FAQ: How to install a DVD R/RW in your Xenarc 700IDT

cdcamaro9534 · 04-12-2006, 02:55 PM

I finally got around to installing my DVD CDR/RW in my Xenarc, and I took a few photos as I went along. This may not be the best write up, but it will give you an idea of what you will have to tackle. From start to finish, this took me less then 3 hours, and a lot of that time was playing around with a few ideas as I went along. If anyone is wanting to do this, I highly recommend it, as its not hard at all.

OK so as you can tell from the photo, I got an External Aluminum Slimline 8X DVD 24X CD ROM Drive off of Ebay for about 50 bucks. It uses a USB cable, and is powered by 5 volts. The dimensions are (W x D x H): 5.74 x 6.10 x 0.86 in. Now this may sound like it won't fit and you are correct. But we will be removing some parts to allow it to fit. There are screws on both sides, you need to remove them to take this metal casing off of it.

Now I wont go into much detail about how to take the 700IDT apart. If you can build a mini computer for your car, I'm sure you can figure out how to take apart your 700IDT. Just remove the case screws, and the top case will pop off exposing the top.

Remove the white ribbon cable carefully. A lot of people just yank out the cable. But you need to lift the tab on the connector to release the cable. As stated be carefully and don’t be to rough, its very easy to break these tabs off.

Remove the spring arm that pushes the LCD out. Then remove one of the screws that retain the roller bearings to remove the LCD completely from its case as shown.

Now using a dremel or equivalent, you will need to grind down the four standoffs on the case as shown.

Now if you didn't already notice, seems Xenarc was already thinking about us when this unit was designed. As you can see from the photo, the front cover already has an area for the door of the drive. All you need to do is cut the opening out. This for me was the hardest part. I took an exacto knife, and a propane torch, heated the knife up, and cut inside the grove on the plastic.

Just carefully cut all the way thru the plastic and you should end up with this.

This doesn’t look pretty, but you can use sand paper, and a flat file, and remove the rough edges and get everything evened up after you pop the plastic piece out you just cut. It also helps that the door on the DVD drive is bigger then the cut out, so when the drive is closed its a nice clean look anyway. I was going to try to use the front metal piece to use as an overlay for a really clean look, but the metal was so thin I couldn’t keep from bending it.

Here is a test fit. The easiest way to get the drive thru the front since the door is bigger then the opening you just cut, you will need to remove the plastic piece on the DVD drive first. BE VERY CAREFULLY AS THE TABS ARE THIN PLASTIC, AND WILL BREAK EASILY. SO DONT FORCE ANYTHING!!!!

If your happy with the fit, now you can clean everything up with a file and sandpaper. But be carefully and don’t over do it, as you don’t want any gaps. Remember it’s easier to remove plastic then to put it back on.

Now you may have noticed on the distribution board that there were some connectors. And it may seem like this is a good place to pull your 5 volts for powering your DVD drive. But I found out that the power distribution on this board don’t have the nuts to supply the current required. If you do try to use it, your LCD wont even power up, and the 5 volt line will get pulled down to about .52 volts according to the voltage drop across the 5v connector. So now you can do either one of two things. You can build your own 5v regulated circuit using a 7805 regulator, or just pull 5v from outside the unit like I did. Luck for me I have a decent ATX power supply, so I just pulled the 5 volts off one of the unused 4 pin connectors. If your power supply is running at its peak, you will have to figure out an alternative.

Now also you can either run the wires thru an unused connector like I did, or just drill a hole in the back of your case. As for me, I removed the unused DC connector from the distribution board, and ran my wires thru it. Ignore the wires soldered on the board. This was when I was trying to pull 5v off the board to power the drive.

Here is a pic of the wires ran thru the case. If your USB plug won't fit, you can either file the case opening bigger, or you can cut and splice the wire back together. If you do decide to do that, just be sure to solder the wires together and use heat shrink. That way you will have a good connection, and wont give you problems down the road.

Again ignore the power wire on the distribution board. You can run both wires thru this hole with no problem. Also tie a knot so the wires wont get pulled out and disconnect the drive.

