HTpro/9910 - Can the backlight color be changed? Anyone Try?

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 2:47 pm

Revwillie wrote:I'm still considering this mod and $14 seems fair. What's the verdict on battery life with all white super-bright LEDs?

I haven't tried with all white, mine has red, white, and blue. That lasts for a good while. I never really used the remote before making the mods, so I don't know how much longer (if at all) it lasted before.
Jim

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:50 pm

I have received a message from someone already who mentioned that my email wasn't visible in my profile, so I will post it here. If you are serious about wanting this mod, please email me at jandmh(at)excite.com. If you are unsure about emailing (I'm NOT going to send you any spam; I hate the stuff, and besides, Rob would toss me out!) you can just PM me.
Jim

Post by **The Robman** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 7:54 pm

jherrick wrote:If you are unsure about emailing (I'm NOT going to send you any spam; I hate the stuff, and besides, Rob would toss me out!) you can just PM me. Jim

What, and risk having you no longer be an OFA fan??? Never!

jangelj · Post by **jangelj** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:13 pm

Rob, you said you can change how the backlight works with an extender...does that apply to other remotes, too? I have 3 RCU810's that I'd like to turn the backlight on with the press of ANY button. Acutally I'd love to put a tilt switch on it, but I'm afraid that if the remote is not sitting flat it will activate the switch and the light would be on all the time (as if you were just pressing the "light" button and holding it down indefinitely).

If that's not possible, I'll probably do the mod from raynosman (putting an external button on the back of the remote to turn the backlight on).
Thanks,
John

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:51 pm

The Robman wrote:
jherrick wrote:If you are unsure about emailing (I'm NOT going to send you any spam; I hate the stuff, and besides, Rob would toss me out!) you can just PM me. Jim
What, and risk having you no longer be an OFA fan??? Never!

Good play on my RC username!

Post by **The Robman** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:44 pm

jangelj wrote:Rob, you said you can change how the backlight works with an extender...does that apply to other remotes, too? I have 3 RCU810's that I'd like to turn the backlight on with the press of ANY button.

That's how the backlight already works. The backlight button only turns the backlight FEATURE on and off. If the backlight feature is turned on, then pressing any button will turn on the backlight.

If I said an extender would change how the backlight works, I must have been referring to the 8811/8910 family of remotes where the backlight turns off while a button is being held down. This was an idiotic variation on how the backlight normally works, and as far as I know, it's just peculiar to this family of remotes. I imagine that UEI has seen the error of their ways and won't use this variation for any other remotes.

underquark · Post by **underquark** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 6:25 am

Whilst browsing the net I came upon this electroluminescent string product and wondered if it was of any interest to those replacing the colored LEDs and otherwise pimping up their remotes.

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 10:37 am

The Robman wrote:Hey Jim,
Looks cool! Btw, where are the LEDs located in relation to the buttons that they illuminate? I'm thinking it might be nice to extend the "white" section a little lower to include the transport keys and just leave the macro/learning/pip buttons red. Is that possible with the way the LEDs are layed out?

How is this?

For anyone interested in this mod, within the next week I will be getting in the LEDs necessary to customize remotes in all white, all blue, all green, or red, white, and blue as shown here. I will have pics of all of the different colors available after the parts come in.
If you have a different color scheme in mind, let me know and I will see if I can find the parts to make it happen.
Prices will vary slightly, but should be around $15.00.

Post by **The Robman** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 11:41 am

It's a work of art!

blue remote · Post by **blue remote** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:57 pm

Thanks! I have almost worn out my original 9910, at least as far as the key contacts go. All the time i have used it, I have been thinking about what would make it really simple for passing the wife test. Now that i started using it's full abilities with JP1, I figure a couple hours finishing the rest of it should follow.

I have been thinking of either LEDs or a changing to a better suited LED back light and adjusting it's "on" time with the extender upgrade, and then painting the key groups different colors . . . (My main concern with paint is the ability to withstand abuse without looking too beat).

The other option I had in mind is either taking some cheap fiber optic and pin-pointing a spot above or below the keys, using several colors for the different key groups.

The last option, EL tubing used to outline or otherwise mark the key groups.

I think making the key groups separated by some visual marking would make it easier to find the less used keys and eliminate the occasional mistaken key press.

I guess once i get the firmware & setup to my liking and see how wife friendly it becomes . . . and how much I fumble with it. The existing lighting doesn't work for me at all. For some reason, even though i never try to turn the LED off, it always seems to need turned on again! Then when it is on, by the time I get focused on the keys or LCD, it shuts off again. I find the pink color really hard to use. I guess once i put a better color LED in, I can go from there. I like the fiber optic idea though . . . .

br

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:21 pm

Fiber optics would only be manageable if you were talking about the plastic stuff.
I used to splice glass fiber for a living, and the core of the single mode is only 9 microns, surrounded by a cladding and then the jacket. That is about the smallest (25 micron) that you would be able to work with, and even then you would need to be super careful. The turn radius is about 2.5 inches at that diameter before the light starts escaping from the cladding at an alarming rate, and the structural integrity is severely diminished, so to wind it around the keys would be impossible. To launch light into the fiber effectively, you would need a very clean cleaved end, and that would require a sharp fiber cleaver. You would need a source that would be able to couple a considerable amount of it's emitted light into the cleaved fiber end.
If you are in the field, you may be able to acquire the tools, but it may be somewhat impractical to consider fiber. I think that the EL tubing may be a better route if you are set on that idea.

blue remote · Post by **blue remote** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:23 pm

Yes, I agree . . . the glass would be too hard. I was thinking of the plastic bundled together in shrink tube with an LED at the one end and pin holes with hot glue to tack it at the face and cutting them flush. It's just an idea at this point.

Since you have put the effort into finding the solution to the LED switch out . . . and really ending up with a much improved remote, that will probably be my first plan. Since they look so good, that is probably how they will stay!

Very cool results! Are there Amber/yellow LED's easy to get that would work for the LCD? I always thought after the blue/green EL back lighting for LCD's, the next visible contrast was from amber LCD's. Sorry, it must be making you crazy that everyone sees the layout in a different light . . . (for real, different light! <Grin>)

My ideal scheme, if possible with the layout on the board,

- Amber LCD

- Either Blue or green Device keys - (I'm not sure w/o trying it, which would look better?)

- Another Amber set of Keys for the Guide, Menu Arrow keys, etc.

-The white like you have in your photo, that really makes the keys easy to read

- Then the bottom rows, the ones you have in Red . . . either Amber or maybe green . . . (which ever one is easier to read the keys from)

Like I said, you must be ready to start drooling and having a long unfocused stare with everyone saying . . . "but what about . . . ?" So, what about . . . <Giant Grin> . . . from your fun so far, is that easy and/or possible?

Do you have the LED's? How hard of a job would it be with an unregulated fine tipped iron and solder braid? Are you still offering to do the swap? What are your thoughts?

THANKS!

br

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:07 pm

Blue,
I'm sorry not to have responded earlier. I have just gotten in the other color LEDs (green and blue) and will be putting them in the remote for pics soon. I should be able to get the amber LEDs, and I believe the configuration will work. You could get a better idea by looking at early posts in this thread and checking out the picture I posted of where the LEDs are located on the board.
Jim