Hidden in Plain Sight Secret Flash Drive Inside a USB Plasma Ball - Hidden Files Never Looked So Good!

What better way to hide data then in plain sight and even more in something that glows, moves, and brings attention to itself? And yet it is likely the last place most would think to look, inside a USB Plasma Ball. This project will show you step by step how to accomplish this conversion task. It is a fairly easy and straightforward project and it looks good when its completed!

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Here is a complete list of Supplies & Tools you will need. They are not all the same supplies I used but should be similar or better replacements. The supplies I used I already had lying around, if I was buying parts I would go with Option #2 below instead of USB OTG Cables and I would also do the Upgrade Idea. Not every tool used here is required if you get creative with what you have already. Wiring Diagrams available in last steps.

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Supplies

• USB Plasma Ball - (Similar design to mine but these have battery compartments now so there will be less room inside. I would go with the USB Flash Drive below to save space.)
• USB Flash Drive - (I took apart an old Sandisk 2GB Flash Drive that was too big to fit in its plastic housing, but this one is significantly better both in capacity and small size. I designed this project intentionally so it is easy to swap out the flash drive later for a better one!)
• Micro USB Breakout Boards - (I used two since it came in a 10 pack but below is a better option instead of two of these.)
• Option #2 USB A Breakout Board (I didn’t have these at the time I made this but getting it would save you from needing the USB OTG cable and save quite a bit of space inside the plasma ball. If you do this approach wire everything from the Micro USB to the USB A board the same but leave the ID line on micro USB empty. Also you may want to make the cable lengths a bit bigger so you can position it easier.)
• USB OTG Cable (This is only if you are doing the Micro USB to Micro USB like I did instead of Option #2 Above.)
• 22 Gauge Wire Multi Color Set (Not set I used but would have been much better since it has different colors to color code the connections with and some heat shrink tubing to match, plus a basic wire stripper. I used 24 gauge wire because I had it lying around. This would also be more flexible cable which would be nice.)
• 22 Gauge Solid Core Wire Single Color (Similar to what I used and will be rigid, but any wire that fits in the PCB holes should be fine. I used 24 gauge wire because I had it lying around. The rigidness of solid core wire makes fitting it more annoying later.)
• Retractable Micro USB Cable (Similar to what I used and will keep with the Plasma Ball from now on.)
• Upgrade Idea - Magnetic Switch Normally Open AKA Reed Switches (Super easy to add you just wire this between the positive lead from the Micro USB IN to the Micro USB OUT (or USB A if you do Option #2) to the flash drive, then only when a magnet is by the switch will the flash drive get power and show up on a computer.)

Tools

• Heat Shrink Pack - (I used the one size up from the smallest and cut in half probably about 1/12”, you can skip this if you buy the 22 Gauge Wire Set Above as it includes some. You could also just use some of the Silicone tape or electric tape. It is only used to prevent the two power cables on the Plasma Ball from shorting out after soldering.)
• Quick Wire Stripper Tool - (Not required but saves time I use it on any project requiring wiring, not same brand I used but should be similar in function.)
• Cheaper Wire Stripper - (Standard style and more versatile and can do crimping.)
• Screwdriver Philips - (Similar to one I used.)
• Soldering Station - (Not same one I used but similar concept and well reviewed.)
• Helping Hand - (Similar to one I used.)
• Solder with Rosin Core Set Lead Free in Various Sizes - (You will have solder for most projects.)
• Solder with Rosin Core Lead Free - (Similar to one I used.)
• Angled Wire Cutter Set - (Similar to one I used, normal wire cutter would be fine too.)
• Silicone Tape - (Same as I used, better then electric tape as there is no adhesive to leak out over the years, not required but is handy. This is to reinforce the Micro USB connection on the board.)
• Hot Glue Gun - (This one works well.)
• Metal File Set - (Similar to ones I used.)
• Flex Neck Lighter - (Better then one I used, this one is refillable. But any old lighter will work, its just to shrink the heat shrink tubing. You can also use a blow dryer or heat gun if you have either.)
• Almost all in one set - (The parts are probably cheap quality and may not last but if you have no tools at all this would be a cheaper way to get most of what you need to get started for less money.)

Wiring diagrams available on Step 17 that will show what I did, and Option #2. Step 18 will show both wiring diagrams with the Upgrade Idea with the Magnetic Switch.

