Plasma Disc Mod Help

[Uniquekind]

Hello All, I am new to these forums, and I am looking forward to becoming part of the community.

I am currently working on my Antec 902 case, and CoolerMaster V8 for my first custom mod and need a little help.

I purchased a battery opperated 3" diameter plasma disk that I want to make a custom mount for to replace the plastic top part of the CoolerMaster V8 cooler. The difficult part is I'd really like it to flash via the HDD activity pin from my MB, and I need to convert it from 2 AAA to a molex connector.

I am completely new to creating electronics/circuits but I have been researching it a bit, and I believe I have most of the tools I need, but I'd like some advice from the experts on how to go about creating A: the power adaptor, and B: hacking into the HDD activity pin.

I assume I basically need a transformer/translator that can convert the red 5v molex lead into 3v to power the disc. I'd appreciate suggestions on what parts to get/how to assemble.

As for the HDD Activity, I know this is tougher and I'm at a bit of a loss. I know i have to basically make a circuit for it, and I have never done that before. ANY input on this would be helpful. I know I can just set the device to run off sound, which still looks neat, but I'd rather have it flash like I am seeing the computer "think."

Also, I am curious if anyone has mounted one of these inside his or her case before--Are these safe to have within 4" of the CPU, and if not, is there any way I can shield it? I plan on moving the pcb circuit of the plasma disc to the back of the computer case, and run a wire so it is just the glass disk mounted to the cooler.

Sorry for the novel! And thanks for any help!

[billygoat333]

I don't know about the HDD activity pin (should be simple enough to solder some wires together for the activity connector I bet though) as far as the 5v to 3 v, a simple resistor will do the trick. You will have to do some math or find a resistor calculator to do it for you though

[TLHarrell]

Use a transistor to switch the power going into the sound circuit from your HDD light. As for shielding, the EM interference generated should be fairly low. A piece of steel, grounded, placed between the glass disc and it's circuit board and your other electronics should sufficiently shield things. The circuit board contains the high voltage driver for the disc, therefore would be the source of any EMI. It shouldn't cause any issue with your processor or other system components, but might cause a whine in your audio. If this happens, you might look into driving the disc with a different power source.