The Five Minute Shoulder Button Fix

[iprice]

I hear a lot of complaints about the shoulder buttons on newly arriving Pandora's, and a few complaints about the nubs... but I dont think Ive heard much feedback on then when they are fitted and working AS EXPECTED lol...

My only worry is (for a lack of a better way to discribe it) you cannot polish a turd, I expect the Pandora to be great but it would be nice to know if the buttons will end up equally great after (possibly) some messing around.

TBH I'm pretty pleased now that I've got a late pre-order number for my Pandora. I'm hoping that by the time that the 3000s roll in, most (if not all) the problems we've seen so far will be elliminated/significantly reduced and that the Pandora and software will actually be usable without having to post a question on here first.

 

[urjaman]

you cannot polish a turd

Wrong

 

[Stuckie]

I hear a lot of complaints about the shoulder buttons on newly arriving Pandora's, and a few complaints about the nubs... but I dont think Ive heard much feedback on then when they are fitted and working AS EXPECTED lol...

My only worry is (for a lack of a better way to discribe it) you cannot polish a turd, I expect the Pandora to be great but it would be nice to know if the buttons will end up equally great after (possibly) some messing around.

Help anyone? :>

Well in my case, my first Pandora had a faulty nub.. it was sent back and I got a replacement which was pretty much perfect till I accidentally dropped it, which prompted me to rip it open and fix it!

My Pandora's serial number is 15 so it's pretty early on ( though I still suspect they're just picking any old base up and stuffing components into them, rather than painstakingly checking each order number gets the right numbered case.. that'd be ludicrous ) and I've had no issue with it save for me dropping it.

As someone mentioned in another thread though, it's the negatives which are vocal; there are probably a fair few people sitting about enjoying the Pandora without any incident - and those you may not hear from

 

[craigix]

Other tips to try if you are not happy (I know because I do this daily)

Tape on the pole they connect to (thickens it out, makes them stiffer).

File down the part which hits the button, makes them looser.

Slightly loosen the battery compartment screws, adjusts the tightness.

Using these tips and the ones above you can make the shoulders as you like them. It's a but like all the adjustments on a custom kit car.

 

[Polossatik]

Somehow I think that adding a pair of (unpainted) shoulder buttons for sale in the gbax store would be a massive success.
Would allow people to grind/tape/drill them to anything they find personally "perfect".

ok, silly me...
[quote name='EvilDragon' date='02 June 2010 - 06:30 AM' timestamp='1275453038']
[...]We will have ALL parts of the cases available later on, yes.[...]
[/quote]

 

[MDave]

Will Open Pandora considering changing the hard micro switches with something easier to press? It's not very trigger finger friendly because you need quite some pressure to press the microswitch down, then have to release all that pressure to let go. There's a lot of 'travel' basically, it be much much nicer if this was cut down some

 

[fusion_power]

I guess, a more durable way to make the inner area of the Shoulder buttons larger is to use a hot glue gun. You could fill the empty area to have a larger "pole" that hits the switch. ^^ The glue is very hard after cooling down, you can fix alot of things with this.

 

[Prometheus]

Hot glue tends to fall off after a while, in my experience. Might I suggest Impex Hi-Tack, if glue is being considered? It's a strong craft glue (with a consistency like PVA glue) that dries to a somewhat flexible finish, much like PVA glue does (and it can be peeled off of some materials in the same way, too),and it's almost-everything-proof. I use it all the time in my toy-making hobby.

 

[mvickers03]

There is a better fix. My shoulder button became a little loose so I opened the back and removed the shoulder buttons, all you need to do is wrap a small piece of cello-tape around the shaft on the case to make the shoulder button a more snug fit. Trial and error and it's sorted. much better than it has ever been. the holes have been drilled too large and therefore wobble on the shaft.

It is a extremely easy fix, only one button was noticeably loose but did the fix to both and they feel really really nice now.

I tried the paper and it made the buttons bulge out and cause more pressure than needed to the button on the PCB

EDIT: Just seen Craig's post a few above mine.

