2 layers119.4 × 97.4 mm
HDD Synth prototype MK3
MaverickUK/HDDSynth
Recreate the sound of mechanical spinning HDDs on retro PCs that use a solid state drive
60 parts16
2 layers100.3 × 69.9 mm
HDD Synth Prototype MK5
MaverickUK/HDDSynth16Recreate the sound of mechanical spinning HDDs on retro PCs that use a solid state drive
- Size
- 100.3 × 69.9 mm
- Copper layers
- 2
- Thickness
- 1.6 mm
- Parts
- 112
- Nets
- 99
- Pads
- 391
- Tracks, vias
- 928, 131
- Pours
- 2
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 10.0 (file 20260206)
- Created
- 14 Jan 2023
- Updated
- 25 Oct 2026
Overview
HDD Synth Prototype MK5 is an open-source printed circuit board by MaverickUK, from the MaverickUK/HDDSynth repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 100.3 × 69.9 mm with 112 parts on 99 nets, routed with 928 tracks and 131 vias.
It is built around the TPS63020DSJR, W25Q32JVSSIQ and TF-015, with the KF350-3.5-2P, TS-1187A-B-A-B and 1N4148W among its other parts. Its parts include 37 capacitors, 37 resistors, 8 ICs, 4 connectors and 3 diodes. It belongs with the audio and music boards and the RP2350 and NXP (LPC, Kinetis, i.MX RT) boards of this library.
Main components
10
TPS63020DSJR
VSON-14-EP(3x4)-40℃~+85℃@(TA) 1 1.2V~5.5V 1.8V~5.5V 2.4MHz 3A 50uA Adjustable Buck-Boost Buck-Boost Built-in Yes VSON-14-EP(3x4) DC-DC Converters ROHSTexas InstrumentsDC-DC Converters
W25Q32JVSSIQ
SOIC-8-208mil-40℃~+85℃ 100,000 cycles 133MHz 1uA 2.7V~3.6V 20 Years 32Mbit 3ms SPI SOIC-8-208mil NOR FLASH ROHSWinbondNOR FLASH
TF-015
SMD-35℃~+85℃ 2mm Connector and Ejector MicroSD Card (TF Card) Push-Push Yes SMD SD Card / Memory Card Connector ROHSSOFNGSD Card / Memory Card Connector
KF350-3.5-2P
插件,P=3.5mm-40℃~+105℃ 0.75 1 10A 18~24 1x2P 2 2P 3.5mm 300V Green Through Hole 插件,P=3.5mm Screw Terminal Blocks ROHSCixi Kefa ElecScrew Terminal Blocks
TS-1187A-B-A-B
SMD-4P,5.1x5.1mm-30℃~+85℃ 1.5mm 1.6N 100,000 cycles 12V 5.1mm 5.1mm 50mA Gold No Round Button SPST Surface Mount,Vertical Without Bracket SMD-4P,5.1x5.1mm Tactile Switches ROHSXKB ConnectionTactile Switches
1N4148W
SOD-123150mA 1A 1V@50mA 1uA@75V 400mW 4ns 75V Independent SOD-123 Switching Diodes ROHSSTMicroelectronicsSwitching Diodes
ABM8-272-T3
SMD3225-4P-40℃~+85℃ 10pF 12MHz 50Ω SMD crystal oscillator ±30ppm ±30ppm SMD3225-4P Crystals ROHSAbraconCrystals
FNR4018S1R5MT
SMD,4x4mm1.5uH 3.2A 39mΩ 4A Magnetic Shielded Inductor ±20% SMD,4x4mm Power Inductors ROHScjiangPower Inductors
SMAJ5.0A
DO-214AC(SMA)-65℃~+150℃ 400W@10/1000us 43.5A 5V 7V 800uA 9.2V TVS Unidirectional DO-214AC(SMA) ESD and Surge Protection (TVS/ESD) ROHSMDDESD And Surge Protection (TVS/ESD)
XL-3528RGBW-HM
SMD3528-4P-20℃~+85℃ 1.9mm 120° 2.8mm 3.5mm B:460nm~475nm、G:515nm~530nm、R:620nm~630nm Common Anode G:400mcd~600mcd、B:120mcd~180mcd、R:150mcd~200mcd R:1.8V~2.2V、G:2.9V~3.2V、B:3.0V~3.3V R:2000V、G:2000V、B:2000V R:20mA、G:20mA、B:20mA R:50mW、G:70mW、B:70mW R:625nm、B:465nm、G:525nm Top-mount SMD3528-4P RGB LEDs ROHSXINGLIGHTRGB LEDs
README
README.mdHDD Synth
Recreates the sound of mechanical spinning HDDs on retro PCs that use a solid state drive.
