Date   : Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:40:50 +0100
From   : Jules Richardson <julesrichardsonuk@...>
Subject: Re: Keyboard

Mike Tomlinson wrote:
> In article <44343596.1020800@...>, Jules Richardson <julesrichar
> dsonuk@...> writes
> 
>> I don't know, it seems to affect all machines of that vintage. The worst 
>> offenders are keyboards that use foam pads and conductive discs rather than 
>> spring metal contacts - thankfully I don't think that includes any of the 
>> Acorn line.
> 
> Oh it does, the early Archimedes machines (A305/A310/A410/A440/A540)
> used them.  They can be stripped and cleaned, but it's a pig of a job.

Maybe a different sort of foam, then! With the ones I'm thinking of, like in 
the PERQ, the foam turns to mush over time and totally decays - rendering the 
whole keyboard useless.

I'm not aware of anywhere to get replacement foam of the right "springyness" 
and thickness from - and even then it would mean cutting out 100-odd perfect 
circular disks and finding some suitable glue to affix them to the keys / 
conductive pads with (such that the foam doesn't absorb the glue and go hard).

Hopefully the Arcs just use a different foam then, and this isn't a problem 
that's going to hit them too in a few years (it's only really been a problem 
recently for early-80's systems, so I suppose we can expect Arcs to start 
dying from it in another 5 years or so if they're going to)

cheers

Jules