On pins and needles

Well, on pins anyway.

So Buck and I were hanging out Monday night and he graciously agreed to go with me to Sears to continue working on The GDO Remote Issue. What with the house "closing" this week and all.

This time I went prepared .... I had the model number of the GDO written down!!

We went to a different Sears.

Apparently, this Sears could give a rat's ass about the GDO model number.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

So I approach a workerbee in the GDO section and wail, "My GDO does not have a shiny red button to press to recode my remote after changing the battery!!! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!" (or something to that affect)

Buck surreptitiously moved away and pretended to not know me.

The workerbee fought hard to resist the urge to flee, yet replied, "Does your remote have pins?"

I stared confusedly.

She elaborated, "Ya know, pins?!! Like little switches you can set to 'on' or 'off'??"

I thought hard and realized that I had no frickin' idea!

I mean, I HAD opened up the remote to change the battery. And had seen the motherboard-thingy (I believe that's the technical name for it). And I remember transistors and much soldering on the motherboard-thingy ... but I don't remember pins!

I said, "I don't know if there were pins or not. BUT (*a ha!*) I have brought with me the model number" (*insert digging in pocket and proudly extracting yellow sticky note with GDO model number written on it*)

She said, "Oh, we don't go by the model number here. We used to have some book but we don't any more. Do you have the remote?"

Me: "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Workerbee: "Okay. Well IF your remote has pins, then maybe they got switched when you were changing the battery. You'll want to compare them to the pins on your GDO and just make sure that the two match. If they do and the new battery doesn't do the trick, then you need to get a new remote."

Me (thinking): "Pins on my GDO??????? Where the HELL are the pins on my GDO??? GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."
Me (saying): "So in case pins are not the issue, which new remote would I need? I can just buy it now and save myself a trip to another Sears if/when the pin configuring trick doesn't work."

Workerbee: "That will depend .... if you had the remote with you, I could figure it out for you."

Me: "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

So I slunk home and checked out my remote. And by George, there ARE pins. If'n you turn the motherboard-thingy over. See?

However, I'm not seeing pins on my GDO. At least not within the parts I've taken off. No other parts look like they dissassemble easily and so I MAY be hoping that someone (hint, hint, Buck) will come over and check it out for me! (fyi Buck: I'm pencilling you in for Thursday evening! ;))

And so this is where it stands as I see it:

a) perhaps the two "new" batteries I tried are simply dead (they were just sitting in my cupboard). Maybe I should try a brand spanking new battery and all would be well. (hey, it's possible!)

b) the battery now is fine but the remote pins did get skewed when I replaced the battery and no longer match the ones on the GDO. (this one I find unlikely)

c) the remote is dead dead dead regardless of pins and battery. In which case I need to bring the remote (apparently) into that Sears and that chick can then tell me which NEW remote would work the same. (in which case I will probably STILL need to locate the pins on the GDO so that I can set the pins on the new remote to match. UNLESS, the new remotes don't use pins. In which case it seems logical to ask .... then WHAT? Being that my GDO does not have a shiny red magic button. (grrrr))

d) say "fuck it" and keep the house. Sans working remote.

To be continued........