Lovely pandora! With slight flaw...


Alex, can you elaborate on the Y button problem? For example,


- Stuck in


- Won't press in


- Off centre


- Squidgey


- Feels ok to press but does nothing


If it's the last one, try pushing it in quite hard, moving it in circles, tapping it lots. There is some white powder stuff that is used in the factory (no idea what it is) that is cleaned out before assembly. Sometimes though, a little residue can remain, preventing good contact under a button. Giving it a good workout can clear the gunk and restore contact. It's happened to a couple of people.
Squidgey is how I'd describe it. You can press it, but it feels almost like there's something in there gunking it up. I suppose it could be that powder, but "working it out" doesn't appear to have made a difference.


Actually, as I was typing this post, it just started working! :lol: At first, you had press it a certain way, but after working it a little more, a normal press will do the job.

My A button is "squidgey" too. It works, but doesn't click in a nice positive way like the others.


it feels like there is some extra resistance on it and sometimes I get a double press, say in


an emulator that uses the A to select.


So, dismantle or not? will it go away with use? or is there something physical that needs


cleaned out?
 
The squidgey-ness on your "A" button is most likely caused by excess plastic left over from the moulding the buttons were taken out of. You could take the button out yourself and scrape that plastic off, but a lot of people have said that the problem can go away on its own after the button gets enough use.


Unless you've had your Pandora for a few weeks and have been mashing that "A" button regularly, I'd suggest not taking the device apart. See if it gets sorted through use. :)
 
mine just came today and it has the shoulder button issue... however, upon opening it up, it turns out that the pad has slipped out of place so much it is nowhere to be seen!


in a stroke of inspiration i tried using a teeny bit of poster putty... (cushiony and slightly sticky to boot)... works like a charm! (so far)... if anything it feels better than the other one!


it would be nice if replacement pads were available though...
 
Great pics moxie, I wish I saw them yesterday when I fixed mine.


The best way to describe my right button was it would mis-align if someone (not me) squished the side case too hard. I would hold the pandy gently so I would get the effects of who ever ham fisted it last. For example when I was testing if I tighten the right side too much it would cut the button off completely.


With mine I had to use paper and swap the foam over to switch and then I could tighten up the pandy properly and it clicks lovely now :D
 
It put a piece of paper inside my left shoulder button today and though I still don't really like the amount of travel, I can actually feel it click now which feels WAY better than before.


Thanks for all the suggestions on how to fix it.
 
It put a piece of paper inside my left shoulder button today and though I still don't really like the amount of travel, I can actually feel it click now which feels WAY better than before.


Thanks for all the suggestions on how to fix it.

When I did the paper first time that happened to me too. To much paper and it stuck so I took the foam pad and stuck it onto the micro-switch and that was perfect.
 
My shoulder button isn't as easily fixed I'm afraid. I followed all the suggestions above with no luck. So since my Pandora's back was already bare I plugged in the unit and fired up the input tester. Even with the micro switch directly pushed it fails to respond. The right micro switch responds as expected. Knowing that "home repair" is always risky I decided to stop there. I think that either the micro switch is busted or the board is shorting out somewhere.


It was working fine this morning.


Any thoughts?
 
Just a quickie to say that my new Pandora had a dead right shoulder button, and looking inside the microswitch was a tiny bit too high on the PCB. No foam pads on my unit and all I did was dremmel back the plastic on the trigger base by 1mm and now I have two fantastic buttons, I honestly can't imagine a shoulder button being better, super sensitive and a lovely click. In fact the Dpad and buttons are all perfect & it is impressive using the button test utility to actually see how fast they are! :)


It was very straightforward to open the back of the unit and do this mod, so considering the challenge the project has had, it seems logical to do this rather than RMA the untit and wait for a return.


As always I got fantastic support from OP Ltd (uk) and my unit is now 100%.


View attachment 318


Cheers


C_S
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just a quickie to say that my new Pandora had a dead right shoulder button, and looking inside the microswitch was a tiny bit too high on the PCB. No foam pads on my unit and all I did was dremmel back the plastic on the trigger base by 1mm and now I have two fantastic buttons, I honestly can't imagine a shoulder button being better, super sensitive and a lovely click. In fact the Dpad and buttons are all perfect & it is impressive using the button test utility to actually see how fast they are! :)


It was very straightforward to open the back of the unit and do this mod, so considering the challenge the project has had, it seems logical to do this rather than RMA the untit and wait for a return.


