What is this?

[Go-Kart]

Found myself an excellent Anykey the other week. Decided to give it the old strip and clean before I allowed it to grace my desk. Cracked it open and couldn't quite figure out what this metal collar was. The only thing I could think of was that it was some kind of strain relief but obviously, it doesn't fit anywhere near where the cable exits the chassis. It seems to just be hanging around loose inside.

Can someone please enlighten me?

[jsheradin]

It's called a ferrite bead; it basically reduces high frequency electrical noise and helps maintain signal quality.

[Go-Kart]

Excellent! Thank you for the information!

[micmil]

You know those bulgy roundy things near the end of a lot of power cables? Same thing. If you ever have a piece of gear that is a bit noisy you can get clamp-on beads that can help reduce that. Maybe. There's no guarantee it's the right kind of noise.

[Go-Kart]

Riiight. I swear it's something I should already know being a nerd and all. Now I do! Thanks

[Tahoma]

The ferrite toroid not only helps prevent RFI from getting into the keyboard, it also helps keep it from getting out and interfering with other devices.