Goo in TV remote control!

[Eric the Viking]

We very nearly had a crisis yesterday.

Around teatime (will I ever forget it?), I had confirmation of the excellent news that Channel Four has negotiated successfully with Sky, to be able to show the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix live on free-to-air TV. Phew! But my son (the newsbearer) is in the USA and didn't mention when the transmission would be, so I rushed to the TV to find out via the programme guide.

But the Panasonic remote controller wouldn't oblige - the "on" button simply would not work! I remembered that the number buttons let you directly get to the first nine assigned channels, so succeeded in getting the information, but what to do about the remote before the week-end?

First call, battery replacement, but it was looking a bit too scruffy and careworn for it to be only that: a good fettle of the keypad was in order.

I have done this many times in the past, with many controllers for many electronic items. In this case, there's been no battery leakage, the controller has never been immersed in anything, nor had anything spilled on it. So I was very suprised to find the circuid board, pads'n'all, was fairly liberally coated in some transparent gooey goo.

All components: circuit board, rubber key-mould and the case halves, got a good clean with hand soap and a gentle toothbrush, a really good rinse, dried with kitchen towel, then air dried on a radiator to finish off. Reassembled and with fresh batteries it's now working fine, including a few dodgy buttons (now working nicely again) from before the dismantling.

But I have no idea what the goo on the business side of the circuit board was. It seems to have been as-manufactured, and I don't think it's anything like de-polymerization, as sometimes happens with some plastics: it looked too evenly spread for that (and the rubber buttons looked completely normal once washed).

Silicone grease? If so, I have some and could grease it up again, but I really don't know, either what it is nor what it's for.

I should be happy: my ultimate Grand Prix week-end is saved, after all. But if anyone has come across this before and knows the answer to the riddle, do tell...

Puzzled of Bristol.

 

[wallace]

I know nothing of remotes, but was equally happy to here the news of the the race being shown live on c4. I've just got back into F1 and hate just having the highlights. I've put a formal request into management to have time off from duties on sunday.

 

[RogerS]

Thanks for the headsup re the GP.

Which machine is your remote for ETV ?

Starts 12.55pm . I wouldn't put it past the Dutchman to 'accidentally' force contact between them because then he will get the championship.

 

[Eric the Viking]

CHANNEL FOUR starting at 1300h, for FOUR hours!

I think the race starts at 1400h, and I'm not sure if Whisper West (the production company that do F1 for C4) are doing their own coverage, or being forced to just take a straight feed from Sky. I hope it's them, rather than Sky, as they have a really good team (Coulthard, Webber, Alex Jacques (lead commentator), and recently Billy Monger, who is excellent), and their grid walks in particular always used to be really fun.

Regarding the telly, it's a Panasonic 42" OLED but I can't remember the model - I think it was a John Lewis 'special buy' of a few years ago.

I'll think twice about Panasonic next time: it's been fairly good, but the Netflix app stopped working (bug in the code nobody cared about), the red-button stuff barely works, it has never ever had a firmware upgrade, and probably has one of the worst and most insecure web browsers I've ever seen (not that it's ever used).

We don't (daren't) connect it to the internet any more - just too risky, and any on-line viewing is done via a PC with an HDMI splitter. Samsung would have won originally, but it was one of those years when they were pushing bent screens (er, 'curved' Ed.), which are silly at many levels, and I didn't think they deserved their premium price. Roger, you will remember how garish the early Trinitrons looked in comparison to the grade 1 tubes from Philips et al: the Sony screens we looked at followed that tradition!

So the picture is nice (blacks are still black, etc.), but it is getting a bit long in the tooth.

E.

 

[Eric the Viking]

PS: On Wednesday (I think) the FIA issued a thinly-veiled warning about unsporting behaviour on-track, reminding the protagonists that the FIA has the authority to alter the points score for the season if they see fit (even after the final race).

The Telegraph had a fairly good bit of coverage on Wednesday too, about Abu Dhabi, pointing out that the track has been improved since last year to permit more overtaking, largely at Hamilton's suggestion. They also mentioned that Max had had several incidents of 'questionable'* behaviour over the season involving other drivers being forced off track (alleged at the time), so the FIA's comments might be taken to have been aimed at one garage in particular.

