Although I like the look of the standard LightwaveRF hanset controllers, the user of said controller has to remember what device is switched on and off when a numbered button is pressed. This requires Mastermind-level memory.
Besides, I don’t use the controllers for ‘On’ and ‘Off’ per se, rather just to send a signal to Domoticz, so that the computer can decide what to do (or to reject the command altogether). This means that the same button can be used for ‘On’ and ‘Off’, and therefore the same handset can be used for multiple functions (lighting moods and audio for example).
So a way to make these controllers more intuative is to add personally created templates to them so that the controller becomes part of your home setup. You can choose a theme and run with it (as shown).
Firstly, this procedure is reversible, so if you don’t like what you’ve done, you can undo it all and revert back to your original handset. Just remember to keep all the bits that come off the controller safe.
Secondly, you will lose some functionality. Because the switch is removed, you don’t have the ability to select button set A, B, C or D. I personally don’t care about this because the whole reason I wanted to make a custom cover for my remotes was to make them as user friendly as possible.
And if your family can remember that C4 controls the TV power, and D2 controls the garage door, and B1 to B4 control the kitchen lights, then you shouldn’t be reading this blog: you should all be at Cape Canaveral getting ready to take off a-la-Lost in Space. Danger, Will Robinson!
Basically, you’ll end up with 10 buttons per customised handset.
1. Peel off the backing sticker from the controller to expose a screw and unscrew it.
2. Prise open the controller. The things that should come off (quite easily are: The front cover, the rubber keys, the switch (which may come off in one part or may split into the plastic part of the switch and the metal part). And the screw of course. If the circuit board has come off from the base of the remote then I think you used a little too much force! Get you, butchy.
You’ll notice that the rubber buttons are not needed – the ‘pads’ you can see in the image are self-contained switches. Like the ones you get on blister-remotes.
3. Design your overlay. I will post a template that you can use (search for the ‘Templates’ tag). Don’t forget to leave a space where the led will shine when a button is pressed.
I used icons from Flat Icon.
4. Print and cut out the overlay. I found that good quality bright white matt card worked best.
You may need to cutoff tiny strips from any side to make the overlay fit correctly.
5. Put one or two layers of the same card underneath the overlay (between the keys and the overlay). This will make the control pad seem more springy.
6. Tape on the overlay onto the front of the controller. I used normal tape here but I should have used a thick tape so that I only needed to use 1 pass, rather than 3 passes as I have done in the above picture.
Make sure that you don’t tape up the drawer on the back, otherwise you’ll have probelms when it comes to changing the battery.
7. Voila! The below example is for the kitchen. That’s why there is a cute chef as one of the buttons: when you press the chef button, all the devices in the kitchen switch on.
8. Now it’s time to program what happens when you press the keys. More on that elsewhere in this blog.
Here’s an example handset (this one is for my bedroom). It’s been created in the same style as all the ‘hardware controllers’ in the flat, so that picking it up and using it should be second nature.
You can for once use your creative side and your geek side together for this project. Why not speak to members of your family to get an idea of what they’d like to see on the controllers (favourite colours, family member/pet’s faces etc). Maybe they could even design the templates for you!
Fabulous Home Automation 