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Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 2018-05-04 01:18, B00ze wrote:
On 2018-05-01 22:44, B00ze wrote: For those who can still access the rest of this thread (for context): I have finally taken the time to replace the v6.x controller boards for my USB Unicomps with the v7.x controllers they sent me. The problem with the keyboard totally freezing-up if I dared to touch it while the BIOS was booting-up is resolved (Hurray!) The strange behaviour when waking the computer from sleep is still the Windows re-detects the keyboard, as tho I had unplugged it while asleep, and sometimes it does not detect it correctly so you're stuck on the logon screen. I tested with a cheap Logitech keyboard, and it is definitively a Unicomp thing, there is no re-detecting the keyboard on wake with the Logitech. The bad news is that my older 101 keys Unicomp uses a different locking mechanism for holding the controller board than my newer 103 keys, and I am totally unable to make the controller connect to all of the keyboard's signal lines, so some keys are always not working. I guess I will have to buy some foam-tape and try to make the foam push the flexible membrane harder against the PCB. I have asked Unicomp if they can do anything for me but had not heard back in a week - I might have to open a new ticket rather than open my old one. Will update this thread. Regards, Unicomp is sending me a new foam pad. I will try to remove the old one and place this one a little lower, so that contact is better with the PCB. Will report back. Pretty happy with the new version 7 controller; if this foam pad works, I will mark this thread as resolved and give a hearty two thumbs up for Unicomp keyboards. Well, there is good and bad news. The new v7 controllers are much better than previous versions, even tho they still do that weird thing when coming out of sleep mode. And the new foam pad Unicomp sent worked great, all the keys that were ever going to work were now working. Unfortunately, I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; my fault. I offered to send it back to Unicomp instead of throwing it away but have not heard back. I'll just buy another one if I need a gaming keyboard with no Windows keys. I don't expect my current Unicomp WITH Windows keys to ever stop working, these keyboard are like tanks. Sorry it took me so long to update this thread. Conclusion is: If you have some issues with your current Unicomp, especially during boot or sleep, get a new controller board. Best Regards, -- ! _\|/_ Sylvain / ! (o o) Member:David-Suzuki-Fdn/EFF/Red+Cross/SPCA/Planetary-Society oO-( )-Oo GOLFER: One who yells "fore!" takes 5 & writes down 3. |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
B00ze wrote:
On 2018-05-04 01:18, B00ze wrote: On 2018-05-01 22:44, B00ze wrote: For those who can still access the rest of this thread (for context): I have finally taken the time to replace the v6.x controller boards for my USB Unicomps with the v7.x controllers they sent me. The problem with the keyboard totally freezing-up if I dared to touch it while the BIOS was booting-up is resolved (Hurray!) The strange behaviour when waking the computer from sleep is still the Windows re-detects the keyboard, as tho I had unplugged it while asleep, and sometimes it does not detect it correctly so you're stuck on the logon screen. I tested with a cheap Logitech keyboard, and it is definitively a Unicomp thing, there is no re-detecting the keyboard on wake with the Logitech. The bad news is that my older 101 keys Unicomp uses a different locking mechanism for holding the controller board than my newer 103 keys, and I am totally unable to make the controller connect to all of the keyboard's signal lines, so some keys are always not working. I guess I will have to buy some foam-tape and try to make the foam push the flexible membrane harder against the PCB. I have asked Unicomp if they can do anything for me but had not heard back in a week - I might have to open a new ticket rather than open my old one. Will update this thread. Regards, Unicomp is sending me a new foam pad. I will try to remove the old one and place this one a little lower, so that contact is better with the PCB. Will report back. Pretty happy with the new version 7 controller; if this foam pad works, I will mark this thread as resolved and give a hearty two thumbs up for Unicomp keyboards. Well, there is good and bad news. The new v7 controllers are much better than previous versions, even tho they still do that weird thing