"Red is Dead" Optical Mice LED Change 500
A reader sent us the
HOWTO for changing that red LED on your fancy-pants new optical mouse to blue - or, I suppose any other color. I think I'm fine with what I've got - although, the glass tops on tables does make using optical mice a pain there.
why?? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:why?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Serously, why do you need to ask why? Present a geek with a gadget, and he will find some pointless way to modify it, just for the sake of modifying it.
Me? I think it'd be cool as hell to have a blue LED light under my mouse.
Re:why?? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:why?? (Score:5, Funny)
Red, it is.
Feel it, you can.
Blue, it must become.
The force is not strong with you... Much to learn you have.
Re:why?? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:why?? (Score:5, Funny)
what about ultra-violet? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:what about ultra-violet? (Score:2)
Re:what about ultra-violet? (Score:3, Informative)
-1 Moron... (Score:3, Insightful)
All IR LEDs (except for maybe some outlandish ones, but none that I know of) are near-IR. Si isn't transparent to near-IR, it's transparent to far-IR (i.e. the type of IR given off by not-obscenely-hot objects). In fact, as others pointed out, most CCDs and CMOS sensors have their sensitivity peak in the near-IR area! (Note: This is the main principle that enables Sony NightShot mode. In most camcorders and digital cameras, there is an optical element that filters out near-IR light because it will utterly kill proper color rendition - In NightShot mode, this filter is moved out of the way, allowing more light in, which happens to be at the sensor's peak. Color rendition goes down the tubes, but recording something is better than recording nothing.)
Re:what about ultra-violet? (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, that would be smart. All over the world geeks would be getting major sunburns on their right palms.
Re:what about ultra-violet? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh well, Karma suicide for a good joke....
Re:what about ultra-violet? (Score:5, Funny)
Thereby ruining their sex lives.
Re:what about ultra-violet? (Score:3, Funny)
logitech is blue... (Score:5, Interesting)
However, upon pluggin my mouse into the computer, the logitech logo and mouse in general glowed blue!!! I was happy. Although the LED on the bottom was red, they had an *extra* LED that was blue for the logo and the *glowing* plastic. That made my day and it involved NO soldering.
Re:logitech is blue... (Score:3, Interesting)
An optical mouse is still a little expensive for me to experiment with. As in, my wife won't let me
Re:logitech is blue... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:logitech is blue... (Score:2)
Fix for glass tabletops... (Score:5, Funny)
Rub some sandpaper over the part of the glass where the mouse will be. Problem solved!
Re:Fix for glass tabletops... (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, wait. Nevermind.
Re:Fix for glass tabletops... (Score:3, Informative)
Quack (Score:4, Funny)
Or for repairing a broken duck.
Personally, I prefer using DUCT tape for most applications, including removing warts [msnbc.com]. Doesn't work all that well for taping ducts [lbl.gov], though.
Resolution (Score:5, Interesting)
I do have to say that a blue LED mouse looks about 10X cooler than a red one. But it looks like this type of project will only interest serious modders who have some cash to spend.
Re:Resolution (Score:2, Interesting)
As long as you don't use an infrared or longer wavelength, you should be ok. Si is transparent to IR.
Re:Resolution (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Resolution (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's see... 700nm would have to equal one pixel movement, right? That means that for a full 1280-pixel travel across the screen, he'd only have to move the mouse 0.896mm (I think). That's some pretty impressive motor skills!
MadCow.
Re:Resolution (Score:4, Insightful)
(Disclaimer: fuzzy math ahead)
Who says the mouse hardware has to send a constant (not variable) motion:pixel signal? Lets assume it sends a 'move cursor' command once per millisecond. I (just now!) moved my mouse across my 1024 pixel screen, and it took about two inches (5 centimeters) of mouse movement, at default windows mouse settings. That's about [google.com] 2.054 pixels per millimeter mouse movement. During each millisecond, a move of anywhere from 700nm-1cm could translate to a one pixel cursor movement, then 1.00000001cm - 2cm would be two pixels, etc. The sharpness would only come into play if someone managed to move it 701nm in less than one millisecond, it would still correspond to a one pixel movement, where as less accurate mice would not move the mouse at all.
I don't think it matters whether your beam is 400nm or 700nm, unless it helps the laser track the mouse across non-optimal surfaces such as solid colors or glass. What may appear solid to a sensor at 700nm resolution could appear slightly patterned at 400nm, kind of like doubling magnification on a microscope allows you to find texture on surfaces which previously seemed flat.
