On Wed, December 15, 2010 2:11 am, Marco wrote:

Hi Mike,

 Just a quick word to say “thanks” for your excellent manual how to modify the bright display. I purchased a Sony MEX-BT3800U last week, it’s very similar to your unit, including the ludicrously bright display. Therefore I decided to modify my unit in a similar fashion.

 On a 3800 there are four screws to remove instead of five, also the dial knob removes easily (no need to run to the kitchen to fetch a teaspoon) and the tiny spring does not seem to jump out of sight when carefully removing the back plate. I used black modeling paint to black out the LED’s because I felt that applied more easily and permanent. It’s absolutely amazing (and horrifying at first) to see how much is needed to get a comfortable light level. Additionally I applied thin transparent red foil (from some old “3D” glasses I still had lying around somewhere) over the LED’s illuminating the white ring (which is a partial ring on the 3800), because I drive a VW with blue and red interior lighting so it matches nicely.

 I must say I’m extremely pleased with the result, it turned my unit from great to superb! It now looks much better and is no longer (dangerously) annoying at night. I hope the pic does enough credit to the result. If they’re up to it I recommend it to all owners.

 With best regards,

Marco Dirkx