07 Dec 2004, 12:07, Roy J. Tellason (1:270/615), wrote to Tom Walker:

Hi Roy.

 TW>> While us "Old Timers" gripe a lot about it in the Quest for
 TW>> Cheaper and Cheaper or More Exotic "Things" it as a practical
 TW>> matter has become economicly a loosing proposition to Repair
 TW>> things.

 RJT> True,  I used to make a living at that sort of thing,  and don't 
 RJT> see a way to do that currently.  And this isn't right.

A long while back there was a discussion running about repairing 'rubber
button contact' type things.

As my luck would have it, I returned from the hospital Monday evening after
having a kidney removed, got all comfortable, reached for the remote for
the TV, and it was stone dead.  Turns out the IR LED had broken a PCB
trace, that part was simple.  Many of the buttons were extremely flaky for
the past year or so, so I scrubbed the little rubber contact things with a
strong dish soap and a toothbrush, dried it good, then used my
"Circuit Works Conductive Pen" and put a dab of silver on each of
six of the most important buttons.  

While the silver was still wet, I used a small flat screwdriver blade to
spread the silver thin and flat across the button surface [where there once
had been a graphite type coating].  I let it dry for a few hours while I
napped, then put it all back together.  

It now works as good as or better than new.  Just touch a button, and the
function WORKS!  So far it has held up for three days.  If I have to open
it again in the next few months, I'll try to form an opinion towards life
expectancy depending on how well the silver stuff remains stuck, flakes,
peels, whatever.  If it all looks good, I'll add the silver stuff to the
rest of the buttons.


     Good luck...  M.

--- Msged/386 TE 06 (pre)