cspencer@spdcc.COM (Cliff Spencer) (08/25/90)
A glass of wine was spilled on my Mac extended keyboard. I opened it and cleaned all the circuit traces with alcohol, but the keyboard still malfunctions. The power on key seems to be in a continuous "on" state. The keycaps DA indicates that a number of other keys think that they are pressed. I notice two chips inside. Does one of these typically fail? Is it cost effective to have the keyboard repaired? Should I just buy a Datadesk keyboard? -cliff -- Cliff Spencer spdcc!cspencer cspencer@spdcc.com
george@swbatl.sbc.com (George D. Nincehelser) (08/26/90)
In article <3804@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM> cspencer@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Cliff Spencer) writes: >A glass of wine was spilled on my Mac extended keyboard. I opened it and >cleaned all the circuit traces with alcohol, but the keyboard still ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Seems a bit redundant, doncha think? :-) >malfunctions. The power on key seems to be in a continuous "on" state. >The keycaps DA indicates that a number of other keys think that >they are pressed. I notice two chips inside. Does one of these typically fail? >Is it cost effective to have the keyboard repaired? Should I just buy a >Datadesk keyboard? > -cliff I'm not really recommending this, but I know a guy who had a similar problem. He bought a new keyboard and then, since he felt he had nothing to lose, ran the old one through the automatic dishwasher (top rack, I think, and I don't remember if he used detergent). He says it works fine now, but he doesn't know what to do with it since he bought a new one. Maybe he'll sell it to you. ;-) -- / George D. Nincehelser \ uunet!swbatl!george \ / / Southwestern Bell Telephone \ Phone: (314) 235-6544 \ / / / Advanced Technology Laboratory \ Fax: (314) 235-5797 \ / / / /\ 1010 Pine, St. Louis, MO 63101 \ de asini umbra disceptare \
anderson@Apple.COM (Clark Anderson) (08/26/90)
From: cspencer@spdcc.COM (Cliff Spencer) Subject: help! my keyboard is drunk >A glass of wine was spilled on my Mac extended keyboard. I opened it and >cleaned all the circuit traces with alcohol, but the keyboard still >malfunctions. The power on key seems to be in a continuous "on" state. >The keycaps DA indicates that a number of other keys think that >they are pressed. Before you go and buy a new keyboard, I'd try using distilled water to clean the keyboard. I've used this technique, and it worked for me. Go to a drugstore, or someplace that sells deionized, distilled water. Open up the keyboard and wash the water all throughout the keyboard. It will help if you take the caps off all the switches. If you have a spray gun, use that to get into the nooks and crannies. Then shake all the water out of the board, and set it out in the sun for an afternoon to dry. The distilled water won't hurt any of the electronics. They suffer a lot worse going down the maunfacturing line. Good luck... --clark -- ----------------------------------------------------------- Clark Anderson InterNet: anderson@apple.com PCB Software Tools AppleLink: C.ANDERSON Apple Computer, Inc BellNet: 408-974-4593 "I speak only for myself, much to my employer's relief..." -----------------------------------------------------------
wiseman@tellabs.com (Jeff Wiseman) (08/28/90)
In article <1990Aug25.171119.15812@swbatl.sbc.com> george@swbatl.UUCP (George D. Nincehelser) writes: >In article <3804@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM> cspencer@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Cliff Spencer) writes: >>malfunctions. The power on key seems to be in a continuous "on" state. >>The keycaps DA indicates that a number of other keys think that >>they are pressed. I notice two chips inside. Does one of these typically fail? >>Is it cost effective to have the keyboard repaired? Should I just buy a >>Datadesk keyboard? > >I'm not really recommending this, but I know a guy who had a similar >problem. He bought a new keyboard and then, since he felt he had >nothing to lose, ran the old one through the automatic dishwasher >(top rack, I think, and I don't remember if he used detergent). You know, I've been washing PC boards for a long time. Everything from engineering COFFEE to salt water damage to equipment left on the deck of a boat. Allow me to make a suggestion or two (as if you had a choice! :-) Don't use soap or any solvents initially. Some IC's that are not MIL spec (and even some that ARE) can have some solvent wick up inside the molding of an IC and hurt it. Plain water can be made to work very well--someone had suggested distilled water. Good idea but try this first. Take the circuit board out and remove everthing from it that can prevent water circulation. For example, remove the key tops. This is important as the problem that youare seeing may very well be goop that has gotten INSIDE of the keys. Take the board out into your backyard