OT: Repairing keyboards

On a sunny day (Thu, 26 Dec 2013 22:49:23 +0000) it happened No News wrote in :

It is not so.

These domes work as pumps. start: Release them and polluted air is sucked into the space below it, where it then reacts and leaves residue on the contact area, possibly even chemically reacting with it, when you press it again, the purified air comes out. So, yes remotes are environmentally friendly air cleaners, keep pushing. when you release it again go to start;

Most clock and watch oils are based on mineral oil. The problem is that there's no such thing as a univeral clock oil that will work well with all parts of the clock or watch. This describes it in detail: My father used to repair watches and film cameras (mostly Leica) as a hobby of sorts. I learned quickly that using the proper lube is critical, especially after taking the camera on a skiing trip, and having the lube turn to tar. Look for low evaporation, constant viscosity with temperature, and non-acidic.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

No. But I'd probably notice if all my stuff was covered in an oozing oily gunky film.

I've seen it in multiple environments, in various products, of various manufacture--reputable brands--owned by different people, and in my own devices.

It only accumulates underneath the silicone keypad, between it and the pcb. If it were environmental it would be on the outside, not underneath.

Cheers, James Arthur

Den fredag den 27. december 2013 00.49.12 UTC+1 skrev Jim Thompson:

apparently many people have succesfully used a disk washer (no detergent rinse only) so a garden hose is worth a try, just wait a week before you use it again

-Lasse

On a sunny day (Fri, 27 Dec 2013 11:30:40 -0800 (PST)) it happened snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in :

See my other reply, the thing acts like a pump, when released sucks in polluted air, then next time you press it (next day?) pumps out purified air, as the stuff it sucked in has now formed a film or has reacted with the carbon? conductor...

Strange, I have never ever had that problem ever. I am not much of a remote presser though, but some of that kind of remotes I have had for 10 years, and those still work great. Neither have I had that as repair job when I had the TV repair shop.

Do not underestimate air pollution, I remember we encountered, in the old days, an IBM PC in a food processing plant, with a floppy for the communication with the PLC. The floppy,, when taken out, had carbon tracks on it, where the head was moving. A bit further down that industrial area was some coal processing plant. That was in Belgium, In the Netherlands the air is reasonably clean, even in Amsterdam, and especially in the area where I live. I have seen huge smog in the US, Germany too. So maybe there is the difference, I cannot imagine them using different stuff in remotes for here and over there, but who knows. Could be cooking oil or whatever too.

I always have some denatured alcohol on hand for cleaning various parts, so I thought I'd give it a final rinse with 50%/50% water/alcohol. Plus I have the Arizona advantage... very low humidity, so it ought to dry quickly. ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142   Skype: Contacts Only  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Having been paid to provide circuit assistance in developing a Radon detector at ASU _many_ years ago, Radon is an overblown hazard... all you need is a good basement fresh air replenishment system... aka an exhaust fan ;-) ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142   Skype: Contacts Only  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

I clean them in a utility sink. Stand them lengthwise against the side, and spray them with household ammonia, followed by distilled water in spray bottles. Let them drain for about 15 minutes, and let them dry in the hot Florida sun. I've never had any water damage that way.

--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to 
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.

That's assuming you have a basement. Most houses in the UK don't.

--
Mike Perkins 
Video Solutions Ltd 
www.videosolutions.ltd.uk

So how does Radon collect? Porous flooring? ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142   Skype: Contacts Only  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
Liberalism: A haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. 

(Twisted Quotation from H.L. Mencken)

If all you need is an exhaust fan (I've heard that too, BTW), wouldn't that make radon an underblown hazard?

Cheers, James Arthur

I guess. From what the professors at ASU told me the gas accumulates, _slowly_, usually in basements, from seepage from underlying rock formations, but is easy to mitigate by flushing the area with fresh air. So a Radon detector is about as useful as solar panels without a government subsidy >:-} ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142   Skype: Contacts Only  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 
              
I love to cook with wine.     Sometimes I even put it in the food.

--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon 

"3.3 Accumulation in houses"

If you have spiders then you don't have radon. . at least that is what has been told for ages to me..

Jamie

What if you have giant mutant spiders?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward" 
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com 
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

:D That's the valid bottom line indeed. Even if you have radon there is no evidence it can harm you. The largest study, widely discussed about a decade ago on the radsafe mailing list, was that of Bernard Cohen; his results I think even showed some benefit from radon to the delight of the hormesis proponents (don't quote me on that last one though, I am sure only about the lack of harm; I only gathered what was talked about, never went into reading the study, radon is out of my area of interest there (gamma spectrometry)).

Back to the keyboards/keypads. The amount of oil I found was way too large to attribute to rubber decay let alone to air pollution. The things had been oiled by the manufacturer, I will be very very surprised if not. Then the oil film was even and quite sticky - it just looked like it had been put there on purpose.

Dimiter

------------------------------------------------------ Dimiter Popoff, TGI

------------------------------------------------------

We keep them as pets >:-} ...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | San Tan Valley, AZ 85142 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at

| 1962 | I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Then you better check the near by family grave site, you're kinfolk may not be there anymore!

Jamie

And those buckling spring things aren't the most reliable ones. The best reliable, dirt/contamination resistant keyboards are the saturating-core magnetic switch types. More reliable than Hall sensors, they just have a little toroid that stops coupling the input and output windings (which are staples, one turn each) when the plunger-attached magnet gets near.