Author Topic: MsErgo4k+CherryBn+TenKeyLess+G15+FootSwith+Abs plastic fab+TEkeyStaggering  (Read 97259 times)

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woody

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MsErgo4k+CherryBn+TenKeyLess+G15+FootSwith+Abs plastic fab+TEkeyStaggering
« Reply #50 on: Mon, 29 November 2010, 18:22:35 »
Where is "DEL" ?

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #51 on: Mon, 29 November 2010, 19:23:22 »
it's there, scroll back one page and see the 2x3 area.
@edit@
oh i get it, *sigh* late nites.

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #52 on: Tue, 30 November 2010, 12:54:41 »
basically done with left side modding, i'll have to throw in a quick fit for the f1-f4 and esc (and a fillin key next to f1 prolly blue cherry, idk why.


tired of abs smell, gonna try my hand at soldering now.
couldn't get the damn hakko to work w/ 24 gauge wire idk why, someone smarter than me with soldering plz tell me.
decided to try solding 30gauge to the pins here's a pic for reference
right side are womens hair teezers (i know they are horribly mangled i've used them for picking out the solder that was sucked into the solder sucker and i had to realign the points with a plier, they are strictly my tools no, they don't touch hair lol)
left side is pencil sharped to razer thin.

basically i "wrap" the 30gauge wire around the pin and drop some solder on top of it. It seems to work and the bond is strong.

Offline Lane Dean

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« Reply #53 on: Tue, 30 November 2010, 12:54:41 »
This is one of the coolest mods I've ever seen (and I've been in the case mod community for 10 years).
So many possibilities...

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #54 on: Wed, 01 December 2010, 14:33:15 »
41 pins soldered...
the issue isn't the soldering, it's the close vicinity of the pcb and all those electronically stuff and everything is so tiny, each connection is strong though so i'm not worried.


the purpose of soldering wires to the pins is so that i can connect them to this euro style connection thing, and then connect the wires from the keyswitch to there. If anyone has any other suggestions as to how to do this or how to organize the wiring i'm all ears. (soldering to another breadboard? idk how that'd work unless someone could give me a quick link and picture).


this is all so that i could trace the keys from the controller. I was able to trace one membrane successfully, but the other just made me loose my mind (following those thin lines, they slowly begin to merge and you have to start all over again). So i have one computer with the aqua key test, the reason i use a laptop and not my main computer is that i found out is that the media functions will activate no matter what, so it could fast shut down or sleep your computer, can't have that happening on my work/home pc, but on my kitchen laptop it's no problem.
The other netbook just has googledocs running, cuz well it's a netbook and googledocs is the spreadsheet it can handle best, plus it's easier for me to type it out rather than writing it on a piece of paper cuz then i might not be able to read my own handwriting. plus i can always print a lot of copies too.

Offline nanu

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« Reply #55 on: Wed, 01 December 2010, 19:12:45 »
Quote from: Lanx;253904
unrelated but a project i want to do later
Show Image

think i'll use "claw grip"


Nice! I've wanted to do this but instantly gave up by not wanting to do away with the bulky scroll wheel.

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #56 on: Sat, 11 December 2010, 14:27:26 »
6bucks for a hot glue gun how cool is that? so i'll use this to hot glue the wires down on my pcb board initial layer (i'll show an image about what i mean) then i'll hot glue down the final layer. note i'll only do this for the 2(5x4) clusters meaning all the alpha keys (basically the home section) everything else (caps/shift) will be wired seperately incase i feel like changing the layout again (i haven't finalized it yet, thanks to the main forum and talks about keyboard layout you guys are making me wonder!)


i found this case i think for fishing line, it's good to sorta organize or spool out the wire you'll be soldering soon, showing it in case ppl want organization options. Note it says sample on the front, cuz i tool it from my fiancee who didn't need it anymore who bought it initially to hold make up samples. (don't ask i made a whole organized wall for her that is the envy of any girl that comes in and sees it)


