Zenith Video Recorder VR 1830

[Tripredacus]

This is the remote it comes with, after it was cleaned.


There is no model on it, but I suspect there was a label on the back that is just not there anymore. I was also able to tell that it has been opened in the past, as one of the plastic clips inside is broken.

I often feel there is not enough love (or information sometimes) regarding remotes. So here is something for you all.

This remote had a different type of battery. It was corroded and I do not have any of these types of batteries. Hence, the remote has not been tested.


Here is the remote with the back removed.


And here it is with the PCB lifted and the membrane removed.


Note some things here. First of all, I did not take a picture of the button side of the remote before I took it apart. This will be something I should remember for the future. Each of the buttons in this is a separate piece of plastic. Each have notches, so that the buttons go in a certain direction. They are reversed on some so that they were able to save some manufacturing costs. For example, for Channel/Volume Up/Down, being 4 separate buttons, are all interchangeable. Also the same for FF/Rewind buttons. They are the same thing but one is just upside down and the buttons and the slots they go into are notched accordingly. Also there is a small spring near the top. So if you were to force one of these apart (because it can be difficult) you may have an explosion of buttons and the spring and potentially lose them!

Since this thread will be a repair thread, I can post these two pictures here:
First this is how I get torque on small screws. As good as these screw drivers are, if the screw is very tight, there is no grip on them. Some pliers fixes that issue.


And you see above an ice cube tray. This is what I use to put parts into. Each cube has a number and when I take something apart, I write down what number it goes into, and where it came from. I also do take pictures with my phone so I have a before reference.


And that is it for now. I will post some internals in a bit.