https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/ Have questions for our community members? Ask the experts here!en-USTelligent Community 12https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235292Sun, 03 May 2026 11:17:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6a73cfb1-7e42-4cb4-beb5-ed2caf51c412safia_fatimaThe board I have is a PCB (I know vector board will be too busy when built from scratch and takes lot of effort. I checked the TI data sheet and its a work of art. I didn't intend to work on the micro controller, just put the parts together, if possible). Attached is the image of the PCB and hard drive. On connecting to power source and pushing switch ON, LED glowed only once and HDD did not spin. I cleaned the extra solder and debris of the PCB with rubbing alcohol and I did the continuity test using multi meter for all PCB components. The LED started glowing and the HDD started to spin. There is a USB Type A female connector on the PCB. The cable has USB type A male connectors on both sides, one end for the PCB USB connector and the other for laptop USB connector. The HDD does not come up in the list of disk drives on the laptop. Any other tests I can possibly do to identify the problem?https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235278Sat, 02 May 2026 15:15:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:bfba096d-a592-4acb-9fe1-43e09f87ed24vmateWell, if you tried, you probably could do it, but routing 20 signals for a parallel bus at 66MHz on a perfboard is the type of thing you do because you want to challenge yourself, not because you need it to work. My point was just that this is not the sort of project you want to get started with, to get into electronics. I wouldn't attempt this myself, because it's pure pain and suffering, with zero upsides.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235277Sat, 02 May 2026 15:14:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:8070ebeb-afa1-4ae5-baf7-f730a27356fcsafia_fatimaThank you for your reply.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235264Fri, 01 May 2026 22:55:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:4bffc2e0-416c-41f2-ae9a-b5bd8fc22e58phoenixcommI thought I was the harsh one.. you have now been elected to the team.. but 20+ signals aren't that bad you could use a Vector board with a 22/44 connector on it. I have played with a lot more wire than that.. I like you buy dont build it suggestion. power is trivial a small PC power supply.. or one 12v wall rat and peel of the 5 with a 3 lead Regulator. Tah Dah. enjoy ~~ Cris H.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235242Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:36:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6ca15c37-97e2-4bc5-a0fb-4d8266de2a5csafia_fatimaThank you for the link.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235228Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:06:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:4772ae62-0b51-42dc-b965-f193fefd96bbgeraldstry this: USB-IDE converter at amazon https://www.amazon.com/s?k=usb+ide+converter&__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=OOHXRMUCXGZK&sprefix=usb+ide+converter%2Caps%2C221&ref=nb_sb_noss_1https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235227Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:52:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:8c8d67fc-c0bf-4017-a505-11af632db10asafia_fatimaI will check the documentation. Thank you very much for your reply. I understand, the technology is obsolete. It is a 3.5 inch hard drive with IDE interface and 4 pin power connector that originally connected to the old motherboard of a PC. I need to now interface the IDE to USB so that I can connect it to a laptop and recover the data. I was trying to figure out if it is possible to trace the short circuit with the existing board of the external hard drive casing I have.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converter/235226Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:03:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:b2020167-9ca0-40b8-9405-c0283c9798e7vmateYou won't be able to make this on a perfboard, there's simply no way to properly route 20+ signals. The bare minimum you'd need is a 2 layer PCB, but 4 would almost certainly be preferred. This is not a good project to learn at all, you will spend a lot of money and never get it working, or end up frustrated. Some ICs which have good documentation are the TI TUSB6250 and CY7C68300B. However, they are both obsolete, so obtaining them will be a challenge. Still, you should look at the datasheets, to see what you're up against. Also, I don't quite understand your power supply setup and serial ports part. You'll need an external 12V power supply to power the drive, and ideally create 5V from that as well, instead of trying to draw 1-2A from USB.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56891/making-a-circuit-board-for-ide-to-usb-converterWed, 29 Apr 2026 19:47:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:c2ce65be-9681-4ed7-80c1-30edd0ee3463safia_fatimaHi I am trying to make an external hard drive casing for an IDE HDD. The hard drive should connect to the laptop using a USB cable. The power comes from a molex connector in the IDE drive which is interfaced with a serial port for the power supply adapter. I need the schematic for this and step by step process on how to build it on a perf board, for example. I have an existing converter but it seems to have a short circuit and I cannot trace the problem. The market has a number of converters, but I would prefer to build one to learn how the circuit works. Please kindly guide me on the best way to connect the hard disk.ideharddiskusbdataask_the_experthardware_interfacinghttps://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235152Sat, 