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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 06:16:18

Title: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 06:16:18
just won yet another Dell AT102w, this time, by accident. i bid £1.04 and 11 hours later i had won it  :confused:

this is going to be a fun cleaning project...
[attach=1]

i'm not sure if someone was smoking whilst typing or had been trying to set it on fire. this kids is why you don't smoke - it damages people's lungs and kills keyboards  :'(
now i think about it, it can't be as bad as one AT101 i saw once that had a literal piece of ham/bacon between the keycaps

-Aran
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: rowdy on Fri, 15 July 2016, 06:21:33
Hopefully it's just dirt on the keycaps that will rinse off after a good soak in denture tabs!

If so, you've got yourself a good bargain :)
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: chyros on Fri, 15 July 2016, 06:26:11
It's not the dirtiest keyboard I've ever seen, but possibly the dirtiest AT102W, yeah xD . Yuck.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 06:30:02
i'm not even kidding, if the plate has rust on like the other 2 i have bought previously im just going to desolder the switches and burn the rest xD
i do think though that it will wash off but it might need to be scrubbed down to get rid of all the dirt.

-Aran
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Computer-Lab in Basement on Fri, 15 July 2016, 07:39:30
that is one dirty keyboard

gl with the cleansing
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: fohat.digs on Fri, 15 July 2016, 07:50:57
I've seen worse.

I use powdered laundry detergent and some kind of "oxi" booster. I recommend a good long soak in hot soapy water before you start anything else.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 08:32:44
yeah, i thought about using some type of detergent/soap and bathing it. i guess from now on its more of a 'time will tell' as i have no idea how it will turn out.

-Aran
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: fohat.digs on Fri, 15 July 2016, 08:52:27
yeah, i thought about using some type of detergent/soap and bathing it. i guess from now on its more of a 'time will tell' as i have no idea how it will turn out.

-Aran

We are talking about the individual pieces of course, don't dunk the whole thing.

I prefer laundry detergent to dishwashing detergent but I always rinse several times. For me, soaking the keys is usually enough (alternating between a bowl and a colander), but I generally scrub the case shells with a sponge or scrubber in the kitchen sink.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 09:25:25
lol, i'd never submerge a whole keyboard xD. though it can be done, as long as it is not plugged in when wet and each switch would have to be dried to prevent rust.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: mrhead on Fri, 15 July 2016, 09:35:12
On the plus side, with it being that dirty, that means there's a chance the caps aren't shiny and worn.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 10:08:45
yeah lol
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: chyros on Fri, 15 July 2016, 10:34:40
On the plus side, with it being that dirty, that means there's a chance the caps aren't shiny and worn.
Hah, you'd be surprised. sometimes people abuse the hell out of their boards AND THEN store it outside in the rain for 10 years.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aricil on Fri, 15 July 2016, 10:38:30
just won yet another Dell AT102w, this time, by accident. i bid £1.04 and 11 hours later i had won it  :confused:

this is going to be a fun cleaning project...
(Attachment Link)

i'm not sure if someone was smoking whilst typing or had been trying to set it on fire. this kids is why you don't smoke - it damages people's lungs and kills keyboards  :'(
now i think about it, it can't be as bad as one AT101 i saw once that had a literal piece of ham/bacon between the keycaps

-Aran

Did you eat the bacon at least? Can't waste that delicious meat candy.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 10:40:45
by the looks of it, it was abused, stored outside and then in a forest fire, pulled out the ashes, used for a short period of time and then sold... to me...

And no, i wish i would've got the bacon considering the price it sold for - it was a bundle of 4 that sold for £20 (£5 each) xD
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: QuincyJones on Fri, 15 July 2016, 16:28:10
i'm not even kidding, if the plate has rust on like the other 2 i have bought previously
-Aran

didn't you get a job lot of three? I assume you were the one who sold the one with the complete lead for £35ish
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 16:29:48
nope. i wish i would've bid. i completely forgot about it. about 30 minutes after the auction ended i went to check if my bid was highest and then noticed it had ended...
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: QuincyJones on Fri, 15 July 2016, 16:31:06
by the looks of it, it was abused, stored outside and then in a forest fire, pulled out the ashes, used for a short period of time and then sold... to me...

And no, i wish i would've got the bacon considering the price it sold for - it was a bundle of 4 that sold for £20 (£5 each) xD

That seller has a lot of listings with leaves in various state of rotting casually on them and in them and all listings are sold as "for spares" because they don't have the cables. Be it a normal 3-pin kettle plug or 2-pin figure of eight they still don't have the cables.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: QuincyJones on Fri, 15 July 2016, 16:34:09
nope. i wish i would've bid. i completely forgot about it. about 30 minutes after the auction ended i went to check if my bid was highest and then noticed it had ended...

