I have an old sony universal remote, the rm-v15. I opened it to get to the pcb, and a strange nasty smell came out of it. Is there anything I should be worried about? Any hazards used in old remotes?
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\$\begingroup\$ How old is "old"? Do you know the date of production? \$\endgroup\$– BreakthroughCommented Mar 10, 2011 at 2:38
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\$\begingroup\$ The pcb says 1995. July, I think. \$\endgroup\$– a sandwhichCommented Mar 10, 2011 at 2:42
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1\$\begingroup\$ This belongs on Electronics and Robotics. \$\endgroup\$– PatchesCommented Mar 10, 2011 at 2:44
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\$\begingroup\$ Ooh. Sorry. I guess i should have posted there. \$\endgroup\$– a sandwhichCommented Mar 10, 2011 at 2:46
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\$\begingroup\$ @a sandwhich: That's okay. A mod should move it for you in a little bit. \$\endgroup\$– PatchesCommented Mar 10, 2011 at 2:47
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2 Answers
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You could have a leaky battery; you don't want acid all over your skin. There will be trace amounts of the heavy metals found in all electronics manufacturing.
And because remotes are handled so much and are often full of skin cells and food traces, you could be smelling mold spores.
Wear gloves, ventilate, and proceed. You should be fine as long as you don't lick anything!
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1\$\begingroup\$ Batteries haven't been in it since 2001, and there were not any corrosion traces. I just ate some popcorn, but I washed my hands first, so I think I should be ok. What type of heavy metals might be in there? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Mar 10, 2011 at 2:54
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2\$\begingroup\$ Printed circuit boards can contain traces of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn as noted in research on the human impacts of e-waste recycling operations. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Mar 10, 2011 at 3:07
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2\$\begingroup\$ Some very old batteries contained mercury. The EPA has clean-up procedures documented for mercury. Although I couldn't find anything directly for remote control units or batteries, this document may be of interest to you if you ever run into anything like this again and you just want to take precautions for additional safety: epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html \$\endgroup\$– Randolf RichardsonCommented Mar 10, 2011 at 3:15
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That was the magic smoke. It will not come back by itself. Remote is generally safer than other components that may use high voltage. Battery could be an issue, also get rid of anything leaking.