First things first, make sure the plasma ball is working. It would be very frustrating to finish the project only to find out it was defective. Now is also the time to break open the USB Flash Drive plastic housing if you are reusing one that is longer then the bottom of the Plasma Ball. If you are using a small one, which I highly suggest, you can skip that step.

This step is very easy the Plasma Ball is held together with 4 Phillips Screws on the bottom that just need to be removed. I can't see a picture of the bottom of the new style one that I linked which has a battery compartment, but it is probably very similar to this using 4 Phillips Screws.

Now get ready 5 wires of equal length and strip off a bit from both ends so they can be inserted into the holes in the Micro USB board. Also prepare two wires of Red and Black ideally but in my case they are all clear, the one with the white line I connected to positive which would be the red wire on yours. Those will be the wires that connect to the Plasma Balls red and black power wires later on. The two power portions we need to strip off a bit more so we can wrap another cable to it that will let us use it to power the Plasma Ball. The pictures will do a better job showing what I mean. Its a good idea to double check the Micro USB boards as well as they are pretty cheap and some may not be fully connected. Wiring Diagrams available on Step 17.

Prepare your soldering iron, solder, helping hand and get ready to solder. This part will be pretty easy to do as its simply a matter of applying a tiny dot to the holes on the circuit boards. First however we will solder the extra wire for powering the plasma ball that was twisted around the positive and negative wires. Be sure before you solder that you connected all the wires to the correct parts on the other board. Once its soldered its hard to undo. You can do it without the helping hand but it will be harder to keep in place.

This is the point of no return in this project, once you cut this plug you will be forced to finish the project if you ever want the plasma ball to work again! No problem there is only a few steps left at this point. So snip off the barrel plug on the plasma ball, strip the ends of the wire, cut the heat shrink tubing in two and put it on the wires for the next step.

Now twist the extra wires we soldered to the main power wires on the plasma ball and solder them together. The wire connected to GND should be connected to the black wire and the VBUS to the red wire. Then slide up the heat shrink tubing and apply heat so it shrinks and holds to it. This is important to prevent them from shorting out. If you don't have heat shrink tubing use the silicone tape if you have it, if not use electric tape.

Time for a test to make sure the Plasma Ball still works, and if everything went according to plan then you will be glad to see the Plasma Ball working again! Double check that nothing is shorted out before applying power. If nothing is working check all your connections and check the Micro USB connectors soldered to the board.

Bend all the extra wire up and then snip them off, this is why I was using the angled wire cutters the whole time! There is no way it would be that I couldn't find any other wire cutters. Did this need a whole step? Probably not but here we are anyway.

This is hard to photograph as you need both hands, but the basic is cut off a strip of silicone tape and then grab each end with both hands and pull it apart so its under tension then wrap it around still keeping it under tension. Silicone tape sticks to itself when it under tension. You can also use heat to some degree to make the last little bit stick. I didn't have to apply heat at the end so that is not pictured. You could instead do hot glue to cover up the soldered terminals and reinforce the Micro USB connector on the board. If you use hot glue plug in a wire first so none gets between the cracks into the Micro USB connector or you won't be able to get a cable in there after. Try not to accidentally hot glue the cable to it either, but that's easier to deal with. If you plug in a wire with too much force with no reinforcement the Micro USB connector can separate from the PCB, which I learned the hard way on a different project. I then had to de-solder and then re-solder a new Micro USB board on the finished project which was a pain, so be sure to reinforce it with something. Electric tape wrapped around it under tension a few times would probably work too. Even reinforced don't apply too much pressure when plugging in the Micro USB cable!

Snip off the bits of plastic that stick up too far on the bottom of the Plasma Ball that used to hold in the old barrel power plug. The angled wire cutters work well for this too. If you leave them they will make the new Micro USB plug stick up too high to line up with the hole.

The hole for the barrel port is too small to fit the Micro USB cable through so file it away and check it against the Micro USB cable and keep filing until it fits. I wanted it to fit through the hole completely to make certain it would fit later and make it easier for the next step. Be careful not to accidentally hit anything important on the inside such as the control board or stem of the Plasma Ball. Also remember to blow out the plastic fragments inside of the Plasma Ball. You could also use a rotary tool like a Dremel for this but I went for hand files so I didn't take off too much plastic.

