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

bob_m · Post by **bob_m** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:19 am

I don't mind the red, I'm just curious.
One color for each room would be cool
Red, blue, green...

Post by **The Robman** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 11:48 am

To change the color you would need to replace all of the tiny LEDs on the PCB, and I think there are almost a dozen of them. Conceptually it would be easy enough, and the parts are very cheap, but these are very small parts, so removing them will be quite tricky.

AFAIK, nobody has tried though.

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:23 am

Hmmm. Something to consider. I solder micro-electronics daily, so it wouldn't be a problem for me to do the job, but Rob what are the specs on the LED? I would want to try to get something similar.

Post by **The Robman** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 3:59 pm

You got me there, I don't there's much difference in these little LEDs.

Ellen · Post by **Ellen** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:57 pm

There was some discussion of this topic here over a year ago. I don't think it went beyond the "wouldn't that be neat" stage though.

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:28 am

Oh, man. There is no way that I can NOT do this! I think I'll do a little blue, a little green, and some white. I can't decide if I want to keep the red or not. I have to look at my HTPro and see what would look good. I will of course get some good pictures for everyone. Any suggestions on button colors?

bob_m · Post by **bob_m** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:35 am

how about a red/white/blue remote?
Or different color for each room/remote ?

Wheelie4 · Post by **Wheelie4** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 5:41 pm

I hate the red on my 9910. Green or white would be much plesant to the eyes for reading the key labels.

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 9:53 am

bob_m wrote:how about a red/white/blue remote?
Or different color for each room/remote ?

I like the idea of the red white and blue. I will make the bottom red, the middle white, and the top blue, except for the display. That will be white.
Here is what I know so far. I have taken apart the remote (HTPro URC-9811) and the diodes (LEDs) are 0603. I have identified a potential part in Digi-Key and will place the parts in the next company order. There are 12 LEDs on this board, two for the display and 10 for the keypad.
One thing to note for anyone doing this is that LEDs are polarized, and so you need to be sure to put + on the + side and vice versa. I am going to try to get a pic of the board today, and will post it as soon as I can.

Nils_Ekberg · Post by **Nils_Ekberg** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 10:26 am

I think you may end up with a business here. I think a lot of people, me included would love this mod.

I would love to make the digits one color, the transport another and the menu another etc.. Actually, I would just be thrilled to make them all one more pleasing color like white or light blue.

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:22 pm

I have pictures of the board and a close up of the LEDs. I will post the link here tomorrow. I have ordered what I hope are equivalent LEDs from Mouser and will put those on when they come in.

Nils_Ekberg wrote:I think you may end up with a business here. I think a lot of people, me included would love this mod.

I would love to make the digits one color, the transport another and the menu another etc.. Actually, I would just be thrilled to make them all one more pleasing color like white or light blue.

I know your joking, but I'm not really interested in doing these too many at a time. I certainly don't mind doing them for people, just asking that they cover the costs of shipping and parts, but I want to say up front that I won't allow it to interfere with my family time.

Let's see how this goes first, then if people like the result, I may start taking requests.

jherrick · Post by **jherrick** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:48 am

http://img122.echo.cx/img122/7728/9811pcb8tj.jpg

is the 9811 board. The circles are where the LEDs sit. I haven't been able to determine which LEDs are responsible for which buttons, specifically. I have a feeling there is nothing specific about it. The 9811 uses a piece of rigid plastic as a waveguide or lightpipe to disperse the light from the LEDs, and so we may very well find that some of the buttons end up with mixed colors. The display has it's own lightpipe, and two LEDs for it alone, so it should end up at whatever color we specify. Mine will be white.

http://img122.echo.cx/img122/678/led00018kh.jpg

is a close-up of the LED. Notice the + symbol on the board. Also notice how the LED has a polarizing symbol.

http://img122.echo.cx/img122/2143/led00030cm.jpg

shows the solder "wick" or braid, that I use to remove the component. After removal, this makes a good cleaning tool to remove solder from the pads. This is important so that you use fresh solder on installation and don't heat the old solder too many times and create a cold solder joint.

bob_m · Post by **bob_m** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:00 am

Cool
To bad I can't solder to save my life and I'd probably want to many different colors, or a different color for each remote...

Post by **The Robman** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:11 pm

MCM InOne has a product called "TENMA SMD TWEEZERS" (part # 21-8230 - $30) that appears to be just the right tool for this purpose. It looks like it's a pair of tweezers that have a soldering tip on each end. In theory at least, you should be able to use a tool like this to remove the little LEDs without first needing to remove the solder, which should speed up the whole process.

Nils_Ekberg · Post by **Nils_Ekberg** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 1:55 pm

Interesting tool Rob.. Look more like a short range taser.