On 2012-02-14, wrote:
On Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:46:45 -0600, "Snag" wrote:

[ ... ]

You owe me a keyboard . The old one quit after I spewed beer all over it .
Shoulda swallowed before I clicked ...

Best way to remove beer from a keyboard is with copious application of
isopropyl alcohol followed by compressed air under moderate pressure,
repeated several times.

Put the keyboard on the Xerox (or other photocopy) machine first,
because compressed air is likely to pop the keycaps off the keys, and
you want to have the full layout in front of you before you start
sticking them back on. Yes, the letters are pretty predictable if you
start at the right place, but function keys and even things like
"Control" and "Caps Lock" migrate between keyboards, let alone things
like '~'.

If it is a cordless keyboard, don't forget to
either take the battery out or turn off the computer before you start
DAMHIKT.

Absolutely! The first step when a spill gets into a keyboard or
something similar is to remove *all* sources of power.

Simpler solution is to open the wallet.

I had a keyboard (originally from a Tektronix Silent-700
terminal, and acquired from a hamfest) which got urinated on by a pet
squirrel. The solution there was to run it under the shower in the tub
for a while, then stand it on edge for a couple of days, but that was
built differently from the current run of keyboards. The squirrel
finally decided that outdoors was where he wanted to be. :-)

For the Sun keyboards which I like, every once in a while too
much cat hair gets in and first starts padding the keys so you have to
hit them a little harder. Then later, it works between the layers of
flexible printed circuit boards (all on transparent mylar or the like).
The first and third layers have crossover areas which when pushed
together conduct. The middle layer has a series of holes under the
keys, so it holds the first and third layers apart until you get enough
pressure to bend the layers together. The keycaps have little rubber
falsies to hold them up and serve as springs.

For these, a full disassembly is necessary -- the keycaps in a
container, the layer of falsies (some versions are individual, others
are a sheet of falsies in the right positions) needs to be hit with
compressed air to carry off the cat hair there. The top plate needs it
as well, to get the hair out of the key guides, then the individual
layers go down to the shop and are individually hit with compressed air
to carry off the cat hair, Then it all goes back upstairs and gets
reassembled and is good for a few more years.

If beer is involved. each layer needs to be washed by
clean water first, then dried with compressed air and reassembled.

Enjoy,
DoN.

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