• sluggish remote control

    From micky@21:1/5 to All on Fri Sep 16 01:06:46 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    Have any of you noticed that your remote control, for a tv or whatever,
    doesn't work at first, if you haven't used it for a day or two?

    I keep thinking the batteries have died, but after a couple minutes it
    usually works.

    I try to warm up the batteries by pressing one button or another 10 or
    20 times and that doesn't seem to work but a fwe minutes later, things
    are fine.

    One complication: I'm not controlling the TV directly. I'm shining the
    remote on PowerMid that uses radio waves to communicate with a receiver
    in my bedroom that uses a thin cable to send infrared to a little bead
    that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid
    has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that
    does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From ohger1s@gmail.com@21:1/5 to micky on Fri Sep 16 09:31:33 2022
    On Friday, September 16, 2022 at 1:06:54 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
    Have any of you noticed that your remote control, for a tv or whatever, doesn't work at first, if you haven't used it for a day or two?

    I keep thinking the batteries have died, but after a couple minutes it usually works.

    I try to warm up the batteries by pressing one button or another 10 or
    20 times and that doesn't seem to work but a fwe minutes later, things
    are fine.

    One complication: I'm not controlling the TV directly. I'm shining the
    remote on PowerMid that uses radio waves to communicate with a receiver
    in my bedroom that uses a thin cable to send infrared to a little bead
    that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid
    has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that
    does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay.

    I've never noticed that, no. It seems that with the equipment you have, your lag could be anywhere in the chain and not so much the remote since your powermid is responding to it apparently.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to ohg...@gmail.com on Fri Sep 16 21:25:43 2022
    In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 16 Sep 2022 09:31:33 -0700 (PDT), "ohg...@gmail.com" <ohger1s@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Friday, September 16, 2022 at 1:06:54 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
    Have any of you noticed that your remote control, for a tv or whatever,
    doesn't work at first, if you haven't used it for a day or two?

    I keep thinking the batteries have died, but after a couple minutes it
    usually works.

    I try to warm up the batteries by pressing one button or another 10 or
    20 times and that doesn't seem to work but a fwe minutes later, things
    are fine.

    One complication: I'm not controlling the TV directly. I'm shining the
    remote on PowerMid that uses radio waves to communicate with a receiver
    in my bedroom that uses a thin cable to send infrared to a little bead
    that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid
    has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that
    does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay.

    I've never noticed that, no. It seems that with the equipment you have, your lag could be anywhere in the chain and not so much the remote since your powermid is responding to it apparently.

    I know the light on the powermid goes on, but I thought that only meant
    it detected a signal, but maybe not a strong enough signal. The
    powermid at both ends is plugged into the wall, doesn't depend on
    batteries. So it didn't seem like it would require "warming up". Maybe
    time will tell what the problem is.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From ohger1s@gmail.com@21:1/5 to micky on Sat Sep 17 06:17:54 2022
    On Friday, September 16, 2022 at 9:25:52 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
    In sci.electronics.repair, on Fri, 16 Sep 2022 09:31:33 -0700 (PDT), "ohg...@gmail.com" <ohg...@gmail.com> wrote:

    On Friday, September 16, 2022 at 1:06:54 AM UTC-4, micky wrote:
    Have any of you noticed that your remote control, for a tv or whatever, >> doesn't work at first, if you haven't used it for a day or two?

    I keep thinking the batteries have died, but after a couple minutes it
    usually works.

    I try to warm up the batteries by pressing one button or another 10 or
    20 times and that doesn't seem to work but a fwe minutes later, things
    are fine.

    One complication: I'm not controlling the TV directly. I'm shining the
    remote on PowerMid that uses radio waves to communicate with a receiver >> in my bedroom that uses a thin cable to send infrared to a little bead
    that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid >> has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that >> does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay.

    I've never noticed that, no. It seems that with the equipment you have, your lag could be anywhere in the chain and not so much the remote since your powermid is responding to it apparently.
    I know the light on the powermid goes on, but I thought that only meant
    it detected a signal, but maybe not a strong enough signal. The
    powermid at both ends is plugged into the wall, doesn't depend on
    batteries. So it didn't seem like it would require "warming up". Maybe
    time will tell what the problem is.

