bio_zwbb@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dr. William B. Busa) (09/11/89)
Just wanted to share a (perhaps) non-obvious repair procedure which proved to work *very* well. After spilling a cup of coffee all over the keyboard of my Compaq (which elicited lots of beeping and pyrotechnic screen displays) I quickly powered down. My first thought was to drag my poor machine to the repair shop and brace myself for the cost of a new keyboard. Further reflection, however, suggested that I really couldn't make anything worse by trying to clean up the keyboard myself. So I took the back off the keyboard, unplugged the cord from the pc board within, and removed the board (plus attached keys) from the keyboard housing. I then flooded the board with *copious* amounts of **distilled** water until all traces of coffee were gone. After shaking off as much water as possible, I then placed the board in a sealed plastic bag with about a pound of Drierite -- this is a moisture absorbent similar to the granular silica gel packed in bottles of pills, etc. The next morning my board was dry and -- lo and behold -- when I plugged it back in, it worked perfectly. Perhaps others will find this pretty unsurprising, but I was amazed; not half as amazed, however, as my graduate students who watched open-mouthed as I stormed into the lab swearing a blue streak and waving a pc board which I proceeded to inundate. The keys to my success were, I think: (1) Quickly powering down before something fried. (2) Using *distilled* water -- tap water would have left salt deposits on the board, which would have made the situation worse, not better. (3) Using a desiccant to dry the board. Each key has a little rubber boot around its works, and these ended up holding lots of water. It would have taken forever to dry them out in room air. If you don't happen to have access to a lab which stocks desiccant, I bet you could buy it from a well-stocked pharmacy. Many large cities also have lab-supply stores which serve the walk-in trade. Good luck to anyone who finds himself in need of this!
leech@alanine.cs.unc.edu (Jonathan Leech) (09/11/89)
In article <2478@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU> bio_zwbb@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Dr. William B. Busa) writes: > Just wanted to share a (perhaps) non-obvious repair procedure >which proved to work *very* well. After spilling a cup of coffee all over >the keyboard of my Compaq (which elicited lots of beeping and pyrotechnic >screen displays) I quickly powered down. Is it time for horror stories? My boss spilled a Coke into my PC keyboard some years ago. After it dried, the biggest problem was cleaning all the sticky crud off the keys so they would work again. -- Jon Leech (leech@cs.unc.edu) __@/ "We were driving along, minding our own business, when there was a sudden flash of blue light which blotted out the stars. I thought it was a nuclear bomb going off and despaired for my career." - Keith Hughes
wnp@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (Wolf Paul) (09/11/89)
In article <9425@thorin.cs.unc.edu> leech@alanine.cs.unc.edu (Jonathan Leech) writes: >-- > Jon Leech (leech@cs.unc.edu) __@/ >"We were driving along, minding our own business, when there was a > sudden flash of blue light which blotted out the stars. I thought it > was a nuclear bomb going off and despaired for my career." - Keith Hughes Actually, it was more than likely a police cruiser's flashing lights; they were getting pulled over for speeding. Only thing to despair of was the $100 or so the ticket would cost them. -- Wolf N. Paul * 3387 Sam Rayburn Run * Carrollton TX 75007 * (214) 306-9101 UUCP: {texbell, attctc, dalsqnt}!dcs!wnp DOMAIN: wnp@attctc.dallas.tx.us or wnp%dcs@texbell.swbt.com NOTICE: As of July 3, 1989, "killer" has become "attctc".
jcw@jwren.UUCP (John C. Wren) (09/11/89)
The question I have is, how important is it to wash it before the coffee has
hardened? Perhaps if you use a WaterPik, or some kind of pressurizer you
can get dried coffee off. My experience with just getting it off the kitchen
counter is you need a wet rag, and some elbow grease...
Also, I rarely keep any desicants/driers around... Should I stock up in case
this happens to me? :-)
- John C. Wren
jcw@jwrenmcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (09/11/89)
> Just wanted to share a (perhaps) non-obvious repair procedure >which proved to work *very* well. After spilling a cup of coffee all over >the keyboard of my Compaq (which elicited lots of beeping and pyrotechnic >screen displays) I quickly powered down. >So I took >the back off the keyboard, unplugged the cord from the pc board within, >and removed the board (plus attached keys) from the keyboard housing. I >then flooded the board with *copious* amounts of **distilled** water until >all traces of coffee were gone. You should read the routine maintainence instructions for older, tube-type (1965-ish) Tektronix scopes: The first step says to rinse the whole scope in distilled water, they dry in warm air!!!!! Doug McDonald
a550@mindlink.UUCP (Craig Cooksey) (09/12/89)
Cleaning a keyboard after coffee spills will cure it only in the short term. Coffee has a deteriating affect on the solder traces of the keyboard. All sorts of problems will manifest themselves over a period of time. I have replaced many in my time as a field engineer.
goldfish@cspolo.cs.concordia.ca (Paul Goldsmith) (09/13/89)
At one company I worked for we had a customer, who, in the interest of getting the non-technical types onto systems put them all over the place. About once a month, the technicians would cart in a keyboard soaked with coffee, soft drink, etc ... All they would do is dismantle it, soak it in a sinl full of water and put it in a sunny window (in summer) or use a heat gun (read blow dryer) (in winter). Amazingly, they never lost a patient. (caution, the above was done by skilled professionals, do not try this in your own home) -Goldfish - Goldfish
JLI@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (09/14/89)
In article <493@mindlink.UUCP>, a550@mindlink.UUCP (Craig Cooksey) writes: > Cleaning a keyboard after coffee spills will cure it only in the short term. > Coffee has a deteriating affect on the solder traces of the keyboard. All sorts > of problems will manifest themselves over a period of time. I have replaced > many in my time as a field engineer. That is why we use ultrasonic cleaner to clean them (with suitable solvent of course), and put new coating if needed.
wek@point.UUCP (Bill Kuykendall) (09/16/89)
>> Cleaning a keyboard after coffee spills will cure it only in the short term. > That is why we use ultrasonic cleaner to clean them (with suitable >solvent of course), and put new coating if needed. Sounds like a lot of work to retrieve components that A) wear over time, causing the action to deteriorate; and B) cost only $50 in the first place! 8=}
JLI@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (09/17/89)
In article <[1932.2]comp.ibmpc;1@point.UUCP>, wek@point.UUCP (Bill Kuykendall) writes: >>> Cleaning a keyboard after coffee spills will cure it only in the short term. > > >> That is why we use ultrasonic cleaner to clean them (with suitable >>solvent of course), and put new coating if needed. > > Sounds like a lot of work to retrieve components that A) wear over time, > causing the action to deteriorate; and B) cost only $50 in the first place! > 8=} Yes, we knew it was not worth it, but since we do have the material (other- wise it will be in the corner of our warehouse for ever) and we have the man-power, so why not? Do you know how difficult to get approval of buying new keyboards through the state perchasing? Of course, when we run out of these materials, we will stop what we are doing now, I hope.
msschaa@cs.vu.nl (Schaap MS) (09/19/89)
Maybe we should have a newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.keyboard.coffee!