Lamptron FC-2 Fan Controller Aesthetic Mod

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

IKIKUINTHENUTZ here with a new completed mod

Lamptron FC-2 fan controller mod
MFG Product Link

I introduce my latest modification, my LED switch out and how to fix the not fully lid LED lights on the sides of the unit.

For those of you who don't know, this fan controller has an aesthetic problem of having the LEDs not show up in the corners. Below here is a Image I borrowed from overclock3d.com

As you can see, the unit uses bright blue LEDs and doesn't fully illuminate the unit at the edges.

When I bought my black colored FC-2 from performance-pcs
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=24896
I was thinking that my LEDs were too bright and I wasn't too fond of blue and so I decided to switch it out.

My original idea when I started with this project was to switch out the blue LEDs in favor for white LEDs, however during the process I learned some important facts and then I decided to fix the non side illumination issue along with switching out the LEDs.

First I unscrewed the whole unit apart


After doing that I decided to inspect the unit and I noticed this


If Lamptron indeed put a led on the sides, then why doesn't it show? I quickly plugged it in and I decided to look at the back of the unit while I was turning the knobs, indeed it lit up perfectly fine but why doesn't it show? The image below practically shows why, a piece of metal blocks the way.


Another shot of the unit with the metal off


While searching the internet for the LEDs, it was pita finding them in size of 2X5X6mm flat rectangular white leds so I decided to get these white 2X5X7mm from ebay
link

After I received them, it took 6 hours total to solder the old ones out and put in the new ones with just a soldering iron. My end result was worth it because it came out to be not too bright or blue.

Perfect


Now for the piece of metal, I went to my local hardware store and bought a brand new Dremel and a miniature hobby table so I can cut the little darn thing. Luckily with purchase of a new Dremel, they give you a sample cutting disk and grinding disk inside the box. I didn't have to spend extra money for more tools.

After cutting the edges off and grinding 1mm all around the openings to accommodate the new bigger LEDs, this was my end result. It's not perfect but it's well hidden anyways when it's put back together. This took me around 15 minutes to do.


Now the finished product images.



That's all

[MRCL]

Wow that looks way cooler than originally manufactured, very nice job mate!

[Dippyskoodlez]

You need a third LED above the arc.

And then adjust the brightness for all 3 so they look like dials

Turn one more to the right, and it "fills in" the glow. btw, a tripod will make dark shots SOOOOO much easier with a rebel

[t77snapshot]

Nice mod! Replacing leds can be a pain in the ass, so I say a job well done

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Ok guys time for part 2 and I'm going to need your help. I have been experimenting with diffusion and so far I'm having difficulty of which one to pick.

[MKmods]

I like the last one... One other option is a piece of colored plastic behind, I bet the fluorescent ones would be pretty nice
http://www.k-mac-plastics.net/acryli...ylic-sheet.htm

[MRCL]

I like the first one the most.

[CyberDruid]

Last one best. Neat mod.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Alright everyone, thanks for your inputs. After collecting opinions on many forums, the last one definitely was the winner.

But lets go into detail of what I did shall we?

I was talking to nd4spdbh2 of OCF and he had given me an idea of how much light was bleeding out on to the back of the unit which was shown in my image. We talked about how to address it and then came up the idea of aluminum foil behind each led.

Now ill be honest, working with small bits of aluminum and then gluing it on a slippery surface in the smallest work space available with 2 needles as tool is worth a lot of headaches but in the end, it worked out fine in the end.



This resulted what I wanted, stronger front led lighting but what I didn't expect was the fact that it was too much, it was too damn bright just like Sunbeam Controllers! Ouch!

After consulting with nd4spdbh2 again and seeing forums posts, I noticed people complained about how the lighting wasn't all around in a circle. The idea of diffusing the light came apparent.

The installation is probably the most easiest mod I have done to this unit. All you need is some type of paper that still let light through, some glue, and a razor. In this case I used parchment silicone paper that is used in baking.

Unscrew the face plate and slap the paper on with some glue


Then use a razor and cut holes where appropriate for the knobs and screws.


Then put everything back together and huzzah! Finished!

[CyberDruid]

Paper has been a much neglected material for case lighting. Kudos

Mini reflectors on the LEDs...this log shows that it's not what so much as how that really shows true modding spirit. Loving it

[BumbleBee]

nice modification, clever trick with the paper. I know the LED are connected to the rheostat so when you turn them the LED acts as a indicator but I would of liked Lamptron to put some kind of engraved or sticker marker like the Sunbeam Rheobus instead of guessing 2:00 position gets me x volts etc.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Night time shot

[Cuzza]

you know what would be really cool would be to have colored lights and the color change from green-yellow-orange-red as you turn the knob. pretty complicated but would be awesome. i'm thinking this in a more general sense not necessarily for this mod.

[BumbleBee]

how sensitive is the rheostat what clock position does the fan start increasing voltage.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Originally Posted by BumbleBee

how sensitive is the rheostat what clock position does the fan start increasing voltage.

It varies between fans. Some fans start at 5v, some start at 6v hell I know some that dont start till 9v. Gotta check the voltage range on the fans.

[mrw1986]

Awesome mod! Such a simple device but you made it look great!

[BumbleBee]

Originally Posted by IKIKUINTHENUTZ

It varies between fans. Some fans start at 5v, some start at 6v hell I know some that dont start till 9v. Gotta check the voltage range on the fans.

I know fans have different starting voltage what I mean is, is there an average clock position a standard 5v fan starts at for example the Sunbeam Rheobus generally doesn't start moving until the 12:00pm position so it's easy to distinguish 3 sets of voltages low 5v (12:00pm-1:00pm), medium 7v (2:00-3:00pm) and high 12v (4:00-5:00pm) even though the voltages will probably be off a little it's how I operate mine. so does the Lamptron FC-2 start at 6:00-7:00am at 5v like fan controllers should lol

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

Originally Posted by BumbleBee

I know fans have different starting voltage what I mean is, is there an average clock position a standard 5v fan starts at for example the Sunbeam Rheobus generally doesn't start moving until the 12:00pm position so it's easy to distinguish 3 sets of voltages low 5v (12:00pm-1:00pm), medium 7v (2:00-3:00pm) and high 12v (4:00-5:00pm) even though the voltages will probably be off a little it's how I operate mine. so does the Lamptron FC-2 start at 6:00-7:00am at 5v like fan controllers should lol

Ill look it up for ya when I can, my darn tester psu went bad and I'm going to find another cheap one soon

[EnergyFX]

Nice work KIK! I actually decided not to buy this controller because of the dark corners... funny that is is a simple matter of grinding the metal out of the way.

I'm wondering if perhaps there is room for a white 4" cathode tube in the controller to help bring the illumination on the top of the arc up to the same brightness as the rest. Nice job witht he paper, I have used the same technique to help diffuse the light in my CoolerMaster V8.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

one final (hopefully) mod

Acetone + Q-tip


Finished!