"Sticky Goo" Inside Remote
Ron
stopped working.
So I took it apart, and it had some kind of "sticky goo" inside. Not
only on top of the rubber keypad between the buttons, but also between
the keypad and the circuit board. It closely resembled Vasoline.
I cleaned the entire remote with rubbing alcohol and Q-tips and now it
works fine.
Does anyone know what in the hell the sticky goo was? The only thing I
could find on Google, was that it was a natural break down of the
rubber.
(and no it has NEVER had anything spilled on it)
jakdedert
I'm thinking you dx'd it...rubber breakdown. I've seen it too.
jak
JANA
would start to degenerate. Eventually the rubber material will start
breaking down.
--
JANA
_____
"Ron" <BigEL...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:2e4cb763-066f-433a...@m73g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
PhattyMo
I've seen the same thing. I almost thought it was some kind of silicone
grease.
William Sommerwerck
controls are almost impossible to disassemble.
Screws aren't enough -- the back snaps together so tightly that, unless you
have the right tool and know how to use it, it's impossible to open the back
without destroying the unit. I irreparably damaged remote for a Toshiba IDTV
doing this, and of course, full-function replacements aren't available.
The remote for my NAD MR-20a is secured solely wth screws, and is easy to
clean.
Ron(UK)
Warming them with a heat gun, and a bit of twisting often gets them
apart. Don't over heat ones with lcd displays tho.
Ron
N_Cook
news:xICdnXttZtdtiRrV...@bt.com...
I've often done that, assuming a hot air gun , masking off any problem areas
like LCD, soft buttons etc. Stout thumb nails are useful tools also,
structuraly just about the right material.
Anyone know of a similar material that is easier to use with heated plastic?
Thin, tough and short scale flexible, long enough to get some purchase
--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/
Allodoxaphobia
> Ron(UK) <r...@lunevalleyaudio.com> wrote in message
> news:xICdnXttZtdtiRrV...@bt.com...
>> William Sommerwerck wrote:
>> > The worst part of it is that this problem is easy to fix, but most
> remote controls are almost impossible to disassemble.
>> > Screws aren't enough -- the back snaps together so tightly that, unless
> you
>> > have the right tool and know how to use it, it's impossible to open the
> back
>> > without destroying the unit. I irreparably damaged remote for a Toshiba
> IDTV
>> > doing this, and of course, full-function replacements aren't available.
>> > The remote for my NAD MR-20a is secured solely wth screws, and is easy
> to clean.
>>
>> Warming them with a heat gun, and a bit of twisting often gets them
>> apart. Don't over heat ones with lcd displays tho.
>
> like LCD, soft buttons etc. Stout thumb nails are useful tools also,
> structuraly just about the right material.
> Anyone know of a similar material that is easier to use with heated plastic?
> Thin, tough and short scale flexible, long enough to get some purchase
I've used relay points burnishing files.
About 6-7 mm wide and ~10 cm long.
Got them 40 years ago as a Field Tech for IBM.
The wrong tool for the right job. :-)
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** Killfiling google posts: <http://jonz.net/ng.htm>
Gareth Magennis
Laptop people use "spudgers". Great word, that. Here's a demo.
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Open-an-iBook-for-repairs-without-damaging-the-case_W0QQugidZ10000000005121811
Gareth.
N_Cook
news:XO2dnafANrhBrhrV...@bt.com...
Unexpected , to me as never heard of a spudger, there is a Wiki entry for
them
N_Cook
They mention nylon as the material of spodgers which I would say has not the
same characteristics as human thumb nail.
Tim
says...
I use one of those fake credit cards that come in the mail. They are
thin enough to slide along and release the catches, and if you damage
the card it's no big loss. I trim the card if it gets too raggy, and use
it until there isn't anything left to hold on to. Now I save all those
free credit card offers from American Express etc., until I get the fake
cards out of them.
- Tim -
Ronbo
What kind of movies are you watching while using that remote?
