# Can I mod my optical mouse by adding a blue or green LED? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312 "2002-10-08T03:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/1 "2002-10-08T03:53:16Z")
I am just tired of red. However I am pretty sure that the mouse is attuned to the specific wavelength of light given by a red LED. Is this true? Or can I just switch one with another? Maybe white? That’d be purdy 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/2 "2002-10-08T04:10:25Z")
If it’s possible (and cheap enough) I’d imagine they’d already be doing it (or will be soon). I’d guarantee those would fly off the shelf. Kinda like cell phone faces. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/3 "2002-10-08T04:19:26Z")
Apparently it is possible - here’s a (rather old) [article](http://www.taconuts.org/articles/2000/dec/3/page1.php) explaining how to do it. At your own risk, of course. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/4 "2002-10-08T06:52:31Z")
They’re already on the market - just kinda hard to find, apparently. [Here](http://www.mikhailtech.com/articles/inputdevices/am2000/) is a review of a mouse with a blue LED. And [here](http://www.shinza.com/optical_24_color_usb_mouse.html) is a company selling a mouse that I simply _must_ have. **24 LED colors** selectable by a button on the mouse. You can also set it to scroll through all the colors while the mouse is idle. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/5 "2002-10-08T08:06:56Z")
That mouse does not use those LED - at least the ad doesn’t say it uses any of those 24 colours - those are merely there for the novelty. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/6 "2002-10-08T12:22:48Z")
Replacing the LED that’s actually being used by the tracking element in the mouse may actually cause it to stop working. Since the dectector in a red-LED mouse is designed to receive mainly red light, replacing the red LED with a blue one would result in the detector receiving much less usable signal, and your mouse would become less responsive or even inert. This isn’t to say that it won’t work, but it probably will make your mouse more prone to error – especially with blue. Green, being closer to red than blue, should be less prone to problems. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-mod-my-optical-mouse-by-adding-a-blue-or-green-led/131312/7 "2002-10-08T17:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > That mouse does not use those LED - at least the ad doesn’t say it uses any of those 24 colours - those are merely there for the novelty. You sure about that? From the ad: > [@](#): > > This compact, 3-button optical USB mouse glows in 24 different colors. **Not only can you select which color you prefer the mouse to glow when in use** , but you can also set it to cycle through the full 24-color rainbow when the mouse is idle. And from another site’s [review](http://www.powerbookcentral.com/columns/kravitz/Shinza.shtml) of this mouse: > [@](#): > > No, what’s cool about this mouse is the little button on the bottom that changes the color of the LED housed inside of the semi-opaque graphite plastic body. The LED glows steadily while the mouse is plugged into your USB port and brightens up when the mouse is actually in use, causing it to eminate colored light like a tiny spaceship under your hand. You can set the light to match your mood