Harmony Remotes - Hardware

[biglars57]

I posted on this site over a year ago that the problem is that the gold plating on the contacts of both the remote and charging cradle wears off and the metal underneath does not conduct the current. I put a solder bead on each contact of both the remote and cradle and it has worked fine ever since. Logitech sent me a new remote and base that I have not even used due to my original working fine. The new base has a magnet and one less contact on the cradle that helps stabilize the remote in the cradle and keeps it from sliding around, which reduces the amount of gold plating that wears off.

When I put the solder on my contacts it basically grabbed the remaining gold plating that was still on the contacts to insure the current got to the solder. The solder is thick enough that it will never wear off and as I said, my unit went from being unchargable to not having a charging problem for the past couple years.

I don't know what the new Logitech cradles for any of their units look like, but in my opinion if they still use the gold plated contacts, they will develop some kind of future charging problem. In short if the gold contacts have developed dark spots on them, it is because the plating has worn off.

The solder is a drastic step as far as I was concerned, but I'm fairly in tune with soldering circuitry and was comfortable modifying the unit. I always thought a di-electric epoxy would work too and probably be easier to apply. If anyone would like to contact me my email is warddan@hotmail.com

Good Luck