Larry W4CSC wrote:
Moores family wrote in
:


Thanks all,
Yep, I've done all the obvious stuff, I wanted to find out if there's a
known trick before I decide whether repairing the minor niggle- the off
button doesn't work, is worth the risk of causing irrepairable damage
getting to it.
Thanks again.
JM




If this off button is the usual rubber switch, try pressing it in while
sliding it around to see if you can clean the contact off without taking it
apart. Rubber switches are nothing more than a black, conductive rubber
nipple in the middle of the button, made right into it, that makes contact
with some "fingers" on a printed circuit board. If any foreign material or
a little corrosion because it's made as cheaply as they can make it, get
between the rubber nipple and the fingers....it won't contact enough to
flip the IC it's connected to. There's just scanning signal on these
fingers...no DC or current....so it won't clean itself. Try pressing it in
fairly hard and rubbing it around like you would a pencil eraser as far as
it will slide sideways....



Unfortunately it's got a stiff plastic adhesive membrane over the
"keyboard". The next step'll be to peel that off to see what I can get
to underneath, I may be able to use the wiggle technique then but it
feels more like the type that's got little dimples in a thin metal sheet
for contacts than conductive rubber. We'll see. If not it turns off
when I turn off the master battery switch anyway...
Thanks
JM