Re: //e Keyboard problems

[jon@i-manila.com (Jon Co)]

I have a sort of related question.  I seem to have a US IIe, as I
don't have that switch.  I have been looking at my IIe technical
reference manual and I see solder/cut pads X1 X2 and X3 plus a
connector J19.  Comparing this to the IIc technical reference manual,
X1 and X2 would convert your language to the alternate language in
your keyboard and display rom.  X3 would connect the switch to
annunciator 2 so that it can be softswitch controlled.  J19 would be
the exact equivalent of the IIc keyboard switch.  There's a part X3
and a resistor that is enclosed by a dotted line, which i presume
means it's not available in all revisions of the IIe board.  Well, I
got a bit adventurous and seeing it won't cause any harm, I installed
a jumper on my J19 and powered up the IIe.  Voila, the keyboard layout
is now Dvorak, which is exactly what I wanted.  Pressing ctrl-G
(ctrl-u on a qwerty labeled keyboard) rings the bell.  So I
reassembled the IIe (put everything back on top of it) and turned it
on.  Hehe, bad news.  no video.  I guess the keyboard ROM contained an
alternate layout (Dvorak) but the Video ROM contained no alternate
language...  Well, I didn't want to modify my main board, so I guess
the only way to achieve what I want would be to get a 24 pin IC socket
and bend out pin 12, and jump this one to ground.  Has anyone ever
performed such a mod?
"Martin" <martinf@ot.com.au> wrote in message news:<1045090319.508344@envoy>...
> After an absence of 16 years, I have just picked up an (original
> non-enhanced) Apple IIe (also picked up a IIgs last year but thats another
> story).
> 
> Now, a couple of things:
> 
> (1) One of the keys seems to be very iffy, and more often than not doesn't
> appear to make a good contact. I am assuming its just some dirt or dust, as
> the rest of the keyboard seems to work fine.
> So after many previous explorations and fixes to commodore hardware I have
> in my collection, I started ripping the IIe appart with the hope of finding
> out what the problem was.
> 
> After pulling the keyboard out, unscrewing the PCB, the PCB doesn't want to
> come away from the rest of the keyboard.
> I am assuming that I may have to unsolder possibly a few of the solder
> points ? Or do I need to take off particular (or all) Key Caps ? Or is there
> something else I am missing. I couldn't actually see what was holding the
> PCB still on.
> 
> Some guidence in this area would be a appreciated, it will probably save me
> a lot of time.
> 
> 
> (2) Embarrasing question, but as I said, it has been a very long time. Can
> someone refresh my memory on what the switch on the outside of the
> bottom-front-right does ? I can't even remember using it when I had my apple
> all those years ago.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Martin