Path: ns-mx!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!reed!nobody From: reeder@reed.edu (Doug Reeder) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Apple 2e key(board) trouble Keywords: apple 2e, spam, lust, keycaps, keyswitches Message-ID: Date: 4 Sep 91 10:22:44 GMT References: <1304@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> Sender: nobody@reed.edu (anonymous NFS user) Distribution: comp Organization: Tether Propulsion Division, Institute of Knowledge, Jinx Lines: 64 In article <1304@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> 6600faze@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Jennifer Mosley) writes: -I don't know the details, but my father is complaining that the -a-key on his Apple 2e "doesn't work." The simple soulution is to clean the keyswitch, as detailed in another article. If this does not fix the problem, you must replace the keyswitch, a very simple repair. 1) pull the keycap (the part with the letter on it) straight up. There exists at tool that does this nicely, but one can get by without it. 2) remove the keyboard from the machine. a) unscrew the screws on the bottom of the case b) lift the top casing off the bottom casing c) unplug the keyboard from the motherboard d) unscrew the screws that connect the keyboard with whichever casing it's connected to 3) unsolder the keyswitch from the keyboard. There are two leads on the bottom of the keyboard for each keyswitch. 4) squeze the plastic tabs on the side of the keyswitch toward the center, while pulling up on the stem of the keyswitch. This usually requires two pairs of needle-nose pliers and lots of patience. 5) get a replacement keyswitch from your Apple dealer (or elsewhere). Bring in the old old keyswitch, because there are five different kinds used on the IIe, and you want an exact match. You'll need a "straight adapter" as well, if all the other keys on your keyboard have them. Short stem keyswitches need adapters, and a long-stem is not quite the same length as the short+adapters. 6) push the new keyswitch straight into the hole, making sure the leads go through the holes in the printed circuit board, until the plastic tabs click in place. 7) solder the two leads to the circuit board. 8) put the computer back together 9) replace the keycap -BTW, when we bought my apple, one of the keys was broken and the -'tile' (the cover with the letter on it) was missing. Check with another dealer. I can't speak for all dealers, but we kept enough keycaps on hand to match anything. If you've broken the stem of a keyswitch, you'll need to replace the keyswitch as detailed above. Don't bother trying to glue a keyswitch stem. Save the keycap, as it can be used again, once you get the fragment of stem out. A piece of wire (e.g. a bent out paperclip) and a flame (e.g. a match) to heat the wire will almost always get keyswitch stem fragments out of keycaps. P.S. If anyone's keeping a FAQ list, this article might be a good thing to append, even if it was written late at night. Doug Reeder USENET: ...!tektronix!reed!reeder Internet: reeder@reed.EDU BITNET: reeder@reed.BITNET I'm looking for a grad school or a job as a research assistant where I can work on tethers for space propulsion or robotics, in particular, walking machines, or even some more contract programming work. -- Doug Reeder USENET: ...!tektronix!reed!reeder Internet: reeder@reed.EDU BITNET: reeder@reed.BITNET I'm looking for a grad school or a job as a research assistant where I can work on tethers for space propulsion or robotics, in particular, walking machines.