and place it on something clean such as a peice of wood or whatever, then turn you garden hose on it (gently though, some switch types have internal contacts that could be bent from the excessive pressure of a direct hoseing. I remove the hose's valve and just use the hose without a fitting on its end). Completely flood the board and keep flooding it for a while (I do it for as much as 20 minutes depending) and keep changing the angle of the water hitting the board so that the board will not get any pooling of residue anywhere. Now comes an important part. If you like, now you can rinse the board with distilled water but afterwards, try to shake out as much water as possible and then turn a hair dryer on it. Try not to get the board too hot, just keep the warm air moving so that every drop of water evaporates very quickly. This will further reduce any residues that may be left. If there is ANY place that water can get trapped, after you have gotten the board as dry as you can, place it in front of a fan for a day. For a keyboard, this can further help to remove any moisture that may have gotten trapped inside any of the switches (There's no rush you know, after all, the board doesn't seem to work presently anyway :-) If you are lucky, you may discover that there is just something currently caught under or inside of some of the switches. This technique has worked for me on several occasions that I have had to clean up boards that this kind of thing has happened to. Good Luck! -- Jeff Wiseman: ....uunet!tellab5!wiseman OR wiseman@TELLABS.COM
mhowitt@pro-angmar.UUCP (Matt Howitt) (08/30/90)
In-Reply-To: message from anderson@Apple.COM Clark, Can I try this with a Data Desk as well (the distilled water trick)? Will it hurt a keyboard that isn't broken but just needs a thorough cleaning? Better yet: what's good for cleaning a keyboard? Matt Howitt | InterNet: mhowitt@pro-angmar.alphalpha.com Twisted-Pair Consulting | UUCP: uunet!alphalpha!pro-angmar!mhowitt ---------------------------| FidoNet: Matt Howitt on 1:101/121 Go Sox ..err... Red Sox! | USnail: 20 Cutter St. Belmont, MA 02178
anderson@Apple.COM (Clark Anderson) (08/30/90)
From: mhowitt@pro-angmar.UUCP (Matt Howitt) Subject: Re: help! my keyboard is drunk >Can I try this with a Data Desk as well (the distilled water trick)? Will it >hurt a keyboard that isn't broken but just needs a thorough cleaning? Better >yet: what's good for cleaning a keyboard? I don't know why not. Pure (or close to pure) water won't harm electronics, provided they're dried after being immersed. But I'd probably only use the water if I was trying to remove a water-soluble residue, like coffee, beer or wine. Otherwise, I'd just take it apart and use compressed air and a couple of fine brushes. You can buy cans of compressed air at hobby stores or camera-supply stores. --clark -- ----------------------------------------------------------- Clark Anderson InterNet: anderson@apple.com PCB Software Tools AppleLink: C.ANDERSON Apple Computer, Inc BellNet: 408-974-4593 "I speak only for myself, much to my employer's relief..." -----------------------------------------------------------
yuan@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Yuan 'Hacker' Chang) (08/31/90)
In article <44412@apple.Apple.COM> anderson@Apple.COM (Clark Anderson) writes:
-
-Pure (or close to pure) water won't harm
-electronics, provided they're dried after being immersed. But I'd
-probably only use the water if I was trying to remove a water-soluble
-residue, like coffee, beer or wine. Otherwise, I'd just take it apart
-and use compressed air and a couple of fine brushes. You can buy
-cans of compressed air at hobby stores or camera-supply stores.
I normally just use a vacuum cleaner that has a blow mode as well.
First vacuum the keyboard as much as possible (you don't want the junk to
be dispersed in the air), and then turn the vacuum around and blow on the
keyboard. Air is much more convenient in an office environment where the
users don't want to part with their computers for too long.
--
Yuan Chang "What can go wrong, did"
UUCP: {uunet,ucbvax,dcdwest}!ucsd!nosc!uhccux!yuan
InterNet: yuan@uhccux.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu "Wouldn't you like to
PhoneNet: (808) 737-6317 be an _A_m_i_g_o_i_d too?!?"lerman@stpstn.UUCP (Ken Lerman) (09/01/90)
In article <44412@apple.Apple.COM> anderson@Apple.COM (Clark Anderson) writes: [...stuff deleted...] >residue, like coffee, beer or wine. Otherwise, I'd just take it apart >and use compressed air and a couple of fine brushes. You can buy >cans of compressed air at hobby stores or camera-supply stores. A WARNING: Do not go down to you local gas station and use their air to blow debris off you keyboard or other electronic equipment. Compressed air at gas stations and similar places may have lots of oil in it. That won't do your computer much good. Clark's suggestion of using air from a camera-supply store is the right idea. Ken