[NoPegs]

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

As threatened, here's a little article with some additional photos of the switch replacement:

http://antiqueradio.org/SonyKV-4000ColorTelevision.htm

Regards,

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Phil, in the name of "full root-cause investigation," would you consider parting with some or all of your original switches that went bad?


I'd like to do two things with them:


First, carefully autopsy them to see exactly what is the cause of failure, since this issue affects many if not most of the surviving examples of this model.


Second, I want to attempt to "graft" a modern construction replacement tactile button switch onto the "roots" of the original switches. If successful we could then begin a very interesting game of lets-pass-the-parts.


If I'm successful in refitting all of your removed dead switches, then the reincarnated switches can be sent to the next person that desires a return to the pushbutton auto tuning age of wonders. Since the parts that would be sent to them are direct drop in replacements, the task of swapping them out becomes a straightforward process: just desolder the old and busted switches, put in my hybridized refurbished units, button the chassis back together, and then send their duds my way for rework in preparation for another go-around.


I'm confident that I have all the tools and skills needed to make reworked switches using strategic pieces of the old ones (Specifically the baseplate with the perfectly sized and oriented leads.) that won't require any trimming, rotating, or bending; and will have actuator shafts that stick out precisely as far from the surface of the board as the originals did. The end result should be that the feel of the front panel button push is just like the originals felt the day it came out of the box.


If anyone else is interested, you can pull out your broken buttons and send them my way, your set will just be on the bench for a few days without switches, possibly up to two weeks if I somehow happen to not have any properly sized buttons in my stash. I'd then have to select and order suitable replacements. I'd put the chances of that happening around 30% or less... I already have quite an exciting assortment of tactile switches on hand.