Hey everyone,
I'd like to share a quick project I did recently and share the files and journey in case anyone else wants to try something similar. In short, I added a BIG keyboard button to the top of a remote control to make the "voice control" button way easier to push for my father-in-law, and here's the result.
YouTube video of this project:
Backstory:
A little while ago my father-in-law, who has multiple sclerosis (or M.S.), asked if there was something that we could do about the TV remote. It was hard for him to push the buttons on the remote. While his cable provider, Xfinity, has a "smart" remote with a voice control button, it's plastic, not squishy, and harder to push than a squishy rubber button. In addition, his condition makes it very difficult to perform precise actions with his hands, such as pushing buttons.
While Xfinity offers some accessible options, neither of this were suited for his particilar needs.
What I ended up doing was designing and building a big keyboard key switch button that attached to the remote. This allows him to access the one button he uses most, the voice control button, by hitting it with his palm or hand.
In an upcoming video (I'll link it below shortly today once it's posted), I elaborate the different things I considered and the steps of how I finished this project.
In this thread I'd like to briefly overview the steps to recreate this mod, and provide the 3D printable files I used.
Some sketches, the remote, and a keyswitch
Steps to make this build:
These instructions are for the Xfinity remote, model XR15. Your milage may vary with other remotes, but the principal is the same.
Items needed:
- Xfinity remote, model XR15
- Soldering iron, solder & flux, scalpel or small knife
- Enameled wire / magenet wire (36 AWG preferred)
- Access to a 3D printer to print two small models (button plate/holder & button keycap)
- Hot glue or plastics glue to secure the keyboard switch to the plate/holder
- A mechanical keyboard keyswitch or button (I used this)
- A small file or pen / hand drill to penetratre the plastic to run the wires to the top of the remote
How-to steps:
Step 1. Remove the remote control battery cover. Remove the two AA batteries.
Step 2. Remove the small screw by the battery cover.
Step 3. Use your fingernails or a guitar pick to separate the halves until the PCB is revealed. The springs for the battery terminal may stick to the plastic backing.
Step 4. Peel away the black label where the batteries were to reveal the PCB. Using isopropyl alcohol can help remove residue here.
Step 5. There's a trace under the label that connects at a right angle right by some regulatory logos. (See photo below).
Step 6. Carefully scrape away with a scalpel or other tool to expose the copper of this trace. You only need to scrape away 2mm or so.
Step 7. Apply solder and flux to the exposed trace. Then apply solder and flux to a small length of small magnet wire (I used 36 AWG magnet wire / enameled wire). You'll probably want to keep the wire length to about 7-8 inches until you are done, as we'll need to wiggle this wire through the remote.
Step 8. Locate pad TP28 near the top of the remote, on the same side. This is a gold pad where you need to connect another wire.
Step 9. Repeat the process above, add solder and flux to the solder pad. Solder a new (seperate) small enamel wire to this spot. Keep the length about 7-8 inches to give you room to work with.
Step 10. Route the two small enameled wires through the front of the remote. This can be done by filing the plastic outline around where the button pads are, or using a small jewel/hand drill to poke a hole throuhg the soft plastic.
This will route the wires externall so you can wire up a button. You may want to hold down the wires with kapton tape to prevent any strain or risk of them being pulled off.
Step 11. For the button, I used a low profile mechnical keyboard switch (Choc v2 MX), available here from Amazon. You can use any button, but this is what I designed my 3D model around.
Step 12. Once the wires are fed through the remote, you'll want to 3D print the button holder. Once that's attached you can feed the wires through the holder, then through to the button, then glue that in place.
Step 13. Grab the two 3D models below and print them. One is a base for the button, the other is a keyboard switch keycap designed for the switch I used. Again, if you use a different button, you'll need to do something different here.
Model 1 is my custom holder. Print it at 101% of the size! This allowed the keyboard switch to have a snug fit. Otherwise it was too small. I used PLA to print this. You can find the model attached as a .zip file to this thread, it's a .STEP file.
Model 2 is a keyswitch keycap by BeniBice, download here. My 3D printer isn't resin, so this was a bit challenging to get to mate with the keyboard switch. But if you heat up the back of the keycap, it may make mating to the keyswitch easier.
After printing, the keyswitch should fit into the 3D print like so. Remove the keyswitch until the steps tell you to put it in.
Step 14. After printing the file, determine where you want to attach it on the remote. I opted to place it over the direction buttons. Although this loses functionality of that area, I found these butons were stiff enough where accidental access to these buttons wasn't a problem.
IMPORTANT! These remotes are paired via RF/Bluetooth and uses the "A" and "D" buttons near the directional pad to do these. Pair your remote BEFORE covering up this area, or trim the model so these buttons remain exposed. Also, at least in my scenario, the cable box supports multiple RF/BT "smart" remotes. So any covered buttons weren't a big deal as a 2nd remote could push those if needed.
Step 15. Place the printed 3D model on the front of the remote to get an idea of placemenr, now put it to the side.