    There is a *tiny* window where a digital signal is usable and when it isn't. If the powermid is flashing, it does mean it detected an IR signal yes, and it certainly can also mean the signal is gibberish from the remote, but I can tell you in over 50
    years in consumer electronics, I can't recall seeing more than one or two remotes that put out an IR pulsed signal that also put out gibberish or the incorrect code at the same time. IOW, if they transmitted IR, they were generally good. Could the
    powermid being seeing a signal too weak to reliably get the code read? I guess, it depends on what the light means. It could mean signal detection or it could mean code readable.

    What if you take your remote directly to your DVDR? If it responds immediately, the DVDR and the hand unit are good and the powermid is bad. If the DVDR doesn't respond immediately, the powermid is good and the hand unit or DVDR is bad.

    Lastly, those little IR beads are often very directional and I've seen times when simply relocating the transmitter bead improves the function greatly. Sometimes they're too far away, sometimes off axis, and sometimes they can even overwhelm the IR
    receiver they're transmitting to. I know that seems like it's not the problem since it clears up at some point, but I would investigate the placement of the IR bead carefully. I had a customer with a home theater (all equipment in a utility room) and I
    ended up sticking a plastic block to the front of his HT receiver with double sided tape and sticking the IR bead to that block to fix erratic remote operation.

    You can use your smart phone's camera to view the IR from the bead and see in which direction the light is travelling to get a better idea how to aim it and where to aim it.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to micky on Sat Sep 17 20:36:37 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-16 07:06, micky wrote:
    Have any of you noticed that your remote control, for a tv or whatever, doesn't work at first, if you haven't used it for a day or two?

    I keep thinking the batteries have died, but after a couple minutes it usually works.

    I try to warm up the batteries by pressing one button or another 10 or
    20 times and that doesn't seem to work but a fwe minutes later, things
    are fine.

    One complication: I'm not controlling the TV directly. I'm shining the remote on PowerMid that uses radio waves to communicate with a receiver
    in my bedroom that uses a thin cable to send infrared to a little bead
    that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid
    has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that
    does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay.


    I have one remote⁽¹⁾ that had buttons that would not work, or I had to press hard, and wiggle them. When I opened the thing, many buttons were
    humid inside. I never found where that came from, and doesn't happen to
    any other remote. I cleaned/dried them, close the case, work for a month
    or two, then repeat.

    In the end, I had to glue small pieces of aluminum foil in the inner
    surface of the buttons so that they would make contact. Problem now is,
    some of the foil pieces fall down, and the button will not work at all.
    The tiny foil can also short some other contact instead.

    Someone made a program running on the computer that would connect via
    LAN and emulate the remote, so that's what I use most of the time now.
    Except for powering it up, that needs the remote.



    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a response
    at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it does to tell
    the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet it did not
    react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did work. My guess
    is that the device had hung.



    (1) Gigaset M740 AV

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dave Platt@21:1/5 to ohg...@gmail.com on Sat Sep 17 11:45:10 2022
    In article <3806e8b2-213e-4c3d-80bf-979f608c1b1en@googlegroups.com>, ohg...@gmail.com <ohger1s@gmail.com> wrote:

    There is a *tiny* window where a digital signal is usable and when it isn't. If the powermid is flashing, it does mean it detected an IR signal
    yes, and it certainly can also mean the signal is gibberish from the remote, but I can tell you in over 50 years in consumer electronics, I can't
    recall seeing more than one or two remotes that put out an IR pulsed signal that also put out gibberish or the incorrect code at the same time.
    IOW, if they transmitted IR, they were generally good. Could the powermid being seeing a signal too weak to reliably get the code read? I guess,
    it depends on what the light means. It could mean signal detection or it could mean code readable.

    What if you take your remote directly to your DVDR? If it responds immediately, the DVDR and the hand unit are good and the powermid is bad. If
    the DVDR doesn't respond immediately, the powermid is good and the hand unit or DVDR is bad.

    Those IR -> RF -> IR PowerMod relay devices are... well, rather evil, IMO.

    The design has a couple of limitations / vulnerabilities:

    (1) The IR receiver isn't very selective - it response to
    pulsed/modulated IR having a broad range of modulating
    frequencies. This is necessary in order to allow the device to
    work with a broad range of IR remotes, but it means that the IR
    receiver can be "swamped" by IR noise from other devices. In
    particular, some compact-fluorescent and LED lights seem to put
    out a bunch of modulated IR, and this can interfere with the
    detection of IR from a remote control. Worse, it can cause
    the IR receiver to start sending gibberish "remote control"
    signals via RF.

