Hans01
Experienced Member
What are the possibilities to refoam a keyboard of a Big Tandy.
Unfortunately, it is very common that such a keyboard does not work properly or not at all.
Usually the degeneration of the foam in the keys is the cause of the problem.
There are 3 ways to solve this problem.
1) The most expensive method is to purchase a little used keyboard from SUN type 4, unfortunately most users know this solution and these keyboards are expensive and scarce, often there are solid shipping costs and costs from customs. By disassemble the keyboard, you get over a hundred key sets that one on one can be exchanged with the Tandy keys. The profit is in the quality of the foam of these keyboards that are perfect and lasts for many years. Furthermore, there are still plenty of parts left for any other repairs of a keyboard.
2) On Ebay you can order a set of 100 separate foam discs from a German seller, which have a glue layer on both sides. You must use the mounting disc and the mylar disk of the original keys to repair the key. This is often a problem because the parts then need to be cleaned properly. Often the mylar disk is so bad that it also needs to be replaced. You'll have to die this one from a sheet of mylar. It's a very time-consuming and tricky job to fix the keys in this way. The advantage is that the foam is of excellent quality and the glue is enormously strong. This is also a disadvantage, because if you press too hard for a while, the top side is stuck at the bottom and never goes loose again. Expect a loss of 5%. I'm working on repairing a keyboard for about 4 hours. The costs are rather low and the results are sufficient.
3) Recently TexElec also delivers repair kits for those keyboards. In this case, it are completely assembled foam sets, consisting of the mounting disc, the foam layer and the mylar disk. To repair a key, the old foam layer plus mounting disc must be wiped out of the key and completely replaced by the ready-made set. The repair becomes a simple business. I fixed a keyboard in an hour.
The foam layer of these sets is slightly thinner as the original foam layer and the mounting disc is slightly less sturdy as the original disc. However, I do not see any problems in this. The costs are approximately equal to those of the sets from Germany.
The result of all three methods is fine and the keyboard works again as new, it is quieter and the keystroke feels comfortable again.
1) Bad keyfoam.
2) Foamset taken from a SUN keyboard.
3) Foam pad from Germany. (No mounting disc or mylat disc)
4) Repair set from TexElec.
5) Home made mylar disc.
Unfortunately, it is very common that such a keyboard does not work properly or not at all.
Usually the degeneration of the foam in the keys is the cause of the problem.
There are 3 ways to solve this problem.
1) The most expensive method is to purchase a little used keyboard from SUN type 4, unfortunately most users know this solution and these keyboards are expensive and scarce, often there are solid shipping costs and costs from customs. By disassemble the keyboard, you get over a hundred key sets that one on one can be exchanged with the Tandy keys. The profit is in the quality of the foam of these keyboards that are perfect and lasts for many years. Furthermore, there are still plenty of parts left for any other repairs of a keyboard.
2) On Ebay you can order a set of 100 separate foam discs from a German seller, which have a glue layer on both sides. You must use the mounting disc and the mylar disk of the original keys to repair the key. This is often a problem because the parts then need to be cleaned properly. Often the mylar disk is so bad that it also needs to be replaced. You'll have to die this one from a sheet of mylar. It's a very time-consuming and tricky job to fix the keys in this way. The advantage is that the foam is of excellent quality and the glue is enormously strong. This is also a disadvantage, because if you press too hard for a while, the top side is stuck at the bottom and never goes loose again. Expect a loss of 5%. I'm working on repairing a keyboard for about 4 hours. The costs are rather low and the results are sufficient.
3) Recently TexElec also delivers repair kits for those keyboards. In this case, it are completely assembled foam sets, consisting of the mounting disc, the foam layer and the mylar disk. To repair a key, the old foam layer plus mounting disc must be wiped out of the key and completely replaced by the ready-made set. The repair becomes a simple business. I fixed a keyboard in an hour.
The foam layer of these sets is slightly thinner as the original foam layer and the mounting disc is slightly less sturdy as the original disc. However, I do not see any problems in this. The costs are approximately equal to those of the sets from Germany.
The result of all three methods is fine and the keyboard works again as new, it is quieter and the keystroke feels comfortable again.
1) Bad keyfoam.
2) Foamset taken from a SUN keyboard.
3) Foam pad from Germany. (No mounting disc or mylat disc)
4) Repair set from TexElec.
5) Home made mylar disc.