Inspired by seeing the HDD Clicker project and wanting to more faithfully recreate the sound of old mechanical hard drives spinning up and accessing data. Because the hard drive sounds come from samples, it's possible to replace them with any hard drive recording you'd like or something completely different!
Features
- Sample based recreation of mechanical hard disk drives operating sounds
- Spin up when PC is turned on
- Idle hum whilst standing by
- Access clicks and crackcles
- Spin down when PC is turned off
- SD card to hold multiple HDD sample packs, to recreate the sound of different mechanical hard disk drives
- Volume control to make it very loud or silent
- Balance to alter the amount of idle to access sounds
- HDD detection via HDD LED
- HDD LED to connect to your case
- OLED screen to view activity, volume and more
Progress
Beta test is active
The MKV prototype boards are with a small group of beta testers to shake out any last issues before the boards are made available for sale.
It's been a long road, but the end is in sight
Media
Contact
Peter Bridger at maverickuk@gmail.com
Project website at www.strifestreams.com/hddsynth
Resources
Acknowledgments
- Inspired by the HDD Clicker project
- A big thanks to Ian Scott of PicoGUS fame for sharing his resource sources and knowledge of using the Pi Pico with the ISA bus which gave me the confidence to take this project to the next level
- Marten Electric for the excellent ISA prototyping boards which made it very easy to wire up the Pico to my computer
PCBWay
Thanks to PCBWay for their PCB manufacturing and assembly services. This is my first PCB based project and they've been a great way to get quality PCB prototypes created along with component assembly at competitive prices. Recommended if you're thinking about creating a simular project yourself.
License
This project is dual-licensed:
- Software/firmware is licensed under the GNU GPL v3.0.
- Hardware designs (schematics, PCB files, BOM) are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — free for personal, non-commercial use and modification, but commercial use requires my permission.
Parts
112| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 100nF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C10, C14, C17, C18, C19, C20, C21, C22, C23, C24, C27, C33 |
| 5 | 10uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0805_2012Metric | C25, C28, C30, C36, C37 |
| 5 | Conn_01x02 | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x02_P2.54mm_Vertical | H1, H2, H3, H13, H14 |
| 4 | 100K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R17, R30, R40, R41 |
| 4 | 1K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R10, R12, R14, R26 |
| 4 | 22uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0805_2012Metric | C29, C31, C32, C39 |
| 4 | 47K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R27, R28, R29, R33 |
| 4 | MountingHole_Pad | MountingHole:MountingHole_3.2mm_M3_Pad | H8, H9, H10, H11 |
| 3 | 0.1uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0603_1608Metric | C1, C6, C26 |
| 3 | 33R | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R13, R18, R20 |
| 3 | 75K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R37, R38, R39 |
| 2 | 10K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R23, R35 |
| 2 | 10uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_1206_3216Metric | C2, C5 |
| 2 | 15p | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C7, C8 |
| 2 | 1nF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0603_1608Metric | C3, C4 |
| 2 | 22K | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R24, R25 |
| 2 | 27R | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R15, R16 |
