B7 JEDI PROBLEM W/BUTTONS

[N4KVE]

Hello. I have a B7 Jedi & the buttons don't work unless I press real hard on them. The radio spent a few months in a moist humid area but there was never any water contact. The radio receives & transmits fine but to use the buttons requires lots of pressure. I know there is a black coating on the back of the plastic buttons which contacts the circuit board that make the buttons work. Do I need to clean the back of the buttons & circuit board with a house hold cleaner or just replace the white button assy? Any help would be appreciated. GARY N4KVE

[MTS2000des]

sometimes a "scum" layer forms on the board. you need to clean both the contacts on the board and they keypad. Might not hurt to just replace the keypad while you're in there, unless Ma M jacked up the price, it should be more than 8-10 bucks tops. The sealing area of the pad isn't very good, it's just held in there from pressure of the board, not hermetically sealed like a Saber keypad. Radios used in dirty/dusty/smoky environments exhibit this problem more so. The best thing to clean the keyboard contacts is denatured alcohol and Q-tips. Don't use any abrasive cleaner or brushes of any kind as you might damage the contacts.

[N4KVE]

Thank you MTS2000des. This is the 2nd time you helped me out. The 1st time was when we traded an Astro Saber for an MTS 2000. We were both happy. I just read your post & cleaned the contacts with alcohol like you suggested & the radio works like new. Lots of crap had accumulated on the sides of the buttons beside the lettering. A little Palmolive green dishwashing soap & water fixed that. A blowdrier & then the alcohol treatment & all is well. This radio sits in a car under a seat & during the summer it was hot & humid. Now it's like new. Thanks again. GARY N4KVE

[MTS2000des]

no problem, we are all a community here and anything we can do to help each other out is what it's all about, still have that MTS and it works great.
I've had many a Jedi's that experienced the same issue, the palmolive idea is actually what Ma M calls for in the service manual for cleaning most plastic surfaces, diluted in water- so that should do the trick. I love the Jedi series but the sealing integrity of the keypad leaves much to be desired when compared to say, a Saber which the keypad is fusion bonded into the housing (of course if the keypad gets worn or breaks you have to replace the whole housing) but the problem you are experiencing NEVER happens on a Saber.