deskthority

Hi. I was working in my IBM model F XT (looking for possible spacebar stabilizers and adding some bolts) and when I assembled the whole thing all the keys mechanically worked, but some were just dead. No broken traces, the PCB is in superb condition. My questions are:
Is the controller or could be something more? The keyboard was working good before that
If I cut the board could I use an xwhatsit? (I know, it's just an XT, but I don't want to let die my first model F)

Hi, there are a few things you can check.

Are you sure the foam is in good condition ? Is the board fully back together properly? Is the controller properly grounded?

The foam is new, worked fine with my first assembly. The controller is properly grounded, I tested it without the case because I can't put it inside right now.

If you slowly press those dead keys, does the spring action feel "normal" and are you sure you can hear the flipper change position?

It might be worth it to unplug the keyboard and try to insert they keycap again so that the spring is properly seated. To do so, hold the keyboard vertically on your lap; the long side with the space bar should be up and the long side where the cable exits should be down. Then pull out each keycap of those dead keys, make sure the spring is pointing straight away from the keyboard and push in the keycap again.

It's still possible that the flipper is stuck, though that tends to be rare (except maybe for the spacebar) because the flippers fit snugly in their housing when you reassemble the keyboard without keycaps.

You might try pulling the cap and giving the spring a tug and letting go quickly. You don't want to do it so much that the spring pulls off the flipper, but sometimes that will allow things that are mildly stuck to get unstuck. You can also manually try pressing down the barrel with like a toothpick and you pushing the flipper down with that should register a key press there. I feel like it's fairly unlikely that the controller would stop recognizing only certain keys, but if it's possible if they are in a distribution where they are all near each other. Hope that helps!

A quick tip when inserting the cap if your having issues is to tip the board backwards slightly to move the spring in the barrel . I have had more luck with problem keys like that.

I think it was the Soarer. I reassembled all and noticed that my Arduino was really hot. Yes, I can hear the flippers changing position and all dead keys feel normal. I'm sure I saw another Pro Micro lying around my room, so more updates later.

Even with a new Soarer isn't working, I'll try replacing the controller if I get some money.