Sangean RCR-3 button shield

This is on thingiverse as Sangean RCR-3 button shield.

I just got a new Sangean RCR-3 clock radio. It seems to be very nearly the perfect clock radio, with good radio reception, excellent sync with the WWVB time signal, and the ability to crank the backlit display down as dim as you want it.

The only thing I can't crank down is the dadgum alarm buttons which light up to show you have an alarm set. The things are so bright, that once your eyes get dark adjusted, you can make shadow shows on the opposite wall ("Do deformed rabbit, that's my favorite!"). Here's a somewhat fuzzy picture taken with no flash showing the brightly lit button:

And here's my shield in place:

A strip of aluminum tape on the back insures light doesn't leak out:

To build the part, I measured the diameter of the column with calipers, then wrapped a piece of blue tape around the column and drew lines where the column meets the clock body. Peeling off the tape and flattening it on a piece of cardboard allowed me to measure the length of the circumference that sticks out of the clock body and compute the angle of the wedge I needed to subtract off my cylindrical shape to create a part that fits snugly over the cylinder.

A test print with the cover for the buttons sticking out of the cylinder left it sticking out at an angle and not covering the buttons at all. I was then able to stick a small piece of card against the cover and mark the edge of the clock body on it so I could then determine the angle I needed to rotate the cover through to sit flat over the buttons.

One final print, and the addition of the aluminum tape, and I was done - no more deformed rabbit.

Go back to my main Solidoodle page.