This is the unabridged discription to on how to make your keyboard
for your Amiga 500 detachable (like it's 1000, 2x00, and 3000 cousins)
 
What upsets me the most is the fact that is is so easy to disconnect the
keyboard, it probably would have taken about 1 hour of designing, and
only the cost of the keyboard case (probably about $1 a machine) to
make the 500 with a detachable keyboard...
 
What you will need (this is going to be a fairly lengthy discription, sorry
about the bandwidth...)
 
a Torx Screwdriver size 10 (The ones used to adjust the car's headlights
         are too big (size 15 and 20)
 
Phillips screwdriver (Preferablly size #2)
 
Wire splicing equipment (electrical tape, solding iron, whatever you
         usually use to splice wires...) You will have to do about 8-9
         of them
 
A 2x00 or 3000 keyboard case, find someone who had a keyboard go bad and
         buy the case off of them, check at your local users groups or
         talk to a C= dealer and see if anyone ordered a replacement
         recently (Heck the C= may even have one you can buy), about
         $10 is a fair price I think...  You can fake it with a IBM
         case, but, you are going to be doing some SERIOUS cutting to make
         it work.  You might also try and call up C= directly and not
         take 'No' for an answer, ask to talk to their boss...
 
A drill with a small bits... This is only if you want to have the power
         and drive light in the 2x00 or 3000 keyboard case...
 
And Also a wire (preferablly coily to give it that detachable keboard
         look) with at least 8 (nine would be nice though) seperate
         wires in it, get it how ever far you want to "detach" your
         keyboard (within reason)
 
You are also going to have to figure out some place for the Keboard wire
to come out of... either through the hole in your case you are about to 
create or out a corner of ther case (that you will have to cut out)
 
Disconnect everything from the computer, and turn it over
 
Take the Torx (size 10) screwdriver and remove the six screws on the bottom
of the case, and turn it right side up, and remove the top... Mine was
_EXTREMELY_ dusty on the inside, spend a bit clearing it out (to be nice to
your machine)
 
The keyboard is EXACTLY the same as the one in the 2x00 series, matter of
fact the 2x00 series even has the holes for the power and drive lights
 
It is connect by two things, one a bundle of 8 wires, grasp the wires
about 2-3 inches above the metal shielding and gently pull straight
up, with a little but of left and right "rocking" and it will come
right out, and then dissconnet the uninsulated ground wire from the disk
drive with the phillips screwdriver. If you don't care about the Drive
and power light, remove these from the keyboard, and cut the 7 and the
8 wire on the connector (to the motherboard), and also disregard the
comments about cutting drive and power light holes in the keyboard case.
 
Voila!  Your keyboard is now free.  If you have got a working 2x00 keyboard,
 and just want to use it, then dispose of your 500 keyboard (note, you 
won't have the drive and power light). and hook up the 1-6 wires 
accordingly to the connector by splicing, and put the case back on and 
your done.
 
Before you splice any wires, make sure you have the proper wire(s) with
a Ohm meter...
 
If you are going to use the 500 keyboard, you are going to have to open up
the 2x00 case and cut out two "prongs" that stick out, one by the keypad
hole, and one by the Left Alt key.  Then cut out the holes for the Drive
and power light by matching up the holes from the top of your 500 case
to the top of the keyboard case and drilling and filing.  
 
Then splice the wires together on the keyboard end (first match the 
appropriate wire on the connector to the motherboard to the keyboard 
cable you bought (with the eight or nine seperate wires in it), and 
then "splice" the other end to the connector, here is where the problem 
arises.  If you don't want to mess with the big unisulated wire, then 
cut it off or solder it off or something, if you feel as if it is there 
for a reason (for what I'm not sure, because the 2x00 does not have one, 
and your keyboard for the 500 already has a ground.  I suppose if is to 
get rid of any static charge that may build up, but, the keyboard case is 
all plastic anyway...), then splice it into the "ninth" wire and hook up 
the other end to the original ground location on the disk drive.  I don't 
see any real problem with not having this wire hooked up, mine works fine
without it... but, I suppose it is there for SOMETHING.  What, I don't know.
 
After that, plug in the connector and test it out to see if it works, if
it does, tape the wires down or something so that if you move or pull on the 
keyboard, it is not pulling directly on the connector to the motherboard.
If not, check to see if you plugged it properly to the motherboard.  
 
Put the case back on the 500 and you are done. There is still the problem 
about the hole in the "face" of your 500, I am going to put a plastic 
sheet back there sooner or later, but for now, I am just going to put 
some velcro on the back of the keyboard and stick it over the hole when 
I am not using it. (the keyboard that is)
 
Email me any questions, or post them on the net...
 
For my next trick, I will turn this ordinary cockroach into a soldier for
Saddam...

Raoul Rodriguez    n368bq@tamuts.tamu.edu

"Several errant electrons jumped when they shouldn't have at a place they
shouldn't have, resulting in what shouldn't have.  In short, a short."
-Bloom County