Opening remote unit

Rickles

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Ultimate Geek

Topic # 111663 10-Nov-2012 15:53
I have a need to open up a small IR remote handset (came with a media player), due to the battery contacts being broken. I assume these cheapy units are simply glued, rather than having locking tabs/lugs, so was wondering if there is a product or means to assist this 'ungluing' .... prising the halves apart is bound to leave marks and possibly crack the casing. R.

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Reply # 715207 10-Nov-2012 16:19
Could try to soften the glue by heating it delicately with a hair dryer? Would be a bit risky though

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Reply # 715209 10-Nov-2012 16:29
Yea get some heat on it. Probably not a heat gun but a hot hair dryer would be fine.

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Reply # 715223 10-Nov-2012 17:12
It would help if you said what the remote came from. Most of them are screwed/clipped together - but if there are no screws visible then clipped/glued. Sadly - once you have ripped it apart (and probably broken the clips :-( ) - you will know where they are. But unless there is some internet info - you are doing it blind and only get the one chance to get it right... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it it himself - A. H. Weiler

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Reply # 715248 10-Nov-2012 17:44
I'll wait until my wife has gone out and then commondeer her hair dryer. robgj63: No screws, and yeah, once apart it is usually pretty clear where the snap-lugs are ... ha ha ha. This is a Chines-manufactured unit and absolutely nothing on the 'net about it. The manual is basically a "put-battery-in-point-and-click" affair. R.

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Reply # 715274 10-Nov-2012 18:49
Can't recall ever seeing a remote glued together (and as a kid I worked in a TV repair shop), it is not a manufacturing-friendly solution. All of them clip together, some have a screw in addition, some have a heat staked pin. Most can be really hard to open, and if a heat staked pin then it has to be drilled out. It is very likely you will end up breaking a couple of clips to get it open. Then use contact glue to close it up so it can be opened again if you have to. You can never have enough Volvos!

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Reply # 715408 11-Nov-2012 10:39
UPDATE: All good, unit was of the lug/clip type, started using a thin blade and twisting, then working around edge ... only broke one clip on the inside. R.

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Reply # 715440 11-Nov-2012 13:06
Rickles: UPDATE: All good, unit was of the lug/clip type, started using a thin blade and twisting, then working around edge ... only broke one clip on the inside. R. Well done! Always a bit of a 'hold your breath' moment when you wonder if it will be completely stuffed or whether you will be able to proudly say 'I fixed it!' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it it himself - A. H. Weiler

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Reply # 715449 11-Nov-2012 14:28
Nice one. A big problem is figuring which half should be levered out.