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RS 15-2116 backlight issues

 
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Rodzilla



Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 3

                    
PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:08 am    Post subject: RS 15-2116 backlight issues Reply with quote

has there ever been a definitive fix for the backlight croaking on the RS 2116 or similar?...i picked up a 2116 on sale just before xmas...it sat unused on my desk.it all seemed to work ok tho,so not having time to fiddle with it i left it there over the holidays...now the first time i've attempted to actually put it too work programming in a code...i've got no backlight,tho it did work when i brought it home!!needless to say this thing hasn't been dropped or abused,it's essentially new and unused....

on internal investigation the transformer is well glued on all four sides and could not possibly have shifted..with the remote open i can hear a faint whining with the backlight on,which can be made louder and quite audible by applying pressure to the EL sheet's two ground points near the bottom of the keypad...anybody got a possible fix or should i just pretend i never opened it,dig out the reciept and take it back?

if possible i'd rather just fix it,since i won't be able to exchange it for another,this being the last one they had in the store...i can live without the backlight but...?@?!...it's brand new,and it really irks me that it's gone dark already
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The Robman
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Joined: 01 Aug 2003
Posts: 21211
Location: Chicago, IL

                    
PostPosted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This isn't typical, the BL usually lasts on RS remotes. If you're sure it's not the transformer (and it sounds like you're right) the best I can suggest is that you check that the EL sheet is not mis-aligned. Maybe try using some contact cleaner on the spots where it gets it's juice from the PCB.

If the EL sheet itself is broken, there's not much you can do as it's a custom part.
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Rodzilla



Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 3

                    
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks for the advice...it was a no go tho,the remote must have had some sort of defect or weak joint somewhere,i tried what i could to rectify any simple problems and looked for any obviously bad solder joints or other physical glitches...but with nothing to be found,i took the easy out and it went back to RS for refund this afternoon...a shame since the clearance deal was nearly half the regular price.
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bulldog485



Joined: 23 Dec 2004
Posts: 4
Location: Chicagoland, IL

                    
PostPosted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 2:06 am    Post subject: Re: RS 15-2116 backlight issues Reply with quote

Rodzilla wrote:
i took the easy out and it went back to RS for refund this afternoon...a shame since the clearance deal was nearly half the regular price.


Why didn't you just exchange it? Unless it was some open box / no exchange deal you should have been able to exchange it for a working (new) one with no problem...

The trouble with Radio Shack (and I know because I was once a manager for them) is that if something comes back as defective or not-working, the manager is encouraged to give it a quick test and then box it up and try to sell it. As new if possible... Anything they have to scrap out or send back counts against them on their P/L and bonus.

A word of advice here; anything you are buying from Radio Shack - ensure that the packaging has never been opened. Don't believe that it was just removed to show a customer... At one time, all of their products were required to be on the shelf display ready and powered up. When the product started to look handled, the manager of the store was encouraged to swap it out and sell it. Too many times I have seen product repackaged and found the item in the box to have wear on it... I check the tape on both ends and if it even has a scuff on it, I ask for another one... From my visit today to pick up a cable, I did see a few 15-2116 on the peg and was assured by my friend who still has not escaped from RS purgatory that it is still an active part number.
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The Robman
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Joined: 01 Aug 2003
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Location: Chicago, IL

                    
PostPosted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And I have heard of at least a couple of examples of where someone bought what they thought was a 15-2116 or 15-2117 remote, only to find that it's really a 15-1995. So, somebody must have bought the 15-2116 and then returned their old 15-1995 in the 15-2116's packaging. Then the RS store simply put it back on the shelf.

In one extreme case, the customer had actually transferred the remote's innerds, so the casing on the remote said 15-2116, but an IR download proved that it was a 15-1995.
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Rodzilla



Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 3

                    
PostPosted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i would have exchanged it,but as i said in my first post it was the only one they had,not just in that store but in any of the half dozen or so stores around town[i checked/he checked]..for all i know it may still be a current item and not dicontinued,but with the sale and christmas shopping...at least for the moment,it's unobtanium
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bulldog485



Joined: 23 Dec 2004
Posts: 4
Location: Chicagoland, IL

                    
PostPosted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 6:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Robman wrote:
And I have heard of at least a couple of examples of where someone bought what they thought was a 15-2116 or 15-2117 remote, only to find that it's really a 15-1995. So, somebody must have bought the 15-2116 and then returned their old 15-1995 in the 15-2116's packaging. Then the RS store simply put it back on the shelf.



Wow... I had some guy try to return a 3 year old panasonic cordless phone in a new RS box. Then he got pissed at me and told me that was what he found in the box. When I compared the phone number written on the phone and the home number he gave me, they matched... That and my store was brand new with brand new stock in it. And the fact that I was the biggest A-Hole about taking back returns and would go over all returns with a fine tooth comb in hopes of not taking it back... A buddy of mine had one of his part timers take back a box with a brick in it.

As much as I can never underestimate Radio Shack's ability to screw customers and their employees, the same can be said for a select few customers who persist in lowing the bar on being total savages...
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The Robman
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Joined: 01 Aug 2003
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Location: Chicago, IL

                    
PostPosted: Sun Jan 09, 2005 8:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So go on then, give us the inside scoop. What exactly are the instructions that RS-HQ gives to all it's retail employees about how they are supposed to meet & greet customers as they walk in the store?

At almost every RS store I go in, unless they're really busy, the moment you walk in someone's on you with the "Hi there, what brings you to Radio Shack today???" and then they won't leave you alone unless you send them on a fools errand. What people do is look up a list of obscure RS part numbers, then just to get rid of the guy, they'll ask him (or her) to see if they have a 15-1234 in stock and if not can they get it from somewhere else, then when he comes back they'll ask for a 15-2345 instead, etc, etc.

Then there's the whole checkout routine... "Can I interest you in a cellular phone, look this one takes PICTURES" "How about a warranty for that $20 remote" etc, etc. One time I said to the guy "how much would it cost to have you not offer me anything else?" and he said "I've got to, so how about some batteries for that..."
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streetskater



Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 75
Location: NYC

                    
PostPosted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK hauling this one out of the catacombs. The 2117 remains my favorite remote--having progressed from the 1994 through the 1995 I just like the layout. Even with my Pana Plasma 60 and Yamaha Home Theater I'm still able to control pretty much everything with just this one remote--customized out with JP1.

I managed to pick up quite a few of these, pretty much brand new on ebay over the years. BUT that EL sheet turns out to be the most problematic item on this remote. About half of the ones I have work--half don't. It's absolutely just the sheet because I can swap out the sheets and voila--the once dead backlight on any given remote works like new again.

I'm just wondering what exactly is it that breaks down on that sheet. It's still sending the LCD codes to the display, just not the light. It's gotta be just a continuity issue ---no?.. What is the nature of the signal being carried from the transformer to actually light up all the keys and the display. I'm assuming it's perhaps an optical signal.

Anyone actually got more insight into this. Most of the sheets I have that don't work--just don't work at all. One or two of them will light up a few buttons and that's it.

Rob,
If this actually manages to catch your attention I'm sure you do know the nature of the signal the transformer sends along that EF sheet to light up everything.
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