Light-up on activation button mod tutorial

**Added new pictures from speedsterharry, including one that explains how to install a switchless version of the mod

First of all, big thanks to Toodles. He helped explain everything to me. I just fabricated it. You're my hero Toodles

This tutorial explains how to make your (hopefully) translucent buttons light up when activated.

You will need...
1) Soldering iron
2) 6 LEDs (I used white LEDs that were rated at 3.3v)
3) 6 resistors (1/8 watt, 220 - 2.5k Ohms. Depends on how bright you want the LEDs to be)
4) A hex inverter (Toodles recommended the 74HCT04, but also said that any of the 7404 family will work like the 74LS04 or 74HC04)
5) A battery holder (3-4 AA/C/D batteries. Your choice)
6) A SPST switch (Toggle/pushbutton/rocker. Again, your choice)
7) An extra, unused ground coming from your PCB
8) (optional) A barrier strip to help with the ground wiring (You'll be soldering 8 wires to 1 tiny pin. Think about it )

**YOUR PCB MUST BE COMMON GROUND FOR THIS MOD TO WORK**

The hex inverter will be the center of the mod. There are 14 pins on the hex inverter.

1) Input 1
2) Output 1
3) Input 2
4) Output 2
5) Input 3
6) Output 3
7) Ground
8) Output 4
9) Input 4
10) Output 5
11) Input 5
12) Output 6
13) Input 6
14) Vcc (Power)

Basically, the positive end of the power source is wired to the switch, then to Pin 1 (Vcc) of the hex inverter. The negative end of the power source is wired to Pin 14 (ground). Now attach 1 resistor to the positive end of all of your LEDs (the longer leg), then place the LEDs in your buttons (under or taped to the sides of the button works fine as well). I used Seimitsu PS-14-K buttons, so I popped off the plungers of the buttons and bent the LEDs so the legs would stick out of the small, narrow hole where the buttons snap into metal panels. Now with the LEDs prepped, wire the other end of the resistors to the outputs of the hex inverter (Pins 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) and the negative ends of the LEDs to Pin 14 (ground). Also, take the extra ground from your PCB and wire it to Pin 14 (ground) as well.

You'll now need to hook-up the signal wire of your buttons to the inputs of the hex inverter (Pins 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13). I did this by soldering to the back of my quick disconnects.. Make sure you hook-up the signal wires of the buttons to the corresponding LED output, or you'll end up pressing LP and having HK light up.

If all of the above is too confusing or you're just too lazy to read, here's a diagram I made when I was doing this mod to my HRAP2.


*The green wire is the non-ground wire for the button*

If the previous picture is too hard to understand, here's a clearer one made by speedsterharry.


This only shows the wiring for 1 button, so just rinse and repeat for the rest.

When you're done, it should work like [media=youtube]KgF1KIIpjDU"[/media].
I hope this tutorial helped! I'll add some pictures of the guts of my stick when I decide to open up my HRAP2 again.

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After hearing about Toodles' idea for a switchless version of the mod, I decided to try it out. I was going to make another picture/schematic, but speedsterharry beat me to it, so here you guys go.



The mod is relatively the same. Just compare the schematics and you'll find the differences. Here's Toodles' post on this

If you want to light up the joystick, you'll need a drilled shaft, a 4 input NAND logic chip (74HCT20), and some neat wiring
Refer to Kaytrim's post

Feel free to ask questions/criticize/comment