Mod

Sony HB-101 on the wall

MSXHardware3D Printing

How to hang a HitBit on the wall with 3D-printed parts and neodymium magnets.

The Sony HB-101 is far too pretty to keep stored away in a box. In this article we’re going to strip out what it no longer needs, fit it with a modern power supply and hang it on the wall with neodymium magnets, fully reversibly: it pops off the wall with one gesture and you can keep using it.

Materials

Type	Description		Notes
Screw	M3×6 screws	4
Screw	M3×8 screw	1	Holds the `A_Bottom Centered` part.
PSU	5 V / 3 A charger board	1	Any one will do. The holder is designed for 64×36 mm, but the tabs in the .3mf can be adjusted to fit your board.
PSU	12 V booster, 25×16 mm	1	AliExpress.
Cable	Female power cable, replaces the original	1	AliExpress. The female end stays inside the MSX case; a regular cable plugs into it.
Magnet	Self-adhesive neodymium disc magnet, 25×2 mm	6	Supermagnete S-25-02-FOAM. Sold in packs of 10 minimum.
Magnet	Neodymium block magnet, 10×3×2 mm, for the handle	2	Supermagnete Q-10-03-02-HN. Sold in packs of 10 minimum. Only if your handle doesn't retract.
3D	Printed parts: `A`, `B_Under PCB`, `C_Top Left`, `D_Power Supply`, `Wall Piece`…	1	On MakerWorld, button below.

The printed parts

The plates with all the parts, ready to print.

See it on MakerWorld

These are the parts you need to print. If you have Bambu Studio, perfect. With OrcaSlicer you get full compatibility. With other slicers I can’t guarantee they’ll print correctly.

Opening the HB-101

Page 2-1 of the service manual shows how the computer opens. Be careful not to break it as you open it. Look closely at where the tabs are; we don’t want to scratch our beloved MSX.

HB-101 service manual

Page 2-1 of the service manual, with the case teardown.

The inside, freshly opened. Marked in the photo, the connectors where the 12 V and 5 V go.

Once open, this is what our HB-101 looks like. We’re going to remove it piece by piece until everything is out. The photo marks the connectors where the 12 V and the 5 V go.

Disconnect all the cables and take everything apart slowly and carefully. With the power supply area removed, our HB-101 will be about 900 g lighter.

Placing the magnets

The empty case. The three magnets go in a V: two on top and one at the bottom centre.

This is what the case looks like with nothing in it. We’re going to place 3 neodymium magnets in a V, with two on top and one at the bottom centre. We’ll take advantage of the circle the case already has to place the first one there.

The magnets come with a sticker. They’re easy to place and they stay put.

The magnets in position, using the circle the case already has.

With the parts we printed, put A_Helper and B_Under PCB in position, then peel the film off the magnets and place them.

A_Helper and B_Under PCB in place, holding the magnets.

With the magnets now fixed, remove the A_Helper and replace it with the A_Bottom Centered part. This is how it looks now.

C_Top Left screwed in with the screws that used to hold the transformer.

Place the C_Top Left part and screw it in with the same screws that used to hold the transformer. Fix the A_Bottom Centered part with an M3×8 screw.

With the metal plate and the PCB screwed in, the magnets are locked in place.

Put the bottom metal plate back and screw in the PCB. With that, our magnets are locked in place.

The new power supply

D_Power Supply with the 5 V / 3 A supply and the 12 V booster.

Screw in the D_Power Supply part with the same screws that held the original board. Fit a 5 V, 3 A supply into the large clips. My design is made for a 64×36 mm board, but in the .3mf you can move the tabs to fit the size of your board. The 12 V booster is 25×16 mm, bought on AliExpress.

The power cable, locked by its printed part.

Cut the cable you bought: we’ll use the female half, which replaces the original. Leave 10 or 15 centimetres, enough so it doesn’t sit crumpled inside the MSX, and solder it to connect the power switch board to the power supply. Here’s a photo of how the cable sits in the part that locks it.

The supply stays inside: only a regular power cable comes out.

After that, any standard power cable will connect it to the mains.

Many people will want to fit a USB port straight in; I like the power supply to be inside.

Handle magnets

My unit doesn’t have the springs that make the handle retract; if that’s your case too, you can add a couple of small magnets to keep it closed. They’re the two parts on the Handle Magnets plate. Glue the small block magnets in place as shown in the picture. Use the M3 screws.

The Handle Magnets parts, with the block magnets glued in place.

With this you can now close it up and put everything back in place.

The wall piece

The print pauses halfway to embed the magnet inside the part.

Print the Wall Piece. It will pause halfway through: open the printer and stick a magnet in there.

Double-check that it’s magnetically aligned with the magnet inside the HB-101. It never hurts to check again. Only the bottom one; the top ones you can stick to the wall.

Resume the print.

The HB-101 on the wall, held up by the magnets alone.

Once printed, line it up on the wall and stick the magnets either to the wall or to the piece, depending on the orientation of your magnets.

If you’d rather stick the magnets to the wall, you can print just one layer of the model and use it as a template.

The result

The final result, with a 2 cm frame. It looks stunning.

This is the final result. I gave it a 2 cm frame. It looks absolutely stunning.

The HB-101 on the wall, in motion.