This is always the issue i'm having... TOO MUCH. i keep thinking of too much stuff i can "cram" in or make my final mod... I'm resolved to the fact that I might have to suck it up and make a v3, but i don't think ppl would like that, heck i wouldn't like that either! but i can't help it...
so far 2 things i'm on the fence about.
1. buying a teensy and learning wth a teensy is and learning i'd have to program it to make a numpad for jkl789nm, area.
2. cut up a controller and in place of where the space bar is gonna be i'll have a 4 way switch. Basically i'll mimic a nostromo, the nostromo if you think about it makes full use of your fingers AND your thumbs. Think about it, your thumb is regulated to a spacebar at best. If i slap on 2, 4 way switches on there it could end up being my modifiers, i was thinking about the 4 just be a basic modifier section, consisting of
space
ctrl
shift
alt

i'd love to find a way to "fit it in" somehow, i'll play around with this option too.


notice it's a ps1 controller i'm gonna hack off, yes one of the first controllers, not even a dual shock. (i think a basic nes controller might work better with less plastic idk, i'll experiment, first i gotta find one on ebay gave my nes to my nephews long ago)

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #57 on: Sat, 11 December 2010, 14:42:22 »
actually a quick browse through the controller section of ebay i notice they sell parts and the analogue stick looks perfect for this (i originally wanted a 4 pad but it seems too impossible to fit in) but the analogue might work better


yes you can thank my bunny 8 years ago for making me wonder why i kept on dying somethings, cuz he was eating my controller wire. And yes i'm a pack rat i kept a broken wire chewed ps2 controller for 8 years... thinking i'll learn to solder some day (which i did!)



the stick is actually 5 switches if most remember, up/down/left/right and press in (just like the scroll wheel that goes up and down and presses in).
gonna desolder this and see where i can fit it!

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #58 on: Sun, 12 December 2010, 14:15:08 »
time to start wiring up, here's the work station


i'm prepping the underside to tin the pins and basically use it to hold the keys in place.


i can't create nice "volcanos" with the tinning i guess it's cuz the holes i drilled don't have the ring of tin to create volvanos so i'm stuck with blobs.


all wired up, now to figure out how to use a glue gun and if i should bead or make thin lines? advice?


if you look at my spreadsheet and pin layout this is how i believe companies are doing "gaming optimized" nkro, they are basically just giving WASD it's own pins (they'll be some correlating pins like a will be grouped with like p, cuz it's so far away).

Offline taswyn

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« Reply #59 on: Sun, 12 December 2010, 20:25:16 »
That's a staggering amount of work you've put into that D: It looks amazing

*glances in the direction of her two dead MS 4000s, then down at her G80-8963*

If only I wasn't sure that any attempt I made at something similar wouldn't be doomed to horrible failure >.>; That and it really is pretty daunting D:

You do realize, though, that the ultimate version of this mod would be to order some odd colored LEDs and get some doubleshots that worked for backlighting XD Well, maybe not quite ultimate, since that would need laserz and the ability to fly /nod. But it would be quite neat.

Maybe in v3? =P

Do you think it would be possible to re-use the 4000's keycaps (probably would require cutting up some MX keycaps for the stem attachment and epoxying to 4000 caps)?

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #60 on: Sun, 12 December 2010, 21:04:15 »
Quote from: taswyn;261957
That's a staggering amount of work you've put into that D: It looks amazing

*glances in the direction of her two dead MS 4000s, then down at her G80-8963*

If only I wasn't sure that any attempt I made at something similar wouldn't be doomed to horrible failure >.>; That and it really is pretty daunting D:

You do realize, though, that the ultimate version of this mod would be to order some odd colored LEDs and get some doubleshots that worked for backlighting XD Well, maybe not quite ultimate, since that would need laserz and the ability to fly /nod. But it would be quite neat.

Maybe in v3? =P

Do you think it would be possible to re-use the 4000's keycaps (probably would require cutting up some MX keycaps for the stem attachment and epoxying to 4000 caps)?

on the question of keycaps i've been looking over both the ms4k and g15 keycaps. If i had to repurpose any of them i'd try the g15 since they are for backlight and for illumination but that would take a lot of work and it won't look as nice since the g15 stems are wider than cherries so you'd have to essentially cut off the g15 stems and glue on cherry stems but then you'd have a big glue splotch on your illuminated key so that would defeat the purpose of it looking nice (i can't look at the g15 keys for long, it was a used ebay g15 and the keys are nasty!).

But what would you want to repurpose the ms 4k keycaps for?

i plan on just using the dolche doubleshots, i've made the keys wide enough so that i wouldn't have to cut up any keys (the slant where "a" meets caps and z meets shift for instance, barely anyroom).

