July | 2016 | Learn:Make:Share

This summer we installed a new sprinkler system in our backyard. We did some research and found a local Denver company called Rachio (http://rachio.com) makes a really cool “smart sprinkler” system. The system allows us to program the sprinkler zones from our phones, manually run them while away, and the system checks local weather stations to determine if a sprinkler session should be skipped due to rain.

The only problem we’ve had with the Rachio controller is a very bright LED on device that lights up our bathroom with a blue glow each night. It is really bright and there is no way to dim or disable the light using Rachio’s software. After calling the company and asking if this is problem they considered solving with software and getting a no response, I decided to try to find a solution…

At first I tried covering it with black electrical tape, which completely blocks out all light from the LED indictor. This was good first solution, but I wanted to sometimes be able to see the status of the Rachio system.

Then I decided to try using white electrical so that some of the light from the LED would pass through but also appear more dimly. I applied multiple layers of tape which certainly dimmed the LED and made it darker in our bathroom/bedroom. It was possible to view the LED read out through the tape, but we decided it was still too bright at night even after adding 3 or 4 layers of white tape.

Finally, I tried 3D modeling a sliding plastic cover that slips across the whole face of the Rachio Gen 2 unit vertically. It covered the LED logo circle area and a little bit more. It can be slid back and forth across the front and expose or cover the LED on demand. I am still making improvements to the design and would love feedback from other users. I will post the Solidworks native file as well as an .STL file for anyone who wants to print it out as is. If you make improvement on your own or have suggested changes, please post them here. or contact me at @jellenbogen on Twitter. I’ve posted this to the Rachio Community Forum and have received lots of positive feedback including a post from one of the companies founders.

First version of the Rachio Controller slide cover I designed.