remote control repair

You probably only had to clean the keypad contact areas with alcohol or other contact cleaner and spare your board from any minerals you may have in your tap water.

I used to do instrument repairs in a laboratory; if the clumsy analyst was quick to turn it off or unplug it after spilling stuff down in the keyboards I could usually fix it by washing in distilled water and drying it in a vacuum oven.

Same technique I'd use on my motorcycle's non-waterproof radar detector when it rained.

Mp3 players kayaking? ditto. The only thing that seems to matter is that the power be removed ASAP!

As long as it is dry I don't think minerals matter. I suppose if you had minerals/salts that are hygroscopic in nature and the humidity is high...

If the whole inside of the remote had a film so something inside of it; a soak on 50% distilled water and 50% high purity alcohol would have done it with a gentle scrub, then let it all dry. Dish washing chemicals could have eaten away at the circuit board, bad idea. I use a contact cleaner and a swab to gentle clean the contacts on the board and the conductive rubber on the keypad. If you clean the conductive rubber pads too much, you'll remove the conductive layer. I like to use Super Contact Cleaner by MG Chemicals, it leaves a thin layer the protects the contacts from oxidation and improves the conductivity. You can buy kits for replacing the conductive coat on the rubber keyboard.

I dunno. I think we tend to rope ourselves into the idea that everything has to be high tech to work properly. Pity there's no study done.

The conductive coatings? Often cost more than the cost of a remote or two, don't adhere all that well to the contact buttons so you wind up with a lot of conductive particles laying around. I tried that route years ago figuring I could repair remotes indefinitely with the 1/4 ounce in the kit.

Some guy is making a fortune buying up surplus aquadag coating paint by the gallon and repackaging it in DIY contact repair kits would be my guess.

One method that works is to just rub the conductive buttons over a very very fine sandpaper.. but that just exposes a fresh uncontaminated surface, wears away at the conductive buttons, and does nothing to address films on the board surface. But it does work for a time.

Corrosive properties of dishwashing liquid? A surfactant like sodium laurel sulphate, some thickening agent, coloring, and perfume, and it all has to be relatively benign and non-toxic because it is intended for consumer use in hot water and the time it takes to wash dishes. Some dishwashing liquids are advertised as suitable for hand/body wash dispensers too.

But then I still use WD-40 for a corrosion protection coating and there's lots of folks saying it won't work. I first used it on one of the old turret TV tuners back in the 60's and have been using it on potentiometers (to cure noisy pots) and contacts ever since, with no noticeable ill effects. (it's hell on rubber bands though)

"_defaullt"

** Ordinary liquid dish washing ( not dishwasher) detergent is harmless to PCBs and the components theron. Rinsing in clean, warm water is all you need to do and then thoroughly dry - same as factories do now when dealing with water soluble fluxes.

The one exception is those PCBs that have old style flux all over the lace - them you have to soak in solvent and get all traces of the flux off. I use methylated spirits in an old frying pan - it takes two lots of solvent usually.

Otherwise, water infuses into the flux and makes the PCB conductive - you can tell this if the flux becomes milky looking.

** The rabid anti WD40 brigade are all lunatics. The various alternatives they swear by are either damn near useless or damn near the same as WD40 - but at several times the price.

... Phil

"_defaullt"

** Ordinary liquid dish washing ( not dishwasher) detergent is harmless to PCBs and the components theron. Rinsing in clean, warm water is all you need to do and then thoroughly dry - same as factories do now when dealing with water soluble fluxes.

The one exception is those PCBs that have old style flux all over the lace - them you have to soak in solvent and get all traces of the flux off. I use methylated spirits in an old frying pan - it takes two lots of solvent usually.

Otherwise, water infuses into the flux and makes the PCB conductive - you can tell this if the flux becomes milky looking.

** The rabid anti WD40 brigade are all lunatics. The various alternatives they swear by are either damn near useless or damn near the same as WD40 - but at several times the price.

... Phil

Regular warm water on a PCB when it dries may leave behind contaminates that were dissolved in the water, not a good idea. You'll want to rinse the board before it dries with distilled water, a good flush of distilled water - then let it dry. You may want to use a gentle heat source under the whole thing too because the water can get trapped under some components and it won't evaporate at the same rate as the rest of the board. I have seen damage to pcbs from water getting into the electronics and I would have to scrub away the contaminates left from the water using distilled water and iso-propyl alcohol and a few cotton swabs. I have also seen water trapped under components after the board sat in open air for at least 24 hrs.

Shaun

"Shaun"

** Dunno what shit water you drink - but Sydney's tap water leaves no residue. ** Says who ?

** When I said "dry thoroughly " I meant it.

.... Phil