32Sii mushy keys

[David Griffith]

Short of sending my 32Sii to a place like fixthatcalc.com, how would I go about fixing some slightly mushy keys?

[Tim Wessman]

Add flour.

TW

[Lincoln R.]

So *that's* what the guy who disassembled his 15C LE found in the keyboard...

[Reth]

I doubt it, must have been some top secret extra terrestrial substance which would destroy the planet Earth if disclosed. Which explains the silence and the tasteless jokes.

[Martin Pinckney]

Rather, the silence is probably explained by corporate policy.

As for the jokes, someone described it as gallows humor.

Think of it this way. You work hard for years against all odds to bring to market a seemingly unlikely product: a remake of a 30-year old classic, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by sloppy Chinese quality control. Not to mention snide comments from the group that should most appreciate your efforts.

[Steve Simpkin]

Quote:

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Think of it this way. You work hard for years against all odds to bring to market a seemingly unlikely product: a remake of a 30-year old classic, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by sloppy Chinese quality control. Not to mention snide comments from the group that should most appreciate your efforts.

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What is the old saying? No good deed goes unpunished.

[Reth]

Quote:

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Rather, the silence is probably explained by corporate policy.

...

Think of it this way. You work hard for years against all odds to bring to market a seemingly unlikely product: a remake of a 30-year old classic, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by sloppy Chinese quality control. Not to mention snide comments from the group that should most appreciate your efforts.

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I did not buy anything from China but from HP. I payed them for goods that turned out to be defective. I can't care less who did not do their job right.

And all want to hear is what went wrong and how this gets fixed. Am I wrong to expect that?

[Martin Pinckney]

Quote:

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I did not buy anything from China but from HP. I payed them for goods that turned out to be defective. I can't care less who did not do their job right.

And all want to hear is what went wrong and how this gets fixed. Am I wrong to expect that?

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You are not wrong. My only point was to argue for understanding of the behavior of one individual, not a company.

[Lincoln R.]

Sorry for the lack of serious replies (including my own)... Anyhow, have the keys always been mushy, or did this happen over time? Is it most/all of the keys or only a few?

If they've always been mushy/it was like this when you got it, that may just be the way it is, I've seen a lot of variance in Pioneer keyboards, ranging from very firm and snappy to almost impossible to feel when the button has been pushed.

If it's just a few/this happened over time, it's probably the mylar sheets wearing out. I'm not sure if much can be done for this short of painstakingly disassembling the calculator and replacing the sheets with ones from another calculator (You might be able to get spare parts relatively cheaply by buying a 10B, those frequently sell for $15 or less on TAS).

[Thomas Radtke]

Indeed, there's quite some variance, and my 32SII is a good example - 'mushy' from day one. But ... it is actually reliable and I immediately loved the soft feedback after having had the 20S with very stiff keys. Don't repair what's not broken.

[David Griffith]

I bought this calculator off ebay a few days ago. All the keys are good except the '8' key. That's the mushy one.

[Lincoln R.]

Does it feel "sticky" or just soft? If it's sticky, someone may have gotten food, glue, coffee, etc. into it, in which case it could carefully be cleaned with high-purity (91% or better, no coloring/perfume added) rubbing alcohol.

[Bart (UK)]

I had a similar problem with an older 12C that I bought off ebay. One of the keys seemed permanently depressed, but still registered. I carefully brushed around the keys with a toothbrush, holding the calculator upside-down to reduce the risk of the loosened debris going into the keyboard. Fortunately this solved the problem for me as I was reluctant to clean with liquids.