Offline taswyn

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« Reply #61 on: Sun, 12 December 2010, 21:41:06 »
Quote
But what would you want to repurpose the ms 4k keycaps for?

Mostly to have the curved keys (especially the space) to fit the casing snug... but of course the upside to using the mx keycaps is you're using doubleshots, so that's sort of a wash.

Quote
If i had to repurpose any of them i'd try the g15 since they are for backlight and for illumination but that would take a lot of work and it won't look as nice since the g15 stems are wider than cherries so you'd have to essentially cut off the g15 stems and glue on cherry stems but then you'd have a big glue splotch on your illuminated key so that would defeat the purpose of it looking nice

If I were going to do a backlight mod, I think I would try using keycaps (may as well use switches too) from a tg3. Not all of them would be the right size, but you could at least have the letters and numbers using illuminated keys... really it's not like you need the rest lit up. That is, unless standard white on black keycap doubleshots are translucent enough for backlighting to work with them...

I think I need to get something with doubleshots to play with >.> Now that I've started thinking about this I'm not sure I can unthink it =X

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #62 on: Sun, 12 December 2010, 22:42:46 »
yea a tg3 backlight keycaps were kinda in my mind, i wouldn't need the switches really, could just put in whatever color leds i liked, but at some point even I have to say... stop! heh. back lighting really is going way out of my scope for the v2, as you said, maybe a v3 (i think i'd kill myself) but for now the g15 lcd is surprisingly blinding.
Repurposing the ms4k keys wouldn't really be useful in this case since i'm not staggering the keys and the ms4k keys are made in a way to "fill in" gaps (such as ghbnty, they are all a little bigger) and i always thought the ms4k space bar was rather nasty feeling, tho the gap in space does irk me, can't do much about it, maybe if these ps2 controller mods pan out, i won't have to.

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #63 on: Tue, 14 December 2010, 02:11:21 »
get good with the volcanoes now , working on the right side


both sides wired up (just have to connect both sides together, this is layer one, i'll show layer 2 with the plastic in the coming days). and beaded glueing, i guess i'll get better at the glue.

Offline msiegel

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« Reply #64 on: Tue, 14 December 2010, 02:15:47 »
lanx, you're an inspiration.

those slabs of fiberglass are turning into art :)

Filco Zero (Fukka) AEKII sliders and keycaps * Filco Tenkeyless MX brown * IBM F/AT parts: modding
Model F Mod Log * Open Source Generic keyboard controller

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #65 on: Tue, 14 December 2010, 12:06:29 »
Quote from: msiegel;262699
lanx, you're an inspiration.

those slabs of fiberglass are turning into art :)

thx kind words,

related note, teensy programming is scrapped for this v2 mod, it was a late edition mod to be put in anyway, and learning how to program
(i was a horrible student at programming anyway)
would have taken too long and i wouldn't get any soldering done
maybe for v3
just like i'll pretty much just rely on g15 for backlighting no other backlights or illuminated keys, again maybe for v3.

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #66 on: Tue, 14 December 2010, 19:26:21 »
time to do some physical modding. putting in epoxy here and gonna spray it, basically filling in the gaps and trying to make it look nice, note i later sanded it down, somehow finger prints show really well otherwise.


While that's drying/ hardening time to make volcanos!


volcano making got easier, even with no solder rings.


mock up basically left side, and right side 3 column, i had to redo the right side section to fit better, then i'll have to solder it up and wires and all.

question i have for myself is... do i want a ps3 keyboard? look at the joystick! it actually fits moves nicely, i'm on the fence here.

Offline WhiteRice

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« Reply #67 on: Tue, 14 December 2010, 22:51:37 »
Heck yea. Get some mouse buttons on there are you have your very own lanx/guru hybrid going on.

Offline taswyn

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« Reply #68 on: Wed, 15 December 2010, 02:56:16 »
Eeee, it's looking so good ^o^

Quote
question i have for myself is... do i want a ps3 keyboard? look at the joystick! it actually fits moves nicely, i'm on the fence here.

And that looks neat too, but would it interfere with actually using it as a keyboard, in terms of typing?

