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Author Topic: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?  (Read 3501 times)

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Offline Mikhail

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How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 04:33:26 »
Hello, I have keyboard (year 1995) with black clicky space invaders without a logo. The keyboard looks like in excellent condition, but the key travel is not smooth (almost stucking). I would like to clean them and grease, and maybe to remove clickers. As far as I understood, it is impossible to disassemble without breaking anything. What do you think about this? Will soldering off help?

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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 07:29:20 »
Quote from: Mikhail on Mon, 20 April 2020, 04:33:26
Hello, I have keyboard (year 1995) with black clicky space invaders without a logo. The keyboard looks like in excellent condition, but the key travel is not smooth (almost stucking). I would like to clean them and grease, and maybe to remove clickers. As far as I understood, it is impossible to disassemble without breaking anything. What do you think about this? Will soldering off help?


De-soldering Hi-Tek "Space Invaders" is very difficult, even removing caps must be done with great care.

Also, the click mechanism is integral to the construction of the switch. I have not taken one apart in several years, but as I remember there is probably no way to remove it.
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"However, even though I was born in the Mesozoic, I do know what anyone who wants to reach out to young people should say: Billionaires took your money. They took your chance to buy a home. They took your chance at a good education. They stole your opportunities. Billionaires took the things you want in life. If you really want those things, you have to take them back.
That's the message. That's the whole message. Say that every day, not just to reach America's frustrated young white men, but people of every age, race, and gender.
Late-stage capitalism is a wealth-concentration engine, focused on vacuuming up every dollar and putting it in as few hands as possible. Republicans are helping that vacuum suck.
How does a tiny fraction of the population get away with this? They do it by dividing the other 99% of Americans against themselves."
- Marc Sumner 2025-05-30

Offline Maledicted

  • Posts: 2164
  • Location: Wisconsin, United States
Re: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:06:28 »
Makes me wish I had grabbed one from the recycling place the last time I saw a few, then I might know.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:18:11 »
Quote from: Maledicted on Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:06:28
Makes me wish I had grabbed one from the recycling place the last time I saw a few, then I might know.

Whoa! Never pass up clicky "Space Invaders" they are one of the very best switches out there, although they are extremely delicate and fussy to try to work with.

The "legs" are just wires, and there is no strain relief, so you have to remove all of the original solder to get them off.
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"However, even though I was born in the Mesozoic, I do know what anyone who wants to reach out to young people should say: Billionaires took your money. They took your chance to buy a home. They took your chance at a good education. They stole your opportunities. Billionaires took the things you want in life. If you really want those things, you have to take them back.
That's the message. That's the whole message. Say that every day, not just to reach America's frustrated young white men, but people of every age, race, and gender.
Late-stage capitalism is a wealth-concentration engine, focused on vacuuming up every dollar and putting it in as few hands as possible. Republicans are helping that vacuum suck.
How does a tiny fraction of the population get away with this? They do it by dividing the other 99% of Americans against themselves."
- Marc Sumner 2025-05-30

Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:24:18 »
I have never bad an issue damaging space invaders by taking the sliders out. You just have to pull up on them and make sure to not let the spring go flying across the room which is pretty hard most of the time. Just make sure to not damage the contacts when taking the slider off or putting it back on, they do bend easily but can be fixed if you don't crumple them.

I have taken apart a few boards worth to clean an never had a switch issue because of it.
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Offline Maledicted

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  • Location: Wisconsin, United States
Re: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:50:11 »
Quote from: fohat.digs on Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:18:11
Quote from: Maledicted on Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:06:28
Makes me wish I had grabbed one from the recycling place the last time I saw a few, then I might know.

Whoa! Never pass up clicky "Space Invaders" they are one of the very best switches out there, although they are extremely delicate and fussy to try to work with.

The "legs" are just wires, and there is no strain relief, so you have to remove all of the original solder to get them off.

They seem relatively common to me. I see them on Ebay for reasonable prices pretty often, and the recycling place had at least 2-3 of them in a single visit. I think the only thing they had more of was Model Ms, and those weird SKCC cream terminal boards from the early 80s. They do feel nice, for sure, but I was already leaving the place with a Zenith Z-150, a metal badge M, a Fujitsu with Peerless switches,  and one of the SKCC boards, and I had already tossed them $200 for those. lol
« Last Edit: Mon, 20 April 2020, 15:30:05 by Maledicted »
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Offline Mikhail

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Re: How to disassemble Hi-Tek Series 725 "Space Invaders" switches?
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 20 April 2020, 15:11:53 »
Quote from: BlindAssassin111 on Mon, 20 April 2020, 12:24:18
I have never bad an issue damaging space invaders by taking the sliders out. You just have to pull up on them and make sure to not let the spring go flying across the room which is pretty hard most of the time. Just make sure to not damage the contacts when taking the slider off or putting it back on, they do bend easily but can be fixed if you don't crumple them.

I have taken apart a few boards worth to clean an never had a switch issue because of it.

Thank you for sharing your experience! I think I will succeed, I will be attentive to flying springs))
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