Hi all, I'm trying to fix up an old alarm clock that has a few bum buttons that don't really register anymore.
I thought it would be a simple enough exercise, they're simple rubber buttons like you find on most remote controls. When I took it apart I discovered that while the buttons are just one sheet of rubber, none of them have any carbon disks or pills on the back. The circuit board they touch looks as expected, with circular areas of metal interlocking fingers that don't actually touch. I'm at a loss as to how this is even working at all, most of the buttons are still working fine.
I did notice a good deal of a greasy substance all over everything. I did try cleaning it off a some buttons (one good, one bad), but it didn't seem to have any effect (good or bad).
I'm mostly interested in understanding and learning more about how the buttons work, but would really appreciate getting the alarm buttons working more reliably. The alarm in question is a Sonic Alert SB1000, for deaf/hearing-impaired people. Those things are ridiculously expensive, so getting a few more years out of this would be nice.
http://www.sonicalert.com/Combination-Alarm-Clock-p/sb1000.htm
I thought it would be a simple enough exercise, they're simple rubber buttons like you find on most remote controls. When I took it apart I discovered that while the buttons are just one sheet of rubber, none of them have any carbon disks or pills on the back. The circuit board they touch looks as expected, with circular areas of metal interlocking fingers that don't actually touch. I'm at a loss as to how this is even working at all, most of the buttons are still working fine.
I did notice a good deal of a greasy substance all over everything. I did try cleaning it off a some buttons (one good, one bad), but it didn't seem to have any effect (good or bad).
I'm mostly interested in understanding and learning more about how the buttons work, but would really appreciate getting the alarm buttons working more reliably. The alarm in question is a Sonic Alert SB1000, for deaf/hearing-impaired people. Those things are ridiculously expensive, so getting a few more years out of this would be nice.
http://www.sonicalert.com/Combination-Alarm-Clock-p/sb1000.htm