The next step is to hot glue the Micro USB connector in place. It is a lot easier to do if you leave the Micro USB cable plugged in the whole time and will prevent it from leaking into the Micro USB connector preventing a cable from being plugged in later. It also gives you something on the outside to hold so you don't get burned. This is why we pushed it through at the end of the last step. This lets you hold onto the USB cable outside of it with your hand and adjust it and hold it as the hot glue dries. This step takes a few layers which I tried to get pictures of that are hard to see. Also don't forget to get the plastic dust from filing off of your silicone tape which I forgot to do at first and the hot glue wouldn't stick well until I did. To speed up the hot glue solidification you can blow on it while you hold it. I lightly pulled the Micro USB board so it was touching on both sides the hole and nearly centered. The last picture was taken after everything was solidified do not unplug the Micro USB cable yet, it is just to show you what I mean by being centered in the hole.

Hot glue the Micro USB OTG cable or USB A Board to the bottom of the Plasma Ball cover. Make sure to leave a gap near the edges so it doesn't hit on the ridge inside. It barely fit with this longer USB flash drive. If yours has a battery compartment you will have to adjust accordingly, hide this inside the battery compartment, or cut out the battery compartment all together and glue the cover on.

Plug in the Micro USB OTG cable into the second Micro USB board and put the wire inside carefully out of the way to prepare to close it up. If you did Option #2 you don't have to worry about this step, just make sure the cables are out of the way and carefully close it up and put the screws back in.

Here is the finished Plasma Ball from multiple angles right after closing it up. There will be a few more pictures with it connected to a computer next. It is hard to tell without looking very close that it was not always supposed to be a Micro USB connector especially if you keep the Micro USB cable plugged in. Without the cable it is a bit more noticeable but most people won't notice.

Here is the completed plasma ball and plugging it into the computer to reveal the flash drive. I must admit this is the coolest flash drive I have ever seen plugged in doing the plasma ball effect while you access the flash drive is a very nice touch. You can also flip the switch off and it will work just like a normal flash drive.

Here are some simple wiring diagrams of the way I did it and Option #2, this was done with Libre Office Draw. It is a very simple circuit we are basically just making a cable and tying into the positive and negative wires. On the diagrams VBUS is the USB Positive wire probably means Voltage BUS, ID means Identification (only on Micro USB connectors, used for USB OTG [On The Go]), D+ and D- are the USB Data transmission lines. This is using USB 2 connectors, you could upgrade to USB 3 but there will be a lot more wiring involved and different breakout boards would be required.

Here are some simple wiring diagrams of my Upgrade Idea mentioned in the Supplies & Tools. On the diagrams VBUS is the USB Positive wire probably means Voltage BUS, ID means Identification (only on Micro USB connectors, used for USB OTG [On The Go]), D+ and D- are the USB Data transmission lines. On the Magnetic Switch on the diagrams COM means Common, NO means Normally Open, NC means Normally Closed (which is unused in this project). Normally Open means the switch is off until a magnet comes into contact turning it on. This is using USB 2 connectors, you could upgrade to USB 3 but there will be a lot more wiring involved and different breakout boards would be required.

Here is just a list of other ideas or upgrades that could be done to this:

• This project used USB 2 connectors, you could upgrade to USB 3 but there will be a lot more wiring involved and different breakout boards would be required.
• For extra secrecy you could encrypt the whole flash drive using Vera Crypt (encryption software based on TrueCrypt source code.)
• If you upgraded it to USB 3 you could install a whole Linux Operating System on the flash drive like Linux Mint. Then its not just a secret flash drive its a secret operating system, Tails might be a good operating system of choice for this.
• If you were to remove the flash drive status LED and maybe wire in a solid state relay you might be able to make the plasma ball only come on when the drive is being accessed, this would be complicated and may wear out all the components sooner as it would keep flashing on and off.
• Using a full size Plasma Ball maybe a whole portable hard drive could be fit inside.
• In a bigger plasma ball you may be able to fit a Raspberry Pi Zero and have it run a local NAS (Network Attached Storage) server for use around your house or perhaps a media server.
• Why stop there in a big plasma ball you could fit a whole computer using a Raspberry Pi 4.
• If I had the money I would do these project ideas in awesome looking plasma balls like this Double Gazing Dragon Plasma Ball, Grim Reaper Plasma Ball or Steampunk Blaster Plasma Ball. All of which have an AC power line but that wouldn't be a problem with ideas like the Raspberry Pi's or portable hard drives above.

If you would like to support me in making these projects you can do so here.

Do you have any more suggestions? I will add good ones to this list and if my finances allow and there is enough demand I will do some of these projects in the future.