*I mean the driving was indeed questioned, either during or after the races concerned. Other questionable drivers are available...

 

[RogerS]

Thanks for the update, EtV. Now my dilemma. Sunday lunch is the only day in the week when we sit down together at the table for lunch. Almost sacrosanct. I dare not mention the GP coverage as that will get antennae twitching. I just need to manage to 'sit on my hands' during lunch, refrain from guzzling my food, refrain from fidgetting. In fact, maintain an air of 'business as usual'. If I succeed in this then it will be a first.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I found my son's Nintendo DS had something matching your description when it stopped responding to buttons. I assumed it was an accumulation of some kind of human secretion. It works better without it in any case !

 

[Lons]

As a self confessed F1 nut I very closely watch and follow all the races, I have watched a number of Channel 4 highlights but have Sky so all the b uild up and I can't agree with you Eric about the credentials of a certain David Coulthard who in my opinion shouldn't be commentating at all as he's the most biased commentator out there as Max's mate, drinking buddy and neighbour. I'll give just one very telling example, the crash between Lewis and Max at the last race where every independent pundit prepared to speak up slammed Max for a thinly veiled "brake test" but Coulthard said Lewis was to blame and that Max had "slowed" to let him pass. :lol: The guy is a joke despite concrete evidence that he weaved and braked at a 69bar/2.4g rate which caused the crash and he was penalised by the stewards for that.
The fault lies with the FIA for not stamping all over several well documented incidents in previous races and being inconsistent with all drivers, I think the smart money is that either Verstappen or Perez will take Hamilton out, it's happened before in F1 history, I just hope it's a clean race and one of them wins on track and on merit but I seriously doubt it will pan out that way.
I'm also not so sure about the comment that Hamilton suggested the track be changed, input is gathered from all drivers and teams and It previously always was a Mercedes favoured track, they won 6 times in succession before Max won last year and it has to be remembered that Lewis was returning after Covid in that race and was well below par which you have to assume badly affected his performance.

BTW the best F1 commentator since Murray has to be Martin Brundle.

PS if you get a chance look at the Skypad analysis which breaks down incidents frame by frame and the presenter Anthony Davison was involved in the track redesign. The analysis is unbiased and shows clearly where faults lie. You can find earlier ones on youtube.

Edit: I'm wrong It's the other Skypad presenter Karoun who was part of the track design team :eusa-doh:

 

[Argus]

There's quite a selection of stuff of varying quality published on Youb-Toob about the gunk accumulating under the touch pads on remotes.

When you distill it down, the consensus seems to be that the plastics manufacturing process involving the pads involves some elaborate post-formation cleaning which may not be done to the required level in many cases. Hence the delayed gunk build-up probably caused by continuing pressure and finger-heat over the years.

Be that as it may, my experience has been that a good clean of both surfaces - the carbon pads on the boards and the rubber pads - will do the trick. I have used ordinary white spirit without any problems.

In many cases the biggest issue is gaining entry to the things in the first place......... without destroying it or completely ragging your patience.

Over the lifetime of the remote, you may need to do it more than once.

There's a similar thing with the "less expensive" batteries with a operating long life. When they cease to do the business reliably, I've often found that the voltage is within limits but a good clean of all the contacts restores them to life.
I have put it down to some sort of electrolysis/oxidization on the contacts, totally invisible, but fixed with a wipe.




Anyway, I'm looking forward to some important F1 tomorrow....... I guess that the secret is for Hamilton to get a slight disadvantage at some point, which on past results gets him going.....

.

 

[AndyP]

As per usual, normally by nefarious streaming, I will watch the first 5 laps and the last 5. Just not enough hours in the day to watch it all.

 

[Lons]

I think the race starts at 1400h. E.

Lights out at 1pm as far as I know Eric.

 

[RogerS]

Mmmmmm....... :idea: :eusa-think: Given my earlier comments re LOML and Sunday lunch, perhaps I should discover that I urgently need to go to Chez Lons that lunchtime to help carry out some essential 'maintenance'.

 

[Eric the Viking]

I think the race starts at 1400h. E.

Lights out at 1pm as far as I know Eric.

Thanks -- that would have been beyond disappointing if I'd missed the start.

