Ibm model F XT replacement pad/foam/reassembly issues

[Genkaz]

I have purchased 2mm thick PVC foam from Ebay and attempted to put the keyboard back together after installing it.

The keyboard was very difficult to put back together and required multiple clamps as well as a bar clamp in order to slide the plates back in place.

The current problem is that the shift keys and the ctrl key are not working properly and pressing ctrl a outputs bizzare symbols on the notepad instead of highlighting something, and the shift keys do not make the letters capitalized, with the left shift key not working in general for the most part and only doing so in short durations.

Plugging the keyboard into the computer also makes everything behave in a quirky and abnormal manner and messes up inputs in general.

I would be interested in replacement pad recommendations or possible sources of the issue such as the PCB or the components of the PCB.

The grounding screw is as tight as possible and was installed correctly to my awareness.

[kitschmensch]

I have had the misfortune of having to take my XT apart a couple times. Once when I spilled wine on it. Never again.

Have you opened a keyboard testing app to see if you are getting random keys firing? That may be an indication that some of the flippers are not set correctly, and that might be what's messing with your inputs. I had to try several times before I was able to get all the flippers right.

I have never had to replace the foam before, so that might be the culprit as well.

Good luck!

[Genkaz]

I have had the misfortune of having to take my XT apart a couple times. Once when I spilled wine on it. Never again.

Have you opened a keyboard testing app to see if you are getting random keys firing? That may be an indication that some of the flippers are not set correctly, and that might be what's messing with your inputs. I had to try several times before I was able to get all the flippers right.

I have never had to replace the foam before, so that might be the culprit as well.

Good luck!

I do not believe that any keys are randomly firing currently, however it does mess up the function of inputs.

The keyboard is without a doubt quite... an adventure to maintain

The first time reassembling it kind of worked when I kept the old foam (when I was making the space bar less ridiculously heavy) but unfortunately having less luck this time.

One of the other problems seems to be that virtually any foam material that is not art foam has RIDICULOUSlY long delivery times and has to be waited for until december for it to arrive.

It would certainly be much less problematic if the keyboard used some other more convenient system of putting it back together, which could also make it possible to make it more tolerant of different types of mats.

What I do remember is that the original mat that was falling apart in it was practically paper thin.

[kmnov2017]

On one of my XTs, I never bothered to replace the foam. It feels even more crisper that before. Love it.

[Genkaz]

On one of my XTs, I never bothered to replace the foam. It feels even more crisper that before. Love it.

The reason why it seemed like a good idea with this one is because the existent foam was completely falling apart and leaving messy dark grey dust everywhere as well as dirtying hands which could only be cleaned with rubbing alcohol afterwards because of how persistent the dirt from the foam was.

[fohat]

Model Fs are fickle beasts, and require a lot of fussy, tedious experimentation.

I have read dozens of these threads where people were impatient and say something like "I took it apart THREE TIMES and it still doesn't work properly!"

Personally, I have refurbished literally dozens of Model Fs and Model Ms, and I may not have ever gotten everything perfect on the first go. Even with my experience, I would estimate that if I get it right on the 2nd or 3rd try I feel lucky, and 4 or 5 iterations are quite common. In order to get that smooth easy operation every single one of those hundreds of pieces needs to be in exactly the right position and alignment.

Yes, it is a colossal PITA to remove all the key caps, take it completely apart, and do it again, but for a beginner I would say go all the way through the process at least half a dozen times before you start getting nervous.

PS - I have never understood why people are so resistant to art foam - it is made acid-free for scrapbooking and should have a good long life expectancy, besides being cheap and easy to work with

[Genkaz]

Model Fs are fickle beasts, and require a lot of fussy, tedious experimentation.

I have read dozens of these threads where people were impatient and say something like "I took it apart THREE TIMES and it still doesn't work properly!"

Personally, I have refurbished literally dozens of Model Fs and Model Ms, and I may not have ever gotten everything perfect on the first go. Even with my experience, I would estimate that if I get it right on the 2nd or 3rd try I feel lucky, and 4 or 5 iterations are quite common. In order to get that smooth easy operation every single one of those hundreds of pieces needs to be in exactly the right position and alignment.

Yes, it is a colossal PITA to remove all the key caps, take it completely apart, and do it again, but for a beginner I would say go all the way through the process at least half a dozen times before you start getting nervous.

PS - I have never understood why people are so resistant to art foam - it is made acid-free for scrapbooking and should have a good long life expectancy, besides being cheap and easy to work with

So you are saying that you had instances similar to this where things started working simply after trying to reassemble it again with exactly the same stuff because something was slightly out of alignment?

[fohat]

yes

[Wazrach]

For reference, I sold the foam to the OP via Ebay because (surprise surprise) I simply had e-fucking-nough of trying to get a foam replacement to work out on an XT.

[Genkaz]

For reference, I sold the foam to the OP via Ebay because (surprise surprise) I simply had e-fucking-nough of trying to get a foam replacement to work out on an XT.

That is absolutely hilarious!

[ZedTheMan]

This is why I will not replace the foam on my F122. It hasn't broken it and it still feels good enough, I'm not going to fuck with it after going through the whole replacement in an XT.

[Genkaz]

This is why I will not replace the foam on my F122. It hasn't broken it and it still feels good enough, I'm not going to fuck with it after going through the whole replacement in an XT.

How did that go regarding the XT?

[Darkshado]

I wonder, how do the properties of EVA (which I've used without issue) and PVC compare when it comes to conductivity, static buildup and the like?