Thanks for the info. Where would I find it in a store? Would I go to a print shop, or a photo shop?
Lots of good suggestions here. You could also try frosted or colored contact paper (aka “self-adhesive vinyl”, “shelf liner”, etc.) which you can find at craft supply stores and office supply type places for a few dollars a roll.
You might be surprised at the results you get with seemingly opaque materials, depending on the strength of the offending LED.
Also, the elegance factor will go up if you carefully trim the piece you stick on.
Gluestick glue will stick on an otherwise unsticky piece of some material securely enough for most items you don’t pick up a lot, but will come off easily if you don’t like it after all.
If you have or can get an old lampshade, maybe you could cut pieces of the shade lining – it’s often styrene, which if you want to spend $20, you can get a big unused piece of here – which would be heat-resistant and not distort the LED’s color.
There’s various translucent sheet materials in the scrapbook aisle of craft stores you could get for less than a dollar, cut out or maybe use a hole punch on, and apply with gluestick glue.
You realize we’ll want pictures once you try something, right?
If you want red tape, go to an auto parts store - it’s used to make temporary repairs on brake light lenses.
For that matter, why not just get a small piece of window tinting (which comes in all sort of different shades and tints) and use that?
A good-sized art supply store may carry it, or perhaps a local print shop could give you a few inches worth if you ask nicely.
The auto supply store is another good idea, though.
What you want to search for is Rubylith tape. 3M makes one called “lithographers tape.” Poking around on the 'net, it looks like it’s an art supply store item.
Plain, black electrical tape will block an LED completely, if it’s someplace you don’t want light at all. It’s also the type of adhesive that peels back and re-sticks quite well, so if it’s on something like an alarm clock, it’s easy to check the LED and re-stick the tape.
I find white out does wonders on some. Others get masking tape or post it notes.
As you can tell from the replies in this thread, you are not alone.
How about turning some of them off at the plug? Or is that just too simple a solution?
I had to use almost a full roll of electrical tape on this before it became usable.
In addition to the Green LED display, which at least has some purpose, the entire front panel of the unit glows blue for absolutely no reason at all except maybe someone thought it looked high-tech and pretty
For the rest of us DirecTV users do you happen te remember what this “hidden” button combo is?
Thanks,
Rob
Well, most of them are designed to be plugged in at all times (DVRs, routers, etc.)…
justrob, you simultaneously press the left and right directional buttons around the blue ring. Each press will make it progressively dimmer, until the 4th press or so, which then turns the blue LED off.
Today’s plan is to go to the art store in search of litho tape… or the auto supply store…
I have a tower fan that has a blue LED. A damn FAN, for pete’s sake. I put some medical tape on it last night, dimmed but not gone. Think I’ll try the sharpie on the tape tonight.
Tinted tape actually won’t be effective. The brightness of your environment ranges through so many orders of magnitude that you can’t make your leds “dim” at all light levels. Something very bright in total darkness will be invisible in direct sunlight, or even in a bright room. That’s why LEDs are often so bright. Their makers fear they won’t be visible under some conditions. And in fact, occasionally I look at an important LED indicator and have to think for a moment whether it is on or not.
Anyway, electrical tape is good. It won’t let through any light, and it’s a nice, smooth black. Cuts very clean too. And it’s easy to remove with no gunk.