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #69 on: Wed, 15 December 2010, 18:12:45 »
masking out the sides with scotchtape, i don't have painters tape laying around so i hope this works if not, no big deal i guess.


got a template made for the final physical mod (almost) the spacebar, i put a piece of paper to fit and poked lots of holes, came out with this.


putty'in up the space bar pcb and gonna cut it.


basically it cut to fit, just had to dremel a bit on the sides, but not bad.


spacebar pcb sprayed.


forgot to show that i putty'd up the right side and cut the wrist rest to fit too, looks nicer w/o all the glare and no gaping holes!


this is the underside of it all assembled and screwed in, time solder the connecting sections together, this is gonna be an even bigger undertaking than soldering alone since it's gonna be lots of criss cross, this is what i call the second layer, first layer was directly to pcb, now we're solding directly to wire. which is why i also took so much time dremeling out holes and sections so i could see each solder joint while the pcb was attached to the frame.


i bought a psp joystick controller too, it's the really small one, just to see how it'd fit, i don't know i think i'm keeping the right thumb/ space bar. I seem to only use the right thumb anyway for space so i could fully use the right thumb for a joystick switch for up/down/left/right => for modifiers shift/alt/ctrl (and don't know last one maybe space).


Offline Lanx

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« Reply #71 on: Wed, 15 December 2010, 22:40:09 »
so like i need help, the wires coming out of my g15 are getting unwieldy and i think i need stuff but i have no idea what they're called.
i need this


connected to this


with these wires ends connected to the keyboard wires


to end up with this.


basically i want the wires coming out of the g15 controller to connect to a breadboard, with the header pin things, then i want the keyboard wires connected to the black thing.

definitions please! i don't know electronics.

Offline msiegel

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« Reply #72 on: Wed, 15 December 2010, 22:59:11 »
Quote from: Lanx;263808

Show Image



i know that's perfboard


Quote from: Lanx;263808

Show Image



and those look like some kind of right angle headers


Quote from: Lanx;263808

Show Image



EDIT: aha, they seem to be female breadboard jumper cables
« Last Edit: Wed, 15 December 2010, 23:02:10 by msiegel »

Filco Zero (Fukka) AEKII sliders and keycaps * Filco Tenkeyless MX brown * IBM F/AT parts: modding
Model F Mod Log * Open Source Generic keyboard controller


Offline Lanx

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« Reply #74 on: Thu, 16 December 2010, 13:42:16 »
i can only find the wires on ebay i guess as long as i look for
breadboard/perfboard female jumper with 0.1 spacing i'm good
but the ebay sellers are from china, they take like 10days need to find US source!

Offline msiegel

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« Reply #75 on: Thu, 16 December 2010, 13:50:44 »
although i don't know if they'll have everything you want, i've had good results ordering from Jameco

Filco Zero (Fukka) AEKII sliders and keycaps * Filco Tenkeyless MX brown * IBM F/AT parts: modding
Model F Mod Log * Open Source Generic keyboard controller

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #76 on: Thu, 16 December 2010, 16:50:15 »
so here's the second layer that i'm talking about basically pass the raw pcb stage, we're doing it through plastic.
I did not anticipate how difficult this would be, even with my planned ahead drilled holes that exposes all the keys. I have to wriggle around every which way and then i smell something weird and i notice i'm melting abs plastic cuz i have my solder iron at an obtuse angle. I'm telling you I'm getting weird smells from the solder then from the accidental abs melting along with the solder burning up old spray paint.
Trying to learn to solder with my left hand while i have a wire in place is also impossible, it's like learning to write with your opposite hand really, oh how i wish i were ambidexterous now.


one it's all soldered on i'll then hot glue all the wires down, notice my horrible attempts at organizing this mess of wires by passing some through a heatshrink wrap.

Offline Fishraper

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« Reply #77 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 10:26:13 »
Have you gone to a radioshack? They carry stuff like that.

If you can't find it there, I used to use http://www.digikey.com for school.


