atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Telephone Repairs & Equipment Fix keys on StarPlus phone

I have a a half dozen or so Starplus digital 1414-71 phones with keypads that do not work properly. Nothing happens when some of the numbers are pressed (most often the 1.) I took one apart and cleaned the circuit board and rubber keypad but it still isn't functioning. Is there anyhing I can do myself or do they need to be sent out for repair? Thanks.
Sue

Sue:

Priority One (a member of this forum and moderator) is you best choice for repairs. I have used them and had great success. Paul144 should be chiming in shortly, but in the meantime, their website can be reached by clicking on their box in the upper left corner of this page. The phones will come back looking like new.

<Chiming in>
Every phone ever made has its own set of "common issues". The dial pad is the "common issue" on the Vodavi Starplus digital phones. Hit our web site or send me an email.
Last, I need to put a caveat on something Ed said. If you were unfortunate enough to buy the white phones and the plastic has yellowed, we cannot get them to look "like new" again. They will still be yellowed. We do not paint most phones for reasons I would be happy to go into if someone is interested.

Ed, Paul,
Thanks for the feedback. Since our budget is very tight, I was hoping this was a repair I could do myself, however, I checked the Priority One website and repair on a 1414 is *very* reasonable. I priced some used phones on eBay but no guarantees they'll even work!
BTW, Paul, they are all charcoal so no need to explain the no paint issue... however, if I wanted to "mod" a phone in say a psychedelic motif??? :-)
Thanks again!
Sue

Sue,
You are correct that buying those phones on E-Bay would be a big mistake. They will all most likely have button issues or will develop them soon. Buying most models of phone that are over 5 or so years old from E-Bay is a big mistake. Paying a few dollars more for a refurbished phone to a reputable company like Sundance (the providers of this board) will almost always pay off in the long run.

You can always coat the carbon contact vulcanized to the underside of the rubber keypad with Nickel paint. Sandman carries it for about 25 bucks. Bottle will go a long way, fix a ton of keypads in the future.

I would avoid the paint for 2 reasons.
1) it is highly toxic.
2) it has a tendency to flake off over time.