> On Apr 26, 2018, at 12:32 PM, Electronics Plus via cctalk
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Easier solution is to apply some conductive light lube. Radio Shack used to
> carry it, and I repaired a LOT of remote controls with it!
>
> Cindy
I made a successful repair. Here are the steps I used:
As I mentioned, I tried cleaning with isopropyl alcohol, without much success.
I realized that I could test the rubber contact points with a multimeter,
probing two spots on the surface. The offending keys had much higher
resistance or simply tested open. That made it easier to try other options
without having to assemble/disassemble each time.
I found a spray can of "contact cleaner/lubricant" and tried that. OOPS. Made
it much worse. Looked at the ingredients: one is "mineral oil". Ok, so that's
fine for metal wiping contacts I suppose, but not for this. Washed the keypad
thoroughly with dishwashing soap and water, then wiped several times with
alcohol, that got me back to where I was.
Then I realized I still have a tube of powdered graphite (the stuff sometimes
used for lubricating locks, though it turns out that's not a good idea.
Squirted some onto a Q-tip and rubbed the bad contact pads with that. They
look shiny as a result rather than dull black. But it works!
So that's the answer: graphite powder. I now have a working analyzer again.
It will be interesting to see if the graphite wears off eventually, I suppose
it might but that's ok, I can just do it again.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions.
paul
