ALPS Spacebar Question - Stabilizer on Omnikey 102

[Oqsy]

I just got my first alps board, ricercar's Omnikey 102, in the mail today, and while the broken H key held up just fine with the superglue fix from this post http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=8773 , it appears the spacebar came loose from the stabilizer(s) in transit.  I have no knowledge of ALPS boards and mechanics beyond the very basics, and I need help.  How do I remove the spacebar safely without damaging the keycap, switch, or stabilizer(s)?  If it were a model M i would have already sorted this out, but I learned a lesson with NMB boards, and that's never disassemble a keyboard until you know what's under the keycaps!  I tried gently tugging on the spacebar a bit, but it didn't seem to be interested in coming loose, so I didn't press my luck.  Anyone with a pic of a complicated alps board with the spacebar removed, and some idea of how the stabilizer setup SHOULD look on this board?  Thanks and I'll hang up and listen to your answer...

Oqsy

edit: read a post and watched a video here and have the spacebar off, now I just can't get it reseated on the switch with the stabilizer attached to the board AND the keycap.   So there's now a new question at hand...  How to you put an Omnikey spacebar back in place with the stabilizer?  I can get it attached to EITHER the keycap OR the base plate of the board, but not both at the same time...  I have to admit it's fun typing with my thumb directly on a complicated white alps switch, though

[ricercar]

Reading your post reminded me of a space bar nightmare which might be from that Northgate. For the spacebar nightmare I'm remembering, I had to remove the top of the keyboard enclosure. This allowed me to get an angle and clearance for a needle nose plier to work the wire stabilizer as I fit the spacebar in place.

[Oqsy]

Solved.  The trick was to remove the black plastic clips from the bottom of the space bar and set them gently on rubber pads on the plate with the stabilizer clicked into them.  Then I just lined up the space bar and pressed it onto the switch, and down onto the black plastic clips so that they slid into the slots for them on the back of the space bar key cap.  Pressing it with my right thumb is now comfortable, easy, and produces a centered keystroke every time.  (Before it was only actuating about 3/4 of the time and VERY wiggly.)  Sorry for the wasted thread everyone, but perhaps this will help someone else sometime.    By the way, I just noticed the GIANT orange button inside the dip switch panel...  I'm about to break out the manual and find out what that is all about  Thanks for the cool board ricercar, and like I said before, I'll always vouch for you in classifieds, auctions, etc!

[microsoft windows]

I did the same thing with the Enter key on  my Focus keyboard when  removing and replacing it. The stablizers fitted into these little plastic clips, which clicked into the  key cap. I just  put the stablizers in the clips and then just placed the key cap on top and gave it a whack.

[ricercar]

IIRC that orange button was undocumented, never worked for me, supposed to be a reset so you didn't have to reboot when you changed DIP switch settings.

SO glad you got the bar fixed.

[Oqsy]

Thanks, me too!  This board reminds me a lot of my beloved but quirky NMB switch boards.  The only difference is these keys don't bind and stick like the NMBs.  While that's a positive, it's taking some time to adjust to these since I can type much faster and more accurately than I expect...  I find myself babying it a bit and waiting for a key to bind or an off-center press to grind and thunk, but no such experience.  Light and clicky... mmm