Offline Lanx

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« Reply #79 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 12:52:33 »
i wanted to do a cost page, for my own records so i'm just going to list stuff.
used ms4k 30$
used cherry 8200 30$
footswitch 6$
used g15 15$
assorted micro switches 5$
breadboard/wires/headers 10$
spray paint 5$
sandpaper 5$ assorted (i had some modeling sandpaper left around somewhere too, this was like 300 grit built into a nail file, kinda nice)
putty 9$
ps2/ps1 controller 5$
psp controller switch 4$

tools used (either puchased exclusively for this mod or had lying around as a cost of what it "takes" for this)
dremel $60 (had it since 99!)
hakko936 $80 (i soldered my v1 with a radio shack iron, there is no way i was going through that again, need a quality iron for so many switches or you'll just wait forever for it to heat up)
glue gun/sticks $10
drill/bits $10/$5
air blower/vaccum (air blower is almost essential to get all the bits out of the way so is vaccum, not gonna list price tho, too basic but airblower was about 40$)
wire stripper/exacto knife (few bucks, if you are going to be "cutting" plastic get a nice blade like exacto or a modeling knife)
safety glasses/surgical mask/work gloves 20$ (protect yourself and your fingers!)

Offline msiegel

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« Reply #80 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 15:28:30 »
these guys are having a sale... they may have some parts you need :)

Filco Zero (Fukka) AEKII sliders and keycaps * Filco Tenkeyless MX brown * IBM F/AT parts: modding
Model F Mod Log * Open Source Generic keyboard controller

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #81 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 23:39:53 »
thx, i think i might take a trip out to a larger radioshack instead i guess, the one in the mall

i'm having an inkling of where i want the new thumb buttons
here i have the psp joystick, if you notice it is like amazingly small, i might actually put that stick there and idk maybe use the ps2 joystick in the middle. but then i need someway to have like trackpoint logic!


here's the mass of spaghetti wiring, i'm trying to at least organize it by color, red is for columns. so that is done.


here i got the rows 80% done, (i couldn't take soldering anymore) it's in blue, i guess it makes sense, but i'm running out of blue wire! (used it on the nostromo mod, apparently a lot of wiring).

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #82 on: Sat, 18 December 2010, 15:03:45 »
90% done soldering!, well just the hard cherry keys, i still have to solder a few loner keys (like ctrl/alt/shift) i have to find out where i want space and mod that, i have to figure out what i want the middle strip to be (the 2 keys between G-H) most likely backspace on top and enter on the bottom. Then i have to solder 5 cherry macro keys figure out how i want to do this footswitch, solder on back/foward (which will be macros) then solder on microswitches for all the media keys.
but 90% of the 86keys are ready basically.

Then i'll have to figure out my g15 lcd issue (i really don't want to give up the lcd, it's really cool!)
then once that's finished, hardmount the pcb then connect the lcd "somewhere" find a spot for where i want the foot pedal to connect, and find a space for the usb hub as well.
Then if have time find out where i want to slip in some leds from the g15.

this thing will most likely physically work once i get my breadboard/header/wire order in, i still havent tested out any switches/columns, i'm basically hoping i soldered everything correctly and relying solely on planning.

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #83 on: Sun, 19 December 2010, 17:35:37 »
testing out the soldering and controller and so far so good (don't have enough 30awg gotta get more later to finish). However one thing i notice, is that i do not need a numpad anymore. To some it may sound weird but once you see it, it's amazing how much better i am with the numrow now that it's not staggered. I always had an issue with neighboring keys on the numrow cuz they were really staggered, however, with a non staggered layout, i get the numrow keys 100% of the time. I mean it's as simple as counting my fingers! (with the exception of both indexes)

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #84 on: Fri, 24 December 2010, 00:43:04 »
f radioshack, went to 2 one in a big mall and one in a tiny strip mall, both had nothing i could use and didn't even have 30gauge hookup wire either. (they had 24gauge max and it was solid not stranded, i like more bendy wire). Gonna have to ebay 30gauge wire after the holidays.

Offline taswyn

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« Reply #85 on: Fri, 24 December 2010, 06:59:43 »
If you have any old, broken headsets/speakers, you can unwind the coils in them, the magnet wire for the audio coil may be 30awg, especially in smaller drivers like in headsets. Of course, you have to deal with burning off the enamel at the ends, then, but it's much lighter/more flexible than with a plastic sleeve for insulation.

Offline J888www

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« Reply #86 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 08:46:13 »
@ OP

Amazing, truly a keyboardholic.
« Last Edit: Tue, 28 December 2010, 08:48:27 by J888www »
Often outspoken, please forgive any cause for offense.
Thank you all in GH for reading.

