Hello,
I have been servicing an HP 85A and an HP 85B desktop computer (printer belts,
tape drive capstan). While the key caps of the "A" model are plugged into
yellow plungers (according to the service manual the manufacturer is
"STACKPOLE") the "B" came with white plungers ("Hi TEK" according to the svc.
manual).
The yellow plungers were all in good condition, while several of the white
plungers are split along one or two edges. I understand that this is a common
problem with these HiTek keys. The HP 85B suffers from this problem especially
on the space bar which gets stuck when depressed.
So my question is: is there a way to repair (glue? melt?) these split plungers
or are there replacement/alternative plungers available to replace the white HI
TEK parts? I would need at least one (ideally more like 5) as the remaining
broken plungers are still working. These keys seem to be used also in some
VT100, DECWriter and even some Ti-99/4 keyboards.
If I cannot find a replacement, I would probably drill a lot of small holes
into the plunger, glue it to the key cap, and then rework the outer dimensions
so that it slides smoothly into the casing. But then I would probably not be
able to remove the key caps later, after snapping it back into the casing -
sort of one way fix with some risk.
Thank you for any recommendations,
Martin
--------------------------
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)
German Aerospace Center
Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology | Lilienthalplatz 7 | 38108
Braunschweig | Germany
Dr.-Ing. Martin Hepperle | Aircraft Design and Configuration Aerodynamics
Telephone +49 531 295-3337 | Telefax +49 531 295-2320 |
E-Mail: martin.heppe...@dlr.de<mailto:martin.heppe...@dlr.de>
Internet: www.DLR.de<http://www.dlr.de/>
