HP48SX Sticky ON/ATTN button.

[Randy East]

HOW CAN YOU FIX THIS PROBLEM?

[Randy Sloyer]

It all depends.

Physically sticky? Maybe a coffee/cola spill? It would need a bath in distilled water (without the batteries).

Electrically sticky? It would need a new one :^(

Or, in the case of the most bizzare sticky switch I ever saw, it needed to have the aluminum bezel shaved down. Seems the SX was in a car accident and the calculator bottom edge took the impact compressing the bezel and binding the ON button. A real long shot but worth a mention.

[Tracy Vermeyen]

Randy,

I may need to put my 41CV through a bath to clean up the ON/USER and PRGM/ALPHA keys can you please explain how to do this?

I had some corrosion problems and I have cleaned the contacts with a small wire through the access hole, but the contacts gradually get less responsive with time.

[Randy Sloyer]

Try a few drops of Caig Deoxit D5 in the hole first, let soak then scratch around. This is a lower concentration of their Deoxit product and will evaporate after doing the job. That usually does it.

I've found trying to wash the keyboards only makes matters worse as you run the risk of getting dirt into rather than out of the key domes.

Edited: 17 Sept 2003, 7:02 p.m.

[Randy East]

NO COFFE OR ANY FOOD LIQUID HAS BEEN SPILLED ON THE hp. THE KEY DOES APPEAR TO BE LOWER IN THE SETTING THAN THE OTHER KEYS. i TURN IT ON BY TOUCHING THE ON BUTTON THAN THURNING THE ENTIRE CALCULATOR OVER AND TASPING IT ON MY KNEE. iT APEARS THAN i CANNOT TURN THE CALCULATOR OFF BY THE SAME PROCESS. iF i DO NEED A NEW KEY, HOW DOES ONE GO ABOUT THAT PROCESS?

[Randy Sloyer]

The ON button is normally lower than the rest. U can try this:

Place the unit on the desk in front of you. With a left finger, press down on the raised portion of the bezel above the B and C keys. Now with your right, try turning the unit on. You may find some pressure applied to the area described will get the unit working normally again. It may continue to work okay for a while or work only with pressure applied. If this test restores operation, the problem is an intermittent keyboard connection and can be repaired.

Post again if this works and we can go to the next step.