As always I got fantastic support from OP Ltd (uk) and my unit is now 100%.


View attachment 318


Cheers


C_S

Hi


I enlarged your picture and am I right to say that you took away the inside part of the stop area on the bottom of the button ?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just a quickie to say that my new Pandora had a dead right shoulder button, and looking inside the microswitch was a tiny bit too high on the PCB. No foam pads on my unit and all I did was dremmel back the plastic on the trigger base by 1mm and now I have two fantastic buttons, I honestly can't imagine a shoulder button being better, super sensitive and a lovely click. In fact the Dpad and buttons are all perfect & it is impressive using the button test utility to actually see how fast they are! :)


It was very straightforward to open the back of the unit and do this mod, so considering the challenge the project has had, it seems logical to do this rather than RMA the untit and wait for a return.


As always I got fantastic support from OP Ltd (uk) and my unit is now 100%.


photo.JPG


Cheers


C_S

Hi


I enlarged your picture and am I right to say that you took away the inside part of the stop area on the bottom of the button ?

Yes, because on my unit the microswitch was too high, so I had to take back the "Step" on the trigger, which is quite different to the original poster and his foam pads. On the PCB the microswitch is too high and slightly off center and with the leadfree solder used today there was no chance I would try bending ot moving it. So I just needed to shape the button around the microswitch.


This is before I sanded it, and a larger photo, attached.


photo.JPG


It feels absolutley identical to the left trigger now: i,e clicking, fast and perfect.


Of course it might only work for me, and my microswitch, but I tried the original method here and this didn't work for me, as I needed to REDUCE the size of the plastic, not INCREASE the size with foam. It was such an easy fix I just wanted to share it.


Mind you, if you mess up then you will need to buy a new trigger or worse break the microswitch. I was prepared to foot the bill if I broke it.
 
Thank you very much for the giant pictures and the complete explanations, that helped a lot to build confidence in actually opening the thing to fix my somewhat-working-but-very-weird-feeling right trigger.


There I had a surprise:


- the LEFT trigger, working like a charm from day 1, had NO foam pad at all. Left it this way (don't fix it if it works !)


- the RIGHT trigger, indeed had a displaced foam pad, which I easily moved a bit, to now have a completely working triggers set.


And finally a note to myself: next time pay a bit more attention to the different lengths of the screws before putting them back, in order to avoid foraging a long one through the front panel :( Or just don't mess with precious electronic you don't know well at late night hours.
 
First of all. Hellollo everybody. This is my first post, as I registered today after receiving my OP yesterday.


The OP works perfectly. It's a really nice gadget to have. I think I'm going to love it. So far I just tested a couple of games and the Amstrad CPC emulator, connected to Internet (with no issues at all), listened music and tried to watch a video. I said tried, because the image was freezing constanly. I used VLC and a video in m4v format. I'll try to recode the video into something else and give another try.


And now, why I'm posting in this thread? Well, because I have the same problem reported here by others. My left shoulder button doesn't hace the click sound. It seems to work, as I tested it with the input tester software, but it seems to be stuck or something, and I have to press kind of hard to make it work.


I don't want to send back the unit, as everything else works perfect. I have read here that opening the unit and reseating the button could solve the problem, or something about the foam. Is there any official confirmation that opening the unit will not break the warranty?


Thanks a lot.
 
First of all. Hellollo everybody. This is my first post, as I registered today after receiving my OP yesterday.


The OP works perfectly. It's a really nice gadget to have. I think I'm going to love it. So far I just tested a couple of games and the Amstrad CPC emulator, connected to Internet (with no issues at all), listened music and tried to watch a video. I said tried, because the image was freezing constanly. I used VLC and a video in m4v format. I'll try to recode the video into something else and give another try.


And now, why I'm posting in this thread? Well, because I have the same problem reported here by others. My left shoulder button doesn't hace the click sound. It seems to work, as I tested it with the input tester software, but it seems to be stuck or something, and I have to press kind of hard to make it work.


