ERS-31x Potentiometer cleaning guide (ERS-311, 312, 31L)
Frootloop 2006
Section 1 - Q & A
So, what’s a Potentiometer and why is it important to my AIBO?
If your AIBO is suffering from tremors, shaking or juddering limbs it could be down to
a dirty potentiometer in the limb or body. Potentiometers are there to sense the
position of the specific joints in the AIBO. Over time and use they can become
corroded and dirty causing the position of the limb to be misinterpreted by the AIBO
itself. These instructions have been written as it’s a scary prospect opening up one of
these guys and not have a tour guide to hand!
Are all limbs shown in this guide?
The joints that are shown in this guide are the neck tilt (main body), hip and shoulder
(main body), upper leg (all legs) and knee (all legs). As of yet, I have not shown the
pan and tilt of the head. Movements shown below.
What tools do I need?
Firstly, you should be aware that when handling sensitive electronic equipment you
should take static prevention measures. This is essentially ‘earthing’ yourself to
prevent stray static making its way into the equipment you are working on and
damaging it. Suitable equipment is readily available from Radio Shack etc.
You will need Philips PH0 and PH1
screwdrivers.
A
small,
sharp
knife.
Tweezers may come in handy too.
You will need a can of switch cleaning spray
with a “tube” attachment. I have had best
results using DeoxIT D100 spray available
from www.caig.com.
Other suitable switch cleaning sprays are
readily available at such places as Radio
Shack etc.