Re:Resolution (Score:3, Interesting)
I know I guy who could probably do this.
He's a neurobiology professor.
He says he used to be able to hold his hand steady to within one wavelength of light. I haven't seen it but, I bet it would be pretty impressive to watch. Of couse, without a nice microscope, you might as well not watch at all
Blue is Cool - here's an article on why! (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's Why [business2.com]
After reading this article yesterday, I pondered changing the LED in my mouse. Has slashdot implmented some sort of psychic cookies or something?
Black light (Score:4, Interesting)
-hero.
Red/White/Blue... (Score:5, Funny)
Major Headline! (Score:2, Insightful)
I mean, really. I know that we've been getting sillier lately, but this? Not exactly News for Nerds. Stuff that matters. Is it?
In unrelated news, a Japanese study [com.com] shows another link between computer use and health problems. But hey, that sort of thing just isn't as k3wl....
Re:Major Headline! (Score:2)
Scroll down.
Now wasn't that easy?
Re:Major Headline! (Score:2)
The researchers urged more studies of the link between computer use and physical and mental symptoms.
I always like to see this sort of thing. It helps reassure me that the group performing the study is trying to be responsible and not just scare people.
(Personally, I'm more concerned that this story is probably a dupe than it being "unimportant to the readers of Slashdot", but anyway...)
In other words... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Major Headline! (Score:3, Insightful)
Which color works best? (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally I would rather have blue to match the blue case on my computer but the mouse that I have isn't all that responsive as it is and if it gets any worse, it wouldn't be usable.
Maybe one of the mod sites could do a test to see which colors offer the best performance and which colors should be avoided.
Re:Which color works best? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Which color works best? (Score:2)
Re:Which color works best? (Score:2, Informative)
Excerpt from the article:
The reason for this is because the red light increases the contrast of the surface it is lighting up. The tiny camera used to take pictures in the mouse is able to see changes in the surface better, offering excellent responsiveness.
So, I guess the red color wasn't choosen for nothing... :-P Indeed, the article says that the mod will only work fine if you use high-intensity blue LED's.
Re:Which color works best? (Score:5, Informative)
Please stop being lazy and Google for it yourself. The original poster is quite correct. The human eye is most sensitive to green light. Going from red (632 nm) to green (532 nm) there is an approximately fourfold increase in sensitivity. That's why green laser pointers are starting to appear, despite their cost. Novelty value, certainly, but also because a laser pointer limited to a safe power is four times more visible in green than in red.
My guess is that it is because green does not re-transmit as far in distance as red does. Red has a longer wavelength and so can travel further without absorption. You don't want your enemy to be able to see you as well, right?
The eye can resolve finer variations in contrast and brightness in green than in red, as well--hence the use of green displays in night vision scopes. Incidentally, it doesn't matter at all what colour your night vision scopes' display is from the enemy's point of view. Night vision devices are almost always passive devices that collect existing light. As long as they are properly fitted, they aren't directing any radiation--red, green, visible, invisible--outward, so there's nothing to see.
There was a study done about what would be better to use for star watching: green or red.
For amateur astronomers, red LED flashlights are available. They are used because even a fairly bright red LED is perceived as relatively dim by the eye, so your eyes don't lose their dark adaptation every time you check your star charts.
As an aside to anyone here who works with near-IR lasers...you know that a 200 mW diode laser at 670 nm (very red) looks no brighter than a 5 mW HeNe (red, 632 nm)--indeed, it looks quite a bit dimmer after all those burn spots start occluding your vision. Wavelength matters just as much as power when talking about perceived brightness.
Re:Which color works best? (Score:3, Funny)
Not so fine (Score:5, Funny)
I thought I was fine with what I had too, until I got a glass tabletop... and started working without pants. Now I just cry every time I look down.
Damn you /.! (Score:4, Funny)
Aw, MAN! And I was just getting caught up on all of my ridiculous case modding and converting my Geo Storm into a Geo Storm "Type R"...
(Like Heston) Damn you. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!
Re:Damn you /.! (Score:4, Funny)
Geo Storm "Type R"
You too? I got an extra sticker if you need it.
(Like Heston) Damn you. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!
Well, since he has Reagan Disease (Alzheimers), shouldn't that be more like: Damn you. Dam holds water. Sandwich ape! Gun go boom! Hello pill lady. PILL LADY IS MADE OF APES!