    (2) The RF receiver at the far end isn't very selective, either.
    As I recall it's tuned to a frequency in the 433 MHz ISM band,
    and the band-pass is pretty wide. As a result, RF noise in
    this band (even "hash" from computers, etc.) can cause the
    receiver to "think" it's seeing input from the IR module,
    and it will start spewing out meaningless IR pulses from
    its IR-transmitter dongles.

    The combination of these two design weaknesses means that a PowerMid
    setup has a tendency to spew meaningless IR pulses into the
    A/V components at the receiving end. This can prevent proper
    repeating of IR from a remote control in another room, and it can
    also interfere with the proper detection of commands from an
    IR remote in the main viewing room.

    Observe the PowerMid repeater "pyramid" for a while, when you
    know that nobody's using the system. If you see the "activity"
    light flicker, you have interference problems.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to Dave Platt on Sat Sep 17 18:08:16 2022
    In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 17 Sep 2022 11:45:10 -0700, dplatt@coop.radagast.org (Dave Platt) wrote:

    In article <3806e8b2-213e-4c3d-80bf-979f608c1b1en@googlegroups.com>, >ohg...@gmail.com <ohger1s@gmail.com> wrote:

    There is a *tiny* window where a digital signal is usable and when it isn't. If the powermid is flashing, it does mean it detected an IR signal
    yes, and it certainly can also mean the signal is gibberish from the remote, but I can tell you in over 50 years in consumer electronics, I can't

    50 years is a long time. I've been watching tv for 50+ years but I
    don't think that counts as much. And some of that time the remote used
    tuning "forks" instead of IR.

    recall seeing more than one or two remotes that put out an IR pulsed signal that also put out gibberish or the incorrect code at the same time.
    IOW, if they transmitted IR, they were generally good. Could the powermid being seeing a signal too weak to reliably get the code read? I guess,
    it depends on what the light means. It could mean signal detection or it could mean code readable.

    What if you take your remote directly to your DVDR?

    Excellent idea. It's upstairs and sometime the food will get cold, but
    still, I will do that next time. (Unless I forget, which will
    probably happen the first couple times. IOW it will take a while to get
    back to you all.)

    If it responds immediately, the DVDR and the hand unit are good and the powermid is bad. If
    the DVDR doesn't respond immediately, the powermid is good and the hand unit or DVDR is bad.

    Those IR -> RF -> IR PowerMod relay devices are... well, rather evil, IMO.

    The design has a couple of limitations / vulnerabilities:

    (1) The IR receiver isn't very selective - it response to
    pulsed/modulated IR having a broad range of modulating
    frequencies. This is necessary in order to allow the device to
    work with a broad range of IR remotes, but it means that the IR
    receiver can be "swamped" by IR noise from other devices. In
    particular, some compact-fluorescent and LED lights seem to put

    Well, I do have a lamp with an LED bulb in it in the kitchen where all
    this tv stuff occurs. And sometimes it's on and sometimes it 's off,
    so I will pay attention, and turn it off when there is a problem.

    out a bunch of modulated IR, and this can interfere with the
    detection of IR from a remote control. Worse, it can cause
    the IR receiver to start sending gibberish "remote control"
    signals via RF.

    (2) The RF receiver at the far end isn't very selective, either.
    As I recall it's tuned to a frequency in the 433 MHz ISM band,
    and the band-pass is pretty wide. As a result, RF noise in
    this band (even "hash" from computers, etc.) can cause the
    receiver to "think" it's seeing input from the IR module,
    and it will start spewing out meaningless IR pulses from
    its IR-transmitter dongles.

    There's nothing much in the bedroom... wait. The ceiling fixture has
    compact fluiorescents, and while they shouldn't be on when I'm
    downstairs, maybe sometimes thay are.

    The combination of these two design weaknesses means that a PowerMid
    setup has a tendency to spew meaningless IR pulses into the
    A/V components at the receiving end. This can prevent proper
    repeating of IR from a remote control in another room, and it can
    also interfere with the proper detection of commands from an
    IR remote in the main viewing room.

    It's good to know about these problems, so I won't change the batteries
    when t hey are not the problem. The remote is wrapped up in plastic to
    keep it clean when I'm eating, so that's even a bigger r eason, plus I
    don't want to waste batteries. If it's the powermid, that's not great
    but I can live with it.

