On Sat, 05 May 2007 20:39:14 GMT, Gary Tait
wrote:

Herb wrote in newsobn33tibkdto1hr22v3fkjnjrtr9ar9lf@
4ax.com:

well no, as I'd said, this is different. I experimented and see that
it is some unusual device. There is a plastic film with wide, donut
shaped white traces that light up. The white center dot makes the
connection when a key is pressed, but the rings light up.
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/6969/remoteta0.jpg

The links between rings don't seem to be broken. Maybe this material
just wears out. Or, it's maybe a problem with contact. I tried it
with the cover removed and see that the spots that light up are
scattered.

It could be EL (Electro luminescent) material.
Is there a small transformer on the board?

Yes, there is a small transformer on the other side of the board.

I noticed today, in a darker environment, that every ring has at
least a speck that is lighting. So that new observation tends to go
against the idea of a broken trace, I'd think.

Using the term you've provided, I found a journal abstract which
describes a type of failu

http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract...la9709406.html

"...defect on the indium tin oxide anode. These spherulites cause the
device to delaminate, and this results in a decrease in the
luminescence around the defect and, finally, the failure of the
electroluminescent device."

Degradation of Organic Electroluminescent Devices. Evidence for the
Occurrence of Spherulitic Crystallization in the Hole Transport Layer

Sounds unrepairable, I'd guess.


The EL trace could be broken, which you may be able to repair with metallic
ink.

And yes, I suppose it is just like the stuff on the watch I'm wearing
- though much brighter and lots more area of it.

They should make computer screens out of this stuff