Were almost there!!! Now using some 3M Double Sided Foam Tape, you can mount the drive in the case. As you can see from the pic, I still have the front panel on the drive with the front plastic door on the DVD drive. Go ahead and put your tape on your drive, and push the front plastic panel on the case and close the door. From there you can align and mount the drive.

If you need to open the drive back up, you can use a paper clip and use the emergency eject on the drive. But from here that's pretty much it. You will need to plug the main board back into the DVD drive, and secure it with double sided tape since the case was removed off of it. And that’s what was used to hold the board in place. Plug in your USB cable and your DC power to the drive, and you can start reassembling the unit. At this point, you may want to go ahead and test your drive to makes sure the wiring is correct. That way if any problems arise, you can catch it now before you have to take the unit all back apart.

I won't go thru the process of putting it back together as if you can get it a part, then putting it back together is just the reverse. Here are some pics of the LCD back on.

And here is the clearance between the LCD monitor and the DVD drive. Not much space as you can see, but enough to fully open and close the screen. Also notice how I taped the plastic down that protects the circuit board. You will need to do this or it will get cought when trying to open the display.

And the grand finally!!!!!

edikp · 04-12-2006, 02:56 PM

Nice job..!

Motorcity · 04-12-2006, 04:21 PM

looks great! nice to see you took the time to do a clean install, and not just hack it apart and wedge in the drive.
Any electrical interference issues with the scissor mech. opening and closing across the pcb?

meddler · 04-12-2006, 05:46 PM

That's a nice bit of Fab work. Good write up too. Well done.

randomjohn · 04-13-2006, 09:54 AM

Great work and nice writeup. Well done.

ilyassx · 04-13-2006, 10:10 AM

Very nice, looks great!

rudeboymcc · 04-13-2006, 10:23 AM

how spring loaded is this screen? Does it fold up as well or just come out and then manually fold up?

Also how fast does it come out?

cdcamaro9534 · 04-13-2006, 08:15 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Motorcity

Any electrical interference issues with the scissor mech. opening and closing across the pcb?

No. There is enough room between the spring and sliding mechanism that it won't hit. And for some reason if the drive came loose and did hit it, there is a plastic shield between the pcb and the spring to prevent anything from shorting. But you should never see that happin if installed correctly.

Quote: Originally Posted by rudeboymcc

how spring loaded is this screen? Does it fold up as well or just come out and then manually fold up?

Also how fast does it come out?

It will come out faster then you want it too. It's pretty loaded, and it will flip up automaticaly because thats spring loaded to. Just push in the LCD and that will unlock the screen to allow it to slide out and up. You will want to help it out slowly though, because like I said, the spring will throw it out there pretty good, and I'd be affraid it would damage something.

Ub312g0d · 04-13-2006, 10:16 PM

Awesome work. I wonder why xenarc doesnt make a different front panel with the cutouts pre made.

DarquePervert · 04-14-2006, 06:20 AM

This is awesome.
I reported the post to mods, requesting it be moved to the FAQ Emporium.

This is the very reason I'm getting a 700IDT

Peoples · 04-14-2006, 06:41 AM

too bad you dont have a slot load. Awesome job!

Bugbyte · 04-14-2006, 08:30 AM

Thread moved to FAQ section and added to FAQ to the FAQ's. Awesome job! Thanks for documenting it.

sparkyssb · 04-14-2006, 08:44 AM

thats pretty. musta took some nerve to hack up a $500 piece of equipment. lol

cdcamaro9534 · 04-14-2006, 10:55 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Peoples

too bad you dont have a slot load. Awesome job!

Actually I was debating about doing a slot load. But cutting that front plastic panel is hard enough and to get a clean look, and would be very difficult, but not impossible. I like this look just for the fact the plastic on the DVD drive door matches great, and looks like it came from the factory that way. But I think Xenarc was thinking about doing something like this, because the way 700IDT is built, it looks like they designed it for a DVD drive down the road.

But thanks everyone for the compliments

And if anyone has question while there doing this, just pm me, I'll be around, and I'll try to help as much as I can.

vicnuno · 04-14-2006, 11:05 AM

That's very good work, better only with a slot-in drive...