Arfa Daily
"William Sommerwerck" <grizzle...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:RPOdnScVSpkqlhrV...@comcast.com...
A blunt curved X-acto blade in a standard X-acto holder, will easily open
any clipped together remote control. It's just a case of experience really,
I think.
Arfa
William Sommerwerck
> easily open any clipped together remote control. It's just a
I attacked the case quite aggressively, and it simply bent, rather than
budging. I wasn't even able to break the case -- though I did (as I found
out later) break the PC board, rendering the unit unrepairable.
I think I'm going to call Toshiba. Not only doesn't Toshiba make a
compatible remote, but they don't supply the full set of codes to
replacement-remote manufacturers.
jakdedert
Guitar picks...they come in many sizes/thicknesses/degrees of stiffness.
Top it off, they're almost the perfect size.
jak
jak
N_Cook
news:7PVhk.241$BX5...@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
That sounds likely , what do you mean by top it off? I may try gluing one in
a split or cut piece of wooden dowel. Whatever that material is , its
simulating human finger nail.
I too have held back mock american express cards but they are too floppy and
relatively thick for this task.
Arfa Daily
You must normally release at least two of the clip points, holding them
released either with a second knife / credit card / finger / any of the
other good suggestions that there has been, before finding the rest of the
clip points, which will usually then just 'spring' quite readily. Once you
have three or four of them released, it will virtually fall apart.
Sometimes, they can seem like they are resisting unreasonably, but once you
find the right places to 'probe', it sometimes amazes you how readily they
then come apart, and you can't believe that it has taken you so long. The
top edge of some monitor cabinets is a similar case in point, where unless
you find the exact right place to probe, the clips will resist you until the
plastic breaks.
Arfa
jakdedert
preceding.
In fact, I saw instructions on the web somewhere for replacing cell
phone cases (by a company which sells such replacements). They sold
tools for installing their product--a t-? torx driver, and a....well, it
looked just like a guitar pick, but they called it something else and
charged a dollar or two for it.
One more quality to recommend the lowly guitar pick: they are (usually)
made of some sort of plastic--minimizing scratching/gouging if they
slip--and inhibiting the application of too much force.
jak
William Sommerwerck
> but once you find the right places to 'probe', it sometimes amazes
> you how readily they then come apart, and you can't believe that
> it has taken you so long.
Which is exactly the point. This is a large remote, and it's hard to even
begin to guess where the "ears" are.
I just bought some AR interconnects, which come in a large snap-shut "egg".
I had little trouble getting it open. So why...?
Arfa Daily
You can usually insinuate the edge of the knife blade into the crack between
the case halves, and then rotate in the plane of the blade, either up, or
down. This will normally result in the case halves twisting apart at that
point, and will tell you which half is clipped over the other. You can also
normally see at this point, where the case halves are resisting twisting
apart, and that will be where your first clip point is located. You can
either slide the knife blade down to that point, and then knowing which way
the case is clipped together, twist again in that direction, or come out
with the knife and then move down to the clip point, and reinsert. Either
way, it's not that hard, and as I said, probably more a matter of technique
and experience, than special tools, or the manufacturers trying to stop you
getting in there.
Arfa
Jeff, WB8NHV
> "William Sommerwerck" <grizzledgee...@comcast.net> wrote in message
Some of these remotes aren't even worth the trouble to repair (if
you can get the darn thing open in the first place) when they go bad.
I have a "GE" branded universal remote I bought from a discount store
for $5. I don't see any clips or other types of fasteners holding the
case together. It would seem to me that one would have to almost
literally destroy the remote to get it open.
Oh well. This type of remote is meant to be thrown away when it
fails anyway, like just about everything else these days. The only
reason I bought this particular remote is that it is the only
universal remote short of an expensive learning remote that will
operate all four components of my video entertainment system,
including my CyberHome DVD player.
