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From: stroh@ssc-vax.UUCP (Steven K Stroh)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: remote control buttons
Summary: Take it apart and clean the pads underneath the button
Message-ID: <1506@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: 14 Jul 90 00:00:15 GMT
References: <TOLBOEL.90Jul10101202@dirac.iesd.auc.dk>
Distribution: sci
Organization: Boeing Aerospace & Electronics, Seattle WA
Lines: 15


Many devices that use conductive rubber buttons start having 
intermittant operation after a few years because of the
general dirt and other blech that seeps in around the edges.
In a former life I was sentenced (:-) to work for a well known
videogame manufacturer, and the cure for the great majority of
the handheld controllers was a simple scrubbing of the contacts
on the PC board with an ordinary pencil eraser.  It doesn't
hurt to clean the BUTTONS with isopropyl alcohol.  DO NOT use
the alcohol on the PC board- it's quite likely that you'll damage
the contacts (which are not bare copper, but treated to work
well with the button material).


Steve Stroh