Path: news.uiowa.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!freenet.columbus.oh.us!not-for-mail From: dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Dave Althoff) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: partially dead //e keyboard Date: 2 Mar 1995 00:48:29 -0500 Organization: The Greater Columbus Freenet Lines: 74 Message-ID: <3j3m7d$cq@acme.freenet.columbus.oh.us> References: <3j349a$9md@lastactionhero.rs.itd.umich.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: acme.freenet.columbus.oh.us X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] What you've got is a dead keyswitch. I like the ][e keyboard; it has a great feel to it, especially compared to my GS keyboard. The trouble is that with discrete keys, you've got some 63 little switches to fail. They're not hard to replace; I've probably bought enough keyswitches for Mom's ][e to buy two or three new keyboards (anyone know where to get one for, say, $70? "Genuine" type ][e keyboard? Jameco dropped them from the catalog right when I was about to order one!) Anyway, the last time I checked, keyswitches were about $10 each retail for the Alps Long-Stem switch. That's the same switch as used in the Mac Plus keyboard, so they are still available. To replace the keyswitch: Remove the screws from the bottom of the ][e case. Remove the case. If you have a classic ][e (beige), the keyboard will be supported on two triangular supports attached to the base plate. On the "platinum" ][e, the keyboard is attached to the upper case. On the beige ][e, save yourself a lot of grief before going any further. Get a marker and scribe the supports at the edge of the keyboard assembly. This will allow you to get the horizontal alignment right when you put it all back together; this keeps you from getting hung with stuck keys later. Remove the four screws holding the keyboard, and disconnect it from the motherboard. I suggest unplugging the ribbon connector from the end of the keyboard so it will be out of your way. Remove the keycaps from the bad key and from the surrounding keys by pulling them straight off. Examine the keyboard, and locate the two solder connections on the back directly below the bad key. At this point, I usually mount the keyboard upside-down on the support in the computer, since it provides a handy support which also protects the keycaps by suspending them, but, as they say, YMMV. Using a low-wattage soldering iron and a desoldering bulb, carefully remove all the solder from the two connections under the bad key. When you have done so, the pins sticking through the holes should be completely free of the board tracings. Be careful; if you use too much heat, you can lift the copper trace off the board. You do NOT want to do that! Turn the keyboard up-side-up. There is a squeeze-tab on either side of the keyswitch. With the solder completely removed from the bottom, you should be able to squeeze these tabs together and lift the switch straight out. Sorry, no tips here...I have trouble doing it myself. Two tiny flat-head screwdrivers usually work; sometimes I can get a pair of needle-nose pliers to do the trick. To install the new switch, make sure it is oriented the same way as the old one, and snap it into the hole. If you did it right (and it's REALLY hard to screw this part up!), the contacts should be sticking through the holes in the bottom of the circuit board. Heat up the pins and apply solder to connect the new switch to the board. Reconnect the keyboard to the computer, power it all up, and make sure the new key works. Reinstall the key caps, and reattach the keyboard. On the beige ][e's, line up the edge of the keyboard with the mark you made earlier. Put the case back together, and it's all good as new. Usual cost: $10 (keyswitch) about an inch of solder about fifteen minutes-half an hour. --Dave Althoff, Jr. (sometimes I think I should buy keyswitches by the dozen 8-( ) -- /-\ _ |\ /XXX\ /X\| \ X XX /XXXXX\ /XXX\