Compal (h)EL8x (and probably (i)FL9x) squeeky/flexy keyboard solution

Hello!

It seems a lot of ranting has been done as regarding the keyboard qualities on these notebooks. I have also been not too happy with the flex, showing the keyboard as one of the lowest quality overall in the notebook.

So after some searching I've recently decided to try out some dual sided tape.

Must say the quality improved greatly, although I'd preferably love to rather use an air-permeable rubber/sponge-like material cut out in the shape of the keyboard and place it underneath, for the total quality, as it would provide a more rigid base - I couldn't for example stick the tape bits everywhere underneath the keyboard, leaving some 'spots' where the space it has underneath it is bigger.

Oh and I must say the fan noise seems noticably less! It seems the keyboard had brought the a decent amount of resonance, adding to the noise. So thumbs up to me on that too!

Pictures follow:

http://szklo.eu.org/~imachine/foty/dlubanie/compal_klawiatura

Enjoy The total cost of this was 13,50SEK (~$2) and about 20 minutes of time - the gain quite significant.

 

I've done the same thing, keyboard is great after this tweak. Your keyboardless laptop looks exactly like mine with the tape.

 

I'd still prefer a uniform solution in the way of having a one sheet of material underneath, but I guess the tape is doing the job so far pretty well too

 

So if we can get the keyboard out, can we replace it with something better? Ie, one with a proper layout? Is this even possible?

 

Proper? Define proper? fn/ctrl keys switched? Yeah, sure, I guess. Anything that fits the standards should go well ;]

Personally I think you could just switch the keys, physically, and then remap them in whatever OS you use, tho that would seem a very unnecesary work at that, since, well, it can't be THAT much of a problem. I run it, I like it, I'm not complaining - the good old 'works for me' works for me once again as regards the keyboard

 

Hmm, that doesn't seem to be a bad tweak, I hope it doesn't affect temperature in any way, though you didn't seem to block any air vents or fans through that tape.

 

I thought that these Compals vent themselves through the keyboards, hence you should never close the laptop while its still on, especially during gaming.

 

You can see there's still room for air ventilation on thic picture:

 

can i use youre photos of keybord upgrade on my webpage?

 

The good thing about this tweak is that I have yet to change out the tape. It's still working perfectly after a whole year.

This was actually a tweak discovered when the HEL80 was released. It's in the HEL80 owner's lounge...

 

Does this apply for the HGL30 as well? I noticed that mine is a little to flexible on the right side of the keyboard.

 

Yep. Here's the fix in the HEL80 lounge

 

Sweet! A simple, cost-effective solution, I like

 

didn't know about the previous fix; this is not a rip-off as regards copying what someone else did earlier, despite what it may look like.

and yes, fake, you can use it, providing you will paste a link to this thread, not the page+photos of mine.

cheers.

 

How do you take out the keyboard?

 

Removing keyboard

Picture of two screws holding down the keyboard

After screws are off, carefully pull keyboard up and lay it flat on the palm rest. Then add tape or whatever else you want to stop the bounce.