TV B GONE
By Greenjam94
Ever sit at a bar with friends and try to have a conversation but the TVs behind the bar were too loud? If only there was a quick convenient way to turn them all off at once. This is where the TV B GONE remote comes in. A simple kit that sends over 100 “power off” signals to TVs within a 150 foot range at the push of a button.
The noisy bar situation has happened to me many times at security conferences. At the very least, the conversation that follows would be quite interesting. The kit requires some soldering, but the instructions from Adafruit are very clear and easy to read.
TV B GONE looks cool by itself. The exposed circuit board has a certain appeal. In order to give it some protection and provide a better grip, there’s a case that can be 3d printed. The design is hosted on Thingiverse. If you’re looking to do the same, don’t cut the wires to the battery holder when building the kit, the remote case is thinner and puts the holder next to the board instead of back to back.
Printing the case
The case printed very well. The designs put the pieces so that the there’s only a small surface area touching the build plate. In order to get a clean print, I had to rotate some of the designs 90 degrees. There were 4 parts included. Total print time was still under 4 hours. After printing, I sanded and painted the case. If I were to do it again, I’d spend more time sanding and try to be more aware of any “low spots”. The paint didn’t cover some small blemishes as well as I expected.
After 3D printing the case, I followed the instructions linked above to solder the kit together. While soldering, I was too focused to take pictures of the process. The final assembly was also pretty easy. I used super glue to stick the battery holder to the front of the case and attach the back of the case.
Usage
So far I’ve been able to turn off every TV in my house. I’ve even been able to turn off multiple TVs when they’re in range. I look forward to bringing it to future security conferences and using it as a talking point.
I recommend anyone who wants a soldering project to attempt this build. It didn’t take long and the only required tools are AA batteries, a soldering iron, and wire clippers.