Great trackball lighting solution!

[johnnysmitch]

I've been looking around for the best/easiest way to light up my blue translucent trackball, and I stumbled upon this at radioshack (aka 'the devil'):
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=26-139

It's great because it kills two birds with one stone; I needed a usb hub to hook up my interfaces and only send one wire to the computer (it's also usb 1.1, which I've read around here is supposed to be better for this sort of thing), PLUS it's got an ultrabright blue LED in it that runs right off of bus power.  On top of that, it's going to be very easy to mount under the trackball.  And it's only $15.  A word to anyone else who wants to try one - the LED might not seem bright enough for you at first - you have to take the casing off and pull out a little translucent rubber disk they put in there to keep the light from blinding people (ha, bunch of sissies...)  Once you pull that out, you can put the casing back together and it's bright as the frickin' sun.  Savvy?

(Link fixed by Moderator)

[hulkster]

yeah or you could get one LED cannon for 2.99 on the web    hooks straight to your pc power supply.

[Stingray]

Looks like a good solution if you're also looking for a USB hub.

-S

[RayB]

Expensive... You're paying as much for the fancy casing as you are for the actual light and other parts. If it's going to be hidden under a trackball, then it's a waste of money... (unless you really need the USB hub)

[johnnysmitch]

the USB hub is the main thing - it's a very good price as far as USB hubs go, and I know at least I personally needed a USB hub for my project (because of how I must route my wiring for my USB trackball, USB spinner, and USB Ipac), and because the LED runs off of the usb bus, I don't need to worry about tapping the power from my computer's power supply (which would require an additional molex extension cable in my case).  Just wanted to pass the find along in case anyone else was in my situation (many usb components and longer distance because of showcase style cab - might make things a little easier for people with rotating cp's as well, because of concerns about # of wires)

[SpamMe]

I need a hub, I need to light my trackball. Done and done

[fogman]

Has anyone used an old USB cable, cut the socket off, bought a $3.00 LED from Radioshack and hooked it up to the red and black wires on the USB cable?  I think this is the cheapest Trackball lighting system, but before I go and break something, I wanted to know if someone else has done it.

Please let me know or if anyone knows that this won't work for some reason, let me know that too!

[SirPeale]

Has anyone used an old USB cable, cut the socket off, bought a $3.00 LED from Radioshack and hooked it up to the red and black wires on the USB cable?

Why do that when you can take leads off the power supply much easier?

[GCS]

Looks cool and sounds like a good idea.

How did you mount it under the TB??

Also is bright enough to light up a 3" TB or just the smaller 2 1/4" TB??

Pics of it on your machine would be great btw.

Greg

[fogman]

Why do that when you can take leads off the power supply much easier?

Well, I have a rotating CP, so getting wires into the CP is a little bit of a pain.  I have a 7 port USB hub in the CP, so an extra slot isn't a problem...and I have an old USB mouse that is kapput so I have a spare connector.  Since the USB cable has the power wires, I figured I could just cut the end off and attach the LED.  I just don't know if there is something I haven't thought of that will cause me to fry something!

[Trimoor]

Has anyone used an old USB cable, cut the socket off, bought a $3.00 LED from Radioshack and hooked it up to the red and black wires on the USB cable?  I think this is the cheapest Trackball lighting system, but before I go and break something, I wanted to know if someone else has done it.

First, NEVER get LEDs from radioshaft.
They suck.  You might as well  close your eyes and imagine it lighting up.

Second, never connect LEDs directly to a power soure. Always use a resistor. (unless it specifically says not to.

Third, go with power suply hookup over USB.  It's too easy to fry USB, and it drains current from anything else on the bus.