TT
TOUCH
TOUCH
Improve the
feel of your 130XE keyboard with this welcome upgrade
BY
JACK LEA
Atari made a fine computer when they made the 130E -YES, and NO. YES, the computer is the best 8-BIT computer there is. In fact it's my favorite model of the 8-BIT series, but when it comes to the keyboard the answer has to be NO. Whoever was in charge of the keyboard design failed to give it the crisp response you would expect from a keyboard. When you press the keys on the keyboard of the 130XE Computer it's like pressing down on mashed potatoes. I've been using my 130XE for sometime now but I just can't get use to the soft feel of the keys, especially after using the great keyboard of the 800XL. So one night after typing a long story for the FRANTIC Newsletter I had had enough of the missed keys and the unsure feel of the mushy keys on my 130XE. I remembered that Best Electronics (a mail order source for the Atari Computers in San Jose, California) had a keyboard upgrade for the 130XE in their catalog. So quick as a wink I sprang to my treasure chest, an old beat-up cedar chest. It is full of Atari magazines and other information that I have collected over the years on the Atari computers. I started looking in my cedar chest of magazines for my Best Catalog and sure enough there it was a loose leaf flyer sticking out of the pages of the catalog. The catalog flyer proudly stating, "Love your XE Computer? Hate your keyboard? Then have we got an answer for you". It's called the "TT" Touch.
RIGHT
VERSION OF THE KEYBOARD
The flyer said that there were two versions of the keyboards for the 130XE computers but only one of the keyboards will accept the "TT" touch contacts. You can tell which version of keyboards will accept the "TT" touch contacts because it will not have a spring under the key caps. Also the off-white key plunger will be about a 1/4" in diameter with a locating pin at 12 and 6 o'clock positions on the inside of the plunger itself.
WHERE
TO ORDER THE "TT" TOUCH
The article quoted a price of $29.95 + 4.00 postage for a total of $33.95 to be sent to BEST ELECTRONICS, 2021 The Alameda Suite 290, San Jose, CA. 95126. So off went my Winn Dixie Money Order to Best Electronics and in about a week and a half here comes a small package in the mail. I opened the brown envelope to find an even smaller plastic package inside containing little red Silicone pads. I don't know what I expected for my $33.95 but certainly some kind of hardware more impressing than this. The "TT" Touch is a bag of replacement silicone cups with a conductive disk in the center that makes contact with the printed circuit board (PCB). They were designed to provide more resistance and a crisp feel to the keys
PREPARE
THE WORK AREA
"Oh well", I said to myself, "don't jump to conclusions just yet; if it does what it's suppose to do then it'll be well worth the price" So I set about the task of installing the "TT" Touch contacts. First thing I did was to lay a towel, a couple of bowls, and two blocks of wood (1"x 2") on the kitchen table where I will be working on the computer. The bowls by the way will be for the parts that I take off the 130XE and for the parts that I will be replacing. The blocks of wood will be to support the computer up off the table, and the towel was to keep the screws and parts from rolling away. By the way the only tool that I will need for this upgrade is a #0 Phillips Screwdriver. The next thing I did was to read very carefully the brief instructions on the cardboard label that was attached to the plastic bag. Inside the plastic bag were 62 new and improved high grade red Silicone contacts. Sixty-two, that's great, that means there will be enough for Function Keys also.
INSTALLATION
I turned the computer upside down on the two supporting wooden blocks (disk boxes, books, etc.) one on each edge, left and right of the keyboard. The reason for this is so the keys wont touch the table and thereby push the keys out of the keyboard when the computer is taken apart. With the computer in this position I used my #0 Phillips Screwdriver to remove the four screws that holds the computer case together. Then, I lifted up the back of the computer and carefully laid it over out of the way without removing the ribbon cable. Next, I unscrewed the eighteen screws from the metal backing plate. I lifted up the metal backing plate and the double layer of Mylar. * * Note * *, pay very close attention to how the double layer of Mylar is in place before you remove it. The Mylar has to be in the right position or the contacts will not make contact with the printed circuit board (PCB) * *. You will now see the old blue or green silicone contacts on the inside key plunger cavities. * * Note * *, at this point you might want to use a pair of tweezers to remove the blue or green contacts * *. It's nice that the contacts are two different colors; the old ones are blue or green, and the new ones that you will be putting in are red. Now, replace each one of the green or blue contacts with one of the New Red "TT" Touch contacts. Placing them in the round key plunger cavities with the black dot facing up at you. Now, reverse the procedure you used to disassemble the computer and -- Wah-la. You now have a keyboard that will give you the feeling of confidence that you need when typing.
