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Read Me First!
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Optical Mouse IR LED Mod Written by AidanII (25/Nov/02) Page 2 of 2
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Untitled Document
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The next set of tools for the job. Yes, it's a soldering station! Temperature
control means you don't have to worry so much about overheating joints,
and the 50W heating element means you don't have to sit around waiting
for the joint to get hot enough to melt. The only downside is that they
are expensive to buy, at about €150. If you are serious about electronics,
these are worth having. The red light just means the iron is heating up.
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Having said all that, I managed to damage a via on the board. This
is where I discover that the camera does not want to focus on such
a small part.
Fortunately, there are no tracks connected to the other side of this
via, so it doesn't matter! That's what happens when the soldering iron
is set too cool. Turn the soldering iron up 50 degrees and all is well.
Now that the LED has been removed and the holes cleaned up, it's
time to insert the new LED and solder it in. This is also where I start
to think about food. Just remember that solder contains lead, so you shouldn't
eat anything whilst you are working on such projects. Food safely tucked
away in the oven, I'm ready to continue! |
| Soldering the new LED in takes hardly any time, and certainly
less time than removing the old LED! Of course, I did ensure that the
new LED is soldered the same way around, otherwise no light will be
forthcoming, not even IR! Now I have a red LED to add to my collection.
The next stage is to replace the black plastic plate over the LED to
ensure that stray light doesn't affect the operation of the sensor. Once
this is done, the mouse can be reassembled and tested!
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Voilà! One close up of the reassembled LED shield and
the optical sensor. When the mouse is reassembled, there will be a plastic
light guide over the LED, to ensure that it's light ends up in the correct
place. Additionally, the light guide acts as a lens for the optical sensor,
allowing it to focus on the surface just underneith. Of course, this is
leading up to a big problem. How can we tell if the mouse is working after
it's been reassembled? |
| Here is the mouse on and running, sans plastic on the top.
I know it's difficult to see, but just imagine that there's IR beaming
out of the bottom of the mouse. Seriously, it's on. It's just that most
people can't tell the difference between an IR LED and a DED (Dark
Emitting Diode). One quick think later, and a solution is found. Although
human eyes cannot see IR, other devices can. Amazingly enough, most webcams
can actually see IR, should someone be stupid enough to extract the IR filter
inside. One quick mod to a handy webcam later, and AidanCam can bring you
the pictures of the mouse in operation. What a marvel of modern technology!
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Copyright Andrew Miller
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