when coming out of sleep mode. And the new foam pad Unicomp sent worked great, all the keys that were ever going to work were now working. Unfortunately, I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; my fault. I offered to send it back to Unicomp instead of throwing it away but have not heard back. I'll just buy another one if I need a gaming keyboard with no Windows keys. I don't expect my current Unicomp WITH Windows keys to ever stop working, these keyboard are like tanks. Sorry it took me so long to update this thread. Conclusion is: If you have some issues with your current Unicomp, especially during boot or sleep, get a new controller board. Best Regards, And that suggests that perhaps washing the keyboard in water would have (slightly) damaged it too - if it was alcohol soluble. Water might well have done a job on it too, as might spilling a Coke on it (followed by frantic attempts to rinse it clean). Paul |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 2018-05-22 23:53, Paul wrote:
[snip] B00ze wrote: Well, there is good and bad news. The new v7 controllers are much better than previous versions, even tho they still do that weird thing when coming out of sleep mode. And the new foam pad Unicomp sent worked great, all the keys that were ever going to work were now working. Unfortunately, I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; my fault. I offered to send it back to Unicomp instead of throwing it away but have not heard back. I'll just buy another one if I need a gaming keyboard with no Windows keys. I don't expect my current Unicomp WITH Windows keys to ever stop working, these keyboard are like tanks. Sorry it took me so long to update this thread. Conclusion is: If you have some issues with your current Unicomp, especially during boot or sleep, get a new controller board. Best Regards, And that suggests that perhaps washing the keyboard in water would have (slightly) damaged it too - if it was alcohol soluble. Water might well have done a job on it too, as might spilling a Coke on it (followed by frantic attempts to rinse it clean). Well I only tried to clean the traces that were on the plastic "membrane" which sits under the keys but which also protrudes from the key area, and goes touching the controller board from below. I used 100% alcohol from MG Chemicals, not rubbing alcohol. But the stuff is strong, way too strong. Usually, when I clean contact points like this, I just use a white eraser; I even have one with a deep groove in it to clean the connector parts of expansion cards etc. On cheap "normal" keyboards, or on remote controls, or calculators, I also use an eraser. But 3 weeks ago, I went "Hey, I got this nice big bottle of pure alcohol" - Mistake! I HAVE washed the keyboard part of Model M's with water in the past. So long as you use something like a paint brush, to wash around the keyb after having removed all the keys (which you can wash separately but let them dry a full day before putting them back) then all is well. But don't do like I once did, and just put the keyboard under the faucet trying not to touch the holes where the keys go. You WILL screw-up and /some/ water will make it into the keyboard. It's not as bad as it sounds, but what happened, get this, is some of the buckling springs rusted! So some keys were a bit weird after that (that particular Model M was REALLY dirty.) With this latest screw-up, I'm now pretty good on what NOT to do to a Model M ;-) Best Regards, -- ! _\|/_ Sylvain / ! (o o) Member:David-Suzuki-Fdn/EFF/Red+Cross/SPCA/Planetary-Society oO-( )-Oo Does it bother ya that doctors call what they do a practice? |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
B00ze wrote:
I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 2018-05-24 22:29, Andy Burns wrote:
B00ze wrote: I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? Ohhh, I did not know about this. Found a "pen" of conductive paint, ironically from MG Chemicals (the 100% Alcohol is from them.) Darn, I have already removed a bunch of parts from the keyboard; guess I'll have to put it all back together now. Excellent suggestion, thanks! I will try this in maybe 2 weeks? Will come back and let you know if it works. Best Regards, -- ! _\|/_ Sylvain / ! (o o) Member:David-Suzuki-Fdn/EFF/Red+Cross/SPCA/Planetary-Society oO-( )-Oo A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
B00ze wrote:
