Search wipers
search wipers |
| search wiper wear (simulated) |
|---|
OK, I cheated on this one. I couldn't find a search wiper assembly with significant wear (almost all of my games have a R-button, so the search wipers are not constantly turning like in earlier games).
With a little help from the graphics program, however, you can see what sometimes happens. The contacts on the wiper fingers wear down, and then the wiper fingers themselves start to grind off.
The left finger has worn so much that the contact point has pulled out of the mounting hole. The next one over is more typical.
Unfortunately, the contact points that mount on the wiper fingers just don't seem to be available. The correct thing was to replace the entire wiper finger, which came with a new contact already pressed on. Replacement fingers also don't seem to be around.
Standard contact points used on switches seem to be too soft...they wear away faster than the original contacts.
Possible solutions
- find a parts supplier that has the replacement finger (and let me know who they are!)
- steal a finger off a parts machine
- use a switch contact anyway, and see how long it lasts
- use a finger off a different kind of unit (e.g. a mixer). Since it's not long enough, you need to cut the original finger and solder the new one on top of it. Michael Sands has documented this solution for us.
- unless the wear is like the one on the left, you can just ignore the problem. The finger second from the left has a few years of home use left on it.
