Apple IIGS keyboard troubleshoot/repair

[xpotheosis]

Hi, new user here, wondering if you guys can help me out.

After doing a lot of research (thanks to the deskthority wiki), I decided to go for an Apple IIGS keyboard off ebay. This was my first mistake: it was pulled from a working system years back, but untested. I decided to take the gamble anyways (as well as buy the adapter and cable to get it to work on a modern system).

Here's the wiki entry for this specific keyboard:
wiki/Apple_Desktop_Bus_Keyboard
Here's a picture of it:

0124161129-2.jpg (772.84 KiB) Viewed 1930 times

[see below]

Okay, I thought, maybe I should take this thing apart and see if theres anything wrong with it. This is what I saw:

0124161132-2.jpg (563.22 KiB) Viewed 1930 times

0124161132a-2.jpg (437.71 KiB) Viewed 1930 times

0124161132b-2.jpg (503.08 KiB) Viewed 1930 times

0124161132c-2.jpg (515.63 KiB) Viewed 1930 times

So thats an appealing sight

After taking some of the caps off and getting as much crap removed from under the keyboard, I plugged it back in

[keyboard didn't work when I plugged it back in, but it does now. See below]

0124161145_HDR-2.jpg (183.17 KiB) Viewed 1930 times

Oh boy, these look a little mangled up. Like I said before, only the one from the right side works, so I only took a picture of the one. Just touching the left side's connector makes it wobble, so my guess is it's disconnected from the board.

What do you think?

I really like this keyboard, and would hate to see the thing go back on ebay, this time listed as "broken"

UPDATE
It... works?

Okay so it doesnt work perfectly, but like it does the first time I plugged it in.
Here are the working keys:

efgijklmopqrstuvwy1234567890-=[]',./` [Then on numpad] /*789+456-23
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890-=[];',./\`
Numpad only works if num lock is on on my other, working keyboard

Right and Up arrow keys work, delete works like backspace, and clear does not work
Tab works, control doesnt, shift does, caps doesn't, option works as alt, apple key works as win.
So now my problem is figuring out how to fix these keys. Maybe replacing them is in order, or possibly a more thorough clean of the switches.

[Blaise170]

Lots of work will need to go into repairing the PCB. I don't currently have fast data speeds so I can't see all of your pictures, but I will say not to be discouraged from buying a different one. I've never seen a board this bad other than a Model M that had flood damage.

[xpotheosis]

Lots of work will need to go into repairing the PCB... I've never seen a board this bad other than a Model M that had flood damage.

Those are words I knew were coming but didn't want to hear. The keyboard itself seems fairly hard to find, as it was bundled with IIGS systems, so most sellers will be selling the computer and the keyboard.

Thanks anyways, I'll stay monitoring the thread in case anyone else has a suggestion.

[Blaise170]

I see your update. It's obviously not a lost cause, but lots of work will be necessary. First will be getting rid of the gunk on the back and the rust. If you don't mind the work, this would be best accomplished by desoldering all of the switches and taking ISA to it. Most of the rust will probably wipe off once you get some ISA on it.

Next will be sourcing switches. Orange or Salmon switches are not very easy to find by themselves, but you could replace them with Matias Quiet Clicks which are similar, though not exact matches. Otherwise you'll need to scour for them.

If you would like to clean the plastic, I fill a tub with warm soapy water and then throw some vinegar and baking soda to make it fizz up. The vinegar also has the added effect of being an antibiotic and the baking soda can help with whitening (though you will need a retrobright setup to get actual whitening).

It's a big project, but it can have very good end results if you are willing.

[jacobolus]

So, are the switches smooth, or are they totally scratchy and unpleasant?

Personally I’d just get rid of that awful PCB and hand wire the switches to a microcontroller.
cf. workshop-f7/brownfox-step-by-step-t6050.html workshop-f7/the-apple-m0110-today-t1067.html