Materials Used

1. (1) 1 GB PNY Attaché Thumbdrive

2. (1) 100 ohm resistor

3. (2) 3mm UV pink led (I would have put a 5mm in, but I don’t have any at the moment)

4. (1) Small Flathead screwdriver

5. Solder, I used 0.032″ diameter solder.

6. (2) Low guage wires, I’m not sure the size, I took it out of an old usb cable.

7. Some electricians’ tape (optional)

8. Solder Iron, I used a Weller iron that has voltage adjustment. Any 15W iron will work.

How I Did It

•1) I took the thumbdrive and I slid the plastic silver sleeve off of it. Mine came off easily because I’d taken it off a while back for another mod that I did. Yours might be a little tough to get off, just pull on it, it’ll come off eventually.

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•2) Then I took the small flathead screwdriver, placed it underneath the metal connector part of the usb connector and pryed up a little bit. This popped the secondary casing off. Some models have 4 little clips around the edges, be sure you bend those back first, they will release the casing halves pretty easily.

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•3) I then decided how I wanted to do this. I wanted the led to project the light towards the front of the thumbdrive, because this would allow it to distribute the light throughout the entire casing. I figured I would run wires all the way to the back of the casing and place the led in that way. That’s what I did (see picture #9) here it is with the points all soldered down and everything.

Note: the top most solder point is the negative connection. You’ll put the resistor on there. The bottom solder point is the Positive

After that, it was time to test it out. I did and it works. (picture #11)

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Since its working correctly it’s time to put the drive back together. Make sure you tuck all of the wires into the casing, you don’t want to risk pinching a wire. Slide the cover back on and there you have it. That’s all there is to it. Hopefully I’ll find a nice green or blue 5mm led somewhere so I can throw it in because the 3mm looks nice in the dark but it’s not blazing, you know? haha. Enjoy and have fun modding.

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Knox Ware  will not be held responsible if you mess up your thumbdrive or injure yourself performing this modification. Once you open the device, your warranty is void. We are not responsible. Please take proper precautions, be safe, and be careful. Thank you.