Bad keyboard atari 800, is there a fix?

[VicViper]

Just got an atari 800 I was told was broken. I was quite astonished when i wiggled the power supply and donkey kong showed up! the keyboard however, is not quite so functional. only a handful of buttons on the keyboard work. 3, s, esc, delete, thats about it. the option buttons on the right work well though, except the option button sticks. Is this just a case of dirty contacts? If so, how would I go about cleaning them? is the problem something deeper than that?

[UNIXcoffee928]

Simple fix. Turn the 800 on, with no cartridge inserted, so that you are in Memo Pad.

 

Now, use the old "Angel of Death" trick. Play

, and tap the beat out with each bad key.

 

The rapid succession of keypresses will remove the oxidation from the leaf springs in the keys.

 

Watch the screen as you tap. Eventually, the key will start working.

 

At first it will be intermittent... keep tapping until it works normally.

[VicViper]

Simple fix. Turn the 800 on, with no cartridge inserted, so that you are in Memo Pad.

 

Now, use the old "Angel of Death" trick. Play

, and tap the beat out with each bad key.

 

The rapid succession of keypresses will remove the oxidation from the leaf springs in the keys.

 

Watch the screen as you tap. Eventually, the key will start working.

 

At first it will be intermittent... keep tapping until it works normally.

LOL, can't tell if serious, or trolling .

[+20ohm20]

Now, use the old "Angel of Death" trick. Play

, and tap the beat out with each bad key.

 

This video made me spit coffee out of my nose and mouth.

[31336haxx0r]

Simple fix. Turn the 800 on, with no cartridge inserted, so that you are in Memo Pad.

 

Now, use the old "Angel of Death" trick. Play

, and tap the beat out with each bad key.

 

The rapid succession of keypresses will remove the oxidation from the leaf springs in the keys.

 

Watch the screen as you tap. Eventually, the key will start working.

 

At first it will be intermittent... keep tapping until it works normally.

LOL, can't tell if serious, or trolling .

 

Me neither.

[VicViper]

Ok so, lets just say, hypothetically if I tried that and it didn't work (NOT admitting I tried that!) are there any other options? If I take the system apart is there a way to get at the back of the keyboard and clean it out?

[+Roydea6]

Sound advice...... http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/157694-atari-800-keyboard-issues/page__p__1936759__fromsearch__1?do=findComment&comment=1936759

[UNIXcoffee928]

Well, seeing as your message didn't say: "s 3s3sss3sssss 3s s3 sss3ssss s 3 3333 sss3s3 ss33." , I take it that it worked.

 

= )

 

 

Of course I was serious. Gawd. The Angel of Death Method has been a BOFH Standard Operating Procedure for years. Always does the trick! Ernie just makes the process slightly more Demonic.

 

There are other tricks for fixing Atari Home Computers, Servers, and dysfunctional co-workers, but they often require an extensive set of tools... an altar, books, bells, candles, daggers, &, of course, a messy blood-sacrifice... this one is fairly simple, in comparison.

[VicViper]

Man, how much tapping are we talking about? I gave some oomph to it and didn't get a single key working :/

[UNIXcoffee928]

Man, how much tapping are we talking about? I gave some oomph to it and didn't get a single key working :/

 

Sheesh. Just follow the directions. It's not the force, it's the quick repeated succession of keypresses that cleans the contacts, but you need to be tapping that single key at a rate of around 180 beats per minute, or greater, for it to work.

 

Do not use "oomph"; enormous FORCE will break it & ruin it. Just tap it out like Morse code.