German Model F AT Resurrection Journey

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Aruberon

15 Nov 2022, 16:12

fohat wrote:
15 Nov 2022, 15:45
Aruberon wrote:
15 Nov 2022, 09:09

a board like this, sitting tight in between a steel bottom plate without padding
The Model Fs that I have disassembled had a clear mylar sheet with "keyhole" shaped slots matching the holes that "slide fit" the PCB into the curved metal plate.
They all do, otherwise it would short on the backplate :P

This sheet is less than 1 mm thick though and with no bounce or flex unlike foam, so adding wires to bridge fried traces or just straight solder might be tricky as the PCB will be too tall, or the trace repair can just break in the reassembly squeeze, esp. with new foam.

User avatar
Aruberon

30 Nov 2022, 10:25

Good morning DT, its been a minute.
Think of it as a mix of waiting for parts to arrive and Q4 being fun times.

To start off, since the last update, barrel and bottom plate was completely derusted, following that, two layers of anti-corrosive primer on both sides followed by some matte black paint, the end result:

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Considering what these started out as, it turned out quite nicely, I mean sure if you look close you can see the surface of the moon but I kinda like it, its not anything that will ultimately change the keyboard performance, and its a reminder where it came from.
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Now, as for whats next, more waiting, while I could use a multimeter and trace every key on the PCB to find out whats broken, im not going to, the entire board will be fully reassembled, then tested in a complete state, a plan will then be formulated on how to deal with the PCB.

Foam is on the way, but its crossing the atlantic during christmas time so that could take a month or more to arrive.

Originally I said the springs were ok, but after a few died during separation, and some are being quite thin now after derusting I think these will be put aside for now.

Instead to avoid as much inconsistency between keypresses as possible, we are doing a cheap solution in the meanwhile, I picked up a very sad model M corpse with good internals, springs included, and for now I intend to use these either temporarily or permanently.

Truth be told Ive never used M springs in an F before, Ive done some digging on the subject and most people cant seem to tell the difference, obviously a few contrarians say they can, but im gonna be honest, im in the paddle makes the difference camp and these other people is like the wine tasters saying they can taste the summer, honey, a breeze and some type of nut while drinking fermented grapes.

So the next update will probably be when its reassembly time unless something major happens inbetween.
Last edited by Aruberon on 21 Aug 2023, 11:22, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
ifohancroft

30 Nov 2022, 14:49

Before I forget again: There are conductive markers you can use to "draw" traces back on the PCB. Not sure about rubbing off, but this is possibly your best bet given the height constraints.

Here's an example of such a marker from iFixit's US store: https://www.ifixit.com/products/circuitwriter-pen

User avatar
Aruberon

30 Nov 2022, 15:14

ifohancroft wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 14:49
Before I forget again: There are conductive markers you can use to "draw" traces back on the PCB. Not sure about rubbing off, but this is possibly your best bet given the height constraints.

Here's an example of such a marker from iFixit's US store: https://www.ifixit.com/products/circuitwriter-pen
Oh wow, never heard of conductive ink pens before, that'll definately be the route vs jumper cables.
I saw they sell a sealer as well, perhaps itll keep the writer in place long enough for the assembly to slide together without damaging the new traces.

User avatar
ifohancroft

30 Nov 2022, 18:34

Aruberon wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 15:14
ifohancroft wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 14:49
Before I forget again: There are conductive markers you can use to "draw" traces back on the PCB. Not sure about rubbing off, but this is possibly your best bet given the height constraints.

Here's an example of such a marker from iFixit's US store: https://www.ifixit.com/products/circuitwriter-pen
Oh wow, never heard of conductive ink pens before, that'll definately be the route vs jumper cables.
I saw they sell a sealer as well, perhaps itll keep the writer in place long enough for the assembly to slide together without damaging the new traces.
Oh yeah, I saw the sealer as well, right after commenting about the conductive pen. Didn't know that was a thing :D Although, until recently I didn't know about conductive pens either.

User avatar
Aruberon

09 Nov 2023, 12:32

1 year and 1 day later, the project was on hold due to the cooked PCB without an easy fix or replacement.

That was until this dropped:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=28241

So over night the project went from dead to orders being placed for a pack of PCBs and a xwhatsit pandrew controller, a few weeks go by, things fall into place, the replacement foam was rediscovered in a box somewhere and the end result is:
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An ISO modded AT with a custom controller and PCB, Schneiderin Schnell types again!

It turns out I was very wrong about the M vs F springs however, with the entire numpad cluster being brand new flippers and springs from modelFkeyboards, they are much nicer than my replacements and feel way closer to the original, potentially a full swap is in order down the line.



Now, that is not the end of this story, call it cosmic karma or whatever you will for rescuing this rusted out basket case, but 1 week after putting together Schneiderin Schnell, something else popped up locally for an undisclosed but criminally low price:
Spoiler:
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The second one gets no name, or modification, because other than a bit of rust on the top plate and rotten foam, which is normal, its in very good shape mechanically and cosmetically, it will get its own restoration at some point, but for now its definately not a prio.
This also leaves me with some spare parts, so incase anyone is in need of an original controller for an F AT (I assume it works, it had no water damage but who knows), a very dead PCB, and a cosmetically damaged, but functional cable.

Im also sitting on 4 2 spare custom PCBs as the minimum order was 5.

If anyone has any need for any of the above, let me know and we can work something out.

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