I just reread this entire thread (for about the 10th time!) and noticed there is one person (UBHappy) who got Dell to fix their eraser-head/trackstick/pointing device mushy mouse button problem! (You know the one... where you have to press down ridiculously hard to make it make contact, and even then it doesn't work half the time, making those buttons practically useless)
I suggest anyone experiencing this problem read this person's post and give it a shot....I am calling Dell about it today and will not take "no" for an answer. Don't know if it will help to point to UBHappy's post & experience with this problem when I talk to Dell, but I am going to give it a try.
Your post of 12/3/03 suggested users contact Dell Support if the buttons are "broken". I'm not sure you're reading these threads thoroughly. I have an I8600 that I received three weeks ago. The "mouse" buttons for use with the track stick aren't "broken". They are designed with way too much travel and no definite "click" feel to them. The question is: Is there a modification that Dell will make to this part of the keyboard to make the product efficient and usable?
Hey everyone. I'm gonna add my few cents about the same problem. I'm gonna send my Dell back so they can repair my track stick's buttons. I've also posted about this issue in this forum. My cousin had the exact same issue with his I8500 and he did the same thing I'm about to do, send the laptop back to Dell. I hope the support I paid for will come to use and that I won't have to send my laptop back to the Dell...
I recently received an 8600 with the same problem - mushy track stick buttons. This problem will not be fixed by Dell because it is a design flaw and not a sample defect.
If you pry off the track stick buttons (carefully pry off the front edge preferably using an object which wil not scratch the plastic), you can see the switch mechanism. It is the same type of conductive rubber dome which is used in many calculator keyboards. If you pry up the back edge of one of the touchpad keys (I couldn't get one off, but could lift it up far enough to see underneath), you will see that the switch is different. The touchpad key switch is a self-contained tactile switch.
Based on seeing the design, I think it is possible to improve the track stick button performance. There are two problems - the travel is too long and there is no tactile feedback. It is easy to shorten the travel by putting something on top of the rubber dome under the switch. Gluing it to the dome would be prudent.
Providing tactile feedback is more difficult but can be done by replacing the rubber dome with a small tactile switch. This would require some soldering skill. I have ordered some suitable switches and this is what I plan to do. The smallest switch I could find (Digikey) should just fit.
In my Inspiron 8600, I replaced the original track stick button mechanism with tactile switches and am very pleased with the result. Now the track stick buttons feel like the touch pad buttons.
I examined about ten different pushbutton switches and chose Panasonic #EVQ-PPRA25 (Digikey #P12271SCT). These have a 240gf actuation force and a 300,000 operation life. There is a similar switch with a 160gf actuation force.
Since the switch is longer than the diameter of the contact area on the flex circuit, it is necessary to cause the part of the switch lead underneath the switch to become soldered to the circuit pads. This was actually easier than I thought it would be. Here is what I did. To do this I used a Metcal soldering iron.
I first carefully pried off the track stick button tops from the front. Then I removed the original rubber push button elements. The flex circuit is attached to the laptop plastic with a rubbery adhesive. I pried up the flex circuit being careful not to tear it and then I placed a small piece of perfboard under the flex circuit so that the laptop plastic would not be melted during soldering. Wood could also be used.
I lightly tinned the flex circuit pads, but this may not be necessary since they were already nicely tinned. I tinned the leads of the switches. I positioned the switches on the flex circuit and heated the accessible part of the switch lead until the solder under the switch flowed. During this operation, I pressed down on the switch so that it would lie flat on the flex circuit. After completing the soldering, I cleaned where I could with alcohol to remove flux.
The switches are too short to be activated by the switch covers so it is necessary to add extenders which are about 0.027” thick. I machined disks from aluminum, but any kind of scrap of the appropriate thickness could be used. I consider gluing them but the double sided tape I initially used to attach the disks to the switch covers for testing has been adequate so far.
Besides now working properly, another nice feature of this modification is that it is relatively easy to reverse if that should ever be necessary.
Xplornaz
7 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 13:00
Hello all,
I just reread this entire thread (for about the 10th time!) and noticed there is one person (UBHappy) who got Dell to fix their eraser-head/trackstick/pointing device mushy mouse button problem! (You know the one... where you have to press down ridiculously hard to make it make contact, and even then it doesn't work half the time, making those buttons practically useless)
Read here for what UBHappy did: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_input&message.id=21248
I suggest anyone experiencing this problem read this person's post and give it a shot....I am calling Dell about it today and will not take "no" for an answer. Don't know if it will help to point to UBHappy's post & experience with this problem when I talk to Dell, but I am going to give it a try.