| 2 | 330R | Resistor_SMD:R_0603_1608Metric | R1, R2 |
| 2 | 4.7uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C15, C16 |
| 2 | 4.7uF | RP2350:C_0402_1005Metric_small_pads | C12, C13 |
| 2 | 5.1K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R8, R11 |
| 2 | DNF | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R6, R9 |
| 2 | FerriteBead_Small | Inductor_SMD:L_0805_2012Metric | FB1, FB2 |
| 2 | TS-1187A-B-A-B | Custom:SW_TS-1187A-B-A-B | S1, S2 |
| 1 | 0 | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R7 |
| 1 | 1.5F | Custom:SuperCap_Eaton_PHV_9.0x17.3mm_P11.80mm | Super_Cap1 |
| 1 | 100uF | Capacitor_SMD:CP_Elec_6.3x7.7 | C38 |
| 1 | 110K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R36 |
| 1 | 120K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R34 |
| 1 | 1N4148W | Diode_SMD:D_SOD-123 | D3 |
| 1 | 1uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C35 |
| 1 | 2.2 µH | easyeda2kicad:IND-SMD_L4.0-W4.0_FNR40XXS | L2 |
| 1 | 200R | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R19 |
| 1 | 22K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R22 |
| 1 | 24K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R31 |
| 1 | 2N7002 | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-23 | Q1 |
| 1 | 3.3u | RP2350:L_pol_2016 | L1 |
| 1 | 330K | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R32 |
| 1 | 4.7nF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C34 |
| 1 | ABM8-272-T3 | Crystal:Crystal_SMD_3225-4Pin_3.2x2.5mm | Y1 |
| 1 | Conn_01x03 | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J2 |
| 1 | Conn_01x04_Pin | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x04_P2.54mm_Vertical | J6 |
| 1 | Conn_01x05 | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x05_P2.54mm_Vertical | J7 |
| 1 | FNR4018S1R5MT | easyeda2kicad:IND-SMD_L4.0-W4.0_FNR40XXS | L3 |
| 1 | KF350-3.5-2P | easyeda2kicad:CONN-TH_P3.50_KF350-3.5-2P | U7 |
| 1 | LOGO | HDDSyncMKIII:MHDDLA_GB_40mm | G*** |
| 1 | LOGO | Custom:HDDSynth_Logo_18mm | G*** |
| 1 | LOGO | HDDSyncMKIII:MHDDLA_Sound_40mm | |
| 1 | MAX98357A | Package_DFN_QFN:TQFN-16-1EP_3x3mm_P0.5mm_EP1.23x1.23mm | U2 |
| 1 | Optocoupler_DC_PhotoNPN_AKEC | Package_SO:SO-4_4.4x3.6mm_P2.54mm | U1 |
| 1 | RP2350_60QFN | RP2350:RP2350-QFN-60-1EP_7x7_P0.4mm_EP3.4x3.4mm_ThermalVias | U5 |
| 1 | SMAJ5.0A | Diode_SMD:D_SMA | D1 |
| 1 | TF-015 | easyeda2kicad:TF-SMD_TF-015 | Card1 |
| 1 | TPS25921ADR | easyeda2kicad:SOIC-8_L5.0-W4.0-P1.27-LS6.0-BL | U8 |
| 1 | TPS61094DSSR | easyeda2kicad:WSON-12_L3.0-W2.0-P0.5-BL-EP | U9 |
| 1 | TPS63020DSJR | easyeda2kicad:VSON-14_L4.0-W3.0-P0.50-BL-EP_TI_DSJ | U6 |
| 1 | USB_C_Receptacle_USB2.0_16P | Connector_USB:USB_C_Receptacle_HRO_TYPE-C-31-M-12 | J4 |
| 1 | W25Q32JVSSIQ | RP2350:SOIC-8_5.23x5.23mm_P1.27mm | U3 |
| 1 | XL-3528RGBW-HM | Custom:LED-SMD_4P-L3.2-W2.8-LS3.5-XL-3528RGBW-HM5 | LED1 |
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Questions
How big is the HDD Synth Prototype MK5 PCB?
It measures 100.3 × 69.9 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
What parts does the HDD Synth Prototype MK5 use?
112 parts, built around the TPS63020DSJR, W25Q32JVSSIQ, TF-015 and KF350-3.5-2P. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
Where can I download the HDD Synth Prototype MK5 KiCad files?
From the MaverickUK/HDDSynth repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is 2_prototype_mk5/hardware/HDD Synth Prototype MK5.kicad_pcb and its schematic 2_prototype_mk1/hardware/HDD Synth.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the HDD Synth Prototype MK5 design in my own project?
Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask MaverickUK before reusing the design.