Telescope Reviews: MySky power button fix/prevention tip.

Well ..... it happened to me.......

My MySky power button would not work anymore .... it just stayed in and didn't pop back out like it should have.
So ..... since I had originally bought this one off Astromart and it had no warranty, I took it apart (there is an additional screw under the Meade sticker in the nose of the unit, going in from the same side as the other screws) and I found that the itty bitty surface mounted switch for the power has an even "ittier bittier" metal plate that is held on by the switch's plastic housing being swaged over it at the corners.
Unfortunately .... on my unit the rear swages were broken off allowing the metal plate to swing away from the switch plunger.
Because the metal plate also acts as the device that makes the plastic switch plunger return to the 'out position' (but only if it's held on the switch housing by the corner swages) the plunger was stuck in the 'in position'.

There is not a lot of material to work with.
The entire switch is probably only about 1/16" X 1/16" X 1/32".
So after some deliberation I felt my best chance of fixing the switch would be to use some medium viscosity super glue and some material from a paper towel, to make a sort-of cast, to hold the metal plate on the switch housing in it's original position.
I accomplished this by first making sure the metal plate was in place on top of the switch housing, and then using a toothpick to "paint" some superglue onto the circuit board, switch housing sides, and the the metal cover's outer surface, making sure not to get any inside the switch housing, or on the switch plunger.
Then using a clean toothpick I pressed tiny pieces of paper towel into the glue to form it over the cover, around the switch housing sides, and down onto the circuit board.
Using the medium viscosity super glue kept it from getting inside the switch .... which would have absolutely been "The End".
After letting it dry ........ and then doing a fine act of juggling all the parts to get the unit back together, it works fine.

The problem with this switch is that because it is not recessed it is subject to some significant bumps, and as we all know ..... it's a real pain if you lay your MySky on that side, because it turns itself on and drains your battery pack.
So I recommend all of you use some sort of ring to glue onto the housing, that will go around the button at the same height (or even a little higher) as the button's surface, to protect it from bumps (and keep it from turning itself on/off if you lay it on that side) but still allow you to press it in to turn your MySky on/off (basically modify your MySky so the button will now be recessed).
An O ring, washer, or maybe one of the knurled rings that thread on a 'panel mount' switch might be good choices, or even just a square piece of something thick enough, with a hole drilled in it that is just slightly larger diameter than the power button, just as long as it makes the power button end up being recessed and thereby protected.
I just happen to have some rubber grommets in my junk stuff that are perfect for this.
I just sliced one in half and glued it on .....

See:
http://www.cloudynights.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=19204

I think without doing something like this to protect the button from bumps, it is only a matter of time before your power button will get damaged.

Edited by GaryHeath (08/24/09 03:09 PM)