12 Jul
2005
12 Jul
'05
12:41 a.m.
Hi, I pulled out my 64-sx out of the box it's been stored with in
anticipation of getting my JiffyDos upgrade installed into it. To my
dismay, when I plugged it all in and powered it on, the keyboard
wouldn't work properly. Any of the keys have to be pressed multiple
times (3 to 10 times) in order to get the character to show up on
screen.
Any suggested remedies? I'm wondering if the keyboard contacts are
just a little dirty and need a little cleaning, but I wanted to check
with the gurus before prying it apart.
I've never seen a 64-SX, but if it's like other Commodore keyboards of
the time, it uses conmductive plastic pads on the key stems pressing
against pads on the PCB.
You don't need to pull the keycaps, the way into it is from the underside.
Take it out of the case, then desolder thw wires to the shift-lock switch
and undo all the screws on the PCB. That then comes off. Clean the PCB
with propan-2-ol as usual. It's best to avoid cleaning the conductive
plasic parts unless you have to, so what I'd do is clean the PCB, put it
hack together (don't bother to resolder the shift-lock wires at this
stage), try it, and if it's still not right take the PCB off again and
clean the conductive plastic too.
-tony