Re:Damn you /.! (Score:4, Funny)
I changed my case led's to show 133 when I actually only have a 100, a racing stripe on my burner, swiped an "Intel inside" sticker from a disply at Walmart and I hooked the 2940UW external led connector to the green power AND the yellow turbo light on the case front. Eventually I'll fire up Winbench but I figure I'm good for at least 60 more FPS in Doom..
Cool looking, But... (Score:5, Interesting)
What I want to know is: Would it be possible to come up with a mod design in which it switches between red and blue? (Red when it's moving, Blue when it's idle)
I noticed the light turns off when the mouse is Idle with my intellimouse, maybe this could be switched around a bit.
Re:Cool looking, But... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cool looking, But... (Score:3, Interesting)
As seen previously on slashdot! (Score:2)
What about the detector? (Score:2, Insightful)
Article: Desoldering LEDs (Score:5, Informative)
This shouldn't be the hardest part of the mod. Solder-removal braiding and suction solder removers are cheaply available and highly recommended. Once you remove the solder, removing the LEDs is much easier and safer. (No flying hot solder!)
Re:Article: Desoldering LEDs (Score:2, Funny)
Hrmm... (Score:5, Funny)
How many Slashdot'ers does it take to change an LED?
Answer: The ISP hosting the site is about to find out....
I wouldn't suggest doing it... (Score:5, Informative)
I don't recall the URL, but about a year ago someone did a comparison of about 10 different LED colors they tried in an optical mouse, and found that red is the best. (Duhh)
Re:I wouldn't suggest doing it... (Score:4, Informative)
Red is Dead (Score:4, Interesting)
A great scene is a great film (and I presume a great play, but I was too young to see it at the time).
The line is, of course, from The Wiz [imdb.com], which starred Diana Ross (Dorothy) Michael Jackson (Scarecrow) and Nipsey Russell (Tinman). My favorite song was "You Can't Win", which was sung by MJ. It's basically the three laws of thermodymamics, turned into a song about pessimism.
The "Red is Dead" line comes from a scene were they first get to the Emerald City. Everyone's dancing around this huge city square that's all lit green. Everyone's actually wearing white, but because of the lighting it looks green. Then there's an announcement that green is no longer in and the new color is red. Lights change, everyone is in red, and the dance continues. A few minutes later, the announcement proclaims, "Red is Dead" and I think the color moves on to gold.
This film was made at the hight of the disco craze, and Diana Ross was very much a part of it. I was kind of suprised to see her poking such fun at the whirling fashion trends that came and went in weeks in the late 70s.
Re:Red is Dead (Score:3, Insightful)
Never attribute to cultural literacy that which can adequately be attributed to a simple rhyme.
--
Red is for mood. (Score:5, Funny)
The faint glow of a red light while looking at pr0n just seems natural.
Neat mod... (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm guessing red LED's are used in the first place because of the cost. I read somewhere that red LED's are pennies and blue LED's are like $2.00 USD each. I probably read that on the Internet so take it with a grain of salt.
I'm wondering how many more blue LED's we can take. I remember the first thing I seen with them was the Sony PlayStation 2. If you go in to Circuit City or Best Buy, it seems like EVERY stereo, DVD player, TV, laptop, etc has blue LED's! I'm sure consumers like them, but I can see this fad passing soon.
If anyone opens up an old optical mouse, the kind where you need a special mouse pad, make sure you don't remove the infared LED and replace it with a blue one
Re:Neat mod... (Score:2)
Yeah, Blue LEDs are more expensive, but they have come down in price since they were introduced. I think they are about $0.30 each in quantity, still several times more than Red and Green at pennies each.
-Spyky
Glass tabletop fix (Score:2, Funny)
Tape a mouse pad under the glass top.
Re:Glass tabletop fix (Score:5, Funny)
Of course I was kidding, but you just gave me an idea. I can put the red LED's in the eyes of the pink flamingos out in my front yard...
Remember the /. rules.. (Score:2)
.. when you spill solder all over your MS mouse circuit board and ruin it you have to:
a) Call Bill Gates a poopy-head
b) Tell everyone "if MS included a schematic, this wouldn't have happened."
c) Repeat.
Yes I'm joking silly.
