Soarers Converter Crashing? (IBM Model F 122 key)

[komodo]

Hi, I've recently been having a bit of a problem with my Model F. In hot weather, it sometimes jams, constantly outputting whatever keys were pressed at that moment, and does it until i pull out and replug the USB. It happens a lot more frequently if the keyboard is totally flat, and occasionally when the keyboard is up on its legs. But only happens when the room is very warm. Could it be the Arduino overheating? Or is there some temperature sensitive component in the Model Fs controller? I know this is a bit of a shot in the dark, so I was wondering if anyone else had experienced anything like this.

Thanks in advance.

[chzel]

Teensy or Pro micro clone?
If the latter, that's probably your problem.

[komodo]

Teensy 2.0++, I'd heard about problems with clones and wanted to make sure I got a decent microcontroller. I know that the ++ is slightly overkill, the guide suggested that the ++ could be needed for extensive remapping but I've since been told the 2 would have been fine.

[komodo]

I should say this isn't a new build, the keyboard has been working for 8 months before this happened. The other day my S key started not registering properly but I think that was a physical glitch. I'm considering trying to put a dinky fan inside but don't know what I should be cooling, the teensy or the main keyboard controller! My main hope is that someone can help rule out the old controller, as if that goes I know its expensive to replace and that will be the end of my main keyboard for quite a while

[chzel]

Try to use it a while with the bottom loose and when it starts acting up have a feel on the boards to see if anything is warm to the touch. If it is the Teensy, try to move it temporarily out of the case and see how it goes.

[komodo]

Ok I'll give that a go, thank you! The keyboard needs some attention really, I think the foam needs replacing and a couple of keys don't feel right or have their second click, I've gotta save up for some maintenance I think!

Happy Typing!

[Muirium]

Weird. I've never felt heat from a Teensy. Or a Pro Micro clone, but that did give me some flaky Model F moments until I replaced it. Model Fs and beam springs take a fair bit of juice, not as much as all that though. You don't use it in a really hot environment do you?

[fohat]

My guess is that this is not electronic-caused, even if it seems heat-related.

If you have an original foam pad and it is deteriorating, it will be breaking down into tiny horrible, sticky chunks of rubbery grit. If that found its way down into the moving parts, nothing good could come of it.

[komodo]

I had trouble with room ventilation, meaning in the evenings it went up to 28-30 ish degrees centigrade! and whatever it was seemed software related, as it "crashed" and when unplugged and replugged worked until it "crashed" again. Mechanically the keyboard seems relatively sound.

[urbancamo]

Weird, I was going to post a report of similar problems with Soarer's converter connected to a Wyse keyboard. Same symptoms - auto-repeat of the last key pressed until I press another key. This appears to happen much more frequently in particular situations such as filling in web forms.

Just add my tuppence. I am using a clone.

[Mal-2]

If it is a chip overheating (I have doubts but it is certainly possible) then a heatsink for a RAM chip (such as sometimes appear on video cards) would probably be a better option than a fan. No power, no noise.

[komodo]

Yes I struggle to believe it was a chip overheating, except I can't figure out what else fits the symptoms. The way it "crashes" rather than has a physical issue means its somewhere software-related, while other keyboards on my computer don't freeze.

[komodo]

It's not done it for the last couple of days, and the temperature has been cooler, so ambient heat really does seem to make the difference