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Showing posts from July, 2021

Curing a recalcitrant Commodore keyboard

T his is the process that I've gone through quite a few times now with Vic and C64 keyboards, as well as Plus/4 and C16. The results are amazing; the keys feel as-new and make contact every time with a light tap. The computer being worked on here is another Vic from my deep stash. Most of my computers were collected for peanuts at car boot sales in the 90s, although one of these Vics (I don't know which one - possibly this one) is my original one.  This involves a complete disassembly, requiring a key-puller to remove the caps, and the correct screwdriver to separate the PCB from the mounting bracket. It's also necessary to desolder the two wires from the bottom of the mechanical shift-lock switch.  Cleaning the keycaps is a time-consuming job. I soak and scrub all faces of the caps. The legend on the top  is moulded in, so giving those a hard rub with a mild abrasive can only improve them. But this doesn't apply to the graphics printed on the front of the keys. Treat t