    At first I used to use, it might have been called Cricket. It had ssome
    little green animal as the logo and the transmitter was much smaller.
    It clipped on the end of the remote, and the receiver could go in the
    other end of the bedroom and shine all across the room. That worked
    well for a few years. I forget the eventual problem was.

    For the powermid receiver I bought a wire with 3 beads at the end, but I
    only use one, for the DVDR. I still have things to play on the VCR,
    maybe eventually.

    Observe the PowerMid repeater "pyramid" for a while, when you
    know that nobody's using the system. If you see the "activity"
    light flicker, you have interference problems.

    Okay

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to E.R." on Sat Sep 17 18:16:07 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 17 Sep 2022 20:36:37 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

    On 2022-09-16 07:06, micky wrote:
    Have any of you noticed that your remote control, for a tv or whatever,
    doesn't work at first, if you haven't used it for a day or two?

    I keep thinking the batteries have died, but after a couple minutes it
    usually works.

    I try to warm up the batteries by pressing one button or another 10 or
    20 times and that doesn't seem to work but a fwe minutes later, things
    are fine.

    One complication: I'm not controlling the TV directly. I'm shining the
    remote on PowerMid that uses radio waves to communicate with a receiver
    in my bedroom that uses a thin cable to send infrared to a little bead
    that is stuck in front of the IR receiver on the DVDR. But the powermid
    has a red light that goes on when I'm shining the remote at it, and that
    does go on. Still, I don't think that is the cause of the delay.


    I have one remote?? that had buttons that would not work, or I had to
    press hard, and wiggle them. When I opened the thing, many buttons were
    humid inside. I never found where that came from, and doesn't happen to
    any other remote. I cleaned/dried them, close the case, work for a month
    or two, then repeat.

    I have a clock radio in which all the controls are buttons, and 6
    sliders. The buttons don't get humidity but dirt. I took the think
    apart and cleaned them and it was good for about 3 years. The next time
    I cleaned them it was only good for year. There might have been a 3rd
    time. Since then I learned about DeOxit and bought some, but haven't
    had the time to do it again. So all I have is the FM button that turns
    it on, with some effort, and the volume slider. If there is a power
    failure long enough to forget the station, it's a real challenge to
    enter 88.1. which is now the only station I listen to.

    In the end, I had to glue small pieces of aluminum foil in the inner
    surface of the buttons so that they would make contact. Problem now is,
    some of the foil pieces fall down, and the button will not work at all.
    The tiny foil can also short some other contact instead.

    I didnt' think of that. And I guess it doesn't work that well! In my
    case very little space between the two contacts.

    When I bought a tv 2 years ago, I bought a second remote right away.

    Someone made a program running on the computer that would connect via
    LAN and emulate the remote, so that's what I use most of the time now.
    Except for powering it up, that needs the remote.

    I only have one smart tv. I'm glad I got it but I don't use it much.
    The others are at least 20 years old.


    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a response
    at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it does to tell
    the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet it did not >react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did work. My guess
    is that the device had hung.

    Glad it's working. I don't think that applies to me.


    (1) Gigaset M740 AV

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Peter@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Sun Sep 18 10:44:22 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:


    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a response
    at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it does to tell
    the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did work. My guess
    is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote. The batteries were
    good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries. Cleaned it off with a
    stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From rbowman@21:1/5 to Peter on Sun Sep 18 11:39:38 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 09/18/2022 08:44 AM, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it does
    to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet
    it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did
    work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote. The batteries were
    good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries. Cleaned it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.


    The Pink Pearl solution! Back when cards were inserted into a connector
    on a backplane the first step in troubleshooting was to pull the card
    out and apply a Pink Pearl eraser to the contacts.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Peeler@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 18 20:28:40 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On Sun, 18 Sep 2022 11:39:38 -0600, lowbrowwoman, the endlessly driveling, troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:

    The Pink Pearl solution! Back when cards were inserted into a connector
    on a backplane the first step in troubleshooting was to pull the card
    out and apply a Pink Pearl eraser to the contacts.

    His problem was SOLVED! Are you hard of hearing, chatterbox?

    --
    More of the senile gossip's absolutely idiotic senile blather:
    "I stopped for breakfast at a diner in Virginia when the state didn't do
    DST. I remarked on the time difference and the crusty old waitress said
    'We keep God's time in Virginia.'

