Which is exactly the point. This is a large remote, and it's hard to even begin to guess where the "ears" are.
I just bought some AR interconnects, which come in a large snap-shut "egg". I had little trouble getting it open. So why...?
You can usually insinuate the edge of the knife blade into the crack between the case halves, and then rotate in the plane of the blade, either up, or down. This will normally result in the case halves twisting apart at that point, and will tell you which half is clipped over the other. You can also normally see at this point, where the case halves are resisting twisting apart, and that will be where your first clip point is located. You can either slide the knife blade down to that point, and then knowing which way the case is clipped together, twist again in that direction, or come out with the knife and then move down to the clip point, and reinsert. Either way, it's not that hard, and as I said, probably more a matter of technique and experience, than special tools, or the manufacturers trying to stop you getting in there.
Arfa
Some of these remotes aren't even worth the trouble to repair (if you can get the darn thing open in the first place) when they go bad. I have a "GE" branded universal remote I bought from a discount store for $5. I don't see any clips or other types of fasteners holding the case together. It would seem to me that one would have to almost literally destroy the remote to get it open.
Oh well. This type of remote is meant to be thrown away when it fails anyway, like just about everything else these days. The only reason I bought this particular remote is that it is the only universal remote short of an expensive learning remote that will operate all four components of my video entertainment system, including my CyberHome DVD player.
OTOH, I also have a "One for All" universal remote that should be very easy to open should it require service, as there is only one screw holding the unit together. I would still be using that remote today if it supported my DVD player, but it doesn't--none of the One for All universals have setup codes for this brand of DVD. CyberHome even mentions on its website that no other remotes than the ones supplied with its DVD players will operate them. Jasco Products (the company that manufactures "GE" branded universal remotes and other video accessories under the GE name and logo) must have seen the need for a universal (other than a learning remote) that would operate CyberHome DVD players, as the unit I have, and likely most other recent-vintage "GE" branded universal remotes, have setup codes for the CH DVDs, what few of them are still in use (CyberHome went out of business not long ago).
Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV Fairport Harbor, Ohio USA
I dont think its the rubber breaking down . I have seen many remotes dry as a dry bone . Many older remotes that were never used dont do this .
Here at my house the only remote that did that was the one i used to hold i my hand alot . After i cleaned it and stopped holding it the goo stopped . I believe its somehow oils from the hands that get drawn in somehow .
I also found a good way to fix those remotes where the rubber pads inside loose their conductivity . Clean it real good . Smear a thin coat of auto emblem adhesive on the pad .
Take a motor brush and scrape it with a knife to make powder on something then push and smear the glue coated pad into the dust . This might be old news ?? but it works pretty good .
We're not talking about universal remotes.
You can also keep the keymats from scrap phones / calculators / remotes, and then, when needed, razor blade a black conductive lozenge off the rubber substrate, then superglue it to the substrate on the keymat you're repairing, after first razor blading off the worn out lozenge.
Arfa
"Arfa Daily" wrote in news:KDnik.13037$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe29.ams:
maybe some of that steel banding used for going around shipping crates would work.I use pieces of it for cal sticker scrapers.
-- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in news:EYGdnXKRjLiE9BfVnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:
yes,factory remotes often have instrument-specific functions that a universal remote will not activate;I have a Pioneer PD-M70 CD player where the remote died,and a universal remote does -some- things,but not many commonly used functions.
and a universal remote will not operate my new Magnavox OTA DTV converter.
-- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net
I've posted this before....
Buy a Palm unit. There are several programs out there which convert the unit to a universal, learning remote. Libraries are posted online of codes for various devices. There are forums where you can request codes for esoteric gear. People who have that gear can teach their Palm remote and post the results for those hard to find functions.
A Palm M130 goes for maybe $15 on eBay. It has a sufficient IR range to function as a useful remote control. Either buy a new battery (if needed) for a few bucks, or leave it in a charging cradle close to where you use it. Even an old Palm III X, that you might have in a drawer somewhere, can be a viable device remote with an IR extender added.
Better yet, you can control your devices with any Palm-enabled smart phone....
jak
On Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:25:04 -0700 (PDT), Ron put finger to keyboard and composed:
I've seen tape decks where the rubber belts have completely disintegrated into a sticky sludge.
I've also just cleaned the rubber goo out of my Sanyo TV remote for the second time in as many years.
- Franc Zabkar
-- Please remove one \'i\' from my address when replying by email.
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