This is a "Bling" hack! No new features, no artificial intelligence, and it's not going to read your lips. It will however add a lot of style to the already cool-looking OSD!
NOTE: Opening the case of your OSD will immediately void your warranty! If you don't have reasonable electronics experience, I do not recommend you take anything apart like this! Obviously if you disregard this warning and blow your OSD up, you are on your own! This mod requires SOLDERING INSIDE YOUR OSD! If you don't know how to solder, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!This is the result, a erie glowing HAL-style "eye". The camera doesn't do it justice, it's a deep royal blue, not UV, but doesn't look like a standard blue LED either. The camera just doesn't get the deep blue!
This is a close-up. Note the cool way the light interacts with the molded ridges and indentations!
Background:
The OSD is made with a interesting plastic type designed to block most visible light while allowing IR without attenuation. This is the same type of plastic used in the remote "windows" of almost all consumer electronic gear that uses a remote control. The pigment is engineered to help reduce interference from other visible light sources. If you view it with an infrared camera it will look totally clear! From the outside it looks almost black absorbing most visible light. It will however, pass small amounts of visible light, making everything look like a strange ultraviolet color. When you take your OSD apart, hold the lid up to the light and look though it, you'll see what I mean!
I experimented with several different types and colors of LED's and it didn't take too long to realize that the right choice was an Ultra-Bright T1-3/4 Blue LED. This sucker is REALLY bright, (9,000 mcd!) in fact, the brightest of LED's available in this standard case style. I wasn't happy with the built-in optics though, as it focused the light in too small of a cone. It was originally made to focus a 20 degree beam! So, I took out my trusty Dremel tool and ground off the front of the LED with a cut-off wheel, then sanded it smooth. The result is an LED with an emission pattern of almost 180 degrees. This looked great behind the OSD top cover! The quality of the color is absolutely amazing once behind the special IR plastic!
Parts Required:
Tools Needed:
- #1 Phillips Screwdriver
- Small Flat Screwdriver
- Soldering Iron & fine Rosin-core solder
- Scissors
- Dremel Tool, File, and Sandpaper
Instructions:
1. The first step is to prepare your LED by removing some of the top part of it's plastic. I did this with a Dremel tool loaded with a cut-off wheel running slow. I then cleaned it up with sandpaper. You could use a file or maybe a hacksaw blade if you don't have a Dremel. Wear safety glasses whatever you do!
2. Now the OSD is ready to come apart. First unplug all cables from the OSD. Take the OSD to a static-free work area and use a wrist ground strap if possible. This is especially important in low humidity environments. If you have a humidifier, run it. A cheap way to ensure a static-free environment is to do it in a closed bathroom after a hot shower has been running. The steamy high-humidity air "shorts out" any possibility of static, just don't overdo it and get your OSD wet!
3. Remove the plastic stand from the bottom of the OSD. On the bottom of the OSD, there are 4 rubber pads, if you peel these up slightly from the outer edge, (don't take them off) each will reveal a small phillips screw. Unscrew all 4. You can leave them in the holes and let the rubber pads flap back over them, that way you won't accidentally lose them. The top cover should now lift off. There are 2 small slots on the bottom along the sides. You can stick the small flat screwdriver in these to help if it doesn't just lift off.
4. Look at this picture:
Note how the LED and resistor are connected. The resistor connects to one side of the small surface-mount inductor called L10. This is the +3.3v power rail. It then runs carefully, so it isn't near any other components, to the Anode (positive) lead of the LED. You can identify the Anode as it has a longer lead. Then the Cathode (negative) lead of the LED connects to the ground plane. I took the small flat screwdriver and CAREFULLY scratched away the green solder mask coating on the gound plane. This reveals the bare copper underneath which will then readily accept solder. Note the position of the LED which puts it smack in the middle of the board. This is important if you want it to look right!
5. Once you have soldered in the LED and resistor, carefully check your work, and make sure the resistor and LED leads are not near or touching any other components. I then cut off a small piece of gaffer's tape and shoved it under the resistor and LED leads, so there is no possible way it could ever touch anything else on the board. If it ever does, you may found you have let the magic smoke out of your OSD and it will then be toast! I took another piece of gaffer's tape shaped like a square and poked a hole right in the middle. I put this down over the whole mess to hold everything in place and also prevent the board and components from showing once it's all lit up. Here's what it should look like now:
6. The next step is to test your work. Plug in the OSD's power supply and the Blue LED should glow brilliantly! If it does, congratulations! If it doesn't, make sure the OSD is powering up (check the green LED on front). If it isn't, unplug it immediately! Remove all your tape and unsolder the leads, then check the OSD again. If it works now, it means you shorted something out. Try again, this time more carefully. If the OSD comes on, but not the Blue LED, you probably have it backwards. It will not work this way, so remove the tape and reverse the connections.
7. "Rubber Thingy" time: Now we need to rummage around the house and try to find something to act as a light blocking tube. Worst-case you can make one out of gaffers tape. You don't HAVE to do this step, but if you don't lots of blue light will shine out the front of the OSD through the CF clot, and it generally won't look as good. I found a soft rubber hand grip that came off of a some kind of old handle, and cut a piece off. Things you might use are; rubber caps, foam, pipe insulation, weatherstripping, a chunk of fat rubber hose (like cars use) etc. Whatever you choose, It's important that it be soft and pliable so it will conform to the curve of the OSD's top cover while not putting undue pressure on the OSD guts. Here's what mine looks like:
NOTE: Be sure the "rubber thingy" you select is cut properly and is soft enough not to put undue pressure on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). If the board is flexed too much because of high pressure in the middle, you could cause damage to the mounting of the DM320 CPU or the CPU itself. The CPU is a BGA package (Ball Grid Array) and it's many small solder joints will not tolerate a flexing board very long! Damaging the CPU or it's connections will not be covered under your warranty! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!8. Carefully cut and center whatever "rubber thingy" you found so it fits well with the top cover on. It needs to be perfectly centered if you want it to look good. Power the OSD up and play with the thing in a low light area, placing the top on and adjusting things until it looks good. You may wish to tape it in place. Here is what mine looked like right before I put the cover back on:
9. Once the cover is on, verify it looks like you want, and then keep the cover held on while you re-tighten the 4 screws! Congratulations, you have a cool looking OSD!
Come back here and post pictures of your results!!!
Also; Be sure to look at my other hack on how to fix the OSD's poor remote control reception:
http://forums.neurostechnology.com/index.php?topic=8675.0