    I also lived in Ft. Wayne for a while."

    MID: <t0tjfa$6r5$1@dont-email.me>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to Peter on Mon Sep 19 17:52:43 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it does
    to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR remote, yet
    it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that button did
    work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote.  The batteries were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.  Cleaned it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the
    thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it had
    liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No
    corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries
    were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bob F@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Mon Sep 19 09:00:06 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it
    does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR
    remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that
    button did work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote.  The batteries
    were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring
    that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.  Cleaned
    it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the
    thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it had liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No
    corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries
    were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be breaking
    down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Frank <"frank@21:1/5 to Bob F on Mon Sep 19 14:15:59 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 9/19/2022 12:00 PM, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it
    does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR
    remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that
    button did work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote.  The batteries
    were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring
    that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.  Cleaned
    it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the
    thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it
    had liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No
    corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries
    were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    micky should try Miralax.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to Bob F on Mon Sep 19 21:41:27 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it
    does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR
    remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - that
    button did work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote.  The batteries
    were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring
    that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.  Cleaned
    it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the
    thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it
    had liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No
    corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries
    were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.


    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Clifford Heath@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Tue Sep 20 14:03:20 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 20/9/22 05:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it
    does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR
    remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device -
    that button did work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote.  The batteries
    were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring
    that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.  Cleaned
    it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the
    thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it
    had liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No
    corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries
    were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be
    breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.

    The buttons are usually molded into a silicone sheet. The silicoen
    starts to de-polymerise and that's where the liquid comes from - it's
    silicone oil. You can clean it off with alcohol, but that just gives you
    enough time to look for a new remote control.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to Clifford Heath on Tue Sep 20 20:19:24 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-20 06:03, Clifford Heath wrote:
    On 20/9/22 05:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a
    response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it
    does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR
    remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device -
    that button did work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote.  The batteries >>>>> were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring
    that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.
    Cleaned it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the
    thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it
    had liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No
    corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries
    were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be
    breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.

    The buttons are usually molded into a silicone sheet. The silicoen
    starts to de-polymerise and that's where the liquid comes from - it's silicone oil. You can clean it off with alcohol, but that just gives you enough time to look for a new remote control.

    Well, that started to happen when the remote was not old, and several
    years later I'm still using that machine. It is my only device that
    developed that problem. I have (had, I threw them away this summer) TVs
    older than that.

    No one sells that ancient remote control AFAIK.

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to E.R." on Tue Sep 20 16:08:09 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:19:24 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

    Well, that started to happen when the remote was not old, and several
    years later I'm still using that machine. It is my only device that
    developed that problem. I have (had, I threw them away this summer) TVs
    older than that.

    No one sells that ancient remote control AFAIK.

    On ebay I found someone who sells universale remotes that he has
    programmed for specific devices. They aren't univesal anymore and they
    don't come with instructions how to make them universal or any other
    model. I think I found it just by googling the model number, but on ebay
    where I didn't expect them.

    One time I think he wrote me that he was going to stop because he was't
    making enough money anymore. I said Raise your price. He still would
    have been cheaper then new old stock. (It occurs to me now that I only
    know about my particular make and model, and I presume he sold many
    different models.) I don't know what he decided to do. He had one
    location in the USA and one in England, I think it was.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to micky on Tue Sep 20 22:33:35 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-20 22:08, micky wrote:
    In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:19:24 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

    Well, that started to happen when the remote was not old, and several
    years later I'm still using that machine. It is my only device that
    developed that problem. I have (had, I threw them away this summer) TVs
    older than that.

    No one sells that ancient remote control AFAIK.

    On ebay I found someone who sells universale remotes that he has
    programmed for specific devices. They aren't univesal anymore and they don't come with instructions how to make them universal or any other
    model. I think I found it just by googling the model number, but on ebay where I didn't expect them.

    One time I think he wrote me that he was going to stop because he was't making enough money anymore. I said Raise your price. He still would
    have been cheaper then new old stock. (It occurs to me now that I only
    know about my particular make and model, and I presume he sold many
    different models.) I don't know what he decided to do. He had one
    location in the USA and one in England, I think it was.

