I got my picocalc a couple of weeks ago and have been having fun with it. The form factor is great and the pico has plenty of grunt for what I want it for.
I’ve been using MMBasic and have written a program to log amateur radio contacts when I’m out and about operating portable. It’s been a while since I wrote any basic, but the googler has been a massive help!
I’m noticing quite a bit of creaking around the Ctrl Alt Space ; and ’ keys and the keys in the same position on the next row up.
There’s the satisfying click when you press the key, but before the press there’s a noticeable creak. I’ve tried tightening & loosening the screws, re-seating the keyboard but not having any luck stopping it.
If i squeeze the two case elements together under the space bar it stops, but that’s no good for when I want to use it.
Anyone else experiencing this?
Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop it?
There’s a link to a YT video showing the problem in all its creaky glory.
No creaking here other than in the area of the two centre screws (I’ve drilled out the holes and modified the screws so they hold the circuit board and display ribbon in place when removing the back). Hence a little creaking there but not while typing !. Are you sure the circuit board and back case are seated correctly ?
I do experience some creaking when using space and the likes. I did add a piece of cloth between the keyboard and the main board, which helps dampen the sound of the keys and the creaking a little bit. I can imagine that using a small piece of cork might help maintaining everything in place.
Thanks, Ben. I thought about your fabric idea for a while, then remembered I had some thin fabric tape, (for stopping creaks & squeaks in cars) I’ve run a small length along the very bottom edge of the main board that overlaps it slightly, so the lower clamshell slides past it when sealed. Hey presto, creaks gone! Have a great weekend.
This is pcb flex as it is unsupported in the bottom middle portion. To solve it, I squirted some hot glue in the gap between board and battery holder with batteries installed (while putting a little bit of pressure on the board to make the gap bigger). This will make it more rigid and reduce the flex to almost nothing.
Be careful not to scrape up the pcb as there are traces in that area.
Yeah, I haven’t done it yet, but next time I take the back off I’ll stick some in. The fabric tape has solved the symptom of the flex, but the hot glue seems like the fix to the flex itself.
