duo 230 sticky keyboard

[Marc Sira]

> Would coating any of these parts with graphite powder do anything
> beneficial, or introduce a possibly troublesome substance into the workings?

I don't think lack of lubrication is generally the problem, and I'd be very
wary of putting anything like that in there. It shouldn't damage the keyboard
but you'll likely end up just cleaning it off the contacts and donuts later
on. It could also cause problems elsewhere in the computer (edge connectors,
the trackball, the hard drive).

The drafting eraser works amazingly well. I used to use Q-tips and propanol,
but now I don't bother (you can use them after the eraser, but it seems to
make no further difference).

One other thing you can try is painting some silver conductive ink onto the
donuts and/or contacts. I haven't tried it for long enough to see whether
it'll tarnish in that cirumstance (I think the membrane contacts are in fact
silver, which is why they oxidise so badly). It's designed to be used in
cases where it seals in, such as patching torn traces on the membranes (which
I've used it for successfully on Duo and iBook keyboards), but people do also
use it to fix things like worn-out remote control buttons which are
pretty equivalent to the Duo keys. It's a bit expensive to experiment
with (about $20 Canadian per pen, say $15 US - the pen will probably dry up
years before you manage to exhaust the reservoir). I happened to have some
that I bought to repair my sister's iBook keyboard after tea was spilled
in it (causing a spark or two and destroying some traces that had to be
replaced - but the iBook is fine ;).

-- 
Marc Sira		|	toh at victoria.tc.ca
If you can't play with words, what good are they?