rebuilding a computer keyboard

Typically the switches in a keyboard are a rubber dome (for lack of a better word) on the bottom of the key with a conductive pad in the middle and a contact area on a pc board for all the keys. Unless you have something very unique there are no replaceable switches.

Have the keys failed roughly in order of letter/function frequency or did a number of them fail about the same time ? If discrete keyswitches then you could swap good, rarely used, for bad. Anyone ever spilt liquid , even sweat of the brow down under the keys?

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

Others might give you better detail on repairing the keyboard; but I'd suggest eBay as a source for a replacement....

jak

Rubber dome or other capacitive sensor on modern keyboards with no tactile feel. :)

Actual mechanical switches on my favorite Northgate and clone KBs.

In the latter case, the individual switches can be unsoldered, popped out, and replaced easily. In many cases, they can even be disassembled and cleaned.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

You can buy a new keyboard for a few pounds ! Why are you messing around with this ancient one?

if

couple

an

Perhaps if you ever had used a KB with good tactile feedback you would not be so quick to throw it away.

I have a pile of modern KBs I'd happily give away.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

Yes I suppose the kind that have the little metal plate on top do indeed solder to the board. Where do you get replacements? How good are your eyes? Only keyboard I ever fixed was one of those Dvorak jobs for a gal at a non profit org that I used to do some work for.

Hear, hear! I'm a big fan of the old AT style 'clickity-clacks'. I dig through every pile of thrift store keyboards, yard sales etc; to pick up every one I can find. So far, I've not been 'without', but I dread the day when I have to shell out for a new one (I understand they're still available).

I happily eschew the modern special-key functionality available (including the now-standard 'Windows' key) in return for a keyboard which *feels* like a keyboard.

jak

For those of us who like tactile feedback, here's a keyboard that comes highly recommended:

Actually, there are two through-hole pins on each switch, which then simply pop out. I usually just take switches from locations that are rarely used like F12 :), or my parts KB.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

if

couple

an

Makes sense until you need F12 :p

(It's

linked

phone

wonder if

and

better

couple

soldering an

information

very

Usually, they are flakey, not totally dead. So, maybe a bit of a stutter. :)

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

The keyswitches are small black cubes around 1/2" on a side, with a little plunger on top that the key cap fits onto.

They can indeed be disassembled and cleaned, but there's a number of very tiny parts inside, including a very tiny coil spring, and it's extremely difficult to put them back together. (No sign of any rubber domes.) So, I think replacement is the only reasonable option.

It sounds like the strategy is to find one or a few garage sale keyboards that seem to have the right kind of switch, and scavenge keyswitches from them.

Question: Are all the switches in a keyboard uniform? In other words, should I use a rarely-used keyswitch from the donor keyboard for heavily-used keys like Backspace, because they'll be less worn, or should I use e.g. the Backspace key from the donor keyboard for Backspace, because it's a tougher keyswitch?

Thanks again,

Reid

Without attempting to sound snarky... in this case, you get what you pay for. :)

This keyboard costs over $100 (£50), and it's worth every penny. Nice tactile feel aside, what is really great is the arrangement of keys: instead of the rows being staggered, they form a grid -- i.e., the keys are where your fingers want to go, not 1/4" off to the side.

Photos:

Take care,

Reid

In the KBs I'm referring to, the switches are all the same, but some of the sttictly mechanical stuff for the spacebar and return keys differ.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

On Fri, 08 Jun 2007 22:41:01 -0500, jakdedert put finger to keyboard and composed:

Be aware that the presence of tactile feedback doesn't necessary imply that the key switches are "mechanical". You could still have a "membrane" keyboard with a "buckling spring" mechanism to provide the "clicky" feel.

See

"IBM 5576-A01,003 and Enhanced 101 model M generate clicking sounds when we type. These keyboards actually use 'Membrane switches'. But it seems that many people misunderstand that these keyboards use so-called 'Mechanical switches', so I decided to let people know the truth about 'buckling keyboards'".

- Franc Zabkar

--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

On 09 Jun 2007 10:20:52 -0400, Sam Goldwasser put finger to keyboard and composed:

Why not use a key which is essentially duplicated, such as one of the keys in the numeric keypad?

- Franc Zabkar

--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.