Monday, August 11, 2008

Modify the Color of the PSP Activity LEDs

Ever wish that the Memory Stick Duo Activity LED and the WiFi Activity LED on your PSP were pink and chartreuse? Well, these colors might be a bit of a stretch, but this hack will show you how to change the default LEDs to colors of your choice.

There is no doubt that the gaming world has come a long way from producing gaming systems that look very boxlike to a new age of sleek and stylish systems like the PSP. But no matter what, each new system rolls off a production line of unoriginality. As consumers, we love to add our own style. So here is a tutorial that describes the process to replace the original Memory Stick Duo Activity LED and the WiFi Activity LED with different LED colors of your choice. This is pretty simple to do; however, I don't suggest you try this at all (unless you are sure you can do it), since the cost of the PSP and the size of the components you'll be working with both lie at their respective extremes. This will void your warranty and other fun stuff like that.

Seriously, if you are a novice at such things, do not try this. Get your soldering iron guru friend to help out.

Now, with the "Don't try this" warning out of the way, let's move on to making the PSP more personally aesthetically pleasing.

Things You Will Need
  • Sony PSP (any firmware version)
  • Memory Stick Duo (required for testing)
  • Small Phillips head screwdriver
  • Soldering iron, 15 watt or less (a fine tip helps)
  • Surface Mount LED (type 0603 of your choice of color; find them at http://www.lsdiodes.com/smd)
  • Multimeter (for testing polarity on the LEDs)
  • Miscellaneous utilities (Xacto knife or razor knife, solder braid)
  • Soft cloth (optional)

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