Atari 800 Broken Stackpole Switch

[Atari 800 Broken Stackpole Switch]

@griff3125

The 0.3mm copper ended up being too thin for fabrication.  Unfortunately I have been super busy with work so I haven't had a lot of time to dedicate to this.  Hopefully I will be able to tackle this again in a week or so.

@[email protected] Thanks for the offer. I'll fire you a PM on Monday when I get back from this work thing.  Thanks again for looking into this. 

 

[Atari 800 Broken Stackpole Switch]

Thanks for all the replies!  @wt808 was right, the plunger just pulls straight out using a terrifying amount of force for such a flimsy piece of plastic.  I was able to desolder the two broken leafs and I have a 0.3mm copper sheet that I am going to try and cut out some replacements. On a side note, I want to meet the person whole came up with the formula for the double sided tape they used on the back of the keyboard.  I have no idea how tape that is 10 years older than me is still capable of being that sticky.  

 

 

Success! 

 

I will update this once I have new new leafs fabricated.  Fingers crossed this works. 

Thanks again for everybody's help! 

[Atari 800 Broken Stackpole Switch]

Thanks for the response guys, Brad actually led me here because he was out of replacement parts for the stackpole keyboards :-(.  Are there any resources online for disassembling the switch?  All the images I have found show them disassembled not the actual process for disassembly.  I have read that the plastic is very fragile so I don't want to attempt without some prior knowledge.  

I think if I can get the leaf out of the switch, I can fabricate a replacement.

Thanks! 

[Atari 800 Broken Stackpole Switch]

Hey, 

I am new here and new to Atari systems in general but found an Atari 800 and an 810 disk drive in the back of a thrift store and I am working to get them back into full working condition.  I have the 800 almost completely working with the exception of a single key.  It looks like the metal leafs in the "8" key switch have broken off.  Is it possible to find replacement leafs or has anyone had any luck hacking a replacement into the switch to complete the circuit?  I have attached a picture of the broken switch so you can see the broken leaves in question. 

Thanks!