    This particular machine is a very good design, but will be made obsolete
    soon, if they mandate digital TV to be all in HD (it was scheduled for
    this year, I think). My device can't do HD. And the aerial reception in
    this room is bad.

    It is a double tuner for terrestrial digital TV. It can use a shared
    folder in a Linux or Windows computer for storage, or connect to an
    external, USB2 hard disk. It is capable of making two simultaneous
    recordings while playing from disk another program. It can be managed
    via a mini web server, once it is flashed with community software
    instead of the original one. It is, or was, really good. Except for the
    remote.

    I manage it via network, I almost never use the remote control.

    I only mentioned it as an example of devices that work badly with a remote.


    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Charlie+@21:1/5 to micky on Wed Sep 21 07:21:48 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:08:09 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote
    as underneath :

    In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:19:24 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

    Well, that started to happen when the remote was not old, and several
    years later I'm still using that machine. It is my only device that >>developed that problem. I have (had, I threw them away this summer) TVs >>older than that.

    No one sells that ancient remote control AFAIK.

    On ebay I found someone who sells universale remotes that he has
    programmed for specific devices. They aren't univesal anymore and they >don't come with instructions how to make them universal or any other
    model. I think I found it just by googling the model number, but on ebay >where I didn't expect them.

    One time I think he wrote me that he was going to stop because he was't >making enough money anymore. I said Raise your price. He still would
    have been cheaper then new old stock. (It occurs to me now that I only
    know about my particular make and model, and I presume he sold many
    different models.) I don't know what he decided to do. He had one
    location in the USA and one in England, I think it was.

    The Chunghop L336 universal learning remotes work well and are cheap
    enough. All buttons programmable and remembered even if battery goes
    flat. BUT - you do have to have a working unit to learn from even if its
    on its last legs! C+

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 21 14:07:27 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-21 08:21, Charlie+ wrote:
    On Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:08:09 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote
    as underneath :

    In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:19:24 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:


    The Chunghop L336 universal learning remotes work well and are cheap
    enough. All buttons programmable and remembered even if battery goes
    flat. BUT - you do have to have a working unit to learn from even if its
    on its last legs! C+


    Good to know, thanks.

    I wonder, if someone could publish libraries of codes to teach remotes
    the "language" of some other remote in the library. Would save effort
    and time.


    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Carlos E.R.@21:1/5 to Clifford Heath on Wed Sep 21 14:11:13 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 2022-09-20 06:03, Clifford Heath wrote:
    On 20/9/22 05:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be
    breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.

    The buttons are usually molded into a silicone sheet. The silicoen
    starts to de-polymerise and that's where the liquid comes from - it's silicone oil. You can clean it off with alcohol, but that just gives you enough time to look for a new remote control.

    I wonder if that is the degradation process that happens to kitchen
    utensils, that have parts made in some kind of non slippery rubber.
    After some years, they degrade and leak something like a glue and have
    to be thrown to the garbage, unless the rubber part can be removed and
    the thing still works.

    It is not, apparently, what happened to my remote, as the buttons are
    still, apparently, intact.

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bob F@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 21 08:03:01 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 9/20/2022 11:21 PM, Charlie+ wrote:
    On Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:08:09 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote
    as underneath :

    In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:19:24 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

    Well, that started to happen when the remote was not old, and several
    years later I'm still using that machine. It is my only device that
    developed that problem. I have (had, I threw them away this summer) TVs
    older than that.

    No one sells that ancient remote control AFAIK.

    On ebay I found someone who sells universale remotes that he has
    programmed for specific devices. They aren't univesal anymore and they
    don't come with instructions how to make them universal or any other
    model. I think I found it just by googling the model number, but on ebay
    where I didn't expect them.

    One time I think he wrote me that he was going to stop because he was't
    making enough money anymore. I said Raise your price. He still would
    have been cheaper then new old stock. (It occurs to me now that I only
    know about my particular make and model, and I presume he sold many
    different models.) I don't know what he decided to do. He had one
    location in the USA and one in England, I think it was.

    The Chunghop L336 universal learning remotes work well and are cheap
    enough. All buttons programmable and remembered even if battery goes
    flat. BUT - you do have to have a working unit to learn from even if its
    on its last legs! C+

    The now discontinued Logitech Harmony remotes have a very extensive list
    of supported devices on the support website. They claim they will
    continue support. I bought a couple used ones off Ebay for $10-15 and
    love their capabilities. The ones with screens will usually offer access
    to all the functions of the original remote without having to learn them
    from the original remote.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bob F@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Wed Sep 21 08:08:01 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 9/21/2022 5:11 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-20 06:03, Clifford Heath wrote:
    On 20/9/22 05:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be
    breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.

