DigitalDoc 5 Blue LED Mod Guide
Date : Saturday, 19 January 2002
Author : Sn1per
Provided by : KD Computers
Introduction
Alrighty, finally I get to do a small How-To and take a break from some reviewing. I had planned this How-To and have had the Digi-Doc now since November 2001. Why so long? I waited forever for the LED's that are the perfect replacements to come in. If you don't believe me that it took so long, just ask the guys over at KD Computers. I am talking about the guys, in what us Chicagoan's refer to as Cheeseheads (The refer to us as F.I.P.s so it is all fair game), up there in Wisconsin. Now KD Computers isn't your ordinary online High-tech Computer Shop. They actually have a real store front that you can walk into and see their products. I had the opportunity to visit them last year during the summer on a nice one and a half hour drive. KD Computers, and especially Dave over there, took some time out to send me the Digital Doctor 5, Digi-Doc 5 or DD5, for me to cut up and mod. The LED's on the other hand are from a company out of Torrance, CA with a name that gives their profession away, LEDTronics, INC. The model number for the LED's I used are the Ultra Sunlight Visible RAB362B2K SP Blue Edgelight/Backlight LED's. This is a very easy mod that I am going to show you, and even if you have very limited soldering skills, you should be able to pull this off without any harm done. I have seen other Digi-Doc mods where 5mm and 3mm Blue LED's were used instead of the replacement LED's. And truthfully, I tried both and thought the display on the Digi-Doc looked horrible compared to how clear it was with the stock orange LED's.
Ewww !!!
Digi-Doc 5 Breakdown
If you are reading this How-To, you either own the Digi-Doc 5 right now, or you are planning on purchasing one here in the near future. For those of you that already own a Digi-Doc, you know what it can do and what all it has, but the others might not. So I will give you a little insight to the Digi-Doc 5 and what all it can do. First off, what all is included.
•
Digital Doctor 5 5.25" Drive Bay Controller
• 1 Power Cable for DD5 Main Power
• 8 Fan Power Cables
• 8 Thermosistors (6 bulb & 2 flat)
• Thermal Tape
• Dust Filters
• Screws
Dust Filters? Yes, the Digi-Doc 5 has a Sunon 40MM fan built into it to act as a drive bay cooler. Digi-Doc has a nice fold down door in the bay panel that allows for easy access to the filter for changing and cleaning. The thermal tape is used to tape down the thermosistors and keep them in place. To me the thermal tape is kind of poor in stickiness, so I have been known to use either electrical tape or duct tape instead. Neither of these 2 different types of tape seemed to alter the Digi-Doc 5 performance at all.
Tools Needed to Complete the Mod
•
Philips Head (+) Screwdriver
• Pair of Pliers
• Wire Cutters
• Soldering Iron
• Solder (only if necessary)
• 2 PCB Edgelight/Backlight LED's (
SP Blue Ultra Sunlight visible Part# RAB362B2K at LEDTronics,
INC)
• And of course the Digi-Doc 5
 Tools Needed |
 Edgelight/Backlight Blue LED's (2) |
Taking the Digi-Doc Apart
Taking the Digi-Doc apart is a pretty easy process. The only thing stopping you from replacing the LED's is 6 screws (4 typical screws & 2 screws/nuts similar to motherboard mounts). The first thing you need to do is pop out the main Digi-Doc controller from the drive tray it is connected too (metal frame behind the DD5 face plate). Once that is out, it is time to start unscrewing it and pulling it apart.
When you have the Digi-Doc 5 face plate sitting in front of you, turn it upside down so the LCD side is down and the PCB side is what you are looking at. Once you have done that, locate the top 2 screws. Once you have located these 2 screws, go ahead and unscrew them all the way out.
 Digi-Doc Upside Down (PCB Side) |
 Top Screw #1 |
 Top Screw #2 |
 Top Screw #1 Unscrewed |
 Top Screw #2 Unscrewed |
Once you have unscrewed the top 2 screws, it is time to lift the top PCB of the Digi-Doc off. To do this, all you need to do is pull up slowly in a side to side motion, on all sides of that top PCB. There are 2 connector junctions (1 20 Pin Junction & 1 16 Pin Junction) that are holding this top PCB on. Locate these 2 junctions and pull up easily at each junction.
 16 Pin Junction |
 20 Pin Junction |
 Pulling Up on 20 Pin Junction |
 Pulling Up on 16 Pin Junction |
Top PCB Pulled Off
Showing bottom PCB still connected
to Digi-Doc Face Plate
Taking the last or bottom PCB off of the Digi-Doc 5 face plate is easier then removing the first face plate. Locate the 4 screws that stand in your way of completing the final removal part of the Digi-Doc 5. Once you have located the 4 screws (2 Philips Head (+) screws & 2 Motherboard mounting type screws), go ahead and remove them. You will need a pair of pliers to remove the 2 Motherboard mounting type screws and a Philips Head (+) screw driver to remove the other 2 screws.
 1 Philips Head (+) Screw & 1 Motherboard Mounting Type Screw |
 1 Philips Head (+) Screw & 1 Motherboard Mounting Type Screw |
 Remove Philips Head (+) Screw |
 Remove Motherboard Mounting Type Screw |
 Both Screws Removed Side #1 |
 Both Screws Removed Side #2 |
Once all 4 of the screws are removed. All you need to do is lift up on the PCB and the entire unit will come right off.