The reason they use red... (Score:5, Insightful)
With that in mind, an Infrared LED would probably work great with optical mice and their cheap CCD's.. maybe even better than red. You might have to remove an IR filter from in front of the CCD, and be wary of using them in a room with flourescent lighting, but it'd be good to try. How cool is an optical mouse with apparently NO light?!?!
If you want the "cool" blue look for whatever twisted ass reason, just use a blue LED and an IR LED in paralell. You might have to play with different led's/led voltages to get the right balance between a responsive mouse and the cool blue glow your riceboy heart desires, but again, it should work.
~GoRK
Re:The reason they use red... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The reason they use red... (Score:5, Funny)
About as cool as a 20 year old Sun optical mouse
Re:The reason they use red... (Score:4, Funny)
I remembered when someone told me about the "New" Microsoft optical mouse. at the time I was working on a Sun Workstation in the computer lab, and he was talking some junk on how inovative MS is. So basicly I turned the mose over that I was working with and showed him that it didnt have a mouse ball. Then I told him that this particular mouse is about 6 years old. Luckaly that shut him up and I was able to get to work.
Re:The reason they use red... (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, I have to tell this story. Some guys at work took a Sun to a trade-show. As luck would have it, they forgot to pack the mousepad that goes with one of those mice. It was a Saturday; they were in a far-away city, and none of the stores carried that pad. The demo was to start the next day, and we couldn't send them a mousepad that quickly.
So what did they do? What all good engineers do: they improvised. They took mirror (bought at a local store) the size of the mousepad, and took some filament tape (used for packaging). They put the tape horizontally on half the mirror; vertically on the other half. To move the mouse, you would scan it on the 'horizontal' half till you got to the right row, and the 'vertical' half to get to the right column. Since the demo wasn't really _that_ mouse-intensive, it worked like a charm!
Goes down in my book as one of the coolest hacks under crunch. I know, its off-topic, but the site is slashdotted and we need some idle conversation here.. :-)
Optical mice hork down batteries (Score:3, Informative)
I have two Logitech wireless mice: one at work, one at home. I spend comparable amounts of time logged in both places (*sigh*). The one at home is a mechanical mouse, the one at work is an optical mouse.
My optical mouse has been through five sets of AA batteries in the amount of time it took my mechanical mouse to finish off one set of AAAs.
And you can't use rechargables, because these bad boys need the full 1.7 volts from those Alkaline cells -- the 1.3 from NiCd just won't cut it.
That's just nasty.
Re:Optical mice hork down batteries (Score:3, Informative)
NiCad? What is this, 1982?? Try high-output NiMH instead. I've got a couple of sets for my digicam (which will destroy a set of alkalines faster than it takes to fill a CF card), and they're great. See Steve's digicams [steves-digicams.com] for a rundown of what's out there.
Computer mods... (Score:5, Funny)
However, the main difference I can see between the two is that when the car modders have finished, they drive around town and OCCASIONALLY some girl stops, thinks its cool, and gets in with them, while mouse modders can only use their accomplishment to click on "sign me up" for yet another porn site
Logitech Mouse (Score:5, Informative)
www.skybusiness.com/ntanner [skybusiness.com]
I've done this, and it works fine. Note that there are two Radio shack LED's that are blue, one that outputs 2600 MCD's at 4.5 volts, the other 300 at 6 volts. I used the brighter one, and have no skipping problems at all.
Radio Shack [radioshack.com]
Blue LED? Nah!! (Score:5, Funny)
It would be pretty damn good at playing quake as well, much better than me.
If I could find a mouse like that, well heck, then it could have a blue LED. Until then though, only red for it, until it gets smarter and starts doing some damn work for a change instead of just sitting there until I push it.
Mice are kinda like lightsabers for programmers (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Mice are kinda like lightsabers for programmers (Score:5, Funny)
That would at least explain the reason for the LED's used by Microsoft mice.
Re:Mice are kinda like lightsabers for programmers (Score:3, Funny)
Does it have to be a color? (Score:3, Interesting)
Bah, they're not doing it right... (Score:3, Funny)
Activation Voltage (Score:3, Interesting)
One source for bright LEDs (Score:3, Informative)
http://hosfelt.com/en-us/dept_54.html [hosfelt.com]
After reading this article... (Score:3, Funny)
Another reason NOT to switch to blue (Score:3, Interesting)
The typical red LED circuit is a resistor connected to 5 volts (sometimes 3.3) in series with the LED. The resistor limits the current that can pass through the LED. The value of the resistor is based on some typical forward voltage across the LED. That is, the 5 volts will end up being partially across the resistor, and partially across the LED. The resistor is calculated so that the typical voltage drop will yield the desired current.
