Squeaking sound on battery backplane on Squeezebox Controller

[sveinan]

Just got myself some playtime with the new Squeezebox Controller. Everything works perfect. Except one minor annoyance. The battery backplane of the remote gives of a squeaking sound when pressed on a certain area. It's not the end of the world ;-) But it does drag down the overall feeling of the remote beeing a 'solid' device. Especially when I do one-handed operating of the remote and press with my thumb on buttons. Then the solid feel of the buttons is disrupted by the squeaking sound because the battery backplane is pressed in at the same time.

What is the best DIY method of getting rid of this problem ? Any tips is appreciated :-)

I'll try to describe it a little more detailed so its easy to understand how I experience it. Seen from the back it is the right side of the remote that is the problem area. Pic1 shows the edge between battery backplane and the remote. It is the red area that is most problematic. Pic2 shows which area, if pressed, generates the squeaking. Pic3 is so anyone can see and compare if there are differences on remote models.

If I take out the battery, and operate the remote, the squeeking is nearly gone. But it's still present some. And without the battery the remote sort of loses it functionality ;-) So it looks to be a combination of the foam lifting the battery backplane, and the fitting of backplane against plastic on remote. As said. It's minor annoyance. But I would really like to get rid of it.

Side of controller (pic1):


Back of controller (pic2):


Inside compartment (pic3):

[jaffacake]

In the past I've found Blu-Tac can work well in this kind of scenario...it absorbs movement pretty well.

Sounds like more of what I would call a creak than a squeak.

If you life near a retailer, maybe compare it to another. It could be just a fluke manufacturing defect.

[JimC]

Just got myself some playtime with the new Squeezebox Controller. Everything works perfect. Except one minor annoyance. The battery backplane of the remote gives of a squeaking sound when pressed on a certain area. It's not the end of the world ;-) But it does drag down the overall feeling of the remote beeing a 'solid' device. Especially when I do one-handed operating of the remote and press with my thumb on buttons. Then the solid feel of the buttons is disrupted by the squeaking sound because the battery backplane is pressed in at the same time.

What is the best DIY method of getting rid of this problem ? Any tips is appreciated :-)

Any plastic against plastic surface will have some friction, which is probablt what's producing the "squeek" you're hearing. All of the battery doors should have a dry lubricant applied during manufacturing; it's possible you have a door where one side missed having the lubricant applied.

I've successfully used a very small amount of mineral oil to fix this type of problem. Apply it to both sides of the tabs, as well as the curved surfaces on the edges of the battery case. Don't use much, and wipe off any excess with a cotton cloth. Petroleum jelly, i.e., Vaseline, should work too.

The key is moderation so you don't make a mess.

In case you're wondering, the lubricant used in production is generally a PTFE suspended in an alcohol solution. It's brushed on the surface(s) and the alcohol evaporates, leaving the PTFE on the surface.


-=> Jim

[sveinan]

Any plastic against plastic surface will have some friction, which is probablt what's producing the "squeek" you're hearing. All of the battery doors should have a dry lubricant applied during manufacturing; it's possible you have a door where one side missed having the lubricant applied.

I've successfully used a very small amount of mineral oil to fix this type of problem. Apply it to both sides of the tabs, as well as the curved surfaces on the edges of the battery case. Don't use much, and wipe off any excess with a cotton cloth. Petroleum jelly, i.e., Vaseline, should work too.

Thanks. Just the kind of advice as was looking for. I'm not afraid of trying to fix things myself. But it makes it much easier when method used is proven before. And your point of "door where one side missed having the lubricant applied" match the behaviour I'm seeing.

I'm a little buzzy these days, so give me a few days and I will have tried it out. I'll make sure to report back the result. And I will not make a mess of it ;-) But thanks for pointing out, I like these practical advices. Very good forum you got here. Been lurking in it a few months. And you spot very fast if a forum have any use or not. Hope you can keep this up, because the Duet is probably going to make it as a 'mainstream' product. Much more people who just want it to work without any effort. Good luck with this great product.

In the past I've found Blu-Tac can work well in this kind of scenario...it absorbs movement pretty well.

