Thanks for commenting.
After looking at the basic setup of a mouse and keyboard, though, I have to ask: Is there scrolling functionality? Could we (for example) hold down the meta key and use the touchpoint to scroll, or is that out of the limitations of the hardware?
The prototype has only 2 mouse buttons because I used a Trackpoint IV from an IBM 8xxx keyboard. The mass production model was supposed to have a thin horizontal plastic stripe as a third mouse button. Not sure if this will happen with the kit as I have to keep the number of custom made parts to a minimum. And three of the regular buttons would ruin the design. :-)
Using a regular key should be possible if the pointing stick can be read by the Teensy.
Devlin.co.uk do keycaps - might cut down on the shipping costs...
I remember these now, thanks for reminding me. Other manufacturers than SP are interesting if the
crud problem cannot be solved.
What would the difficulty level in putting one of those things together? And what would the price estimate approximately be?
Too early for pricing. Hard to say what the difficulty level will be. I'd prefer 'bolt together' but this means pre-assembling the pcbs. Maybe this can be done, maybe other members will do it to make some money. Worst case it will be DIY.
I will avoid SMT parts for the pcb though.
My first post on GH.
Only ever found this forum because of the MiniGuru.
Count me in.
Welcome! And thanks.
lowpoly, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.
Signature keys are compatible with both cherry and filco layouts.(Stem and stabilizer) The space bar has dual middle stems to accommodate.
Some members have already ordered color rings from SP. I will find a picture and post it here.
They can produce blank keys or keys with legends. Blanks are cheaper.
The most affordable keys are the abs doubleshot keys.
If you can get a CAD or Adobe Illustrator file with your swirl image, they can make a double shot key of it.
Extra keys like the long control or the blanks cost and additional $0.80-$1.15 per key. This is also mitigated by quantity.
I asked for quotes for 25, 50, 100 sets. I will get the quotes for 5 and 10, but in my experience the price drop once you hit 25 is significant.
[pic]
Thanks, those are good news.
As for stabilizers, do you know if SP has stabilizers? I'll try to get quotes and MOQ for Cherry stabilizers anyway. Then we can decide.
Having thought about this during the weekend, it may be a bit early to get keycap prices. It will be several months until everything is ready.
I'll try to get those color rings from SP. Was the upper one the ABS ring and there is clear plastic among those? This would mean there could be double shots with clear symbols? That would be great because with a 4 layer pcb it would be easy to have individual LEDs per switch. For ex. you could have clear in black keycaps and if you want to see the symbols you switch on the LEDs. Teensy++ has enough additional connections for a 8x8 matrix for the LEDs. Meaning you could program which keys will light. Like WASD or F,J. Just thinking aloud. However, this would be too much for a first step.
By modding my way you get a modern Lenovo trackpoint with three mousebuttons and Win7 drivers. Which I think is a better solution. Those generic Pointing Sticks is usually not as good as IBM/Lenovo trackpoint... And as I understood it only has 2 mouse buttons?
Good work! IBM did use 'generic Pointing Sticks' too. :-) The TP4 I used for the prototype was made by Bourns, not by IBM. No third button on this one. Not available anymore, btw. I'm going to use one made by a company that has been an OEM supplier for Thinkpad pointing in the past. It will have 3 button capabilities. Also, running it through the Teensy means that it should be possible to influence the characteristics in the firmware, no driver necessary. Well, that's the plan at least.