Before i take this remote apart, maybe someone has an idea about my problem. Remote has been boxed up with the 950 for about 5 years and i'm getting all the old gear working again.
The remote though seems to work with every button except volume up and down. For the first 5 mins down volume worked but now neither one does. These are by far the most used buttons, so maybe they are just wore out?
If i get down to the circuit board, maybe i can clean it up?
Or more likely i'll break the thing getting in there

I have a fancy Sony RM-AX4000 remote that is a few years old now and have never used it. I have yet to set it up, but expect that i will need the 950 remote to work so the sony can learn from it.

Any ideas on this ?
Kiwi.

The remote uses a membrane swtich. While membrane switch manfactures advertise >1 million activations I've found that you don't usually get anywhere near that. If fact most automotive suppliers, including the one I used to work for, have gone away from membrane switches in favor of micromechanical switches which last longer and have better tactile feedback. (But also cost more)

You might be able to squeeze a little more life out of your controller by taking it apart, checking for wear and contamination. Contamination you might be able to clean with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol. Or you can splurge and go to the Shack and pick up some contact cleaner. I've never run across a method for repairing a worn out membrane switch. Maybe someone else has.

Disclaimer: I assume no responsibility for any damage caused by the following. (i.e. use at your own risk)

1. Remove batteries. There's a screw under the batteries that needs to be removed. A small Phillips and needle nose pliers make this easier. You'll probably drop the screw and spend 10 minutes looking for it. I did but perhaps your work area is neater than mine.
2. Turn remote upside down and starting at the front right side push a 1" or 1 1/2" putty knife straight into the gap between the two halves of the case until you hear a click which is the clip holding the two halves releasing. You should now see a gap between the upper and lower half. Be gentle. Note: The blade of a screw driver is too thick and will damage your remote.
3. Turn remote over (buttons up) and repeat the process on the other side.
4. There are 4 clips on each side of the remote case. To spring them I put the putty knife in the gap on one side and slid it towards the bottom of the remote. Three clicks later than side was open. repeat the process on the other side. I suppose if you know where the clips are you can just press to release them.
5. The case is pretty much separated except for one clip at the bottom of the remote. I just pivoted the back of the case away from the front to release it.

The guts are made up of a PCB, a piece of clear plastic, a flex circuit and the membrane in that order. It's pretty simple to remove the PCB and check the contacts and membrane pucks for dirt and damage.

Re-assembly is easier:

1. Put the top half of the case face down and put the membrane back in. You'll probably have to wiggle the membrane a bit to get all the pads to go through all the holes.
2. Put the flex circuit and the clear plastic in. There's alignment pins in the top that help make sure they go where they belong. I still managed to screw it up a couple times and the backlighting wouldn't work. Thrid time I got it right.
3. Remove the plastic lens that the IR LEDs shoot through. This makes it easier to put the PCB in. Put the PCB in and replace the lens. There are alignment tabs on the lens. Make sure you put it back in the way you got it out.
4. Align the back of the case with the battery spring. There's a slot on the back of the case that the sring needs to fit in. Once you get this aligned then gently bring the halves together and squeeze until they click together.
5. Put the screw back in. Install batteries and rear cover.
6. Test to make sure everything works.

I am assuming that the 950 remote is of the same design as my 970 remote.

Thanks for the detailed explanation EEman. I'll give this a shot and try to save the old girl.

Time for a harmony?

We have success. I ended up having to insert a small amount of foam rubber to stop the board from flexing away when the volume up button was depressed.
Thanks EEman !

Glad to help.

Now, i wonder - is there a remote code for these ?

The Model 950 is in the Harmony database. It's probably in the current Universal Remote code library, too, but that doesn't matter so much because there are a lot of MX-700 config files (and other MX remote config files) around with the Model 950 in it. For a generic $20 universal remote, though, the odds of Outlaw being a listed remote code are very slim.