***Charger repaired!*** charger repair question: replace buttons or clean with???

[skunkworx]

I've got a fairly old and well-loved iCharger 208B and the buttons are all starting to require wiggling or pressing at odd angles to get them to work and I was wondering if I could just hit them with something like Deox-it or other contact cleaner or if it would be easier to just replace the pads altogether? I have the tools and ability to do either, but I figured I would ask if anybody else had been through this and if there were any ideas to avoid.

I found the buttons at All Electronics Corp. for about $.35 apiece so it would actually be cheaper to replace them than but the can of contact cleaner, but the downside is potentially botching the transplants.

***fixed the charger, see below for details***

[helidude71]

Deox-it will help only a few days.
Replace is the only answer.

[skunkworx]

Is it from the contacts getting rubbed off or its there a buildup under there that you just can't get rid of? I'll try swapping them out one-by-one. I'm just curious about why they go bad. I had Nintendo controllers that went through ungodly amounts of abuse before they finally took a dive but these are relatively underused by comparison.

[helidude71]

Originally Posted by skunkworx

Is it from the contacts getting rubbed off ...

Yep.
Contact material is gone.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by skunkworx

Is it from the contacts getting rubbed off or its there a buildup under there that you just can't get rid of? I'll try swapping them out one-by-one. I'm just curious about why they go bad. I had Nintendo controllers that went through ungodly amounts of abuse before they finally took a dive but these are relatively underused by comparison.

Game controllers use switches designed for millions of actuations. The charger on the other hand likely uses cheap micro-switches only rated for thousands of actuations. The better ones cost considerably more...

[skunkworx]

That's my point though. I have maybe hundreds of pushes on mine. Nothing too demanding. I would think they would last longer than that. Oh well. Got any good links to the better ones? The cheap ones I found were permitted apiece, do if by significantly more that means less than$10 altogether I think it'll be well worth it.

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by skunkworx

Got any good links to the better ones?

Only if you want them by the thousand, where you would find them in smaller quantities I dont know (I did look for them a few years back, didnt find anything).

[skunkworx]

Bummer. I tried looking up specs for them and it doesn't look like they have much documentation. I'll see if I can dig anything up otherwise the regular ones should work well enough.

[skunkworx]

Well, I just got done with a mini-marathon fix-it event with my little 208b and it's working like brand-spanking new!!!

I have to say though, unless you have the equipment, patience, and confidence/know-how to do it it's not a very pretty (or fun) job, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

I think if I were to ever attempt it again, I would pay a lot more attention to removing the old buttons and where the traces go to for each button. I ended up tearing a couple of them trying to remove the worn out buttons and if I hadn't had acces to a microscope I probably would've had to just toss the charger.

Also, I somehow ended up with tactile buttons that were a bit too short (either I measured them totally wrong or didn't fully understand the size parameters of the ones I ordered). I'm just going to look around for replacement tips with a little more length to them and keep the old ones in case I ever need to swap a button out again. Chances are I'll be able to find replacements pretty easily.

Sorry I don't have any pictures or video to share. I really wanted to document the whole thing but as usual, I'm never in a good position to do so it seems like.

[Four Stroker]

You have my complete sympathy. I replaced the buttons on my old Super Nova and today my Bantam. Not worth the effort but it was snowing anyway. You (or at least I) always rip out the through hole plating and rip up several lands. The repair takes longer than anything else. Surface mount parts would be a cake walk. Both of my chargers used the exact same switch.

[skunkworx]

It could potentially be a fun job if the experience was there. Usually double-layer boards are a complete nightmare no matter what, but I think most 2M certified people could pull it off with ease. I look forward to trying it again even though it was a lot of stress at the time.

[Airworks]

gotta think , the process will be sped up if say , you flew at a site were dust wass blowing through. etc etc. dirt will sandpaper the contacts if its able to get in there. i had buttons die too sucks. but oh well , got years out of the charger. sometimes things just get retired.

[skunkworx]

Yeah, being from AZ probably did them in, but the charger works better now than the day I got it (always did have a couple buttons that didn't work quite right from the factory).

I guess now this begs the question: anyone else need their charger buttons fixed? I'd be willing to do the work for free if you buy the parts and pay the shipping. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to fix it 100%, but I can give it a pretty good chance knowing what I know now.

[VTX 1800]

If you bought the 208 from progressive RC give them a call. I had a button start giving a problem and they fixed it up good! Great people and awesome customer service!


TREX 600PRODFC, ATOM 500, TREX450 PRO, BLADE 130X, BLADE MCPX BL

[skunkworx]

I'll keep it in mind next time, but this charger is upwards of 3-4 years old now. I doubt they would've covered it under a warranty or charged less than the $1.40 it cost me for the parts. Just shipping it to them would've cost me about $10.