Re: re Northgate keyboards

["R Tennenbaum" raphaelt@xxxxxxxx]

On Mon, 8 Jan 2001 06:19:07 -0500, Robert Holmgren wrote:

>I've never had any success with stuck keys -- not really. I've tried
>cleaning, solvents, WD-40, all the measures mentioned here short of
>the dishwasher (a LONG drying period would seem to be prudent!).
>Nothing ever really worked for me. The Northgates in particular seemed
>to have a planned obsolescence (but none of my Avants has shown any
>sign of deterioration, after about 3 years).
>
>So, umm, what's your secret recipe?

In my experience keys on the better keyboards pop off into parts which
you can adjust or clean. I can't remember now, and I haven't had to do
it in a couple of years, but --

there's sort of two upper parts to a key: the letter cover, and
underneath that, the piston-like part. A cylindrical shaft leads down
from the "piston" part, and the whole thing sits on a rod surrounded by a
spring. Once you pop the letter cover off, if I recall, it's not that
difficult to carefully pry off the piston part (which I *think* is held
down by a clip secured to the base of the keyboard chassis by a little
plastic flange). Often the piston has gotten pushed down on the shaft at
a bad angle and the plastic has seized up or the spring has bent. I
would never use WD-40 which could chew up some components.

Of course it helps to work on a unit you've given up for lost, but I
don't think I've ever broke one. Again, this is with IBM, which are
built like tanks, so as always ymmv.

You should take the cover off the keyboard to do this, and when you do,
naturally be careful to protect other sensitive equipment from the flecks
of tobacco, coffee grounds, baby laxative, opiate derivatives,
shorn-engine filings, and bamboo dust (which are probably the culprit
anyway) that will fly out.

>
>******************
>Robert Holmgren
>holmgren@xxxxxxxx
>******************
>

-Rafe T.
www.ray-field.com