anything. I've already permanently ruined two gamecubes... so yeah.
I'll let you know how the LED wiring goes. I cannot take a picture right now, but they are installed under the lid in almost the exact same position as the ones in this video. (skip to 0:42)
Also, the transparent window IS made from the original glass that came with the gamecube. I gutted out the lid, removed the backing off of the puck, and sanded the paint off the back of the window to make it clear. It fit pretty snug, especially with some glue. Surprisingly the window mod only took me a day to complete.
 
Take it from the fan. Its been a while since I've had a GC apart, but I'm pretty sure the fan is connected directly to the power right after the switch. Source of 12v straight from the power adapter, no additional strain on anything in the GC.
 
That seems like a good spot to wire. However I would rather connect to somewhere that outputs 3v so I don't need to reduce the voltage. I've never been good at picking out my own components for circuits like that. I tried wiring in parallel with the original LED on the Gamecube, but the brightness was reduced...
 
Anyways, good news guys. I connected the LED's to the controller plug board and everything works just great. I also finished re-wiring the Xeno GC LED's to the vent. :)

Sort of hard with my camera to get a good looking image in the dark, but here is the result. ISN'T IT AWESOME?!?? :awesome:
344b59j.jpg

Now if I could just dim down that extremely bright LED on the memory card.
qx2zhd.jpg
 
Ashen said:
Looks pretty cool man, nice job. :D
Click to expand...
Thanks! And my portable version will be even more awesomner. Once me and my uncle get a chance to work on it...
 
When I first glanced over the pictures, I thought you got frustrated and lit it on fire.
Woulda been awesome.
 
I know that this topic is dead now, but in the future, you could just wire four LED's in series and power them with 12v (Assuming you want at least 4 LEDs). That way each LED would be getting 3v. Powering them from the controller board could fry some colors of LEDs due to overvolting.
 
unicycler17 said:
I know that this topic is dead now, but in the future, you could just wire four LED's in series and power them with 12v (Assuming you want at least 4 LEDs). That way each LED would be getting 3v. Powering them from the controller board could fry some colors of LEDs due to overvolting.
Click to expand...
Actually that isn't a bad idea. However I'm only using two LEDs. Maybe I'll see if I can install a resistor to prevent overloading. I might also replace the LEDs because I HAVE noticed a slight decrease in brightness. Probably overvolting like you said. Plus they're cheap LEDs and I know I can do better next time if I didn't build it so fast with only parts I already owned.
 
Yes, actually I was considering buying some LEDs off ebay very similar to those for my project. But I was impatient and just made do with what I have. Maybe I will upgrade the LEDs soon, but for now I am going to focus on my portable gamecube. Off topic, but I will be ordering a new screen and an adapter to work with the Wiikey Fusion tomorrow morning. I did not realize the PSOne screen is not 640x480 in resolution. I don't know why people think it's so great. The pixel density is quite low and the controller board is awkward and bulky. I'll be buying this to replace it. http://www.ebay.com/itm/280857915675?ss ... 790wt_1273
That should work right? Wish me luck!
 
Should work. Innolux makes some alright screens, and NJYTouch makes a few good products imo.

I have a simmilar board to hook up a broken portable dvd player's screen, but haven't gotten around to it yet because I need to extend the CCL's cable.

That's still a rather huge circuit board, but if you built things for the psone screen, it shouldn't be an issue.
 
I guess I'll wait and see which one I like better. The 640x480 resolution is what makes it worth it to me. And while the controller board may be bigger, at least it is square and the same size as the screen. I find the PSone screen's round design a bit awkward.
 
The controller board is actually much smaller than the PSOne's it's just big as far as controller boards for portables go.
 
So what you're saying is that the controller boards for portables have always been large, and this screen really doesn't improve on that by being any smaller? In other words, the size isn't bad, but rather just the same as most.

I suppose it would make sense that small screen controller boards would be hard to find. Most controller boards for any portable device are not going to have the correct component/composite input or anything like that. The reason the PSone screen is so popular is because it was a portable screen meant for an already existing home console. Most screens with the correct inputs aren't designed to be portable.
 
I'm just saying that I'm picky, and that is a totally reasonable option.

but you kinda just hit the nail on the head with how this tends to work.
 
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