On 2018-05-24 22:29, Andy Burns wrote: B00ze wrote: I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? Ohhh, I did not know about this. Found a "pen" of conductive paint, ironically from MG Chemicals (the 100% Alcohol is from them.) Darn, I have already removed a bunch of parts from the keyboard; guess I'll have to put it all back together now. Excellent suggestion, thanks! I will try this in maybe 2 weeks? Will come back and let you know if it works. Best Regards, http://www.pckeyboard.com/mm5/mercha...uc t_code=MEM Membrane assembly Price: $10.00 Have a chat with them, see what they've got. Paul |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
In message , B00ze
writes: On 2018-05-24 22:29, Andy Burns wrote: B00ze wrote: I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? Ohhh, I did not know about this. Found a "pen" of conductive paint, ironically from MG Chemicals (the 100% Alcohol is from them.) Darn, I have already removed a bunch of parts from the keyboard; guess I'll have to put it all back together now. Excellent suggestion, thanks! I will try this in maybe 2 weeks? Will come back and let you know if it works. Best Regards, Don't get your hopes _too_ high: I bought some of this conductive paint to repair the elements in my rear screen heater. It used to be widely sold for that, but isn't now - probably because, as I found, it is very fiddly to use and the chance of success is far from 100%. (I attempted on two of the lines, and succeeded on one; I might try again next winter if I find that wasn't sufficient.) -- J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf Santa's elves are just a bunch of subordinate Clauses. |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
I bought some of this conductive paint to repair the elements in my rear screen heater. It used to be widely sold for that, but isn't now - probably because, as I found, it is very fiddly to use I do remember it being sold for that, and also as a window-break sensor for burglar alarms, but I never tried using the stuff ... |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:
On 5/24/2018 7:29 PM, Andy Burns wrote: Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? How do you "liquidate" a dried tip of a silver pen? I got one that's unusable. Look up the MSDS for the product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_data_sheet Paul |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
Mr. Man-wai Chang wrote:
On 5/25/2018 3:27 AM, Paul wrote: How do you "liquidate" a dried tip of a silver pen? I got one that's unusable. Look up the MSDS for the product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_data_sheet You meant I should have just thrown it away properly? Here's an example. Say I own "permatex rear window defogger repair kit" I do a Google search on permatex rear window defogger repair kit MSDS That gives me this PDF. I read the PDF. https://www.lemona.lt/LIUSE/TI/En/Pdf/09117.pdf SILVER 7440-22-4 40-50% by weight ETHYL ACETATE 141-78-6 20-30% by weight ETHANOL 64-17-5 10-20% by weight 1-METHOXY-2-PROPANOL ACETATE 108-65-6 10-20% by weight POLY (METHYL METHACRYLATE) 9011-14-7 1-10% by weight PIGMENT ORANGE #13 Then you look up some of the ingredients. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_methacrylate The principal application is the manufacture of polymethyl methacrylate acrylic plastics (PMMA). That means some of the components in the kit, form a polymer. This is an irreversible chemical reaction. In other words, when it dries, it has chemically changed into a form of plastic. One of the chemical is a solvent. ETHANOL. That means you can add a little ethanol to the tip of the pen, but because the other components have formed some sort of acrylic plastic or acetate compound, you would expect the ethanol to be ineffective at rejuvenating the pen. For some chemical compounds, they're simply solvated. And when the solvent evaporates, you add some more solvent and that "rejuvenates" the material and allows you to use it. However, if an irreversible chemical reaction happens, you can pour all the ethanol you want on it, and it won't be good as new. Paul |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 5/24/2018 7:29 PM, Andy Burns wrote:
Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? How do you "liquidate" a dried tip of a silver pen? I got one that's unusable. -- @~@ Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch! Live long and prosper!! / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! /( _ )\ May the Force and farces be with you! ^ ^ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.39.3 不借貸! 不詐騙! 不*錢! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 不求神! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA): http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_...sub_addressesa |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 5/25/2018 3:27 AM, Paul wrote:
