Are you a hardcore iPhone modder? That is, are you willing to disassemble your treasured device, put it under a microscope, and attack its tiny circuit board traces with a soldering iron? If so, then this new video from MAKE alum Becky Stern, over at adafruit, is for you.
She starts with one of the Chinese light-up logo modkits that are floating around. These kits are a bit hard to find. US merchants, adafruit included, aren’t selling them because they include a replacement back panel with a bootleg transparent Apple logo. kogadget.com has sold this kit, or a similar one, in the past, though they don’t seem to be available at the moment.
Along with some tools and other installation accessories, the kit includes a paper-thin LED panel that mounts behind the replacement back. Only two connections are required, one of which (to ground) can be made just by wrapping a stripped lead around one of your iPhone’s internal assembly screws. The other connection is made to screen backlight power (so that the logo lights up whenever the screen is illuminated) and, per the original kit directions, is supposed to be made using a pretty wonky double-sticky-back tape arrangement. If you’re slightly less hardcore, you may want to try that method before melting any metal into your expensive phone.
Becky, however, is having none of that weaksauce, and will show you how to make a proper connection. If you’ve got what it takes.
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