How to repair a remote?

[afigbee]

geez, I have to know,

Damaged,

What in god's name is going on in your avatar?

 

[damaged]

geez, I have to know,

Damaged,

What in god's name is going on in your avatar?

It's a cat roundhousing a large dog.

 

[RTCDude]

The post above by RTCdude is very well written and should be consulted by anyone wishing to fix a remote.

My experience cleaning remotes is mostly confined to yearly repair of a TV remote.
After about 10 years, it needed regular reconditioning.
If it hadn't been so unusual, I would have gotten a spare or used a universal.

I'd clean the PC board contacts and the worn carbon buttons on the silicone sheet with alcohol and a Qtip, let them dry , and reassemble.
Problem is, once you start cleaning them, they need it regularly.
A lot like cleaning mouse balls - by the time they need it, they're pretty well worn out anyway.
(Yes, I know there's a joke in there... )

Oh, and I picked up some spare PVR 501/508/510 remotes last week for $5 each.
edit:
It was at an electronics swap meet, held every other month in my area.
The units were used, but I picked two that looked new.
DP34's were $15?... DP LNBs around $10?.... even found the 121/119 LNB for $20.
By comparison, the used remotes I'd bought on Ebay for $12..15, looked like crap.

One thing you don't want to do, is clean the force-stick (mouse replacement) in the middle of an IBM (or similar) keyboard.
I did once (with alcohol), and the rubber eraser turned to sticky goo.
I had to find a replacement.

Thanks Anole.

And I have to echo Anole's caution using alcohol to clean rubber keyboard membranes. A couple of years ago I tried cleaning a key membrane with alcohol. It swelled up like a marshmallow, and then melted! Instant new remote! So some membranes aren't tolerant of a solvent (even a mild one) like alcohol. On the other hand, a strong dish detergent (which is a wetting agent instead of a solvent) can't attack a rubber. Rather, it just make it easier to dissolve something in water; like the goo.

P.S., the above explanation comes from a mis-spent youth in a chem lab.

 

[keleko74]

You can buy the IR remote (green tab) for a 522 or 625 and it will work with a 501 or 508 or buy the blue tab UHF remote.

Thanks Randall, I ended up giving in and buying a used one off Ebay for $2 + $5 shipping. I figure as long as it works correctly, I can try to pry my old one apart and try the cleaning tips here.

 

[bhelms]

Couple of comments - Be careful when scrubbing the pads that the rubber buttons contact. They are often made of a screened-on carbon-based material that is relatively soft compared with the printed copper traces and they can scrape off easily, especially the innerdigitated types with the very narrow traces (learned from experience!).

I echo that water and a mild detergent won't hurt the PCB. In many cases they are washed this way following the flow/reflow processes since solvent-based wash systems are largely gone as we "green-up" manufacturing. (Some PCBs aren't cleaned at all, evidenced by a clear flux residue.)

I dry my cleaned boards by shaking the excess water off first then placing them in a 100F oven until dry. Again - similar to the actual manufacturing process. (That low temp. won't hurt anything on a PCB. Surface-mounted components are good up to at least 145C for brief exposure.) I also dry the key pad and case components that same way. (Once I accidentally set it to 200F - goodbye case!!)

 

[JohnH]

Think Conductive Paint. A cost item.