Unable to open remote control

[Airedale]

The remote for my garage tv, an '89 RCA colortrak, is having problems. Or the tv is having issues with receiving the signal.

I have to push the remote controls buttons a few times to make them work. I want to open the controller to test the parts. But I'm unable to open it.

It appears to have tabs that popped in place when it was closed, not being made to be reopened.

Is there a trick to getting these open?

[Notimetolooz]

A few things you should check before trying to open it.
The batteries.
Corroded battery contacts.
Look for the IR light from it (from the top edge) when you push a button by looking at it using a digital camera. You should be a light that may pulsate a bit.
Sometimes the buttons wear out on this type of construction (conductive flexible membrane). Try different buttons. There is no good fix for bad buttons.

There are not many replaceable parts in a remote control.
It might be better to replace it with one of the universal remotes sold now.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Notimetolooz

A few things you should check before trying to open it.
The batteries.
Corroded battery contacts.
Look for the IR light from it (from the top edge) when you push a button by looking at it using a digital camera. You should be a light that may pulsate a bit.
Sometimes the buttons wear out on this type of construction (conductive flexible membrane). Try different buttons. There is no good fix for bad buttons.

There are not many replaceable parts in a remote control.
It might be better to replace it with one of the universal remotes sold now.

I agree with the advice regarding replacing the original remote with a universal remote. I replaced the remote for my Insignia 32" HDTV with an RCA universal remote several years ago, and didn't look back. I have a DVD player hooked up to my TV, so a universal remote not only works better with my system; it also consolidates the two remotes I was using into one, which makes things a lot easier (no more juggling two remotes).

It may take a while to program a universal remote for the devices in your entertainment system, but it will be worth it. Once the remote is programmed, you need not do it again unless the batteries go dead.

I would suggest, as the last poster did, replacing your TV's original remote with a universal one. As far as I am concerned, universal remotes are one of the best devices to come along for TV since the remote control itself was invented by Zenith 65 years ago. Those early remotes only controlled one device, of course (the television) and some, such as early Zenith remotes, offered limited capability, such as changing channels in only one direction; it was not until decades later, when infrared signaling enabled these devices to control more than just the power on/off function of the TV (today's universal IR remotes can and in most cases will operate the entire TV, not to mention DVD players and other devices, if the remote is programmed to do so), that remote controls became really popular. When TV viewers found out they could use just one remote for their entire home-entertainment system, a new era dawned for remote control TV. (I am enjoying heck out of mine for that.) Try it once; you won't regret it.

Many HDTVs are now being made with absolutely no buttons on the set at all, most if not all control functions now handled by the remote. A friend of mine has a Samsung HDTV which was made with no front-panel controls whatsoever, not even a power button. My own 32" Insignia TV only has one button below the display panel, that button being the power switch. Everything else on both sets is controlled by the remote.

BTW, no buttons at all on the TV itself can cause problems if, for example, the batteries go dead in the remote control hand unit. This means the viewer absolutely cannot use the set, since all control functions are on the remote. Some TVs of the '50s had a switch on the back of the set which would disable the remote receiver if the latter failed or malfunctioned; there was also a manual channel selector knob in the same area of the set, to allow the user to change channels in the event of trouble with the remote.

Why on earth do modern HDTVs not have the same fail-safe system in case the remote goes bad? This is a function which would come in handy if, as I said above, the batteries fail in the remote, or if something happens to the remote receiver itself to render the remote control unusable. I realize today's Chinese-manufactured HDTVs are nothing like American TVs, except they are both built to receive North American TV signals; however, there is no excuse, IMHO, for modern HDTVs not to have some sort of backup in case the remote control system, or the remote hand unit itself, fails or quits. As I said in the previous paragraph, almost all remote-control Zenith (and possibly other) TVs made in the 1950s (and probably into the early '60s) did have a fail-safe backup (the manual channel selector knob at the back of the set) in the event of failure of the remote receiver for any reason. People didn't like having to get up to change channels on their remote-control TV when the system went bad, but at least this manual backup allowed the viewer to use the set if or when the remote failed for any reason.

[consoleguy67]

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by Notimetolooz

Sometimes the buttons wear out on this type of construction (conductive flexible membrane). Try different buttons. There is no good fix for bad buttons.

This is usually what the cause of having to push buttons multiple times or having to push really hard for it to register is. It can be repaired with Keypad-Fix.

https://www.amazon.com/Idolon-Tech-K.../dp/B097JD2W1Y

[zeno]

Opening one can be an art. Get a few small screwdrivers. Unclip
the claws at the battery box & put something small there to keep it from closing.
Work your way down one side. You can see where the next claw is & put pressure there.
Odds are its warn buttons. You can try it very close to TV & see if its better.
IR detectors can go bad or they can be washed out by too much
sun / room light.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[Electronic M]

There is an art to opening up IR remotes. Some you can sort of squeeze open (if you're like me and have the missing-link type of hands that can open walnuts without a nut cracker), others you can slip a small screw driver in and pry.

If it failed the IR camera test with a good battery open it up and separate the plastic membrane from the PCB and clean the PCB and back of the button membrane with rubbing alcohol and a lint free cloth. I remember back in the early 2000s having to do that around once or twice a year on some of my high use remotes to keep them going.

[Ed in Tx]

I have a few remotes I've had to open up and they now have a broken clip or two from prying open but there's enough left to hold together. Makes it easier to get apart next time too. I've found most of the time a film of oily contamination will get on the board and contacts of the keypad. Cleaning both surfaces off with alcohol and paper towel restores functionality.

[Notimetolooz]

Originally Posted by dishdude

This is usually what the cause of having to push buttons multiple times or having to push really hard for it to register is. It can be repaired with Keypad-Fix.

https://www.amazon.com/Idolon-Tech-K.../dp/B097JD2W1Y

I have tried a similar product. It was a rather expensive paste with silver particles. Even after careful cleaning and even roughening the surface on the back of the keys it would flake off after a while. Perhaps this is something different. The remote's membrane (and keys) were a type of silicon rubber that nothing would stick to. That remote was held together with screws.
Seems like only one or two buttons will wear out (on/off) will wear out first.

Yes, opening some modern electronics takes some study and careful prying and feel.

[ronl]

I have been wondering for a while if conductive ink would repair remote contacts?I haven't tried it yet.has anybody tried this? RonL