Simple Raspberry Pi Case Modification - Power Indication LED
I've had the same case for my RaspBMC Raspberry Pi for a long time now, I settled for a simple black case to compliment the other black boxes underneath my TV. It was a cheap eBay jobbie, and I've been very impressed with the quality and design, but there was something that my TV boxes had that my RaspBMC box didn't.
I've been finding lately that I leave my RaspBMC Pi on all week after watching a film at the weekend, as I just simply forget that it's on due to their being no visible 'on light' - unlike traditional TV boxes that have bright LEDs.
A quick, easy and subtle modification with my case has fixed this problem, come take a look...
| Can you see the LED? I tried to keep it subtle. |
Keeping it simple
This wasn't intended to be a project or anything remotely clever, I just wanted to quickly fit an LED that lit when the Pi had power. I wasn't interested in any kind of code for this one.
I decided I could make use of the standard GPIO power and Ground pins and just hook these up to an LED. Most generic LEDs in my bits box would require a resistor to be soldered in line to stop things going pop, but I wanted it simpler than that. I found some 5V LEDs in the Maplins catalogue that wouldn't need any messing around - I could hook them directly to the 5V pin. Sorted!
Putting it together
You can see what I did by looking at the images below, it was very simple. I cut down some female jumper wires (1 red 1 black) and soldered these to the legs of the LED, giving me a very simple circuit. I also covered the bare connections with some shrink wrap, just in case.
A quick look at the shape of the case and the location of the required GPIO pins gave me a rough idea of where the LED needed to go - I didn't want a load of slack wire in the case. Out came the drill, with a drill bit selected to match the LED panel mount fitting that I also got from Maplins. *Drvvvvvt*...done.
In went the LED panel mount fitting followed by the LED, after which I hooked up the 2 wires to the 5v and GND GPIO pins directly. The job was done!
The result
Here's what the case now looks like from inside...
| 2 wires, that's all |
| Yeah I broke the mount already... |
| Light off... |
| Light on... |
Simple as that! Keep an eye out for my upcoming blog on a new case I have ordered to replace this one...wood is the theme...
Continue reading here: Raspberry Pi: Temperature and Time on a 16x2 LCD Display
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