800XL keyboard plug (on mobo)

[TheRealAnubis]

Hi,

 

On my recent find - an Atari 800XL that has had a very hard life. The keyboard plug that's on the motherboard is trashed. Does anyone know of a good replacement, or has anyone de-soldered one and tried a repair? I was hoping just to remove it and put in a new one (possibly one from some other dead hardware that may be a common flea market find!). When I power up, I get no power light. The ribbon type plastic trace cable from the keyboard is in pretty rough shape too. I was thinking about just wiring it in directly to the mobo with some nice ribbon cable if I can't find a way to get the keyboard plug and ribbon cable fixed.

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

[Innovative Leisure]

Best Electronics should have them in stock. I ordered a replacement connector and 800XL Stackpole keyboard from them 4 years ago.

Have you tried cleaning the connector with isopropyl alcohol?

Edited June 7, 2014 by Innovative Leisure

[RodLightning]

Difficult repair. I have a 600XL in similar condition. If it has one of the mylar keyboards, that thin film is all one piece with traces going to the key contacts. I have thought about using a conductive paint pen to repair the traces, but haven't tried it. I'm not sure about finding a replacement connector. Like Innovative Leisure says, Best Electronics is worth a try. Otherwise, finding a donor machine for parts is the best route. I think there was also more than one version of the XL keyboard other than the thin mylar type.

[Bryan]

I often find 600XL's to be the best route for parts. They're often cheaper on ebay than a parts order and you get pretty much one of everything an ailing 800XL could need except RAM. They also tend to be socketed.

 

EDIT: Wow, no cheap ones on ebay anymore... These used to be $15-$20 machines.

[TheRealAnubis]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the fast response!

 

I did clean the connector, but it's suffering from " I've been apart too many times " syndrome. The pins are all bent and gnarled up. I thought I might take it off the mobo and try a repair, but if I can find a new one, that's the best deal, I think. It is the Mylar connector, and it's tired too - looks like someone used some scotch tape to keep the stiff piece of plastic on the mylar part... Yes, ebay is making it near impossible for anyone to buy a parts machine anymore - everything seems to start at $50 now..

 

I'll see what I can do with your information! Thank you!

[+orpheuswaking]

I have had success in cutting away the worn part at the closest point above the damage. This obviously only works if the damage is not all the way up. Just use a very sharp pair of scissors and cut in a straight line.

[+Larry]

BEST has the mobo connectors, but they are in very short supply. You will pay $12 or so (+ shipping, etc.) if you can't desolder a connector from a donor mobo. It's a pretty straight-forward desolder job as I recall.

 

If your cable is too damaged to just cut off a little bit, look for the recent thread:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/225474-repairing-an-800xl-keyboard-cable/?hl=%2Bkeyboard+%2Bcable&do=findComment&comment=2997344

 

Since mine has to be opened often, I used the little extra connector that is shown in the picture. These were common, especially on 600XL's. They can interfere with some 800XL keyboards.

 

-Larry

[TheRealAnubis]

Great information! Thank you!

 

I've located a keyboard and connector from BEST (thank you all for the tip!) - still thinking about if I really need the keyboard - but then there's a minimum $20 order, so I'll have to shop around on there and see if I can find some other stuff. I really can't tell if the keyboard is bad or not since the mobo plug is in such bad shape.

Edited June 9, 2014 by TheRealAnubis

[Ed in SoDak]

I suppose you could find the key(s) that closed a given pair of traces, then follow those traces on past the connector to its solder lugs or some convenient spot on the board which leads to that point. That way you could verify which wires were losing continuity and you might only need to run one or just a few flying leads to replace just the bad ones. Kludgy, I know, but it's cheap and works (sometimes). Doing that with the keyboard installed on the connector and not making things worse is the hard part.

-Ed