How do you "liquidate" a dried tip of a silver pen? I got one that's unusable. Look up the MSDS for the product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_data_sheet You meant I should have just thrown it away properly? -- @~@ Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch! Live long and prosper!! / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! /( _ )\ May the Force and farces be with you! ^ ^ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.39.3 不借貸! 不詐騙! 不*錢! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 不求神! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA): http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_...sub_addressesa |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 2018-05-25 01:19, Paul wrote:
B00ze wrote: On 2018-05-24 22:29, Andy Burns wrote: B00ze wrote: I had used 100% alcohol to clean the traces on the transparent plastic "membrane" earlier, trying to get better contact to the controller board. This weekend, flipping the membrane over, I discovered that I had totally removed some of the traces when I used the alcohol; so some of the traces were "cut" and will never again make contact with the controller board. So this keyboard is toast; Could you use some of the silver(?) conductive paint to re-draw the traces? Ohhh, I did not know about this. Found a "pen" of conductive paint, ironically from MG Chemicals (the 100% Alcohol is from them.) Darn, I have already removed a bunch of parts from the keyboard; guess I'll have to put it all back together now. Excellent suggestion, thanks! I will try this in maybe 2 weeks? Will come back and let you know if it works. Best Regards, http://www.pckeyboard.com/mm5/mercha...uc t_code=MEM Membrane assembly Price: $10.00 The problem is the membrane sits between the metal backplane and the black plastic base which holds the keys. The two (metal backplane and black plastic base) are held together by melting the black plastic rivet-like - I cannot separate them... Have a chat with them, see what they've got. They have seen this thread, I am pretty sure, and are probably not happy; they are not chatting with me anymore. But for a hundred bucks, I expected a working USB controller; there were different bugs on two of the controller versions I had. I expect bugs from some things, but not from a Model M keyboard. Regards, -- ! _\|/_ Sylvain / ! (o o) Member:David-Suzuki-Fdn/EFF/Red+Cross/SPCA/Planetary-Society oO-( )-Oo Error reading FAT Record. Try the skinny one (y/n)? |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 2018-05-26 01:32, B00ze wrote:
They have seen this thread, I am pretty sure, and are probably not happy; they are not chatting with me anymore. But for a hundred bucks, I expected a working USB controller; there were different bugs on two of the controller versions I had. I expect bugs from some things, but not from a Model M keyboard. I got the same thing over @ TeraBytes Unlimited. I complained that their multi-boot tool was erasing my partition tables each time I rebooted the computer. I made a very detailed bug report and got the standard Service Desk "It must be you, just reboot" kinda response. After 2 responses like this I got mad, explained I was not some 10 year old kid and that they read the bug report I made explaining exactly how to reproduce. They fixed the bug like 2 days later, but to this day, no matter my pleas, the support person will not talk to me anymore. They are childish; I do not recommend them anymore. Best Regards, -- ! _\|/_ Sylvain / ! (o o) Member:David-Suzuki-Fdn/EFF/Red+Cross/SPCA/Planetary-Society oO-( )-Oo He's dead Jim, that's ten this week already! -Bones |
Unicomp Model-M a disaster --RESOLVED--
On 5/25/2018 4:07 AM, Paul wrote:
For some chemical compounds, they're simply solvated. And when the solvent evaporates, you add some more solvent and that "rejuvenates" the material and allows you to use it. However, if an irreversible chemical reaction happens, you can pour all the ethanol you want on it, and it won't be good as new. Thanks. Irreversible chemical reaction .... -- @~@ Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch! Live long and prosper!! / v \ Simplicity is Beauty! /( _ )\ May the Force and farces be with you! ^ ^ (x86_64 Ubuntu 9.10) Linux 2.6.39.3 不借貸! 不詐騙! 不*錢! 不援交! 不打交! 不打劫! 不自殺! 不求神! 請考慮綜援 (CSSA): http://www.swd.gov.hk/tc/index/site_...sub_addressesa |
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