Author Topic: Unicomp Endurapro Pointing stick problems (+ fix)  (Read 2543 times)

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Offline huha

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Unicomp Endurapro Pointing stick problems (+ fix)
« on: Mon, 20 April 2009, 18:17:47 »
I've been having some trouble with my Endurapro lately. To be precise, the pointing stick stopped working, which was somewhat unnerving; I live in Germany and shipping the keyboard here cost a small fortune to begin with, so I wasn't particularily inclined to send it back, get it repaired (although it's still under warranty) and pay shipping to Germany again (which would be so stupidly expensive I could as well just buy a new one without paying considerably more). The buttons would work just fine, but the stick wouldn't react to being pushed around, so I emailed Unicomp.
They suggested to plug in (I have the PS/2 version) an external mouse and see if it works; if it would, the stick module should be the problem. Of course it worked, so it really was the stick (and not the electronics).

I removed some keys to see if the module could be removed to either ship it back or buy a new one, which would have been my suggestion to Unicomp, but doing so, I noticed the different cable colours. The cable running anlong the F keys is green, the cable emerging from the stick module is white. I removed some more keys and saw the connection point.
Now it gets interesting: It seems both cables are just glued together; I reckon they moved during transportation and got misaligned, so I pressed my finger on the joint and slid to realign the cables. And guess what? Now it works again.

If anyone else experiences strange problems with non-functional sticks, something as easy as this could be the solution. Here's a closeup of the offending connection:




I e-mailed Unicomp to ask what they'd recommend fixing the problem permanently. I'm not that inclined to realign the cables after transporting the keyboard (which I do a lot).

-huha
Unicomp Endurapro 105 (blank keycaps, BS) // Cherry G80-3000LSCDE-2 (blues, modded to green MX) // Cherry G80-3000LAMDE-0 (blacks, 2x) // Cherry G80-11900LTMDE-0 (blacks, 2x) // Compaq G80-11801 (browns) // Epson Q203A (Fujitsu Peerless) // IBM Model M2 (BS) // Boscom AS400 Terminal Emulator (OEM\'d Unicomp, BS, 2x) // Dell AT102DW (black Alps) // Mechanical Touch (chinese BS) Acer 6312-KW (Acer mechanics on membrane) // Cherry G84-4100 (ML) // Cherry G80-1000HAD (NKRO, blacks)

Offline keyb_gr

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Unicomp Endurapro Pointing stick problems (+ fix)
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 21 April 2009, 05:07:01 »
Hmm... you could try slapping some Tesa* on it. My universal weapon ;) I'd wait for what Unicomp have to say though...

*) classic clear adhesive tape
Hardware in signatures clutters Google search results. There should be a field in the profile for that (again).

This message was probably typed on a vintage G80-3000 with blues. Double-shots, baby. :D

Offline huha

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Unicomp Endurapro Pointing stick problems (+ fix)
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 21 April 2009, 11:55:25 »
That's what Unicomp recommend, too. They are now heat sealing the connection, so this shouldn't be a problem with newer models.

-huha
Unicomp Endurapro 105 (blank keycaps, BS) // Cherry G80-3000LSCDE-2 (blues, modded to green MX) // Cherry G80-3000LAMDE-0 (blacks, 2x) // Cherry G80-11900LTMDE-0 (blacks, 2x) // Compaq G80-11801 (browns) // Epson Q203A (Fujitsu Peerless) // IBM Model M2 (BS) // Boscom AS400 Terminal Emulator (OEM\'d Unicomp, BS, 2x) // Dell AT102DW (black Alps) // Mechanical Touch (chinese BS) Acer 6312-KW (Acer mechanics on membrane) // Cherry G84-4100 (ML) // Cherry G80-1000HAD (NKRO, blacks)