Anyway this is a real life example It works

 

[sparkymark]

There is a better fix. My shoulder button became a little loose so I opened the back and removed the shoulder buttons, all you need to do is wrap a small piece of cello-tape around the shaft on the case to make the shoulder button a more snug fit. Trial and error and it's sorted. much better than it has ever been. the holes have been drilled too large and therefore wobble on the shaft.

It is a extremely easy fix, only one button was noticeably loose but did the fix to both and they feel really really nice now.

I tried the paper and it made the buttons bulge out and cause more pressure than needed to the button on the PCB

EDIT: Just seen Craig's post a few above mine.

Anyway this is a real life example It works

It's never gonna be perfect like that though as the tighter fit will still be fitting an incorrectly bored shoulder button so the button will sit at an angle. I reckon the only way is to refill the hole and re-bore. Don't ask me what to use though I have no idea - I will probably wait for a new shoulder button :rolleyes:

 

[mali]

^You could fill it with hot glue, grind the excess glue down to get a proper surface for drilling and drill a larger hole removing all the glue and some of the off center plastic. Then you could apply some more of that cello-tape on the shaft. Anything is possible with the right tools and a bit of skill.

Another method would be to fill the hole with the same plastic mix by using a temperature controlled soldering iron with a very small tip. I've successfully repaired the bumper of my car that way. I just cut off some excess material from an inside edge and welded it into the crack. You could try to find a place inside the Pandora case where you can take away some filling material without damaging the functionality.

This method is only advisable for advanced hackers, though.

 

[Sphinxter]

 

[mvickers03]

There is a better fix. My shoulder button became a little loose so I opened the back and removed the shoulder buttons, all you need to do is wrap a small piece of cello-tape around the shaft on the case to make the shoulder button a more snug fit. Trial and error and it's sorted. much better than it has ever been. the holes have been drilled too large and therefore wobble on the shaft.

It is a extremely easy fix, only one button was noticeably loose but did the fix to both and they feel really really nice now.

I tried the paper and it made the buttons bulge out and cause more pressure than needed to the button on the PCB

EDIT: Just seen Craig's post a few above mine.

Anyway this is a real life example It works

It's never gonna be perfect like that though as the tighter fit will still be fitting an incorrectly bored shoulder button so the button will sit at an angle. I reckon the only way is to refill the hole and re-bore. Don't ask me what to use though I have no idea - I will probably wait for a new shoulder button :rolleyes:

The holes are bang on straight and centred just too big
Edit: typo

 

[sparkymark]

There is a better fix. My shoulder button became a little loose so I opened the back and removed the shoulder buttons, all you need to do is wrap a small piece of cello-tape around the shaft on the case to make the shoulder button a more snug fit. Trial and error and it's sorted. much better than it has ever been. the holes have been drilled too large and therefore wobble on the shaft.

It is a extremely easy fix, only one button was noticeably loose but did the fix to both and they feel really really nice now.

I tried the paper and it made the buttons bulge out and cause more pressure than needed to the button on the PCB

EDIT: Just seen Craig's post a few above mine.

Anyway this is a real life example It works

It's never gonna be perfect like that though as the tighter fit will still be fitting an incorrectly bored shoulder button so the button will sit at an angle. I reckon the only way is to refill the hole and re-bore. Don't ask me what to use though I have no idea - I will probably wait for a new shoulder button :rolleyes:

The holes are bang on straight and centred just too big
Edit: typo

you sir, are good to go then

 

[SoleGrave]

What about the use of Sculpey or Fimo to fix these quirks? (But even then that involves boiling or baking I think.)

 

[Prometheus]

That's an interesting suggestion, though I'm not sure how it'd hold up, myself. Even though those involve baking and such, there are air-dry polymer clays.

 

[EmuGuy]

Does this void the warranty, or is that only if you take the lid apart? My right shoulder button just needs a tweak...left one is perfect.

 

[WizardStan]

Various members of OPT are on record as saying that opening the case anywhere does officially void the warranty.
However, rumour has it that (at least for the time being) people that have opened their cases to fix things like the shoulder buttons have been able to get replacements on warranty. Don't expect it to be that way forever, though.

 

[EmuGuy]

Thanks, hope they get it figured out.