Bad Keyboard

Discussions about Sinclair ZX80 and ZX81 Hardware
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blittled
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Location: Northwestern Pennsylvania, USA

Bad Keyboard

Post by blittled »

I have a Timex Sinclair 1000 that works. I've kept in original condition and have been giving it a lot of TLC. I only play it rarely. Last night I ran it only to find the keys in the 5 and 6 columns no longer work! Can age make the keyboard ribbon so brittle that the stress around the ribbon connectors cause it to break? I can see getting a keyboard replacement or 2 (for another TS1000 with a bad keyboard) from RWAP since this is probably the best option. For now I do have my ZX-Core and a ZX81 to have fun with.

BTW I want to thank everyone on this forum for making replacement parts and kits so we can keep our Sinclairs in top shape. Before finding this forum I did end up throwing out some TS1000s that could've been repaired. :(
2X Timex Sinclair 1000, ZX81, ZX80Core, 5X 16K Ram Pack, ZXBlast, ZX P file to Ear Input Signal Converter, Elf II
XorA
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Re: Bad Keyboard

Post by XorA »

Depending where it has cracked you might be able to trim 1/2 an inch or so off and re-connect. All depends if you want to keep the differences in ts1000 keyboard compared to zeddy!
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blittled
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Location: Northwestern Pennsylvania, USA

Re: Bad Keyboard

Post by blittled »

I bought 2 of RWAP's keyboard replacements to replace the two bad keyboards. I was able to use the original keyboard on one TS1000 by trimming the ribbon. The other was already trimmed and was a bit short after trimming again so I replaced it. The original keyboard one is boxed up in a safe place as my museum piece. The other is the one I will play with. I also have the US Version of the ZX81, ZX-Core, 4 16K TS1000 Ram Packs and 1 ZX81 16K Ram Pack to play with :)
2X Timex Sinclair 1000, ZX81, ZX80Core, 5X 16K Ram Pack, ZXBlast, ZX P file to Ear Input Signal Converter, Elf II
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GCHarder
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Re: Bad Keyboard

Post by GCHarder »

I just found this on EBAY,

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alpha-Numeric-k ... 3aa4a99887

It's an old TI keyboard, these used to be pretty easy to modify for a replacement keyboard. I did it once so anyone can do it. It's just a matter if cutting tracks on the keyboard then rewiring following ZX81 keyboard matrix.

Regards;

Greg
sirmorris
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Re: Bad Keyboard

Post by sirmorris »

looks good..
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blittled
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Location: Northwestern Pennsylvania, USA

Re: Bad Keyboard

Post by blittled »

I remember buying one of those keyboards at Radio Shack. Mine was black with white lettering and no pcb connected. i got it to make an external keyboard for my Timex Sinclair but never got around to making it and eventually lost it in a move.
2X Timex Sinclair 1000, ZX81, ZX80Core, 5X 16K Ram Pack, ZXBlast, ZX P file to Ear Input Signal Converter, Elf II
zx80nut
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Re: Bad Keyboard

Post by zx80nut »

If you fancy doing a bit of hacking then you can replace the bad section of the ribbon (usually where it bends) with normal stranded ribbon cable. No worries of it ever happening again.

Here's one I knocked up earlier ;) ...
Ribbon replacement
Ribbon replacement
sideView.jpg (48 KiB) Viewed 4645 times
(still works fine 4 years later)

Details are here:
http://searle.hostei.com/grant/zx81/ZX81KBRepair.html

Have fun.

Grant
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