Using the pen / hand drill, make 3-4 holes where you'll place screws or fasteners to attached the plate to the remote. I made these in-between the spaces supporting the buttons, you'll need to be careful not to crack the plastic. They are very narrow supports!
The image below, follow the red arrows, shows where I drilled holes and eventually attached screws. I made a pinhole on the membrane of the remote button pad to guide the wires through, as they are small, they didn't need a drilled out plastic hole.
Step 16. Once you drill the holes in the remote, re-drill them but this time with the 3D model in front of the remote. This way you can drill through the 3D model PLA material to help line up screws.
Step 17. Feed the enameled wires through the remote holes you drilled and THROUGH the holes in the 3D holder base. There are four holes, one in each corner.
Step 18. Wire the wires through the 3D printed holder, solder the other end of the wires up to the key switch. In my keyswitch, the contacts / pins closet to each other were the ones to use. However, it's best to check with a multimeter before you solder them to be sure.
On mine the 3rd switch was not used, and may be for LEDs or for sturdiness. It doesn't matter what wire attached to what pin, there is no polarity, as long as you use the two proper ones.
Step 19. Time to test! Put batteries into the remote, and push the button. You don't need to reassemble it just yet. You should hear the sound / see the lights react to the button push. If you don't, check your wiring, batteries and how the wires are connected on the keyboard switch.
Step 20. Assemble the remote again. With the screws I used, the remote never closed 100% flush again, but the plastic clips were close enough that the remote was in no danger of coming undone.
Step 21. Use a screwdriver or knife to scrape the surface below where the key switch will sit. Making this area coarse will help the glue we're about to apply stick to this surface.
Step 22. Use some hot glue or plastic glue to pin down the enameled wires into the holder below where the key switch sits. You can also trim down the wires if you want, but gluing them down is easier.
At the same time, you can add extra glue and insert the keyboard switch into the holder, and press and hold it firmly to ensure it sticks. For me, hot glue was enough to make a firm connection, but you may prefer plastic glue.
Step 23. Take the 3D printed keycap and attach it to the keyboard switch. If it doesn't mate, you may need a finer 3D prin (like with a smaller nozzle or by using a resin printer) or you may need to modify the 3D model file. Alternativley, you can heat the back of the keycap with a soldering iron tip or some hot air, and then quickly press it onto the keyswitch. Once it's mated to the key switch, it may not come loose!
And that's it, with any luck you've modified your remote to make it easier to use for someone in your life.
-Steve
I'd like to share a quick project I did recently and share the files and journey in case anyone else wants to try something similar. In short, I added a BIG keyboard button to the top of a remote control to make the "voice control" button way easier to push for my father-in-law, and here's the result.
YouTube video of this project:
Backstory:
A little while ago my father-in-law, who has multiple sclerosis (or M.S.), asked if there was something that we could do about the TV remote. It was hard for him to push the buttons on the remote. While his cable provider, Xfinity, has a "smart" remote with a voice control button, it's plastic, not squishy, and harder to push than a squishy rubber button. In addition, his condition makes it very difficult to perform precise actions with his hands, such as pushing buttons.
While Xfinity offers some accessible options, neither of this were suited for his particilar needs.
What I ended up doing was designing and building a big keyboard key switch button that attached to the remote. This allows him to access the one button he uses most, the voice control button, by hitting it with his palm or hand.
In an upcoming video (I'll link it below shortly today once it's posted), I elaborate the different things I considered and the steps of how I finished this project.
In this thread I'd like to briefly overview the steps to recreate this mod, and provide the 3D printable files I used.
Some sketches, the remote, and a keyswitch
Steps to make this build:
These instructions are for the Xfinity remote, model XR15. Your milage may vary with other remotes, but the principal is the same.
Items needed:
- Xfinity remote, model XR15
- Soldering iron, solder & flux, scalpel or small knife
- Enameled wire / magenet wire (36 AWG preferred)
- Access to a 3D printer to print two small models (button plate/holder & button keycap)
- Hot glue or plastics glue to secure the keyboard switch to the plate/holder
- A mechanical keyboard keyswitch or button (I used this)
- A small file or pen / hand drill to penetratre the plastic to run the wires to the top of the remote
How-to steps:
Step 1. Remove the remote control battery cover. Remove the two AA batteries.
Step 2. Remove the small screw by the battery cover.
Step 3. Use your fingernails or a guitar pick to separate the halves until the PCB is revealed. The springs for the battery terminal may stick to the plastic backing.
Step 4. Peel away the black label where the batteries were to reveal the PCB. Using isopropyl alcohol can help remove residue here.
Step 5. There's a trace under the label that connects at a right angle right by some regulatory logos. (See photo below).
Step 6. Carefully scrape away with a scalpel or other tool to expose the copper of this trace. You only need to scrape away 2mm or so.
