Newest addition - Apple adjustable keyboard

[megahertzcoil]

While my preferred keys are buckling spring (Model M SSK and home, Model F AT at work and waiting on an early bird Ellipse F77), just needed to feed the habit.  I just acquired an Apple Adjustable Keyboard (M1242), including the number pad.  I was part curious about Alps keys and part to appease my coworkers.  After finally getting it hooked up to an Arduino Pro Micro running TMK ADB converter, I got to use it for day.  I have to admit, it's quite pleasant.  I am not a fan of cherry switches (tried out a couple keyboards and switch testers), they just don't have the tactile response I enjoy in the BS switches.  But I really like the quiet tactile feel of the Alps SKFS switches...

Anyway, I have a few questions for the community:

• One of the switches feels ok but doesn't register, I suspect it just needs to be cleaned internally.  Are there any recommended ways of cleaning Alps switches (without desoldering)?
• The caps lock key seems to soft "lock" in the stock contoller, i.e. when the caps key is pressed the led lights up and I get a key down event, when the key is pressed again, the led turns off and I get a key up event.  I want the key to behave just like any other momentary switch so I can reassign it in the TMK converter.  Is the lock behavior in the stock controller or something I can "fix" in the TMK converter?
• Can anyone confirm if the left and right command key share the same switch matrix (despite being on opposite halves) or just treated as the same key in the stock controller.  I want to use the right command as a FN key
• What do people think about irreversibly modifying the keyboard?  I will likely mount the converter internally in the base of the keyboard and that will require some internal modification.  But I am also considering replacing the controller with an ATmega and driving the switch matrix with TMK natively, this would most certainly be difficult to reverse...

Thanks in advance!

[hasu]

2. No, you can't use it as a normal key. Old ADB keyboards has mechanical locking switch on capslock key and Mac expects so. M1242 has no mecnical lock key in fact but it has to pretend to have it to deceive Mac for backward compatibility.
3. ADB spec says so. Both left and right command spits same scan codes in ADB protocol.

[megahertzcoil]

Thanks Hasu!  Your answers confirm what I feared...  Oh well.  So much for using the caps key as the LGUI.  I think at some point, I will consider replacing the internal controller for something else and do away with the ADB converter.  Before I do that, I need to tear down the keyboard and map out the matrix.  If I can regain differentiation between the L/R command key without too much hacking of the PCB, then it might be worth it.

Right now, I am using space-fn since the command and caps behavior limit the keys I have to choose from.  That seems to be working ok, but I feel that there are times when it doesn't quite register correctly.  Not sure if that's a converter or a keyboard issue.

BTW, your TMK firmware is amazing.  I now have it running on two keyboards (Model M with phosphor glow controllers and now this Apple keyboard as an ADB converter). 

[megahertzcoil]

• One of the switches feels ok but doesn't register, I suspect it just needs to be cleaned internally.  Are there any recommended ways of cleaning Alps switches (without desoldering)?

Turns out popping open the switch and blowing it out with compressed air worked like a charm.  Before cleaning, the suspect key was bouncing and thus causing odd behavior through the converter.  After cleaning and testing it out it seems to be stable now.  Hopefully it will hold up in daily use.  BTW, these switches are amazing easy to open up!