A few weeks ago I had a mishap, I dropped my Spectralis onto my Analog Keys. Thankfully nothing appeared damaged on the AK (although my Spectralis obtained a small scar). The distance was not far, maybe an inch or two, but anyway - come back a few days ago and I noticed the Level encoder was not seated well and moved around like a loose tooth. I realized this must have been what broke the fall. The encoder still worked, so I assumed a solder joint was loose - but either way, I needed to go down the rabbit hole of opening the Analog Keysā¦ So here are my photos (since I have not seen them elsewhere). Also, this should go without say, but: PERFORM AT YOUR OWN RISK!
First, unscrew ALL of the T10 torx screws on the back (Iām not sharing a photo cuz you can flip your own unit over and see them all. There are a bunch on the outside and like 8-10 holding the keyboard in place. In another topic, someone did NOT mention removing the keybed. By disconnecting the keybed as well, you will save yourself some of the trouble that I had (an extremely difficult connector to disconnect).
When you first lift up the bottom, be extremely cautious for one thing. With the keys facing you, the I/O board that is attached to the base of the unit (that you have unscrewed and the keys are no longer attached to), there is a PCB that can get caught on the screw eyelets. See the red circles in the following photo. After you slightly pull up the unit, you will want to slide the base leftward to allow this PCB to clear this section.
Now, because I left the keybed attached to the base, I had to also remove the grey cable from the keys and the cable coming off the side, but if you follow my steps, you can leave that plugged in for now. In the following image, youāll see highlighted the 3 cables you must disconnect from the base before you can remove it.
I feel like a pretty big idiot at this point as I realize I NEVER took photos of the base board PCB after removal, which contains all the I/O pieces. Iām really sorry about that! Itās the part that contains the power supply section as well. This is what happens when you do things without thinking about your intentions
Next - remove all the screws from the top-mounted PCB, shown below. You will also want to pull away the keybed most likely at this point, so pull the grey cable off and the side cable as well. Thereās a connector in the lower left hand corner that needs to be disconnected as well. Note that I unscrewed all the screws attached to the smaller PCB below the main PCB (which contains the joystick).
The reason I disconnect the bottom board as well is that it was easiest for me to pull both boards out due to their connector shown below.
It was not difficult for them to come out together. I simply pulled them up slowly and out of the unit, taking care not to hit the metal supports for the screws.
Below - see the top board in all its glory. Note that the āissueā I had was that the Level encoder had somehow decoupled from the claws that hang down over it. I just had to reseat these and it is held back down just fine, thankfully.
I hope this is helpful, despite missing the I/O and power boards Again, sorry about that. At least this guide should provide you with the courage to open your AK and make whatever repairs you need to make. Also - Iām just sharing my experience - donāt take what Iām suggesting as an alternative to experienced help. Iām just an idiot that pulls apart gear hoping nothing goes wrong. If you donāt know what youāre doing, take your gear to professionals who will do it right.
I will say it again: PERFORM AT YOUR OWN RISK!