OTOH, I also have a "One for All" universal remote that should be very
easy to open should it require service, as there is only one screw
holding the unit together. I would still be using that remote today if
it supported my DVD player, but it doesn't--none of the One for All
universals have setup codes for this brand of DVD. CyberHome even
mentions on its website that no other remotes than the ones supplied
with its DVD players will operate them. Jasco Products (the company
that manufactures "GE" branded universal remotes and other video
accessories under the GE name and logo) must have seen the need for a
universal (other than a learning remote) that would operate CyberHome
DVD players, as the unit I have, and likely most other recent-vintage
"GE" branded universal remotes, have setup codes for the CH DVDs, what
few of them are still in use (CyberHome went out of business not long
ago).
Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV
Fairport Harbor, Ohio USA
William Sommerwerck
> fails anyway, like just about everything else these days.
We're not talking about universal remotes.
Ken G.
as a dry bone . Many older remotes that were never used dont do this .
Here at my house the only remote that did that was the one i used to
hold i my hand alot . After i cleaned it and stopped holding it the goo
stopped .
I believe its somehow oils from the hands that get drawn in somehow .
I also found a good way to fix those remotes where the rubber pads
inside loose their conductivity .
Clean it real good . Smear a thin coat of auto emblem adhesive on the
pad .
Take a motor brush and scrape it with a knife to make powder on
something then push and smear the glue coated pad into the dust .
This might be old news ?? but it works pretty good .
Arfa Daily
"Ken G." <good...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:23064-488...@storefull-3232.bay.webtv.net...
You can also keep the keymats from scrap phones / calculators / remotes, and
then, when needed, razor blade a black conductive lozenge off the rubber
substrate, then superglue it to the substrate on the keymat you're
repairing, after first razor blading off the worn out lozenge.
Arfa
Jim Yanik
news:KDnik.13037$Gb2....@newsfe29.ams2:
maybe some of that steel banding used for going around shipping crates
would work.I use pieces of it for cal sticker scrapers.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
Jim Yanik
>> This type of remote is meant to be thrown away when it
>> fails anyway, like just about everything else these days.
>
> We're not talking about universal remotes.
>
>
>
yes,factory remotes often have instrument-specific functions that a
universal remote will not activate;I have a Pioneer PD-M70 CD player where
the remote died,and a universal remote does -some- things,but not many
commonly used functions.
and a universal remote will not operate my new Magnavox OTA DTV converter.
jakdedert
Buy a Palm unit. There are several programs out there which convert the
unit to a universal, learning remote. Libraries are posted online of
codes for various devices. There are forums where you can request codes
for esoteric gear. People who have that gear can teach their Palm
remote and post the results for those hard to find functions.
A Palm M130 goes for maybe $15 on eBay. It has a sufficient IR range to
function as a useful remote control. Either buy a new battery (if
needed) for a few bucks, or leave it in a charging cradle close to where
you use it. Even an old Palm III X, that you might have in a drawer
somewhere, can be a viable device remote with an IR extender added.
Better yet, you can control your devices with any Palm-enabled smart
phone....
<http://www.pacificneotek.com/omnisw.htm>
<http://www.novii.tv/palm/>
<http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA005810/remocon/premocce.htm>
jak
Franc Zabkar
finger to keyboard and composed:
>I have an older Mitsubishi TV remote and the channel up/down button
>stopped working.
>
>So I took it apart, and it had some kind of "sticky goo" inside. Not
>only on top of the rubber keypad between the buttons, but also between
>the keypad and the circuit board. It closely resembled Vasoline.
>
>I cleaned the entire remote with rubbing alcohol and Q-tips and now it
>works fine.
>
>Does anyone know what in the hell the sticky goo was? The only thing I
>could find on Google, was that it was a natural break down of the
>rubber.
>
>(and no it has NEVER had anything spilled on it)
I've seen tape decks where the rubber belts have completely
disintegrated into a sticky sludge.
I've also just cleaned the rubber goo out of my Sanyo TV remote for
the second time in as many years.
- Franc Zabkar
--
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