vB Easy Archive - 8390 keypad LED question

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8390 keypad LED question
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Posted by: bcruze

Ahoy. I just purchased an 8390 and am currently awaiting delivery. The only thing I don't like about the phone are the four annoying LEDs around the 5 and 8 key. I would like to get rid of them but seeing as how they provide (minimal, so I'm told) backlighting for the keys, removal isn't an option. I was wondering if anyone had any solutions they could offer.

The solution I was considering was removing the front face plate and painting the inside of the housing black or perhaps black first then a coat of something reflective or more luminescant to brighten up the keys. This way, the outside of the phone looks normal but the light from the LEDs shouldn't get through the layers of paint.

Let me know if you have a better solution or if you think this one would work well. Thanks.

Posted by: aznpharm

the 7210 has a keypad with the backing of it black... that seems to reduce how much shows through that painting the faceplate IMO will probably not work unless you get a lot of layers of enamel paint like testors... but good luck

Posted by: Dr. Dave

Or four lil' bits of black electrical tape over the lights...

Posted by: bcruze

That defeats the purpose...then I have no backlighting for the keypad.

Posted by: InsertNameHere

So you just want to cover up the light shining through the faceplates, not the keys? I don't really understand what you're trying to accomplish.

Posted by: nokialight_com

Get yourself a different faceplate. They run about $10 for aftermarket or you can get Nokia brand for about $20. The original 8390 faceplate is a see-through smoke color. That's why you can see the keypad LEDs so well. Changing to a non-transparent faceplate with a solid color will take care of the problem.

Posted by: bcruze

Yes, I want to get rid of the light coming through the faceplate. I could get an opaque faceplate, but the ones I've seen are crap for fit/finish/quality. I would like to modify an original Nokia Xpress-on faceplate which is why i mentioned painting the back of the facia. All of the OEM Nokia faceplates that I've seen have the transparent part over the keys.

Posted by: Kev01

cut out a pice of aluminum foil?

Posted by: Dr. Dave

Even better, get that sticky aluminum heat duct tape from your local hardware store - cut it to the appropriate size, stick it in the faceplate and carefully trim out the holes with an X-acto knife. I've used it before - it's truly opaque!

Posted by: cal_gecko

i would think aluminum foil would cause potential short-circuits?

Posted by: Dr. Dave

Nothing really to short to if you're careful... just that there really isnt anything else quite as opaque as that.

Posted by: bcruze

The aluminum foil tape idea is ghetto, it'd look more professional to mask off the inside of the screen and spray several coats of black laquer in there.

Posted by: Dr. Dave

Ghetto or not, black lacquer won't be totally opaque unless it's got some pretty dense pigmentation.

Posted by: bcruze

Agreed, which is why you need several coats of a good, highg quality paint. One coat of Krylon flat black isn't going to do it, for sure.