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IBM Enhanced 101 keyboard bad

R

Raj Patel

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi, for the past 20 years I've been using an IBM Enhanced keyboard and it
finally quit working. I like the keyboard so I checked the cable, which was
fine, and after taking the keboard apart, the small circuit board seemed
fine, too. Other than cleaning the digital contacts, I didn't know what else
I should look for because it still doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks.
 
W

William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
0
If this is the clicky, long-throw keyboard, you are very fortunate -- it's
the greatest keyboard ever put on anything that has a keyboard. Hope you can
get it fixed.

Have you tried it on another computer? Have you tried another keyboard on
the same machine?

The small circuit board is the encoder (or decoder, depending on how you
look at such things). It converts the keystrokes into the goes to the
computer. If it's electrically defective, you'll never know just by looking
at it.
 
K

Ken

Jan 1, 1970
0
Raj said:
Hi, for the past 20 years I've been using an IBM Enhanced keyboard and it
finally quit working. I like the keyboard so I checked the cable, which was
fine, and after taking the keboard apart, the small circuit board seemed
fine, too. Other than cleaning the digital contacts, I didn't know what else
I should look for because it still doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks.

The most common failure on these keyboards is damaged pins on the plug
or broken wires in the keyboard cable. I would look for a broken wire
in the cable if it were mine. If one is found, you can replace the
cable with one from a cheaper keyboard by using a little "Polish
Engineering." If the break is at the plug, you can buy a new plug from
Radio Shack.
 
R

Raj Patel

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ken said:
The most common failure on these keyboards is damaged pins on the plug or
broken wires in the keyboard cable. I would look for a broken wire in the
cable if it were mine.

According to the poster, the cable is fine....Hence the damaged pins on the
plug itself MUST be OK if it works fine with another keyboard. There must be
another solution?.
 
K

Ken

Jan 1, 1970
0
Raj said:
According to the poster, the cable is fine....Hence the damaged pins on the
plug itself MUST be OK if it works fine with another keyboard. There must be
another solution?.
It is not clear to me HOW he checked the cable, unless he unplugged it
and tried it on another similar keyboard or used an ohm meter to check
it? If he used another identical keyboard, I would think he would
simply use that other keyboard on his computer, unless it belongs to
someone else. More detail would be useful.
 
A

Andy Cuffe

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi, for the past 20 years I've been using an IBM Enhanced keyboard and it
finally quit working. I like the keyboard so I checked the cable, which was
fine, and after taking the keboard apart, the small circuit board seemed
fine, too. Other than cleaning the digital contacts, I didn't know what else
I should look for because it still doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks.


What does it do? Does the computer not detect it, or are some keys
not working? Do the lights flash when you turn the computer on?

If it's not detected, and you're SURE the cable is fine, then the
circuit board is probably bad. You may be able to repair it, but it
will take some work since you're unlikely to be able to find a
schematic.

If some keys aren't working, then it's probably a failure inside the
keyboard itself. This isn't serviceable, so replacement would be the
best option. The good news is that IBM made millions of these
keyboards and you can still get them for next to nothing even on ebay.
Based on the glorified laptop keyboards I see with new computers, it
might not be a bad idea to pick up a few spares for the future.
Andy Cuffe

[email protected]
 
F

Franc Zabkar

Jan 1, 1970
0
If this is the clicky, long-throw keyboard, you are very fortunate -- it's
the greatest keyboard ever put on anything that has a keyboard. Hope you can
get it fixed.

My research on the model "M" keyboard tells me that it is nothing more
than a membrane keypad with a tactile mechanism. I'm still using a
cheap off-brand AT/XT 101 keyboard with *real* key switches. My newer
"ergonomic" wireless MS keyboard doesn't even come close (it was a
prize).

- Franc Zabkar
 
Andy said:
If some keys aren't working, then it's probably a failure inside the
keyboard itself. This isn't serviceable, so replacement would be the
best option. The good news is that IBM made millions of these
keyboards and you can still get them for next to nothing even on ebay.

The keyboard is serviceable since the key matrix is a flexible circuit
board sandwiched between a sheet of steel and a piece of hard plastic
that holds all the keys. Those outer pieces are held together by rods
molded into the plastic that have been heated and pressed flat against
the steel, creating plastic heads almost the size of dimes. Cut off
those heads, and the circuit board can be removed and worn contacts
repaired with a Circuit Works silver circuit board repair pen.
 
Raj said:
Hi, for the past 20 years I've been using an IBM Enhanced keyboard and it
finally quit working. I like the keyboard so I checked the cable, which was
fine, and after taking the keboard apart, the small circuit board seemed
fine, too. Other than cleaning the digital contacts, I didn't know what else
I should look for because it still doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks.

Have you tried another cable? When they go bad, they usually break at
the plug or where the cable exits the keyboard, but if your keyboard
has a removable cable, consider resoldering the pins of the socket on
the small circuit board. Do you hear anything when you shake the
keyboard? That could mean a piece of the buckling spring mechanism
for the key switches has broken off. You should be able to remove it
by removing all the keys and shaking the keyboard upside down, but to
replace more than a spring you'll have to remove the steel backing
plate under the flexible circuit board of the key matrix by cutting
off the disks of plastic from the steel.
 
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