Step 7. Apply solder and flux to the exposed trace. Then apply solder and flux to a small length of small magnet wire (I used 36 AWG magnet wire / enameled wire). You'll probably want to keep the wire length to about 7-8 inches until you are done, as we'll need to wiggle this wire through the remote.
Step 8. Locate pad TP28 near the top of the remote, on the same side. This is a gold pad where you need to connect another wire.
Step 9. Repeat the process above, add solder and flux to the solder pad. Solder a new (seperate) small enamel wire to this spot. Keep the length about 7-8 inches to give you room to work with.
Step 10. Route the two small enameled wires through the front of the remote. This can be done by filing the plastic outline around where the button pads are, or using a small jewel/hand drill to poke a hole throuhg the soft plastic.
This will route the wires externall so you can wire up a button. You may want to hold down the wires with kapton tape to prevent any strain or risk of them being pulled off.
Step 11. For the button, I used a low profile mechnical keyboard switch (Choc v2 MX), available here from Amazon. You can use any button, but this is what I designed my 3D model around.
Step 12. Once the wires are fed through the remote, you'll want to 3D print the button holder. Once that's attached you can feed the wires through the holder, then through to the button, then glue that in place.
Step 13. Grab the two 3D models below and print them. One is a base for the button, the other is a keyboard switch keycap designed for the switch I used. Again, if you use a different button, you'll need to do something different here.
Model 1 is my custom holder. Print it at 101% of the size! This allowed the keyboard switch to have a snug fit. Otherwise it was too small. I used PLA to print this. You can find the model attached as a .zip file to this thread, it's a .STEP file.
Model 2 is a keyswitch keycap by BeniBice, download here. My 3D printer isn't resin, so this was a bit challenging to get to mate with the keyboard switch. But if you heat up the back of the keycap, it may make mating to the keyswitch easier.
After printing, the keyswitch should fit into the 3D print like so. Remove the keyswitch until the steps tell you to put it in.
Step 14. After printing the file, determine where you want to attach it on the remote. I opted to place it over the direction buttons. Although this loses functionality of that area, I found these butons were stiff enough where accidental access to these buttons wasn't a problem.
IMPORTANT! These remotes are paired via RF/Bluetooth and uses the "A" and "D" buttons near the directional pad to do these. Pair your remote BEFORE covering up this area, or trim the model so these buttons remain exposed. Also, at least in my scenario, the cable box supports multiple RF/BT "smart" remotes. So any covered buttons weren't a big deal as a 2nd remote could push those if needed.
Step 15. Place the printed 3D model on the front of the remote to get an idea of placemenr, now put it to the side.
Using the pen / hand drill, make 3-4 holes where you'll place screws or fasteners to attached the plate to the remote. I made these in-between the spaces supporting the buttons, you'll need to be careful not to crack the plastic. They are very narrow supports!
The image below, follow the red arrows, shows where I drilled holes and eventually attached screws. I made a pinhole on the membrane of the remote button pad to guide the wires through, as they are small, they didn't need a drilled out plastic hole.
Step 16. Once you drill the holes in the remote, re-drill them but this time with the 3D model in front of the remote. This way you can drill through the 3D model PLA material to help line up screws.
Step 17. Feed the enameled wires through the remote holes you drilled and THROUGH the holes in the 3D holder base. There are four holes, one in each corner.
Step 18. Wire the wires through the 3D printed holder, solder the other end of the wires up to the key switch. In my keyswitch, the contacts / pins closet to each other were the ones to use. However, it's best to check with a multimeter before you solder them to be sure.
On mine the 3rd switch was not used, and may be for LEDs or for sturdiness. It doesn't matter what wire attached to what pin, there is no polarity, as long as you use the two proper ones.
Step 19. Time to test! Put batteries into the remote, and push the button. You don't need to reassemble it just yet. You should hear the sound / see the lights react to the button push. If you don't, check your wiring, batteries and how the wires are connected on the keyboard switch.
Step 20. Assemble the remote again. With the screws I used, the remote never closed 100% flush again, but the plastic clips were close enough that the remote was in no danger of coming undone.
Step 21. Use a screwdriver or knife to scrape the surface below where the key switch will sit. Making this area coarse will help the glue we're about to apply stick to this surface.
Step 22. Use some hot glue or plastic glue to pin down the enameled wires into the holder below where the key switch sits. You can also trim down the wires if you want, but gluing them down is easier.
At the same time, you can add extra glue and insert the keyboard switch into the holder, and press and hold it firmly to ensure it sticks. For me, hot glue was enough to make a firm connection, but you may prefer plastic glue.
Step 23. Take the 3D printed keycap and attach it to the keyboard switch. If it doesn't mate, you may need a finer 3D prin (like with a smaller nozzle or by using a resin printer) or you may need to modify the 3D model file. Alternativley, you can heat the back of the keycap with a soldering iron tip or some hot air, and then quickly press it onto the keyswitch. Once it's mated to the key switch, it may not come loose!
And that's it, with any luck you've modified your remote to make it easier to use for someone in your life.
-Steve
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