In my defence I was writing rather too early this morning, AND son, DiL, grandkids and my youngest daughter (over there visiting) were all down in his baasement waiting for a tornado to pass over them in Tennessee.

All safe, but he says he's never seen a storm like it. Apparently the tornado that missed them cut through four US states. The grandchildren are tinies - just four and 29 months. My guess is that it will be something they remember for a lifetime - they had to go outside into the storm to get to the basement around 3am their time.

-------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, that goo in the controller does look purposeful. As I said, I've rejuvenated a lot of these things, and I've seen ones where the rubber moulding has broken down (depolymerisation), and it's not that at all.

I suspect it's silicone grease (it looks like the tube of the stuff that I have, anyway), and was possibly intended to prevent oxidation/depolymerisation of the business side of the rubber moulding.

I think there are two systems - resistive and capacitative detection of button presses. Grease would mess up the first, but probably not the second. The board has a lacquer coating all over, including the pads, but the resistive ones tend to have bare copper, or gold flashing on the better ones. Thus I think it is capacitative, in which case it should be fine without any more grease (and all the buttons are now working, too).

 

[Lons]

Wow that tornado sounds scary. :shock:

 

[Lons]

Mmmmmm....... :idea: :eusa-think: Given my earlier comments re LOML and Sunday lunch, perhaps I should discover that I urgently need to go to Chez Lons that lunchtime to help carry out some essential 'maintenance'.

You know where I am and always welcome but I draw the line at me lying to your missus and I suspect she'll suss you out in the blink of an eye.

 

[AndyP]

The right side of brain tells me I would love to experience the type of wild weather we see from the US. The left side of my brain tells me how scary it must be.
For your son to have to hunker down with two young children must have been very concerning.
Glad all is well.

 

[RogerM]

I've had exactly the same trouble with a panasonic remote, and initially I accused the LOML of using it with wet hands (it's in the kitchen). I've now opened it up 3 times and wiped the inside with an absorbant paper towel and that seems to do the trick. Not tried using white spirit. That could be a bit aggressive, although meths might work equally well.

The beef that I have with Panasonic is that we paid extra for premium facilities when we bought it as at the time it was the only TV that had Freeview as well as iPlayer, ITV Hub, and All4. Since then Panasonic haven't renewed their licenses for these services and software updates have removed ITVHub and All4 from the App list, and the Freeview guide has been deactivated on the "Guide" button and now has to be selected from the App list. We get ITVHub and All4 on our smart phones and cast it to the TV with a Chromecast. I'm not entirely gruntled that a facility we paid for has been removed without our consent.

At one time Panasonic was our "go to" manufacturer, but LG seem to be favourite these days.

Thanks for the heads up re F1. I shall be lighting the logburner and settling down in front of it with a beer.

 

[Lurker]

Don’t be too sure about LG they didn’t pay for the licensing either.
We bought a set last December and it was pretty dire, i player only loaded on third upgrade.
ITV hub appeared about six months ago.
There is still no more four.

Our much older toshiba has all stuff present.

 

[Woodbloke]

F1...this is where they go round and round a mostly flat bit of track, huh? Boring, really, really boring; I can manage five minutes before nodding off.

On the other hand, the guys who go round the Isle of Man TT circuit on two wheels and sometimes no wheels (depending on the hill) are complete and utter loonies; it makes for the most compulsive motor sport viewing imaginable in my very 'umble opinion. For non motor sport viewing in has to be 'Le Tour' and those guys are equally as loony :lol: - Rob

 

[RogerS]

F1...this is where they go round and round a mostly flat bit of track, huh? Boring, really, really boring; I can manage five minutes before nodding off.

On the other hand, the guys who go round the Isle of Man TT circuit on two wheels and sometimes no wheels (depending on the hill) are complete and utter loonies; it makes for the most compulsive motor sport viewing imaginable in my very 'umble opinion. For non motor sport viewing in has to be 'Le Tour' and those guys are equally as loony :lol: - Rob

To a certain extent I agree with you Rob but this final is unprecedented in that the two contenders for the title have the same number of points. The race really should be exceptional.

 

[Woodbloke]

To a certain extent I agree with you Rob but this final is unprecedented in that the two contenders for the title have the same number of points. The race really should be exceptional.

