Modding How do I connect additional buttons to motherboard?

[charliefreak100]

Hi all

First of all, newbie alert.

Now, I'm fitting a pc into the case of my beloved dead Hi-Fi CD player case.

What I'd love to do, and can't figure out how to, is assign functions to all of the various buttons on the front of the CD case (play, pause etc). Is there any way to wire these up to my motherboard to eventually function in the same way as the media buttons on my keyboard for example.

The best I've come up with is taking the pcb out of a USB gamepad and wiring the front panel buttons to it, then attaching it somewhere inside the case. I'd love it if someone could come up with a better idea!

Thanks!

Charlie

[The_Crapman]

If you were to do it through a gamepad PCB, you'd have to hook the gamepads usb to the mobo via a USB header or one of the rear i/o ports, but that wouldn't look great.

[IanW]

Connect your case buttons to something like this, then connect that to your USB.

[charliefreak100]

THANK YOU IanW. That is exactly what I was looking for.

It also solves one of my other problems, which was using my existing CD-tray eject button for its intended purpose. I can wire it to this and set it up as a software cd-eject.

Problem SOLVED. Great stuff.

Charlie

[dynamis_dk]

I'm doing basically the same but with a media centre inside a skyHD box. I've got the ipac-2 and it works a treat. Hidden inside the case connected to the motherboard with an internal header - job dun

[charliefreak100]

Dynamis_dk: thanks for the comment. Did you connect it to a mid-board USB header? I can't quite see from the website exactly what cable I'd need to do this?

[dynamis_dk]

Yeah, I've got the standard PS2 to USB cable which comes with the IPAC-2 (like here) then I got an old PCI USB backplate - the type you get with some motherboards to give extra USB at the back. Cut and modded the connectors to length and use this to go from my motherboard header. So...

Motherboard --> Header to USB cable --> IPAC Cable --> IPAC

[IanW]

I'd use one of these to connect to a motherboard header - much neater that all that cable flapping round

[dynamis_dk]

Neat enough I guess, however it's basically the same size as the cable I made, it's only about 2 inch long.

That does however give you a 2nd USB port which could be useful for IR or something

[charliefreak100]

Neat looking bit of kit. I'm adding a USB dac inside the case so I will connect it up with one of these. I do also have a spare serial header on my mobo. Supposed to be for infra red but presumably I could wire the buttons up to that?

[dynamis_dk]

I'm pretty sure the onboard IR headers are for built in IR so not sure if you can use it for anything else - not that I've ever seen

[charliefreak100]

Thanks for all the contributions so far. I'm going with the IPAC-2 as recommended. Now, I have a related but different question to ask.

I've attached a picture of the PCB from my case, with the original buttons attached. If I could use these buttons, mounted on this PCB it would save me a *lot* of time and hassle trying to mount new buttons in the correct places.

I don't think I can use the ribbon cables coming from the PCB, but could I just solder wires onto the rear terminals of each button and attach them directly to the IPAC-2? I'm worried that the existing connections on the pcb (see photo of back) will mess this up (the buttons seem to have been connected in series - I don't really understand how that works). Can anyone with some electrical knowledge tell me if my plan is A: good or B: fatally flawed.

Thanks again

P.S. I'm planning to get rid of that LCD and install a new one, so watch out for an upcoming thread asking for advice on that!



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[alpaca]

Yes, you can solder just on the back. And just cut the traces with a knife so the board only sits there as support. The switches connect each of the two pins on the top with the corresponding pin on the bottom when pressed.

Edit: i see this is an old thread now, but i saw your question in the airflow with diagram thread, so i hope this is still relevant?

[charliefreak100]

Definitely still relevant - thank you alpaca.

If I just slice across the traces on the pcb with an exacto knife it doesn't really seem to 'cut' anything. (Though maybe it's doing enough to break the connection?) Do I need to scrape away? Or cut/drill completely through the board?

Thanks again

Charliefreak

[alpaca]

the traces are only a fairly thin layer of metal placed on a non-conductive substrate (the board itself), so it should not be too hard to only cut trough the metal (I try to make certain there is a real 'cut').
What I have done too, is with a cutting wheel from a dremel. It's quick and it puts a nice wide gap in the trace. I'd try not to cut trough the board, as that can interfere with it's structural integrity.

Anyhow, after you cut, you should check with a multimeter, or when that is not possible, a battery, a led, and two leads, to see if the connections are truly severed.