Family Basic Keyboard Help

[fcgamer | 4,722]

Over the past year I finally got around to stockpiling a bunch of blank cassette tapes and also found a used old school tape deck. I wanted to try out Family Basic on Famicom and do some fun little projects with it. Finally, I decided that tonight would be my first attempt at getting everything set up and giving it a go, but I've run into a huge problem, which I think likely means that my adventure will be put on hold for another six or eight months, or whatever.  Hopefully I am just being stupid and that what I fear to be a huge problem is actually just a fault on my end.

When I start the software up, it defaults to the bracket [ being held down indefinitely, unless I hit one of about two other keys (maybe shift?). Even after that, the keyboard will *not* respond aside from the bracket key, and one or two other keys.

I've tried both versions of Family Basic, tried it on a square button Japanese Famicom, a Taiwanese Famicom, a Micro Genius Famiclone, etc. All give me the same result. 

Although it looks fine, is this a sign that the keyboard is somehow broken? Is there some other problem going on? Any way to fix this?

Thanks.

[fcgamer | 4,722]

Here's a picture.

[fcgamer | 4,722]

I see it's in "hot start" mode, I don't know if that has anything to do with the problem or not.

[fcgamer | 4,722]

We can see a video here:

 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

To preface everything following, I have zero experience with or specific knowledge of the Family Basic keyboard beyond knowing it exists and approximately what it's supposed to do based on the description of the package it came with.

With that being said:  What you're showing absolutely looks like some sort of keyboard issue going on.  The first step I would take, if it's possible, would be to carefully take the keyboard apart and see what the insides look like.  The fact that it just keeps outputting that one character from the keyboard and more or less refusing to respond to most other keys indicates to me that there's something awry inside.  Best case scenario, it's something simple, like someone spilled a drink inside long, long ago and there's some corrosion across some traces that could be cleaned right up.  Worst case scenario, a bunch of what was inside has been eaten away, and it'll either have to be rebuilt or replaced.  Depending on how that keyboard was made, rebuilding/repairing it may not be nearly as bad as it sounds.

Sorry I can't offer more immediate, in depth insight into what's going on, but should you decide to crack it open and share some photos of what you find, I'd be more than happy to take a gander and give you my best educated guess as to what your next step would be.  As many classic computer keyboards as I've seen repaired and refurbished in the last 3-4 years, I think it's highly likely that whatever you find under the hood has a decent shot at a not-too-terrible fix.  Off the top of my head, the worst case scenario would be one of those film style keyboards where the traces were basically conductive paint printed on plastic and then sandwiched in between a few layers, but even those can be fixed fairly simply with a steady hand and either a circuit pen or a bottle of that conductive paint that's used to fix the rear window heater lines in cars.  Anything more mechanical in nature than that would be pretty simple (if perhaps more frustrating in cases where you'd have to manufacture replacement parts) to get done.

Looking forward to seeing an update!

[fcgamer | 4,722]

Okay cracked it up, here's what we got thus far. Should I keep going?

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

2 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Okay cracked it up, here's what we got thus far. Should I keep going?

I would, yes,  While the mechanism seems to be all one unit, there could be more to learn from the other side, after it's been removed from the top case of the keyboard housing.  It's possible it just needs a thorough cleaning, or there's evidence of someone having spilled something sticky down the keys long ago that's not visible when the unit's together.  If all of the wires are still in their proper places, I'd wager that there's something amiss with one or more of the keyswitches.  The bracket key is the most obvious one, but it's possible that others are affected by whatever's going on.  Hopefully Nintendo manufactured that thing in such a way as to allow you to be able to pull the keycaps off and inspect the keyswitch mechanisms underneath.  If you don't have any prior experience pulling keycaps without the proper tool, I'd recommend picking up a cheap key puller (basically a handle with two U-shaped pieces of wire sticking out of it) before doing so, then carefully pulling every key cap and looking at what lies beneath.  The photos you've shown so far don't seem to indicate any sort of issue with the wiring, so my best immediate guess is that somebody spilled a drink down into the keys long, long ago, and now it's playing havoc with the output.  If that's the case, it's possible that a simple cleaning might resolve the issue, but more invasive methods might be required should that prove ineffective.  A better look at things will definitely be necessary to know for sure, though.  Thanks for going along with my hunch and keeping me in the loop!  I really hope that it's possible to get this functioning 100% for you.

[Tulpa | 3,491]

On 11/8/2022 at 1:56 PM, darkchylde28 said:

The fact that it just keeps outputting that one character from the keyboard and more or less refusing to respond to most other keys indicates to me that there's something awry inside.

I would agree with this. While a good cleaning should be done just to take care of any sticking keys (which *might* be overriding the input of the others), I would go into this with the expectation that the circuitry or something is borked.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

23 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

I would agree with this. While a good cleaning should be done just to take care of any sticking keys (which *might* be overriding the input of the others), I would go into this with the expectation that the circuitry or something is borked.

Well, it really depends on how the keyboard is made.  With it having a solid pan below it, I'm hopeful that it's actually built like a real-deal keyboard from that era, where there are phyical keyswitches set into a circuit board.  If that's the case, it's possible to do something as simple as flood the affected keyswitch(es) with contact cleaner or DeOxIt or something similar and work them enough to get them to come back.  Worst case, if it's built like that, the keyswitches could be desoldered and pulled, then either replaced with spares of the same kind (doubtful that Nintendo made their own) or carefully taken apart and the contacts inside cleaned/refurbished appropriately before putting it back together.  With enough patience and care, virtually any decently made electronics from before the early 2000s can be repaired and put back to work.

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

I would start by checking the bracket key specifically.  The cause of the misfire is almost guaranteed to be nearby.  It could be as simple as a foreign object stuck under the key that's hitting the mechanism and holding it down.  I doubt it's going to be a short, but it's not impossible, but I'd exhaust the potential easy answer before delving into anything on the board or in the wiring.  But yeah, I don't the entire thing is borked beyond repair.