That I didn't realise Roger...probably too busy nodding off in the qualifying rounds :lol: - Rob

 

[Lons]

An excellent and clever strategy by Red Bull using a tow for both cars to put Verstappen on pole and Perez third with Hamilton as the meat in the sandwich on slower tyres so odds on that Perez on soft tyres will take him out on the first corner and Verstappen can't be blamed. Or I could be wrong and will be an excellent hard fought race with all making it to the finish, I hope so.

 

[Cabinetman]

Roger, why not record it till after lunch?

 

[RogerS]

Roger, why not record it till after lunch?

No way! It's the one race that needs watching live.

 

[Lons]

Roger, why not record it till after lunch?

No way! It's the one race that needs watching live.

It will possibly be over on the first lap Roger, maybe even the first corner.

 

[Eric the Viking]

Roger, why not record it till after lunch?

No way! It's the one race that needs watching live.

Wot Ee said!

 

[Cabinetman]

Can’t see what difference it makes personally as long as nobody tells you the outcome.
But that’s sport for you I suppose.

 

[Alf]

Can’t see what difference it makes personally as long as nobody tells you the outcome.

Trouble with that is it could all go a bit Likely Lads on you!

Must admit I rather see this as being all over on the first corner too. Recriminations and bitterness seem the likely result whatever way you cut it.

 

[RogerS]

Roger, why not record it till after lunch?

No way! It's the one race that needs watching live.

It will possibly be over on the first lap Roger, maybe even the first corner.

Fingers crossed. The one downside of which I am convinced though is that sadly this will turn out to be a massive super-spreader event in the UK - especially England. Sunday lunchtime? All those pubs with Sky Sports ? No masks. No social-distancing. Many occupants, I suspect, who are missing a few brain cells and remain unvaccinated and so becoming a threat to all of us by becoming Variant Factories.

 

[Lons]

As it's live on Channel 4 as well as Sky Roger there's no need for them to go to the pub and those that do would find another excuse to be there in any case I suspect. There biggest spreading event has already started with the Christmas parties, January is going to show a hell of a spike.

 

[RogerS]

That was most unsatisfactory. How can you have Hamilton with more than a 10 second lead suddenly have it taken away ? Absolute c**k-up.

 

[AndyP]

And some say VAR in football is controversial. Seems that F1 stewards have to work a bit harder at explaining their decisions too. Can’t pretend to fully understand and I only watched the last 8 laps.

 

[RogerS]

And some say VAR in football is controversial. Seems that F1 stewards have to work a bit harder at explaining their decisions too. Can’t pretend to fully understand and I only watched the last 8 laps.

I didn't understand it either.

 

[AJB Temple]

No 1 offspring and I just talked this over. He is of the view that Hamilton has benefited from the safety car numerous times in the past, and this just happened to favour Max. The race ended in race conditions and the result should stand (he says). I thought I would care more about the result than I do (I'm not a big fan of Christian Horner) but find myself entirely ambivalent. F1 lost a lot of its appeal for me when Ferrari lost the plot.

 

[Eric the Viking]

Deeply unsatisfactory.

Race stewards making up rules as they go along. Hrumph.

 

[Lons]

Not F1's finest race. A wrong decision on the first lap when Hamilton should have been told to give the place back although he was pushed off the track and it evened out with the decision that went in favour of Verstappen in |Brazil and the event's of the last lap were a joke at very least. Hamilton had the race in his pocket, Verstappen was never in the hunt and the only possibility of Red Bull winning is the one that panned out so Massi, race director handed the win to him however there were several issues with that. He initially said lapped cars would NOT be allowed to pass so Horner got into his ear after which he changed his mind and allowed 5 cars to pass and brought the safety car immediately in so rules were breached.

If lapped cars are allowed top overtake it has to be all of them not jus 5 and the sately car comes in 1 lap later so Hamilton would have won as he deserved in either case.
The race would under those circumstances have finished behind the safety car = same result.
Additionally, Verstappen hustled Hamilton before the restart and put the nose of his car in front briefly on 2 occasions which is not allowed and action that carries a slam dunk minimum 5 second penalty.

Mercedes have lodged 2 appeals and taken a barrister in with them, exactly what any other team would do in their shoes but given the track record of the FIA they'll close ranks and do nothing.
The whole FIA thing leaves a bad taste.