The voltage drop on a red LED is about 1 or 1.5 volts or something (I don't remember exactly) but blue LED's ca drop around 3 or 4 volts (IIRC). This throws off the calculations used in selecting a current-limiting resistor for the typical (red) LED circuit. A 3.3 volt circuit might not even turn a blue LED on at all.
The best way to turn on a blue LED is to put it in series with a simple current source (this can just be one matched pair of transistors with a current setting resistor on one of them) or, when possible, to use 12 volts with a current-limiting resistor in series.
Green and yellow are close enough to red that they don't pose a problem.
MM
--
Why make, when you can buy... (Score:3, Interesting)
Where to buy ultrabright LED's? (Score:3, Interesting)
The very brightest I saw was 2000MCD - and that was being sold as the highest brightness at nearly $7US for a single LED.
Suggestions on where to buy from please?
Thanks!
Re:Where to buy ultrabright LED's? (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, the hosting company shut down the site temporarily. Crippled their server. Sorry guys...I tried to keep it up.
About the LED's used in this mod...
They are from superbrightleds.com (go figure huh?) hehe
You need them that bright in order for them to work properly. Hope this helps!
Night Vision (Score:3, Funny)
On submarines and ships, they used to have only red lights inside when it was dark (or the person who had to go outside would wear red goggles inside). This was to preserve the ability to see detail in the dark. The eye's light sensors are able to recover quickly from red light, less so from other wavelengths.
Remember this at your next dimly-lit LAN party, where you've modded your computer and mouse with blue LEDs. And don't blame me when you trip and fall on the way to the fridge for another Mountain Dew. Or get fragged by someone you never saw, because your dark sensitivity was diminished after staring lovingly at your glowing blue mouse during respawn.
nice mod... (Score:3, Interesting)
On my Logitech B12 I desoldered the factory LED, and put in its place a cut in half CD-ROM passthrough cable plug. I then went and bought 1 of every color LED that http://www.superbrightleds.com sells. When I want to change colors I just pull the LED leads out of the plug and pop it out of its plastic holder/lens.
I've measured the voltage being delivered to every color LED when in the mouse: Aqua (max Vf 3.6), Blue (Vf 3.5), Green (Vf 3.5) and White (Vf 3.4) all get 3.35-3.5v Red (Vf 2.2), Yellow (Vf 2.4), and Orange all get 2.3v
All of these LEDs are rated 5000mcd and above.
Every color tracks just like the factory Red LED. And in some cases better! The White, Blue, Aqua and Green LEDs track much better on shinny surfaces. On the same surface Red, Yellow, and Orange LEDs just make the cursor jump around.
How can a site named "extrememhz.com"... (Score:4, Funny)
I suppose "extreme" could refer to minimum.
Try this article (Score:3, Informative)
I guess this isn't _that_ new of a hack.
Re:Don't actually do this! (Score:5, Informative)
Blue has a shorter wavelength than red.
The reason red LEDs are used is because they are the cheapest, as longer wavelength bandgap devices are easier to make.
The exception to this logic is infrared, since LEDs are typically used for visual indication. Infrared LEDs are useless for this purpose so manufacturers don't make nearly as many of them...
Re:woodgrain (Score:2, Informative)
Just use a proper optical mouse... (Score:3, Interesting)
- My flat, smooth, featureless desktop;
- The crap that usually sits on that desktop: plain printed paper, smooth & shiny take out pizza menu's etc.
- My trousers, in case the desktop is too full to move a mouse over.
- My cats! One is extremely black and short-haired, the other a multicolor longhaired one. The mouse works reasonably well on either of them, when one of them lies down on the only clear spot on my desk.
- Wood grain of any description.
Get a decent brand optical mouse, it is worth the higher price.
Re:Just use a proper optical mouse... (Score:3, Funny)
I'd feel sorry for them if you are playing Unreal too.
Re:Just use a proper optical mouse... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Just use a proper optical mouse... (Score:3, Funny)
Does the CD work after you've scratched it up after several hours of mousepad duty?
Re:woodgrain (Score:3, Insightful)
I say orange.. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Optical Mouse on Glass Table? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Slashdotted (Score:3, Interesting)