Glowing case feet – Brian
SUMMARY: Give your Chieftec a case of “happy feet”
John over at Jab-Tech was kind enough to send
over a few items for us to check out.
John is also a member of the oc/forums here, as well. I’ve heard from a few people that he’s been a tremendous help to the modding community here at Overclockers, going above and beyond
what is expected of an e-tail supplier. I’m glad it was possible to get together, and to be able to put some of his inventory out front here for review.
The item featured here is a Sunbeam
product, made for the popular Antec/Chieftec/Chenming/etc cases. I’ve had a chance to work with a couple other Sunbeam items, and I’ve been impressed by their quality and value. This item is no different.
These are designed to be a straight replacement for the original feet that were installed on these cases. There is one minor difference between the removal (of the originals) and installation procedures, however. I’ll note
that as we get to it. Some basic instructions are outlined on the package back.
Each foot has a two wire lead coming from it, and all four plug into a common connection, which then plugs into an open 4 pin Molex connector from the power supply. The ends of the four leads, and the connector they plug into
are marked clearly for proper plug orientation when assembling. Nice touch.
It’s mentioned in the package instructions to “invert the case” (stand it upside down) while installing these. If you can, I suggest you do so. The case I installed these onto didn’t allow me the option of doing this (as they
were installed onto my watercooled rig). Installation on a fully loaded case that can’t be inverted is one heck of a juggling act. I can easily see how turning the case over would make this procedure much easier.
Let’s install one foot. Just repeat the procedure for the other three as outlined as follows.
While this picture shows the inside of the case, the screw pointed out is actually threaded in from underneath the foot itself. While I have a good amount of manual dexterity, juggling a three footed, 60 pound Chieftec while
trying to take pictures was something I really didn’t want to attempt… =) If you’ve stood your case upside down, you’ll be looking right at this screw. Remove it, and the foot.
The hole the tab goes into is just big enough for the plastic, and the wire needs to be in the slot as shown as far as possible to facilitate mounting the new foot.
Looking at the two pictures above, also note the screw hole is on the top of the foot. This is the minor difference I mentioned.
{mospagebreak}
This is where it got really tricky for me, with the fully loaded case. Inverting it as per the instructions would make this part infinitely easier.
Fish the wire through the hole the tab will hook into, and push the tab into the hole and forward, holding the foot in place.
As noted, the screw goes in from the top, instead of from underneath now. Line up the hole in the case, and foot, and install the screw.
Do not over tighten the screw as you put it back in. It doesn’t actually thread into the foot, only the case. The feet will be a little “loose” after
installing, but will not fall off. The screw will keep the foot from moving, and the tab from coming out of the hole.
Repeat the procedure for the other three feet.
When you get them installed, plug the wires from each foot into the power harness, as shown on the first page here. Then, plug the harness in, and you’re done.
I’m very impressed with this product. The LEDs in the feet are incredibly bright….almost too bright. The twin cold cathodes in the case pale in comparison to the amount
of light these feet make. You might consider splicing a toggle switch into the harness, so you can shut them off if needed.
They do make a very effective “night light” for my entire two bedroom apartment. Literally, entire.
John stocks three different colors of these feet; green, red, and blue. As well as a good inventory of similar items for making your case truly unique.
I’d like to thank John over at Jab-Tech for sending
these out to look at.
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