system: You are Brian Petersen, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Scanners message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Rick Wallis about "Pro-43 Keyboard Problem".

They wrote:
> > I have a Pro-43 scanner.  Some buttons on the keyboard appear to
> > be going bad as I have to press them hard in order for the internal
> > contact to be made.  The worst are the SCAN and LIGHT buttons, the
> > MANUAL, "3" and "2" keys a little less troublesome, and the rest
> > working perfectly.
> >
> > Today I opened up the scanner and went down to the final PC board,
> > removing it so that I could examine the rubber keypad.  The backside
> > of the pad appears to be clean, and I didn't see any noticeable wear.
> > I additionally cleaned the contacts on the PC board itself with a
> > q-tip slightly moistened with alcohol.  Upon reassembling the unit,
> > very little improvement was noticeable.
>
> I have a two meter ham radio handi talki (walkitalki) that has the same
> problem. also I do repair work for a rent to own company and run into the
> problem with tv vcr remote controls. Is the number pad one where the keys
> have carbon blocks behind the numbers or letters? 8-)
> Some of the Electronic parts companys supply a chemical that is painted on
> the contacts on the rubber key pad to put the original conductive layer on
> the carbon blocks again. I dont remember which company it is. It may be
> tritronics or Fox electronics. Here is a list If you would like to check.
> From what I understand It makes the contacts good as new.
>
> Tritronics Florida 1-800-365-8030
> Fox electronics    1-800-321-6993
> MCM electronics    1-800-543-4330
>
> I am going to try to find which one it is and get some myself.
> My two meter ham rig when Im trying to program it will when I hit six I get
> no six or two six's. And I hit seven and get no seven or two sevens. Let me
> know how you turn out and I will let you know if I find out which company
> is for sure.

Write your reply.

assistant: I'm not really sure, but the blocks behind the numbers definitely have a
conductive layer on them which, when touching the + and - tips on the PC
board directly under the button, close the circuit and activate the key
function.  Last night I ordered a new keyboard from Radio Shack (they are
only $5 with $1 s&h) and will place it in the scanner as soon as I get it.
On the other hand, I decided to try something stupid.  Turning the rubber
keypad upside down, I dabbed a very small dot of super glue on the blocks.
I then took a tiny piece of tin foil and layed it down over those blocks,
and upon drying, put the scanner back together again.  Suprisingly enough,
the scanner's keyboard works perfectly now.  I don't know how healthy it
is to leave that stuff in there (i.e. anything it might do to the PCboard
after repeated use of the buttons now coated with aluminum foil), but as
soon as I get the new keypad (since this one is ruined due to super glue),
I'll throw it in there.  But the chemical you spoke of would interest me
a lot, as I do have other devices around here (namely a TV remote, etc.)
that need to have that chemical applied to them.
t
I'd definitely appreciate it if you could leave a message to me on this
conference or contact me at my internet address (brpeter@ix.netcom.com)
when you find the chemical, and supply me with the company name and the
chemical name/part number.  Sounds like something I'd really love to have.
Thanks for your help.
Brian Petersen
brpeter@ix.netcom.com