afigbee said:
The Guide key on my remote for my model 4700 has stopped working. It's the only key affected. I thought the contact must simply be degraded, or the button smashed down, or something, but when I try to take it apart to look at it, it simply won't come apart.
Welded from years of fevered gripping, or is there some trick?
I really think if I try harder I'll break it.
Here's the content of what I've posted before about remotes with sticky or dead keys.
I've cleaned many Dish (and non-Dish) remotes. It seems that the rubber keyboard membrane that holds the conductive key contact slowly exudes a sticky brown liquid over time. This process takes two to four years to occur. This build up can even start to insulate the conductive key contact to the point that the key stops working all together. I've seen some remotes that had to have the rubber membrane peeled off like velcro, when they should just fall off when opened. However, once opened and clean, most remotes work perfectly again. As I said, I've seen this in lots of non-Disk remotes also, so it seems to be and industry wide problem.
If you want to clean a remote, you have to first get it apart. This is often done by twisting the remote (HARD) to un-hook the little plastic latches that hold the two halfs together. Alternatively, its sometimes required to use a small bladed plastic tool to un-hook the plastic tabs. And sometimes there are hidden screws underneath labels or behind the batteries.
Once the remote is apart, you'll see the rubber keyboard membrane on top of the remote printed circuit board. Wash the membrane and printed circuit board in HOT water and liquid dish detergent (like Dawn) under a running faucet. DO NOT completely immerse the printed circuit board under water! Scrub with your fingers, or use a Q-Tip to get into tight spots. Once all the goo is gone, throughly rinse ALL detergent off. Dry the components throughly with a dry cloth, then with a hair dryer set on LOW for about five minutes (if you can't blow the hair dryer directly on your hand, its TOO HOT). DO NOT let water sit on the circuit board or membrane overnight! As long as the components are dried right away, the water will do no harm. Let the components air dry overnight, then re-assemble the remote.
DISCLAIMER: If you've never done this before, you will VERY LIKELY break a remote the first time you try it. Remotes are NOT made to be easily taken apart, so it takes practice.
As you can see, the above proceedure can be risky. And since there is a fair likelihood of breaking the remote, I suggest buying a new remote and be done with it. Then if you're still curious, try cleaning the old one. If you succeed, you've got a spare, and you'll know how to do it in the future.
RTCDude
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