The Controller

Taking the controller unit out, you see a resemblance to their standard rheobus, the NXP-205 but with the inclusion of the inverter on board the PCB. 3 knobs controls your fans and the last one controls the CCFL operations. The fan controller knobs are marked from "OFF" to "MAX' to indicate the speed and the CCFL knob is marked from "OFF" "Sound Controlled" and "ON". The Vantec and Nexus logos are also marked on the housing. The CCFL knob also has a nice chrome accent on the front to differentiate it from the other knobs.

Looking at the back at the PCB assembly, you'll see the myriads of eletrical components that makes up the NXP-305. At the back of the PCB, you'll find the inverter as well as the dual connectors for the CCFL tubes. The inverter is protected by a translucent plastic cover and for good measure too. When you accidentally touched a bare inverter, lemme know the feeling! Heheh! 3 x 3 pin fan connectors sits next to the inverter and also the Power connector to supply the overall power to the unit.

5 x 3mm Blue LEDs provides the illumination for the unit. 4 are bent at a 90 degree angle and placed into the acrylic sheet that makes the ring around the control knobs. The last one, near the mic, was just soldered onto the PCB and not bent into the acrylic sheet. Probably due to the offset of distance/position from the LED to the hole. Not a big problem though as it still pumps out enough light to illuminate the acrylic sheet in that area.

Installation & Testing

Installing the NXP-305 is just like any other 3.5" drive installation. You just slide the controller into an empty bay and secure it with the provided screws. The only problem here is that if you have a case with a door, like the Chieftec BX Series case, the knobs will prevent the door from closing fully. I had to secure the unit a little deeper into the drive bay for the door to close.

Here you see the various connections to the NXP-305, the Power, Fans and the CCFL tubes. Once connected, the unit is turned on and the good 'ol blue halo comes right up! Below you see a series of pictures of the unit in both light and no-light condition.

Here's a couple more pictures demonstrating the brightness of the cold cathodes tubes. The CCFL tubes are like most tubes available in the market right now, nothing much to differ them from the rest of the crowd except their triangular mounting ends. Two of these tubes lights up the case quite well as you can see from the pic below.

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