External Case for Behringer Neutron Power Board

The Behringer Neutron is a great standalone modular synth. The fact that you can remove it from its case and drop it into a Eurorack really makes it even better. However, it is seriously power hungry. I installed mine in a small Eurorack case with a pretty limited power supply. It seemed to work just great with several other modules, until I added a module that pushed the rack power supply past its rating. I needed a way to run the Neutron off of its own power supply again, but the ribbon cable which is attached to the power board is only about 3 inches (75mm) long.

So, that was the inspiration for this project. There are 2 pieces to the external case, the base and the top. Both should be printed at 20% infill without supports. In order to mount the power board, you'll need to remove it from the Neutron's original case. Keep the 3 mounting screws handy, because you'll need those to screw the board into the printed case. Remove the 3 chrome nuts from the 1/4" jacks, and pull the headphone volume knob off. Slide the board into the case, screw it down with the 3 screws from earlier, and put the nuts and volume knob back on.

The top of the case is just a drop-on, friction fit top. It could be glued down if you want, but I don't really think that's necessary.

The 3 screw holes in the base go all the way through the bottom of the case. I did this so that you could possibly use longer m3 screws/nuts to mount the box in a more permanent way to your Eurorack case. I just have mine sitting next to the Eurorack, since it's a small case.

WARNING
Do NOT have the power board and a Eurorack power cable connected at the same time!

You have a few options for attaching an extended ribbon cable to the power board:

The hard route:

This is the route that I took, but I've been doing soldering for a long time. I de-soldered the 24 pin ribbon cable from the power board and installed 2 rows of header pins. I then plugged a 19" (50cm) 24pin ribbon cable into the headers. This method is very clean, but not for the faint of heart. Desoldering lead-free solder on pins like this is a pain if you don't have enough experience, so I would only recommend this for the folks who do stuff like this on a regular basis. I have provided a picture of the cable on the board, so you can see which way the cable key should be oriented.

Here's the link for the 19" (50cm) 24 pin ribbon cable I used:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BGNLPX0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used these header pins (2.54mm pitch):

https://www.amazon.com/Baimeixun-20Pairs-2-54mm-Female-Connector/dp/B078GPKMY5/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=header+pins&qid=1565514375&s=hi&sr=1-8

The not-so-hard route (but technically a little janky):

If desoldering sounds too scary or involved, you can attach an extension cable to the existing ribbon cable using equal-length header pins. Make sure that the keys on each cable are on the same side, so that your cable doesn't end up backwards. That could lead to Bad Things(tm), including the destruction of the power board, your Neutron, or both. Here's a link to some equal-length headers. You'll need two rows of 12 headers, so be careful when you break them:

https://www.amazon.com/Generic-Breakaway-Headers-Length-Centered/dp/B015KA0RRU/ref=pd_bxgy_2/136-7523341-5505214?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B015KA0RRU&pd_rd_r=ea84923c-fe32-4ca6-935f-65371461422b&pd_rd_w=dc3oX&pd_rd_wg=Tmy7i&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=JYF182RAZD97F96CEGZP&psc=1&refRID=JYF182RAZD97F96CEGZP

And here's the appropriate extension cable:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BGNLPX0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you go this route, I would suggest possibly using electrical tape over the join, just to act as a strain relief. That way, if you pull on the cable too hard, there is less chance that the connection between the cables will fail. Like I said, this is a little janky and inelegant, but it will work, as long as you're careful and you make sure that your cable keys all match up. If you're at all unsure, then keep reading...

The easy route: (not tested yet)

If you want to extend the cable in the easiest, most surefire, no-fail way, then what you really need is a 24 pin ribbon cable with a keyed box header on one end. I had to search for hours to actually find anyone who sells one of these. 24 pin ribbon cables are not popular by themselves, and the only source I could find for 24 pin cables with box headers is a vendor on eBay in Hong Kong. I ordered one of these cables to test, but it hasn't arrived yet. I'll update this description once I have it on hand to test. Here's the link if you want to give it a shot:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/IDC-Rainbow-Wire-Flat-Ribbon-Cable-24P-FC-FD-Connector-2-54mm-Pitch-1m-Length/312658677678?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

The nice thing about that cable, other than the plug and play aspect, is that it's 1 meter long, so you can position the box a little further away from your Eurorack if you want to.