Easiest thing to do is to get a free old broken A1000 from someone, then throw the computer in the closet and use the keyboard.
Normally when an A1000 breaks, it is the computer, or a connector that is broken, not the keyboard.
I don't know what the inside of an A1000 keyboard looks like or I could tell u what kind it is. Could u post a pic of the inside of your keyboard?
Some A2000 keyboards have the Cherry Black switches, which were the absolute best keyboard switches you could buy back in the 1980s! I would be very curious to know if you have those same switches in your A1000!
Once I know for a fact what sort of technology your A1000 keyboard is using I might be able to supply you with actual repair options.
I'm sorry but I gave my A1000 away many many years ago (1991). And I don't have any contact info for that guy. I am pretty sure he would not still be using it or have any interest in it. If I had some way of getting it back I could mail u the keyboard.
Or if you could find out if they ever made an adapter to adapt an A2000/A3000/A4000 keyboard to fit the A1000. Or an adapter to adapt a regular find-them-everywhere-for-free PC keyboard to work on A1000.
I am certain that ANY kid with who is interested in electronics could make you an adapter. I mean the keyboard connector on A1000 is a standard US phone jack (I think its called RJ-11, and an A2000/A3000 keyboard uses what is called "5 pin DIN") Anyone who knows how to adapt one cable to another can totally custom make u an adapter more easily than fixing the keyboard. Because if your keyboard uses Cherry switches then the whole keyboard must be disassembled (this will take longer than making the adapter) then the defective switches must be desoldered, without damaging the circuit board, then brand new switches must be soldered on. I can't remember how much new Cherry switches cost, something like $1.00 to $4.00 each but its all the labor of the repair that would cost the $$$
It is a testament to Commodore that you would even WANT to use an A1000 keyboard in 2012. Normal pc keyboard keycaps are made from ABS plastic. This kind of plastic yellows with age and gets brittle and breaks. So any normal keyboard from any normal pc company is simply unusable 20 years later. But commodore always used keys made from an indestructible plastic called PBT which just never breaks and the writing never fades. If you buy a random $150.00 fancy keyboard at the computer store, the writing will fade in 20 days to 1 year, depending on the technology used. But Commodore always printed their keycaps using DoubleShot technology or Dye Sublimation technology. That method is way expensive but it lasts forever.
Commodore Business Machines FTW!
