David Owen was on his way out of the county for an extended Christmas and New Years holiday that would take weeks driving through the southwest.
He lives in Petaluma California (94954) and the problem was the LCD on his 6th Gen video iPod wasn't working. It was a white screen only. I've dealt with "white outs" before. This is typically the result of dropping the device and one of the small driving resistors on it breaking away so the data doesn't paint to the LCD.
I had him bring it up so I could replace it. The part was $33 and labor was $40, but the trip was saved from stir craziness.
Total cost to repair it - $73.
Like many, this started with a phone call. The problem was with an iPod Nano 5th Gen and the difficulty was its scroll wheel.
Jonathon Garry called from Pleasant Grove Utah (84062) to discuss how 3 of the scroll wheels 5 buttons wouldn't work. The "Menu", the "Fast Forward" and the "Pause" buttons could be pressed and nothing would happen. No sound would be made and no 'action' would occur. In fact the button, (these are really SPST - single pole single throw push buttons) had no 'detent', no snap when pressed.
Those symptoms all lead to something mechanical. And since only half had the problem, examining the working ones would lead to the solution.
I've mentioned most of the switched used on iPods, (and hand held devices) that use push button switches employ on the logic board two concentric circles, the outer being positive and the inner being negative. To flip the state of the switch, they have a metal dome over the top which you press. When you press the inverted dome, it flattens and spreads over the concentric rings and makes the 'contact' closing the switch.
The things that go wrong with this domed switch are:
1) they crack, just split out from the edge to the top and don't work any more.
2) The surface of the concentric rings *or* the under neath of the dome become corroded and can't make good closure/contact
Both of these symptoms are repairable. In instance one you replace the dome, in instance two you clean the corrosion using #600 wet/dry cloth sand paper.
Guess which was his problem? That was a real test. There is little likelihood that three domes would crack so the correct answer is corrosion fixed with emery cloth.
Taking the scroll wheel off and the prying up the little domes showed there was no real conductivity. Emery cloth to the underside of the three domes solved the problem.
Total cost was $40 and the iPod worked perfectly again.
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I'm in Sonoma County... Northern California wine country.
If you live nearby, are traveling through or live in the San Francisco Bay Area bring your iPod to me and I can do the work while you wait or go wine tasting for a while. Send me an
email just to make sure I have on hand whatever parts your repair will require.
Call or email me
with questions or to set up a repair. You can also call, I am here most days from 8am to 8pm
Toll Free 1-877-IPOD-PRO (1 - 877 - 476-3776)
Send the device to:
Frank Walburg
2145 Service Court
Santa Rosa, Ca 95403-3139
Methods of payment
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