STacy. Sometimes everything works fine, sometimes up to 25 percent of the left side is just dead.
Mostly it's "Q-A-Z", in a descending line.
So after reading the ST Book membrane message thread I got motivated and checked with Best
Electronics to see if they had any replacement membranes and they did. I ordered a set of 2.
Taking the STacy apart is always a chore. Fortunately, where I've been doing a load of updates
on mine in the last few months, it was already apart and accessible. The only tricky part about
removing the keyboard from the STacy itself is the ribbon wire connector with the sliding lock,
and it's not actually removing it - it's when you reinstall it that's it's a bit annoying. Well, for
people like me it is.
There's 26 tiny screws that hold the keyboard together. I'm assuming they are probably the same
#0 screws that hold regular ST keyboards together (I'm assuming here). Surprisingly, some of them
were in pretty tight and I actually had to exert a fair amount of force to break them loose. I took
mine apart with the key side down. You don't have to prop either end up with something to keep
the keys from popping out like you do with the ST's keyboard either.
The new mylar membrane fit right into place. It's not an original. It does match up fine though. I
did have one small issue that I'll get back to later.
Here's some pictures ('cause we love pictures, right?).
Here's the keyboard, still together but out of the STacy:
- STacy Keyboard01 - Top.JPG (168.66 KiB) Viewed 353 times
Here's the backplane:
- STacy Keyboard02 - Backplane.JPG (143.98 KiB) Viewed 353 times
The backplane removed, showing the internal setup:
- STacy Keyboard03 - Backplane Removed.JPG (211.94 KiB) Viewed 353 times
The next 2 pictures show the damage on the old mylar. All the damage seems
to be on the ribbon wire itself, both sides. I tried using one of those trace repair
pins but it didn't fix it. I think the problem is shown in the 2nd picture - there's a
line that goes all the way across the ribbon wire, near where it goes into the main
body of the mylar itself.
- STacy Keyboard04 - Old Mylar Damage01.JPG (160.65 KiB) Viewed 353 times
- STacy Keyboard05 - Old Mylar Damage02.JPG (200.17 KiB) Viewed 353 times
This picture shows the new mylar in place. Some of you eagle eyed people
might notice something that I didn't until I had reassembled it. The last
screw that I put in, very near the center of the backplane, didn't want to
go in. At that point, I really didn't want to disassemble the whole thing so
I took the tip of an Exacto Knife and probed it a bit. After that, the screw
went right in. Take a look at all the black circles in the picture where the
screws are supposed to go. Now look at the white circle near the center
that does not have the black circle showing. Apparently, the mylar wasn't
cut there. It's odd too because as I mentioned I bought 2 of the mylars and
the 2nd one (the one I didn't use - of course!) had the opening in it.Sure.
- STacy Keyboard06 - New Mylar.JPG (262.69 KiB) Viewed 353 times
This is what I used to hold and start those danged tiny screws back in
place. I got tired of fumbling around with them. (yes, I'm a klutz).
- STacy Keyboard07 - Danged Tiny Screws.JPG (126.63 KiB) Viewed 353 times
Here's the reassembled keyboard back in it's cradle in the STacy:
- STacy Keyboard08 - Reinstalled.JPG (182.93 KiB) Viewed 353 times
And, it works! I opened up a word processor and checked the rest of the
keys. I also cycled the STacy off and on a few times but it seems like it's
fixed the problem.
- STacy Keyboard09 - Success.JPG (200.68 KiB) Viewed 353 times
Hope this helps anyone else who has a STacy keyboard problem and is
thinking of repairing it.