If JimC's method doesn't work I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip.

[jaffacake]

If JimC's method doesn't work I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip.

I think you maybe missed some of the sentiment of my post. If another one in a shop doesn't do it, get it swapped out. You're covered by a 2 year warranty and if it's suffering from a manufacturing defect I would just pop it back to the shop for a replacement.

I know how these little niggles can really annoy and you'd be better sorting it out before it ruins any of your enjoyment of the product. I wouldn't want to try and return a product that was smeared with lube and blu-tac...you could get another fault at another time during the warranty period.

Edit to add: But if you are keen on the DIY method, having thought a little longer, I'd recommend you try one of those "shoe shine sponges". They're impregnated with silicone which would probably suit the application quite well and are less greasy than Vaseline which will attract less dirt/dust.

[sveinan]

I think you maybe missed some of the sentiment of my post. If another one in a shop doesn't do it, get it swapped out. You're covered by a 2 year warranty and if it's suffering from a manufacturing defect I would just pop it back to the shop for a replacement.

I know how these little niggles can really annoy and you'd be better sorting it out before it ruins any of your enjoyment of the product. I wouldn't want to try and return a product that was smeared with lube and blu-tac...you could get another fault at another time during the warranty period.

Edit to add: But if you are keen on the DIY method, having thought a little longer, I'd recommend you try one of those "shoe shine sponges". They're impregnated with silicone which would probably suit the application quite well and are less greasy than Vaseline which will attract less dirt/dust.

I'm with you on the warranty. In Norway we actually have 5 year warranty, in our law, for production defects. So that's not a problem. It's a combination of 2 things. I bought this through an online retailer. Always a hassle to report, get accept, send back, get confirmation, then get new. And you never know, the new one might have same problem. The other thing is that I through this process might learn something new, and be good at fixing similar problems in the future. But I will take a trip to one of my local electronic stores and see if they have one on display. Just check out how it looks on another remote. Always good to problemsolve with two units.

And thanks for "shoe shine" tip. Will take one home and pre-test the different solutions before I try it out on the remote.

[Kim.T]

In case you're wondering, the lubricant used in production is generally a PTFE suspended in an alcohol solution. It's brushed on the surface(s) and the alcohol evaporates, leaving the PTFE on the surface.


-=> Jim

uhhhh - any problem can be solve by adding some amount of Alcohol ;-)
My remote is only squeking in the left side - but it makes it feel like a cheap Chinese model. I will try this later today (both the lubrication and the alcohol)

[jaffacake]

uhhhh - any problem can be solve by adding some amount of Alcohol ;-)
My remote is only squeking in the left side - but it makes it feel like a cheap Chinese model. I will try this later today (both the lubrication and the alcohol)

If the PTFE has only been applied from an alcohol suspension, then it's not going to have a significant bond with the (acrylic?) surface. Wiping with additional alcohol is likely to 'dry' the surfaces out further and make it into a Squeekebox...lol.

I'd avoid alcohol based solutions and stick with lubricants like silicone. Mr. Sheen polish or something may work well too, I used to use that to make my Rubik's cube slide well...smells good too.

All this talk of alcohol, lube and one-handed controllers makes me thing more of a marriage guidance forum...lmao

[sveinan]

lol. Maybe I should have started all this with: I have this "friend" who's a remote controller, and he has problems involving friction & plastic. What lubricant will help ?

Ok. I guess I'll try the following first. Buy one of those silicon / sponge sticks you get for doors / cars to prevent surfaces freezing in winter. Then AFTER that I'll consume some alcohol. Not the other way around

[sveinan]

Back from trial and error. Tried a little silicon on a few areas. But couldn't really find any improvements from it. So I went for the most powerful tool in my arsenal. Scotch Magic Tape It actually worked wonders. I applied a thin stripe, 3 layers thick, of tape between the red area on Pic1 further up. It now have no movement when pressed, and feels really 'solid'. Like it should do. I'm happy. Can now continue on my SqueezeCenter configuration. Might not be the most sophisticated solution. But got the job done