[Vienna01]

I posted the following as a reply to a thread about lighted covers.
I thought that it would be helpful if it starts its own thread.
I decided not to Quote my earlier text.

Ebay isn't the only source for the 600 cover. Search for Sony PRSA-SC6/BC. When I was looking there were several non-Ebay sources.
--------------------DIY-------------------------------------------
I purchased Sony PRSA-SC6/BC Standard Book Cover PRS 600 on Ebay.
It was cheap. I had to modify it somewhat. I'll try to describe these modifications. Sorry I didn't take photos while I was doing that. I've added 3 photos after the conversion

The 600 cover held the 600 reader by 2 pins. These 2 pins, at the top and bottom of a plastic bar in the center of the cover, will fit into holes in the 650 as they did for the 600. The "pin" holes are at the left side of both the 600 and the 650.

But-the 600 cover is a bit too tall for the 650. Thus the pins are a bit too far apart for the 650. Solution: Remove the plastic bar, shorten it so that pins fit 650 well,reattach the plastic bar to the 600 in the original location. Manipulate [bend very slightly] the bar so that the pins fit into the "pin" holes of the 650

I'll detail what I did.

1. I removed the plastic bar from the 600 cover. It is attached to the 600 cover by tiny L-shaped hooks on the bottom surface of the bar. I pried the plastic bar from the cover using a screwdriver -carefully.

2. Next I removed the tiny plastic hooks from the underside of the bar. I did this first by clipping them with a diagonal wire cutter and then filing the underside of the bar reasonably flat/smooth where the hooks were before. At this point the hooks are gone from the bar.You could remove the hooks any way you prefer.

3. I then shortened the plastic bar so that the pins at the bar's top and bottom would fit into the little " pin" holes at the top and bottom of the left side of the 650. I used the diagonal wire cutter to remove a little bit of the length of the bar. You can do it with any other tool [hacksaw, heavy scissors,knife, etc.]. The bar is now in 2 pieces.

4. Then I re-attached the plastic bar to its original 600 cover location. I used two-sided foam backed tape. I narrowed the 2 sided tape to match the width of the bar. I used a single length of tape. I pressed the tape onto the cover, being careful to center it top to bottom. I then pressed the bar onto the exposed sticky surface of the tape. I did not find it necessary to glue the ends of the 2 pieces of the bar. They butt together reasonably well.

5. If you shortened the bar correctly you can fit the pins into the "pin" holes of the 650 [again - they are at top & bottom, left edge of the reader]. I had to bend the bar a very slightly to get the pins into the holes. This step will make more sense when you are attaching the 650 to the bar and thus to the cover.

Questions? Sorry no photos or drawings. Maybe some forum member who performs this conversion will take & post photos.


With my converted reader cover, I use a generic light whose base clips onto the back cover of the reader. It has AAA batteries in the base. The clip is heavy duty spring loaded. A 10-12 inch plastic covered heavy bendable wire extends from the base to the led light head. An on-off switch is on this head. I find I can adjust its position to comfortably light the 650's screen evenly. I have seen many similar book lights. This one cost around $6.00 [USD] at a local arts & crafts store.