The Mouse Mod Guide!

**OCking** · 05-29-2002, 09:16 PM

Hey guys! I got bored again and wrote this up! Have Fun!

There’s no mistaking it… That big ugly optical led is clashing with your stylin’ blue-led-laden Lian Li! In this article,I will show you how to properly change that ugly led to a color of your choice! Warning, I'm not accountable if you royally fudge up your mouse! On we go!

What You’ll Need:

•Soldering iron/solder
•Led (minimum 2500mcd @ 3v)
•Time and 1337 soldering skills

Getting Started

I was not entirely impressed with the red glow of my Logitech Wireless Optical Mouse. So, in order to match my case I wanted a blue colored led.

Disasembly

The first thing I did was to take out the batteries and open the shell of the mouse.

This is when I noticed that there were three distinct levels of circuitry in the mouse. The bottom level was what I was interested in as it contained the led circuitry. Therefore, I had to unscrew and take out the other two. The red dot in the bottom picture shows where the led is located.

This is a close-up of the third level. This is where the fun begins! The first thing to do is pop off that white led holder. It has a special locking mechanism so a small screwdriver is required to get it loose.

Soldering

Now you can start unsoldering. The process itself is very easy; however, if you do not have steady hands it may be difficult. The unsoldering should be done as quickly as possible to minimize possible heat damage. Please note, if your particular mouse does not have markings for + and – on the circuit board, you may want to investigate the position of the led. As in the picture below, the shorter lead is negative. However, this may not be applicable because the leads will be cut even with the circuit board. To find out + or – look inside the led bulb and check the filament position. The side with the shorter filament side is positive.

Now, its time to solder in your new led! Please take note, that my particular optical mouse is only supplied with 3v of power. Therefore, a typical 5v blue led rated at 2600mcd would not be bright enough. However, for those of you using a wired optical mouse, 5v will probably work well! My mouse was clearly marked with a positive and negative so I just soldered in a new one. Always remember, the short lead is negative! I chose the Nichia NSPB300A from www.markhannahsurplus.com because it was blue and fit my needs for brightness and voltage. After you have soldered in your choice of led cut the leads down to size and…
Now you’re done! All you have to do is put it all back together!

Here is my finished mouse!!! Cool huh?

**OCking** · 05-29-2002, 09:23 PM

Damn hostmb. Someone wanna host my pics?

**TheUltimateNewbie** · 05-29-2002, 09:31 PM

Yeah, I was just about to say that...

**pwain** · 05-29-2002, 09:45 PM

Wow that is impresive and good instructions. still a little too much out of my league for right now

**OCking** · 05-29-2002, 09:50 PM

Originally posted by pwain
Wow that is impresive and good instructions. still a little too much out of my league for right now

Took me about half an hour to do

Twas a blast!

**imayoda** · 05-29-2002, 09:55 PM

Very nice OCking . I think I'll save this post in case I ever pursue this . Much to learn I still have . .

**OCking** · 05-29-2002, 10:00 PM

Woot! All pics Working!!! Yah!!!

Hostmb still sucks! SLAVIK.... Thanks for the help!

**G33K** · 05-29-2002, 10:47 PM

Great instructions, do you think the MS version will be any harder?

**Ara-Loki** · 05-30-2002, 02:22 AM

LOL, I was just wondering about changing my MS mouse's LED to blue yesterday.

Did you notice any performance difference after the mod (accuracy, etc.)?

**dudewth** · 05-30-2002, 05:25 AM

Originally posted by Ara-Loki
Did you notice any performance difference after the mod (accuracy, etc.)?

I wanna know this too. I have the same mouse as you do OCKing, and I am ready to mod it because my primary mouse is a boomslang.

**Ara-Loki** · 05-30-2002, 05:43 AM

Another question - has anyone actually modded a Microsoft mouse? I'm not sure it would be worthwhile, given that the entire bottom of an Intellimouse is red...

I might have to pick up a Logitech.

**TheUltimateNewbie** · 05-30-2002, 06:42 AM

Originally posted by Ara-Loki
Another question - has anyone actually modded a Microsoft mouse? I'm not sure it would be worthwhile, given that the entire bottom of an Intellimouse is red...

I might have to pick up a Logitech.

Yeah, it looks like Logitechs are the only moddable mouses...

Unless you can somehow change the bottom somehow...

**OCking** · 05-30-2002, 07:56 AM

Originally posted by Ara-Loki
LOL, I was just wondering about changing my MS mouse's LED to blue yesterday.

Did you notice any performance difference after the mod (accuracy, etc.)?

Well originally, I used a 5v led that just wasnt bright enough.! So, when I found an appropriate 3v 2600mcd led its tracked just as well as before!

**inteleatmya$$** · 05-30-2002, 02:20 PM

I have one of those intellemouse opticals with the transparent red bottom. Soon I plan to replace that red piece with a clear acrylic piece I will cast myself. Then I'll change all the LED's. I'll plst pics once it is done.

**OCking** · 05-31-2002, 08:07 AM

Originally posted by inteleatmya$$
I have one of those intellemouse opticals with the transparent red bottom. Soon I plan to replace that red piece with a clear acrylic piece I will cast myself. Then I'll change all the LED's. I'll plst pics once it is done.

Please Do! Thatd be SuuuWeeet!

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