Well if the one with the complete lead worked, you'd have just about recouped your money after comission etc, but then what? I feel the leads were cut off for a reason either by seller or person who they belonged to previously to denote their uselessness so I stayed well away. I thought about the keyboard from OP but there's too much that could be wrong with it. Looks like heavy fire/smoke damage from maybe a barn or so and the postage charge was a whopping £8 iirc.

I actually knew exactly what this was about before I opened it!
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 17:42:45
yeah, i noticed it was odd that someone cut the leads off. like, if you were going to use them for other keyboards, you would disconnect the internal connector, not snip off the cable. either way, you could but some ps/2 to usb converters and put them inside the very hollow shell and then use a usb extender cable instead.

oh btw, the bacon joke i made was about those 4 keyboards, did you notice the picture of the number pad that had some sort of red/pink 'thing' on it? it looked like ham so much xD that was the reason i didn't want to bid too high  :p
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: fohat.digs on Fri, 15 July 2016, 18:35:05

the bacon joke i made was about those 4 keyboards, did you notice the picture of the number pad that had some sort of red/pink 'thing' on it?

I assume that every used keyboard on ebay has been exposed to Ebola and clean it accordingly.

The only real problem I have with board chow is that it indicates significant use, unlike dust, which does not equate to wear.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: klennkellon on Fri, 15 July 2016, 18:41:30
The caps and case should clean up easily, the real challenge will be opening up the switches to clean.

ALPS are really susceptible to dust and debris but they are easier to open up to clean than MX.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Fri, 15 July 2016, 18:43:01
its fine really, i was going to linear, clicky and double clicky mod mine so i will have to open the switches anyway
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: QuincyJones on Fri, 15 July 2016, 20:11:47
oh btw, the bacon joke i made was about those 4 keyboards, did you notice the picture of the number pad that had some sort of red/pink 'thing' on it? it looked like ham so much xD that was the reason i didn't want to bid too high  :p

Ahh, I thought it was a leaf! An indicator that it's been exposed to the elements.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: klennkellon on Sat, 16 July 2016, 00:26:37
its fine really, i was going to linear, clicky and double clicky mod mine so i will have to open the switches anyway
Double click?
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Sat, 16 July 2016, 03:33:11
Basically I tried chryos' clicky mod and slightly modded the leaf and cut the bottom tab off and it clicks on the up-stroke, hence my name for it.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: klennkellon on Sat, 16 July 2016, 22:10:07
Basically I tried chryos' clicky mod and slightly modded the leaf and cut the bottom tab off and it clicks on the up-stroke, hence my name for it.
Wow, never heard that.

Ghetto space invader esque mod lol
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Mattr567 on Sat, 16 July 2016, 22:29:37
This is worse.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Wingpad on Sat, 16 July 2016, 22:53:44
This is worse.

I would have to disagree with you there, actually. I guess we haven't seen the insides of Aran's board but those black marks on the caps superficially seem worst to me at least.

I am going to have to go through a similar "project" with a Zenith board I recently acquired. If that "unpopular keyboard opinions" thread was still around I'd be posting a response along the lines of "I actually like the speaker in the older Zenith boards."As such, I am going to clean this one thoroughly and keep it near stock. Unfortunately I'll have to break out the retr0brite on it.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Mattr567 on Sat, 16 July 2016, 23:25:09
This is worse.

I would have to disagree with you there, actually. I guess we haven't seen the insides of Aran's board but those black marks on the caps superficially seem worst to me at least.

I am going to have to go through a similar "project" with a Zenith board I recently acquired. If that "unpopular keyboard opinions" thread was still around I'd be posting a response along the lines of "I actually like the speaker in the older Zenith boards."As such, I am going to clean this one thoroughly and keep it near stock. Unfortunately I'll have to break out the retr0brite on it.

That SKCM Salmon AT101 seems to have more evenly distributed dirt that has layered over a long period, like at a factory. It seems the caps have taken the brunt on the AT102W. The rest looks cleaner.
Title: Re: could this be the dirtiest AT102W... ever?...
Post by: Aran.E99 on Sun, 17 July 2016, 07:30:49
well it should be here tomorrow, maybe Tuesday so i can clean it, maybe even make a post about cleaning it :p

-Aran