2 HDD's on 1 LED :)

[nova350v8]

Does anybody have any ideas about adding a new backup SCSI HDD that I installed on to my existing LED on my case? I have an IDE drive on the LED now, but I would also like to be able to see when the SCSI drive is working. Would I need to make a "custom" wire splitter to do this, and if so, is it safe for the motherboard and the SCSI card? Or is there a quick and dirty way to get the LED working for both? THANKS!

[thxmanu]

Being that the IDE LED runs from the mobo, I don't think splitting it off would be viable option. Is it that important? My Adaptec card has an LED for the drives, does your tekram? If it does, a small section of fiber optics from the LED to the front of the case would work.

[Graham]

Electrically easy enough, but as thxmanu says mechanically a problem. Good idea to use fibre optics.

G

[nova350v8]

Hey thxmanu- Great Idea! Yes my Tekram card does have a activity light ON the scsi card- (I wondered why in the world they put the light on the card. What good is it in a sealed case?). Can I get the fiber optic cable at radio shack? It really isn't SUPER important, but I would like to be able to "see the light" http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif nonetheless...

[thxmanu]

Wow Banti, your case is old enough to have a turbo LED? Good idea if you have one though!

[BFlurie]

My PCI-IDE card has an output for a light, so I just experimented w/paralleling a connector to it w/the existing HD light wires which connect to the mobo "HD Light" terminals & got it to work.

[NDC]

I just have all my IDE drives in a mobile rack which has a built-in LED's on the mobile racks itself, and have the SCSI drive connected to the LED on the case. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[nova350v8]

Mobile Rack?! Man, that's too much for me- Cool if you got it though http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif Anyway, my case doesn't have a turbo led, so I can't do that. BFlurie's idea sounds like what I was thinking- making a splitter that connects to the case LED then to both the motherboard LED header and the SCSI card LED header- like a LED Y connector- the single end of the Y being the one attached to Case LED. The dual ends of the Y would be the ones attached to the SCSI and MOBO LED headers. I just don't want something to go wrong voltage wise and fry my motherboard.

[Banti]

My tekram card also had a terminal to plug in a led so i plugged in my turbo led. Works just dandy.


Banti

[BFlurie]

Yup, be careful. There weren't any problems experimenting with the different leads on the correct mobo "HD LED" terminals (other than the LED did some strange things), but don't let them touch anything else. I did & poof -- the mobo turned off. Luckily no damage -- came back on after a reset.

[NDC]

Mobile Rack?! Man, that's too much for me- Cool if you got it though

Hmmmmmmmmm, you couldn't spare $16 for a IDE UDMA/66/100 mobile rack, huh? well, when you can, just run down to Fry's and grab one for $16. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

[nova350v8]

NDC- I must have had something else in mind when I saw "mobile rack". That seems to be the best way to get both drives to show activity. It's safe and seems easy to install from what I have seen of the "travel package" for Hdd's in the Tiger Direct Catalog. Only problem is- no Fry's around here http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/frown.gif I'll have to look at Best Buy or Circuit City- I can't ever remember seeing anything like that in either of those places though.

[Jonty]

Couple of questions about this:

How would one affix the fibre optic cable onto the led on the hdd board?

My computer started off with just the one drive but the hdd led on the outside of the case is always on, the wire from the led on the case is correctly connected to the mobo too. The only time the case led flickers is when I am in true DOS mode, so it does work in that respect, but when in Windows its on constantly even when the disc is idle. The actual hdd board led flickers correctly at all times.

Any suggestions - thanks!