Introduction: How to Never Lose Your TV Remote, Even If You Have Kids.

By
About: I like to learn new things, and I have a cat that likes to watch other people go for long walks on the beach. yup yup.

This instructable will hopefully show you how to keep your remote exactly where you want it;
I have no camera, and this is my very first instructable so have mercy.

I hope you enjoy this lil' puppy.

Step 1: First of All

first of all I guess I should start by saying... If you take apart, or alter your TV remote... (Hacking by the way is just a small step away from vandalism, so)... well let's just say your remote has a chance of not working from that point on, and YOU are fully responsible for what ever damage might come from your "hack".

Now the basic idea behind this hack is that if something is tied down it can't get lost. If you have kids things get lost. so after buying 4 new remotes; and still having to stand up n walk over to my TV because remotes get lost more often than a dyslexic navigator with a bad hangover stuck in the Bermuda triangle, I decided to get some relatively light weight chain and 2 eye hooks from my local hardware store ( I like Lowes, but where ever you go is kosher.) and tie down the thing.

anyway, here is a list of stuff you will need.......

one cheap TV remote; $6.

aprox. 6 or 7 feet of chain; $3

2 eye hooks; 50 cents

2 lil link things that you conect the chain and eye hooks; $2

and use of a dremmel tool, and/or drill.

Step 2: Opening the Box.

the first thing to do is remove the batteries, and search the body of the thing for little hidden screws, lots of times there is one small philips head screw inside the battery compartment. Mine had no screws, it just snaps together. i used a small flat head screwdriver (carefully) to pry the front (part A)and back of the remote (part B) apart.

Step 3: Find a Place to Make a Hole.

now that you have the remote apart find a spot where the PCB has nothing printed on it, and no resisters and such on the other side. This is your happy place, the place that you and your Dremmel tool can go whenever things get too stressful.
My happy place was in the lower left-hand corner. (part d)
now you cut that lil happy place out, and then drill a hole in the top and bottom pieces of the remote body such that they line up with the now vacant area formally known as the happy place. as you do this be careful to not snap off the lil' red LED or the I.R. LED (parts C)because that would then become a not so very happy place.

Step 4: Put It Back Together

now, get one of the ...things... used to replace a link in chain... see image for a visual... and slip the link through all 3 parts of the remote. first the front, then the PCB, then the back. snap all 3 parts together.
Last but not lest on this step is to put the end of your chain (I used black chain cuz' it matched my remote) through the link. then close it nice n' tight.

A basic description of the link is; It is a rectangle shaped chain-link that has a threaded opening on one side (part f), and a little cuff that screws down on the thread (part e). It is normally used to link two bits of chain together.

Step 5: The Last Step

now here is the fun part; The part your wife or significant other... or imaginary friend will get a bit sketched out about..... you flip your sofa back and find a bit of the frame that looks strong enough to put an eye hook in the underside of the thing far enough back that nobody can see it. and use a second one of those lil' chain link things from step 4 to connect the end of the chain to the sofa. then set the sofa back down. now you have a remote on a leash. the only bad part is, if someone steals your sofa you won't be able to change the channel on the TV.

I hope you like my lil sketch of an eye hook by the way.

now be prepared for your friends to laugh, your kids to fuss, and your significant other to just shake there head n' think "why am I with this goof-ball?"

I hope you enjoyed this lil' instructable.