25 Apr 2026 03:50:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:835dd7db-19aa-4e57-b3bb-d785831dc7edphoenixcommJWx Me think you let the Magic Smoke out of the Chips!!!https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235066Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:04:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:533f0e76-bfa5-45af-959d-79b114741e9dJWxhere https://github.com/KivApple/dell-charger-emulator somebody is building Dell PSU ID emulator using Attiny85 MCUhttps://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235063Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:00:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6618c73f-f2ab-4246-ba5f-032908299174JWxif this is a notebook-style adapter, then Dell is using some sort of signaling on third contact, which - if damaged - is causing "PSU not identified" errors, causing notebooks to run in power-saving mode (and not charging the battery for example). Here is some information - https://superuser.com/questions/1324643/how-to-bypass-dell-charger-detection#1757185 Maybe ID chip could be substituted/retrieved from Dell PSU and connected to the third contact of the connector?https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235062Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:44:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:fd0238fb-aef3-4fb8-921c-b6abada3649cshabaz_ataiMy bad the model is Optiplex 3050 micro. It is given with the 19.5V and 3.34A AC-DC adapter. We are not directly dealing with the power supply going to the motherboard. After these experiments its working as fine with its own adpater and the buck coverter setup I mentinoed earlier. So, Please provide the more information or guidelines to make use of the TDK-Lambda converter. That would be really helpful.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235061Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:48:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:5784f4e4-69a6-4b11-b1a1-769a74ef888fJWxand it seems that Optiplex 3050 needs 12V not 20V so it may be damaged already if it was connected to 20V PSUhttps://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235060Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:42:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6958bd75-6928-4e8a-be27-a7f17b644c24JWxhere are some pinouts - it seems that special chip is not needed, but standby 5V possibly will: www.dell.com/.../647f8f68f4ccf8a8de077d92 (verification against original power supply output would be advised - some posts suggest 12V standby or no standby at all for 6-pin connector)https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235059Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:14:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:02490c3a-3288-4860-a151-d6a1a159ed21JWxhere: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/el1yxq/how_to_upgrade_the_proprietary_psu_on_prebuilt/ somebody suggests that there are cables from standard ATX to Optiplex connector, but probably with some identification chip included... so maybe this TDK module and a cable with ID chip would be sufficient?https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235058Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:09:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:1bf9a1a1-cfcb-47b1-931b-3c380581e4fbshabaz_ataiThanks for the reply. We are trying to replace the AC to DC adapter provided with the Optiplex3050 as we have only 24V DC source. I guess the sense wire does the PSU identification. Earlier we are able power it with the help of two buck converters LM2596 connected in parallel to power the CPU as each buck converter is capable of 3A. In search of reliable voltage converter we came across this module and want to try it out.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-r/235057Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:32:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:bf8dff90-33d8-4bd0-a22a-16dcfe1550bcJWxHello! Optiplex looks like Dell product line - which exactly model? Is this PSU being replaced an external or internal one? I think that it could have some PSU identification circuit (similar to those used in laptops, where laptop detects if original PSU is connected and can - for example - refuse to charge a battery when not)https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56866/tdk-lambda-dc-dc-converter-i6a4w010a033v-001-rMon, 20 Apr 2026 10:21:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:7cf7f192-678c-47ac-b3d2-2b8bd31f1b77shabaz_ataiHi all, We have bought I6A4W010A033V-001-R to power a Intel optiplex CPU that require a 20V and 6A power. We have succeded to tune the outupt voltage to 20V from a 24V input using a potentiometer over the trim pin Vout -ve pin. Later we tried to power the CPU from this converter which we haven't succeeded. The device itself is not booting up. The power led over the start button is glowing in amber which should be white if it has proper power input. Unfartunately we have only moduel for testing purpose. What could go wrong? Do we need any extra cicuitry to make this work? Does the amp rating of the potentiometer used between the trim pin and ground also also matters for the amp capacity of the module? We have tried with different capcitors in both output and input. The power adapter of the CPU has the sense line also aprat from the DC +ve and -ve. We even tried connecting that to the sense pin of the DC-DC converter. Nothing helped us.https://community.element14.com/technologies/experts/f/forum/56860/summing-amplifier-using-opamp-tutorial/235048Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:27:00 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:0c16c681-33df-4700-8e07-52ce88f99177ronydaaah thankx. didn't realize there is a spice model for the Pot.