Need Troubleshooting Advice - Stuck on Press any key screen

[kl99]

Now the other question is, did TI release any "Azerty" type of keyboards? (probably not, because of the internals? mapping of the keyboard?)

 

My brother has got a QWERTZ (=german) TI-99/4a but that is a mod and was done by some usergroup before he got it. I think to remember there has been an how-to for such a mod in some german Usergroup Newsletter or german Magazine.

[seanlanefuller]

Thank you so much for all the replies and discussion. It gives me hope. Also, a keyboard problem seems much more fixable for a software guy like me. I pried off a key cap and it has a post that looks like a plus sign surrounded by a spring. Looking thought the vents in the bottom, the underside of the keyboard is beige. It sounds like I might have a keyboard that sucks. My TI is silver and black. We only have one TV in the house and it is currently being used for watching TV. Some people don't agree that retro computing is much more important (LOL). My first plan of attack is to try pressing the "any" key 100 times and see if I can get a reaction. The computer has been in storage for over 30 years. I can't blame it for being a little cranky.

 

BTW, thanks barrym95838 for seeing yourself out. LOL.

[seanlanefuller]

Well, after considerable banging on the keys, I got the C key to work. The screen advanced and now I have to hit 1 to start basic. No matter how many times I press 1, it does nothing further. This is proof enough, though that the problem is with the keyboard. Now I just have to find one and figure out how to replace it. I will spend some more time to see if I can clean the one I've got.

[+Schmitzi]

Replacing is 5 or 10 minutes only, really no problem. Maybe just your cable/connector is loose ?

 

 

 

 

 

HowTo-Open-Console.pdf

[+arcadeshopper]

Well, after considerable banging on the keys, I got the C key to work. The screen advanced and now I have to hit 1 to start basic. No matter how many times I press 1, it does nothing further. This is proof enough, though that the problem is with the keyboard. Now I just have to find one and figure out how to replace it. I will spend some more time to see if I can clean the one I've got.

 

the issue isn't that it's dirty, it's that its oxidized.. the conductive ink on the mylar has become unconductive.. some googleing about fixing mylar keyboards will get you voodoo chanting, rubber chicken sacrifices, conductive ink redrawing.. silver paint.. etc.. polishing the contacts might help.. i prefer to just put a switch keyboard in instead, i bought a few spares off ebay recently so they do come available.. I have a entire CASE of mitsumi replacement keyboards that I can offer for the chanting etc.. in case you destroy yours

 

I understand that the mitsumi curse has affect others as well, atari and commodore and others..

Edited May 26, 2015 by arcadeshopper

[seanlanefuller]

Thanks, arcadeshopper. I understand better now. Cleaning non-conductive traces doesn't make them conductive. I did see a posting somewhere about someone disassembling a Mitsumi keyboard and drawing on the traces with a HB pencil. So, I thought, I guess if I am going to have to throw the keyboard away anyway, it couldn't hurt to try fixing it. I removed all the little screws. I desoldered the alpha lock key. Remember I'm a software guy, but I do have a soldering iron and a desoldering bulb. Maybe I'm not really a software guy any more. I took the PCB off from the keys. I carefully removed the mylar. I took a HB pencil and drew on the key circles and rectangular areas that were black until they were all shiny. I reassembled everything and soldered the alpha lock key. I got everything back together and had 1 large screw remaining. I'm used to that. I think screws magically reproduce or something. Now more than half the keys work. Strangely the C key stopped working. All of the number keys work. It all makes me wonder if I should repeat the process and hope for better results. I have looked on Ebay and the few keyboard replacements I saw were pretty expensive. I do wonder if the approach should be to buy old units and try to assemble one completely working TI 99 and hold the remainder for spare parts.

 

I am happy that I did get to the BASIC prompt finally. I can enter a bit of code. I can't type RUN. Sad, but it sure is cool I got it this far.

Edited May 27, 2015 by seanlanefuller

[+Ksarul]

Here are a pair of good keyboards--both of a type that you can use for a long time. Together they'd cost about $25 though. One has the leaf contacts--but I'm not sure on the other one. Neither is a Mitsumi though, so they're a definite score.

 

Oddly enough, back when the machine was newly orphaned, the preferred keyboard was the Mitsumi (they didn't get the occasional sticking key that the other types could have). Now the other types have shown that they've stood the test of time much better than the Mitsumi's could. Definitely an interesting turnaround. . .

[Omega-TI]

Here are a pair of good keyboards--both of a type that you can use for a long time.

 

Beige & mechanical? Nice find! I personally have not seen many of those.

I might have purchased a beige TI if I had known about them.

[+Ksarul]

I've seen four or five different types of mechanical keyboards in Beige. I bought four of them about a month ago to use to replace some Mitsumi's in my Beige consoles. . .

[+Ksarul]

Note also that the top of the circuit card on one of these is tan--so it could easily be mistaken for a Mitsumi until you look at the bottom. . .and it is the one with the leaf springs!

[Tursi]

I believe the presence or absence of the solder joints on the bottom should be the giveaway for the mylar keyboards. If the pins are there fore every key, then it is certainly using full switches. Is there any evidence that theory isn't right? I've never really thought about it before.

[+Schmitzi]

..I like these stories with one screw remainig Happens to me too, in most times

But should not happen to your car´s wheel

[+Ksarul]

You are correct, Tursi. The reason I noted that the top was tan was that one of the ways people were trying to identify the Mitsumi's without taking anything apart was to look at the color of the board (from above) when a key was depressed: Green=Good, Tan=Bad. I wanted to pull attention to the fact that the described test would not always be valid--you have to look at the bottom of the board and look for the solder points to be absolutely sure.

 

The nice thing about that lot is that it is two different types of Beige keyboard, both with the individual switches. I have a couple of additional types here at the house.

[seanlanefuller]

Thanks for everybody's help. I wanted to share the end of the story (and the beginning of another). I bought another TI off Ebay that has the green PCB keyboard. I combined parts from my 2 TI's and now I have a fully functional unit. All of the keys seem to work. I went crazy for a minute trying to figure out how to type a double quote, but I figured it out. Now I need some more stuff, like a way to save programs. It would also be fun to have a voice synthesizer. I would also love to have extended basic. It seems like those cartridges must be rare. The editor assembler would also be nice. Basic on this thing is soooo slooowwww. But it sure is a lot of fun.

[Omega-TI]

You might want to consider the XB2.7S CARTRIDGE. It'll save you quite a few bucks, and as you expand will still be useful.

For more information, << CLICK HERE >>

[+Ksarul]

I probably have about a dozen of the regular XB cartridges, so I may be able to pull one out of storage for you. . .note that for a lot of the programming modules, you also need some type of 32K memory expansion (TI or third party). XB works with or without it, but the Editor Assembler requires it.

[seanlanefuller]

I'm going to have to calm down on the TI spending for a little while and have fun with what I've got. The cool thing is I have emulation to play with in the mean time. I do a lot of heavy programming in Java, c#, .net, c++, etc. during my day job. It feels so good to relax and write something that is so well defined and small. In a short amount of time I can make up a small game, write the code for it, and play it a while. At the same time I can feel nostalgic and connect with the young me that was so enthusiastic about learning about computers. That helps pump me up for another day of trying to keep up with the rapid pace of change in modern computing environments. It is also amusing trying to simultaneously learn about deep neural networks and TI basic. I learned TI basic in around 30 minutes and don't know if I will ever fully grasp deep neural nets. Its all still fun and that's what matters.