Motherboard Usb Connector Splitter Download Step 1

I cut some of the pin headers off the motherboard and soldered them to a USB-A male plug.

I have collected a few adapters and chargers, but they werent universal enough for my needs.

Motherboard Usb Connector Splitter Download Step 1

Add Tip Ask Question Comment Download Step 1: Materials I cant stand carrying a ton of wires, but its nearly impossible to find a set of adapters that have everything you need.

I decided to take pieces of a few different adapter kits and combine them into one kit.

I still needed a few more things, so I tore apart a couple old computers and used the parts to make some new adapters that you cant buy.

Add Tip Ask Question Comment Download Step 2: Scrounging Internal Cables Internal cables are the ones that are routed out to the jacks on the front of the computer.

On one end they have a plug that slips onto the pin headers on the motherboard and on the other they have female USB-A jacks from the front of the machine.

The cable colors are all standard and you just need to match up the colors for pretty much any type of USB connector.

This is a good site to see the pinouts of the different cable types.

All computers are going to be different, but they should be simple enough to remove and reuse.

Add Tip Ask Question Comment Download Step 3: Scrounging Internal External USB Ports USB ports are a bit more difficult to remove than the internal cables.

I found its easiest to use some tin snips to trim away the PC board from the port stacks.

Sometimes its easiest to cut in from the edge as far as you can, and grab the piece with pliers and snap the remaining piece of circuit board.

Add Tip Ask Question Comment Download Step 4: USB Female Coupler Sometimes you need to couple 2 cables together to make a longer cable.

Because the ports face the same way, it is easy to make a pass through coupler out of these.

You just have to solder jumper wires between the pins of the 2 rows of headers.

I just tinned a few strands of wire and soldered them between the headers.

When all the wires were connected and I verified that the connections were good, I covered the entire thing with epoxy putty.

I use epoxy putty on all kinds of things and it almost always sticks.

Its great for building up a surface that is too small to glue effectively.

Its also great for bonding metal which is not possible with most glues.

Add Tip Ask Question Comment Download Step 5: InternalExternal USB Adapters Inside computers the case ports connect to pin headers on the motherboard.

I figured it could come in handy at some point to have an adapter that would convert from pin headers to a single USB port and from a single USB male end to header pins.