I don't want to send back the unit, as everything else works perfect. I have read here that opening the unit and reseating the button could solve the problem, or something about the foam. Is there any official confirmation that opening the unit will not break the warranty?


Thanks a lot.

Here's what I did. Read it all before you begin.


First, I voiced a similar concern about opening my unit, but got the go-ahead from Craig - it's an easy fix, he says, and he's not wrong. Place your pandora upside down on a soft surface with the shoulder buttons facing away from you.


1. Remove the battery


2. Remove the five screws - two beneath the battery, two nearest you on the case and one furthest from you.


3. Gently lift the furthest edge up, and then angle upwards until the small clasps nearest you click open.


4. remove the case portion you've released.


Now go CAREFULLY.


5. The shoulder buttons are separate pieces of plastic, with foam pads. Only one of my buttons had a foam pad so I cut that in half and stuck the two parts to the shoulder buttons. Now, if you orientate the buttons so they attach in place, you'll notice that there is a small "bar" of plastic on their underside. This butts up against the case to prevent them from springing outwards. This bar is too long, and provides enough pressure that the squishy shoulder button presses the shoulder switch on the PCB far enough in to "click" but not enough to register a click electrically. This is why it's squishy - you can press it, but the "click" won't happen because the switch won't release far enough.


6. VERY CAREFULLY - take a sharp knife and trim 1mm off the end of the bar, taking care to ensure that you trim flush with the rest of the button.


7. Replace your shoulder buttons and re-assemble your Pandora. You might lose the slider portion of the power switch, so watch out for that. It reattaches easily, with the notch to the left of the PCB's power switch. Press the case back into position - nearest edge to you first, then lower the furthest edge down. The shoulder buttons may need a bit of wiggling to seat properly, and if in the correct place should be standing proud of the case a tiny amount towards the left/right edges of the Pandora.


8. Replace the screws, but be careful not to overtighten them, as this may cause stress and cracks to the case if you do.


9. Enjoy your new clicky shoulder buttons.


You may find that simply attaching the foam pads (or cutting and sharing the single pad if you have only one) is enough to fix it. You might not have to cut the shoulder buttons at all. And your warranty should be intact so long as the only part you mess with is the shoulder buttons - don't touch the PCB.


D.
 
Arf, how's this for ironic? While some people seem to be having an issue where their L button still works but doesn't click, I accidentally dropped my Pandora last night (missed my bedside table in my sleepiness (friends don't let friends game tired!)) and now my L trigger still clicks but no longer works. :( I started up op_test_inputs but then realized I couldn't quit because the L trigger didn't work.


Ah well, I'm sure it's nothing a soldering iron can't fix.
 
Arf, how's this for ironic? While some people seem to be having an issue where their L button still works but doesn't click, I accidentally dropped my Pandora last night (missed my bedside table in my sleepiness (friends don't let friends game tired!)) and now my L trigger still clicks but no longer works. :( I started up op_test_inputs but then realized I couldn't quit because the L trigger didn't work.


Ah well, I'm sure it's nothing a soldering iron can't fix.

Yep, sounds like an easy soldering fix :)
 
You don't have to open the case to solve the lack of a click. The shoulder button just needs to be raised a fraction of a MM.


Chances are it was compressed in shipping and the PC-ABS (the plastic) bent downwards.


Here is how to correct it.


Grab the outer edge of the shoulder button (the thin part facing to the left or right of the unit) and pull it up from the case quite hard and hold it there for about 10 seconds. (essentially you're pulling it up past the 'click' point).


Don't pull it stupidly hard as this might snap the plastic, best way is to get your nail under it and pull it like that.


Hold it there for 10 seconds or more.


The plastic has no memory so will bend up and will stay like that.


It should now click again. You might have to pull it up hard a few times to make it do this.


Also, note that the shoulder buttons are now all fixed, this isn't an issue anymore.
 
You don't have to open the case to solve the lack of a click. The shoulder button just needs to be raised a fraction of a MM.
Thanks for the explanation Craig. I tired (obviously I meant to write tried :blink: ) it yesterday 3 times but doesn't seem to solve the problem. Should I keep trying?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top