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Author Topic: Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff  (Read 3314 times)

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Offline MANISH7

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  • Posts: 155
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« on: Sat, 25 April 2009, 18:12:59 »
I just got my Compaq MX 11800. I'm very happy with it. Tactile feedback, ergnomically light but not too light, very cheap. I also like the layout as it is compact yet standard.

My only complaint is that the spacebar is stiff. I can live with it but I'd rather not. If I can get this resolved, I'll go ahead and order another 4 Compaqs. Stock for myself, give to family members, or sell back on Ebay if I wish.

I don't know much about cherry switches so I will do research / seek advice about opening it up. What can I do to make the spacebar less stiff? Thanks.
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Offline o2dazone

  • Posts: 953
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 25 April 2009, 18:18:58 »
http://my3c.com/D5/viewthread.php?tid=4625&extra=&page=1

Pry it open and replace the insides with a key you use less frequently
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Offline MANISH7

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  • Posts: 155
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 25 April 2009, 18:29:38 »
Thank you very much!
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Offline o2dazone

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Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 25 April 2009, 18:33:07 »
np gl and report back to us :]
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Offline o2dazone

  • Posts: 953
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 05 May 2009, 17:43:29 »
Sorry to necro this, but I just did this with some primitive tools at my job. A bobby pin and a paperclip let me pry the two switches apart and swap the insides. Damn those stabilizer bars are a ***** when you pry them up with the key
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Offline MANISH7

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  • Posts: 155
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 05 May 2009, 17:59:38 »
First I split them apart and it was too hectic. So I just took off the entire key switch so you just see a small hole. I swapped the grey switch of the space bar with the brown switch of the pause / break button. That was much easier and worked out well. Thanks!
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Offline o2dazone

  • Posts: 953
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 05 May 2009, 21:00:56 »
nice, glad you got it worked out- how were you able to remove the switch from the pcb?
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Offline MANISH7

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  • Posts: 155
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 05 May 2009, 21:19:30 »
Quote from: o2dazone;89359
nice, glad you got it worked out- how were you able to remove the switch from the pcb?


it came out like a pin when i pulled the key switch from the bottom. both key switches worked from after the swap. maybe there's variation within models?
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Offline keyb_gr

  • Posts: 1384
  • Location: Germany
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Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 08 May 2009, 15:27:23 »
So they put a grey spacebar switch on a board with browns? Eww. That's plenty stiff enough for one with blacks (and I'm not too comfortable with it either).

EDIT: OK, according to the wiki there are like 3 different types of grey switches. A board with browns would have the 80 cN tactile version (light grey I think), while the one I was referring to should be the 105 cN linear version.
« Last Edit: Mon, 11 May 2009, 06:55:37 by keyb_gr »
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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 itlnstln

  • Posts: 7048
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 11 May 2009, 07:23:36 »
The spacebar on the MX-11800 was stupid stiff.  I swapped out the guts on that key with Pause/Break.
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Offline cchan

  • Posts: 223
  • Location: Michigan
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 11 May 2009, 14:54:10 »
I thought the exact same for both my '3000, my '11800, and my '8100. Now my 3000 has a blue in spacebar, and my 8100 has a clear, and Manish has my 11800.
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HP Envy17: Core i7-2760QM, 8GB DDR3, 128GB Crucial m4 + 750GB Hitachi, Windows 7 Home Premium x64, Cherry ML4100, Logitech M500, HP zr22w
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Offline itlnstln

  • Posts: 7048
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 11 May 2009, 14:59:55 »
My 3000 came with a brown in the spacebar, but it was a custom 'board for DataCal, so they might have made them using different specs than their normal production runs.
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Offline watduzhkstand4

  • Posts: 511
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 13 May 2009, 15:04:03 »
I have the same keyboard and I want to do the same except I want to put blue cherries on my keyboard. Where can I find brand new blue cherries? How much do they go for? Thanks in advance!
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KEYBOARDS
Cherry Blue *Filco Tenkeyless w/ blank keys* w/ red ESC key thanks to Megarat
Cherry Red Noppoo Choc Mini
IBM Model M 1391401 12/15/88
Siig Minitouch w/ White Alps

SOLD
HHKB Pro 2 white w/ blank keys red ESC key and blank WASD keys
HHKB L-2
Cherry Brown Compaq mx11800
Dell AT101W
Cherry Red Leopold 104-key Otaku FC500RR/ABN

Offline itlnstln

  • Posts: 7048
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 13 May 2009, 15:19:32 »
You can find a cheap blue Cherry 'board here: http://www.geminicomputersinc.com/g80-3000lscrc-2.html, but it might be a little too much for just a switch transplant.  I haven't seen a whole lot of blue Cherry "donors" show up on eBay.
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Offline watduzhkstand4

  • Posts: 511
Compaq MX-11800: Making the spacebar less stiff
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 13 May 2009, 15:24:00 »
Quote from: itlnstln;90613
You can find a cheap blue Cherry 'board here: http://www.geminicomputersinc.com/g80-3000lscrc-2.html, but it might be a little too much for just a switch transplant.  I haven't seen a whole lot of blue Cherry "donors" show up on eBay.


hahaha it's cool. Thanks for showing me the site!
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KEYBOARDS
Cherry Blue *Filco Tenkeyless w/ blank keys* w/ red ESC key thanks to Megarat
Cherry Red Noppoo Choc Mini
IBM Model M 1391401 12/15/88
Siig Minitouch w/ White Alps

SOLD
HHKB Pro 2 white w/ blank keys red ESC key and blank WASD keys
HHKB L-2
Cherry Brown Compaq mx11800
Dell AT101W
Cherry Red Leopold 104-key Otaku FC500RR/ABN
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