Peace
DELL-BobT
3.1K Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 20:00
Users:
If you feel that the hardware is broken on your system, you should consider contacting Dell Support for a solution.
onanie
1 Rookie
•
36 Posts
0
December 3rd, 2003 22:00
you are not reading the thread, are you?
Some of us have contacted Dell.
kirbypm
1 Message
0
December 28th, 2003 05:00
Dear Dell Bob,
Your post of 12/3/03 suggested users contact Dell Support if the buttons are "broken". I'm not sure you're reading these threads thoroughly. I have an I8600 that I received three weeks ago. The "mouse" buttons for use with the track stick aren't "broken". They are designed with way too much travel and no definite "click" feel to them. The question is: Is there a modification that Dell will make to this part of the keyboard to make the product efficient and usable?
kirbypm
Davin
18 Posts
0
December 31st, 2003 19:00
Don't forget you can click by tapping the stick.
I don't use the stick, I don't prefer it, but if I did, I'd use the feature of tapping the stick like I do the touchpad instead of using the buttons.
DELL-BobT
3.1K Posts
0
January 2nd, 2004 15:00
Users of this thread:
Please update the profile on your Dell Community Forum account to reflect that for your Inspiron 8600 system.
kekss
26 Posts
0
January 5th, 2004 20:00
I have the same problems with the track stick related buttons.
Kekss
bigDev
5 Posts
0
January 6th, 2004 03:00
Hey everyone. I'm gonna add my few cents about the same problem. I'm gonna send my Dell back so they can repair my track stick's buttons. I've also posted about this issue in this forum. My cousin had the exact same issue with his I8500 and he did the same thing I'm about to do, send the laptop back to Dell. I hope the support I paid for will come to use and that I won't have to send my laptop back to the Dell...
-SSA
mb909
2 Posts
0
January 25th, 2004 02:00
I recently received an 8600 with the same problem - mushy track stick buttons. This problem will not be fixed by Dell because it is a design flaw and not a sample defect.
If you pry off the track stick buttons (carefully pry off the front edge preferably using an object which wil not scratch the plastic), you can see the switch mechanism. It is the same type of conductive rubber dome which is used in many calculator keyboards. If you pry up the back edge of one of the touchpad keys (I couldn't get one off, but could lift it up far enough to see underneath), you will see that the switch is different. The touchpad key switch is a self-contained tactile switch.
Based on seeing the design, I think it is possible to improve the track stick button performance. There are two problems - the travel is too long and there is no tactile feedback. It is easy to shorten the travel by putting something on top of the rubber dome under the switch. Gluing it to the dome would be prudent.
Providing tactile feedback is more difficult but can be done by replacing the rubber dome with a small tactile switch. This would require some soldering skill. I have ordered some suitable switches and this is what I plan to do. The smallest switch I could find (Digikey) should just fit.
Mitch
mb909
2 Posts
0
February 4th, 2004 02:00
In my Inspiron 8600, I replaced the original track stick button mechanism with tactile switches and am very pleased with the result. Now the track stick buttons feel like the touch pad buttons.
I examined about ten different pushbutton switches and chose Panasonic #EVQ-PPRA25 (Digikey #P12271SCT). These have a 240gf actuation force and a 300,000 operation life. There is a similar switch with a 160gf actuation force.
Since the switch is longer than the diameter of the contact area on the flex circuit, it is necessary to cause the part of the switch lead underneath the switch to become soldered to the circuit pads. This was actually easier than I thought it would be. Here is what I did. To do this I used a Metcal soldering iron.
I first carefully pried off the track stick button tops from the front. Then I removed the original rubber push button elements. The flex circuit is attached to the laptop plastic with a rubbery adhesive. I pried up the flex circuit being careful not to tear it and then I placed a small piece of perfboard under the flex circuit so that the laptop plastic would not be melted during soldering. Wood could also be used.
I lightly tinned the flex circuit pads, but this may not be necessary since they were already nicely tinned. I tinned the leads of the switches. I positioned the switches on the flex circuit and heated the accessible part of the switch lead until the solder under the switch flowed. During this operation, I pressed down on the switch so that it would lie flat on the flex circuit. After completing the soldering, I cleaned where I could with alcohol to remove flux.
The switches are too short to be activated by the switch covers so it is necessary to add extenders which are about 0.027” thick. I machined disks from aluminum, but any kind of scrap of the appropriate thickness could be used. I consider gluing them but the double sided tape I initially used to attach the disks to the switch covers for testing has been adequate so far.
Besides now working properly, another nice feature of this modification is that it is relatively easy to reverse if that should ever be necessary.
Mitch