    The buttons are usually molded into a silicone sheet. The silicoen
    starts to de-polymerise and that's where the liquid comes from - it's
    silicone oil. You can clean it off with alcohol, but that just gives
    you enough time to look for a new remote control.

    I wonder if that is the degradation process that happens to kitchen
    utensils, that have parts made in some kind of non slippery rubber.
    After some years, they degrade and leak something like a glue and have
    to be thrown to the garbage, unless the rubber part can be removed and
    the thing still works.

    It is not, apparently, what happened to my remote, as the buttons are
    still, apparently, intact.


    I had a snap-op screwdriver that had that happen to the black plastic
    handle. It would just get sticky gooey crud all over it and leave a
    puddle under it in the drawer. I stopped by a snap-on truck one day with
    it, and he gave me a new "better" screwdriver in exchange.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Lloyd@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 21 12:53:09 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 9/21/22 01:21, Charlie+ wrote:

    [snip]

    earning remotes work well and are cheap
    enough. All buttons programmable and remembered even if battery goes
    flat. BUT - you do have to have a working unit to learn from even if its
    on its last legs! C+

    30 years ago I knew someone with an RCA TV where the remote failed, and
    a new one cost about $70. RCA (then) did something strange with the
    volume buttons so you couldn't use a $10 universal remote.

    --
    95 days until the winter celebration (Sunday, December 25, 2022 12:00:00
    AM for 1 day).

    Mark Lloyd
    http://notstupid.us/

    "Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic
    for medicine; now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic." [Thomas Szasz]

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From three_jeeps@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Wed Sep 21 11:34:35 2022
    On Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 8:12:10 AM UTC-4, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-20 06:03, Clifford Heath wrote:
    On 20/9/22 05:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be
    breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.

    The buttons are usually molded into a silicone sheet. The silicoen
    starts to de-polymerise and that's where the liquid comes from - it's silicone oil. You can clean it off with alcohol, but that just gives you enough time to look for a new remote control.
    I wonder if that is the degradation process that happens to kitchen
    utensils, that have parts made in some kind of non slippery rubber.
    After some years, they degrade and leak something like a glue and have
    to be thrown to the garbage, unless the rubber part can be removed and
    the thing still works.

    It is not, apparently, what happened to my remote, as the buttons are
    still, apparently, intact.

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.
    I have not seen this happen to kitchen utensils. I have seen it happen to car radio head units, car climate control centers, and hand tools. I don't know of anyway to stop the process or clean up the mess.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From three_jeeps@21:1/5 to Carlos E.R. on Wed Sep 21 11:30:56 2022
    On Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 2:20:10 PM UTC-4, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-20 06:03, Clifford Heath wrote:
    On 20/9/22 05:41, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-19 18:00, Bob F wrote:
    On 9/19/2022 8:52 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
    On 2022-09-18 16:44, Peter wrote:
    On 9/17/2022 2:36 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

    I have another device that the remote failed yesterday to get a >>>>>> response at some point. I could see a led blinking in the mode it >>>>>> does to tell the user that it is getting a command from the IR
    remote, yet it did not react. I had to power cycle the device - >>>>>> that button did work. My guess is that the device had hung.


    I had a similar problem recently with a Roku remote. The batteries >>>>> were good but some corrosion had developed at the end of the spring >>>>> that made contact with the (-) end of one of the batteries.
    Cleaned it off with a stiff pencil eraser and problem solved.

    That's what I thought the first time, battery leakage. I cleaned the >>>> thing very carefully, assembled it, new batteries, and soon again it >>>> had liquid inside the buttons. Actual tiny drops of some liquid. No >>>> corrosion. I repeated the process. Nothing worked. Ah, the batteries >>>> were dry all the time, and anyway, I changed to rechargeables.

    Something in that remote picks humidity from air.


    Is there a rubbery or even plastic material there that could be
    breaking down? Some can release gooey liquid.

    Nope. None that I could see.