Remove PCB From Digi-Doc Face Plate
Once the bottom PCB is lifted off of the face plate, you can go ahead and lay it out in front of you. Look it over and locate the 2 rectangular LED's at either side of the LCD itself. The LED's are small white rectangles that are about 9MM in length. Once you have located them, turn it back over and look for the 4 solder points for these 2 LED's. Once you have located them go ahead and plug in the soldering iron and prepare for some hot fun.
 LCD & PCB Top View |
 LED #1 |
 LED #2 |
Close Up of LED
 LED Solder Points #1 |
 LED Solder Points #2 |
Removing the LED's
Once you have located everything and know where the 4 solder points that you are going to heat up so you can remove the LED's, it is time to go ahead and start removing them. I used the pliers once again to assist with the removal. I took the pliers and got a good grip of the LED. Then I started to apply the heat from the soldering iron to to one solder point at a time. I would apply the heat to the point and then with the pliers start pulling very lightly on the LED. Once the LED slipped out a little bit, I would go ahead and do the same thing on the 2nd solder point of the LED. I did this a couple of times until the LED came all of the way out. Once one LED was removed, I went ahead and started the same procedure on the 2nd LED.
Note: Try not to apply the soldering iron to a solder point for to long. The heat from the soldering iron has been known to destroy LED's and LCD's. Once I hit a solder point with some heat, I like to wait about 15 seconds before applying heat to the other solder point. This is just as a safety precaution and allows the area to somewhat cool before applying more heat.
I tend to go ahead and touch the areas I am applying the heat to, just to make sure the surrounding area isn't getting to hot and possibly causing damage to the other components. You don't want to destroy your LCD at this time since your warranty is now in the trash.
 Applying Heat to a Solder Point |
 LED #1 Removed |
 LED #2 Removed |
Once you have the LED's removed, all you do is put them in reverse of the way you removed them. Here is where you will definitely not want to use a lot of heat when doing this especially if you are applying pressure to the LED's with your fingers. You can feel the heat build up. Once you start feeling the heat, it is time to remove the soldering iron and allow the connection to cool down. Make sure you attach the LED's with the clear part, where the anode and cathode are visible, towards the LCD.
LED to be Installed |
 LED's Installed Solder Points |
 LED #1 Installed |
 LED #2 Installed |
Once the LED's are soldered in, you can go ahead and screw the PCB's back to the Digi-Doc Face Plate. The bottom PCB that contains the LCD is the one you want to make sure of that you have a nice tight screw. This allows the face of the LCD to be pressed hard into the face plate. This will ensure that your LCD numbers and letters are clear and bright.
Digi-Doc 5 Put Back Together
Results
The results are pretty damn nice by me. No more of that ugly, not so elite, orange glow from your Digi-Doc. You will have a nice subtle blue glow now coming from the front of your Digi-Doc. Here, take a look.
 Initial Power Up |
Look How pretty. |
Why does Initial Power Up look like it isn't that bright? I did the initial power up using a crappy 250w power supply that was probably 5 years old. After I installed the Digi-Doc into my main system to record temperatures, I noticed that I could now see it clearly and the blue LED's were looking damn sweet.
Troubleshooting
How come I don't see the blue LED's when I apply power to the Digi-Doc?
Did you plug in the power to the Digi-Doc correctly? Make sure you have plugged in the Digi-Doc using the correct power connector. Do you have you Digi-Doc setup to only turn the LED's on when you use it? To setup the Digi-Doc to use the LED's, press the "Set" button. Once in the setup mode, press the "Scan" button. Let the Digi-Doc now set itself, don't push any other buttons. There should be some blue now. No blue? Reset your Digi-Doc according to the instructions you received with it. Still no blue? Double check your LED solder points. If they are good, make sure you haven't soldered the LED's on backwards. The clear part should be facing the LCD. Everything look good? Turn it back on. Still no blue? Check the voltage at the molex you have plugged into. If you still don't have blue, but you have the LCD text, then you may have cooked your LED's.
How come the LED's aren't bright?
More then likely your power supply is lacking the juice to fully power the Digi-Doc. Is your Digi-Doc beeping at you because your voltages are low? If so, try a better power supply. You really shouldn't have this problem, unless of course you used a horrible power supply like I did for the first power up to test the Digi-Doc.
I see the blue, but I don't see any LCD text
2 things here. One, you didn't tighten the bottom PCB that contains the LCD good enough to the Digi-Doc front face plate. Make sure you have it nice and snug. If this isn't the problem, then the only other thing I could think of would be the simple fact that you either fried the Digi-Doc or the LCD during your mod. There might also be that possibility that your power supply isn't supplying enough juice.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a very easy mod to do just as long as you are careful. You will be soldering around some very small electrical components that you do not want to damage. If you aren't a seasoned veteran or maybe have only soldered a few times on larger connections. Find that one thing in the house that is small, electrical, and broken (break it if it isn't broken then), then practice on that first.
Who should do this mod? EVERYONE OF YOU !!! If you own the Digi-Doc or are planning on purchasing the Digi-Doc, then you will need to do this.
Well this concludes this mini how-to for changing out the LED's to blue ones in the Digital Doctor 5 by MacPower. I would like to thank KD Computers for sending me the Digi-Doc 5, and for having some patience while I waited for the LED's to arrive. The LED's I used for this article were supplied to me from LEDTronics, INC. They have LED's for everything you could ever imagine. If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns, please feel free to E-mail me or go to our forums for more info on this article. Thank you.