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Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:15 pm
by matsondawson
Hi guys, I picked up a mint Atari 400 from the U.S. but unfortunately the keyboard has a stuck key.
Does anyone have a broken 400 I can scavenge a keyboard from?

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:51 am
by tezza
I also have a problem with my Atari 400 keyboard except the reverse applies. Rather than a stuck key, I have a couple of keys that don't work. One of these is the START key, which is fairly important on the 400!

In my case I suspect the flimsy connector is at fault rather than the membrane keyboard itself. I think there may be a small nick in it.

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:28 pm
by YetiSeti
matsondawson wrote:Hi guys, I picked up a mint Atari 400 from the U.S. but unfortunately the keyboard has a stuck key.
Does anyone have a broken 400 I can scavenge a keyboard from?

Are you share some of your ebay experiences at all with pricing and postage methods? I'm still a bit cold with the feet to bid on overseas auctions as I suspect post prices may vary hugely depending on services and method chosen, and perhaps the unwillingness or inability of sellers to select the cheaper options. Then there's always the sellers trying to make from the postage as well. I left behind an auction of about 350 ZX Spectrum games in the UK because I was unsure of the post amount. It was about 40kg worth. Is it a lot cheaper to source from the US over the UK?

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:23 pm
by matsondawson
I only buy off ebay if I don't see items I want of good quality coming up on trademe.
So it'd have to be boxed and guranteed working.
The 400 I bought was boxed and looks mint, they even said it worked.
But a dead psu, and wierd keyboard tells me otherwise.

Shipping was us$126 for the Atari, and a mint Vectrex I got recently was about the same.
The new Atari 600xl from Venezuala was about us$130.
And a Vectrex I got from Sydney aus$90 for shipping.

The atari 400 is the first time I've had an issue with an ebay item out of 12 auctions.
Usually I check the feedback and make sure it comes from real people, then take the plunge.

More money than sense, that's me.

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:36 pm
by tezza
My Model 4 was about $US280 shipping. It was large and heavy! Not an ebay purchase but a private sale.

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 8:26 am
by tezza
Matt,

Any luck so far with the Atari 400? My replacement keyboard arrived from the UK. I installed it only to discover that the system was the same. Then I found that my SELECT key wasn't non-functioning after all..it actually appears to be STUCK ON....same problem you have!

I'm wondering if you have the same fault as I do caused by a similar thing. Anyway, post me a private message if you want to borrow a keyboard to check.

A disassembly and diagnosis job awaits me some time after Xmas.

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 3:06 pm
by tezza
Ok, fixed this. It was the GTIA chip. I replaced it with a spare (from a junk Atari 800XL) and the problem has disappeared.

Matt, this solution is unlikely to be your problem. The GTIA was a suspect in this case as it controlled the four control keys to the right of the keyboard. However, the rest of the keyboard (including your "B") is controlled by the POKEY chip.

Re: Atari 400 keyboard wanted

PostPosted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 9:16 pm
by matsondawson
OK, tried replacing the POKEY still no go, R's galore!