    The buttons are usually molded into a silicone sheet. The silicoen
    starts to de-polymerise and that's where the liquid comes from - it's silicone oil. You can clean it off with alcohol, but that just gives you enough time to look for a new remote control.
    Well, that started to happen when the remote was not old, and several
    years later I'm still using that machine. It is my only device that developed that problem. I have (had, I threw them away this summer) TVs older than that.

    No one sells that ancient remote control AFAIK.

    --
    Cheers, Carlos.

    Yes, some mfg remote have better longevity than the others. Taking apart the remote control and cleaning the button sheet and the circuit board with alcohol (rubbing@70% or 90%) will remove the oils. The remote should then operate normally. Don't
    scrub the circuit board - gently wipe it with a antistatic wipe dipped in alcohol. If really in a pinch, a cotton swab/ball will work.
    Get used to doing this - I have several remotes that require this cleaning process every 1-3 years, depending on the remote.
    At some point in the life of the remote, the conductive coating on the silicon pad keys will erode away and that key function will no longer work. The contact material can be reapplied but since making a contact is a mechanical function, the material
    will erode again.
    Good luck
    J

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From micky@21:1/5 to robin_listas@es.invalid on Thu Sep 29 20:47:06 2022
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 21 Sep 2022 14:07:27 +0200, "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

    On 2022-09-21 08:21, Charlie+ wrote:
    On Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:08:09 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote
    as underneath :

    In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 20 Sep 2022 20:19:24 +0200, "Carlos
    E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:


    The Chunghop L336 universal learning remotes work well and are cheap
    enough. All buttons programmable and remembered even if battery goes
    flat. BUT - you do have to have a working unit to learn from even if its
    on its last legs! C+


    Good to know, thanks.

    Yes indeed. Thanks Charlie+ I put it in my Amazon shopping cart for
    next time I order things, although it's about $9 or 10 there and $5 or 6
    other places with shipping. I've found other places to be reliable,
    although harder to r eturn, but I almost never return anything and I
    don't know why I'd return this, so I'm asking myself, Why do I even
    consider buying from Amazon.

    I wonder, if someone could publish libraries of codes to teach remotes
    the "language" of some other remote in the library. Would save effort
    and time.

    I had a long term plan to compare the 3-digit device codes that come in
    various instruction to see if at least they are the same. But I'll
    never get around to do doing the compare.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Peeler@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jul 16 10:43:04 2023
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 16 Jul 2023 05:43:15 GMT, lowbrowwoman, the endlessly driveling, troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:


    I still have a landline through Century. The bill I got today said "Your Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge rate has changed from 29.00% to 29.20%. I don't know how much more Bidenomics I can stand/

    I, for one, really don't know how much of your ridiculous grandiloquent self-admiring senile bullshit I still can stand! LOL

    --
    More of the resident bigmouth's usual idiotic babble and gossip:
    I'm not saying my father and uncle wouldn't have drank Genesee beer
    without Miss Genny but it certainly didn't hurt. Stanton's was the
    hometown brewery but it closed in '50. There was a Schaefer brewery in
    Albany but their product was considered a step up from cat piss.

    My preference was Rheingold on tap"

    MID: <k9mnmmF9emhU1@mid.individual.net>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Peeler@21:1/5 to All on Sun Jul 16 20:33:54 2023
    XPost: alt.home.repair

    On 16 Jul 2023 17:46:18 GMT, lowbrowwoman, the endlessly driveling, troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:


    The .20% increase wasn't long before Biden although that pales compared to the rest of the inflation. Note: a lower than expected increase in the CPI does not equate to a lower CPI despite the media trying to wrestle
    lipstick on a pig.

    But Trump... Yeah, he fell for the covid boondoogle hook, line, and
    sinker but Slow Joe is trying to claim credit for fixing the problem.

    LMAO Baffling everyone with your notorious verbose bullshit again, Trumper?

    --
    More of the resident senile gossip's absolutely idiotic endless blather
    about herself:
    "My family and I traveled cross country in '52, going out on the northern
    route and returning mostly on Rt 66. We also traveled quite a bit as the interstates were being built. It might have been slower but it was a lot
    more interesting. Even now I prefer what William Least Heat-Moon called
    the blue highways but it's difficult. Around here there are remnants of
    the Mullan Road as frontage roads but I-90 was laid over most of it so
    there is no continuous route. So far 93 hasn't been destroyed."
    MID: <kae9ivF7suU1@mid.individual.net>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)