deskthority

Hi all,

I am having constant issues with my model F XT where it will just patch through repeats of keys (.................... mmmmmmmm).

I've replaced all of the inside of the keyboard, so that leaves the Soarers converter and the cable. I have noticed putting force on the connections between keyboard and soarer solves things, but touching it at all or letting go of the pressure brings the issue back.
Sometimes I see unplugging the cable from the soarers while the soarer is still in the PC keeps 1 key on repeat... but.. I am still somewhat convinced the issue is the cable..

So. Is it as easy as getting a 10 pin header and a DIN cable; solder the two up? Anything to be mindful of? Easy way to figure out what cable goes where?

Any help appreciated.

Have you ground the metal chassis ?

Grounding is *VITAL* in capacitance sensing keyboards, including Model F. We mean inside the keyboard even more than the cable itself. That big shiny brass section inside the board is where the capacitative magic happens and must be reliably grounded, or you get weirdness like you’ve found.

Just to make sure.. this is the little ring that is around the screw inside the keyboard?

Edit: found some info on this - let me check!

caiko wrote: ↑

13 May 2020, 11:19

Just to make sure.. this is the little ring that is around the screw inside the keyboard?

Edit: found some info on this - let me check!

Thats not the only thing to be grounded. The metal back plate - the shiny brass shade - MUST be connected to ground as well.

Indeed. Ground everything! You need a good solid connection running all the way from the USB plug shield, around your converter, through the AT cable shield, into the controller *and* onto the shiny brass key assembly. Everything!

Ground ultimately comes from your computer, through the usb port’s outer contact, which is grounded to the mains (or just the chassis in a laptop).

Just to clarify, this is the soarer converter thingy thats 'all in one' so my input here is very minimal.

However, I took it all apart, cleaned up the grounding ring, made 100% sure the little ring was around the screw to close up the case.

Put everything together, got a lot of [/![/![/![/![/! (not exactly that but from memory).. I pressed escape.. aaaand I'm now typing this on the XT!

So it looks like you're all correct, with the odd thing being the randomness of the issue. I have everything working fine for ages until something taps the cable.. maybe the grounding is not making proper contact inside the cable. (having looked at it now; I did not realize the grounding split away from the 10 pin header in the part of the cable that latches onto the chassis)

But... so far so good..

Thanks!!

Consistent with bad grounding, as we thought. All’s right with the world. [/!

You’re welcome!

ohhhhmmmmmm

I had the exact same problem. There's a screw on the controller. You need to screw that one tight.

At the risk of being redundant (and I totally am being redundant) I ran into this exact problem when I was reassembling my F 107.

Before I screwed everything back in the case I wanted to make sure everything worked. Much to my frustration, it didn’t. Keys stared going off and random help windows and new tabs started opening like it was the 4th of July. Sure enough, as soon as I pinched the converter against the grounding screw hole everything settled down.

In summary, ground.