Keyboards & Pointing Devices :-
[/FONT]One Too Many[/COLOR]

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #87 on: Sun, 02 January 2011, 17:49:23 »
came back home/ unpacked/ got tons of mail and stuff!
decided to mount the space bar this way, it's mounted and feels AWESOME, idk maybe i'll start a new trend with this inverted bar but this way the keys don't "cut" into my skin and thumb and just feels more natural.


i got these headers and .1in to finally connect my controller to, guess i'll start after i get a few work projects squared away first, can't be homeless and modding!


my next few projects, i know sounds stupid... altoids? check out the headphone thread and i think i'll do a cmoy to learn more about electronics. Trackball? i think i'll try to mod a modern laser mouse into it, i'll see (so far deathaddler doesn't register well).

Offline msiegel

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« Reply #88 on: Sun, 02 January 2011, 17:55:39 »
inverted space bar!
great idea, noted for future modding :D

is that gap between the space bar and the main block *just the right size*, or would it be even better a slightly different size?
« Last Edit: Sun, 02 January 2011, 18:34:21 by msiegel »

Filco Zero (Fukka) AEKII sliders and keycaps * Filco Tenkeyless MX brown * IBM F/AT parts: modding
Model F Mod Log * Open Source Generic keyboard controller

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #89 on: Sun, 02 January 2011, 21:04:39 »
more clarification on how it looks from the right side (note my fingers aren't really in typing position cuz i'm holding the keyboard with my jaw and using my left hand to take a pic, yea i know too lazy to whip out the tripod).

Quote from: msiegel;272127

is that gap between the space bar and the main block *just the right size*, or would it be even better a slightly different size?

yea that's all basically the perfect "sized to fit" for my thumb to rest on it.

Offline msiegel

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« Reply #90 on: Sun, 02 January 2011, 22:31:45 »
excellent! thanx lanx, i'm stealing your idea ;D
« Last Edit: Sun, 02 January 2011, 22:37:44 by msiegel »

Filco Zero (Fukka) AEKII sliders and keycaps * Filco Tenkeyless MX brown * IBM F/AT parts: modding
Model F Mod Log * Open Source Generic keyboard controller

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #91 on: Sun, 02 January 2011, 23:26:28 »
steal away, that's the purpose of these mod logs is to share.

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #92 on: Mon, 03 January 2011, 21:23:14 »
so i learned breadboards are as strong as... bread. I tried cutting a breadboard to size, who knew that stuff could fly! didn't know i'd be wearing safety glasses for that, think i'll try a dremel in the morning.

barring that i did some keycap playing, the stuff in red i'm keeping, blue and yellow i'm on the fence about, yellow got that missing endcap and gives it a nice edge and easy way to "feel" for the key, the blue is just inverted topmost row.

Offline symphonic1985

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« Reply #93 on: Fri, 07 January 2011, 06:00:25 »
This spacebar idea is cool. I was playing around with something like this on my Cherry g80. Actually, if you remove the spacebar on these boards there is room to fit in more keys/extend the alt keys towards the middle of the keyboard. The problem I have is then stabilizing the longer keys.

How is it going with the other thumb buttons/stick? This is the part of keyboard modding that I've decided is the most important to me at the moment. With standard keyboards it's already theoretically easy to add thumb buttons where/below where the spacebar is. I'll be putting at least SHIFT, BACKSPACE, CTRL and other extend keys there.

The thing is, once you have buttons on the left thumb, it becomes sensible to put 'E' there, since it is by far the most common letter that you type, second only to the spacebar.  This opens up the possibility for new ergonomic layouts like the Maltron one. Are you going to stick with QWERTY or experiment with something faster?

Offline Lanx

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« Reply #94 on: Fri, 07 January 2011, 12:53:03 »
i'm still playing around with left hand thumbstick options, i won't settle on anything for a bit i guess (i still have time since i have to wire so many switches). I'm keeping everything standard qwerty for now, i don't like to "re-learn" nuttin, heh.

Offline Input Nirvana

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« Reply #95 on: Sun, 16 January 2011, 15:27:23 »
Paint it electric purple with orange flames, and a couple lights...what a winner!  lol

Thank you for posting the detail (it's all in the details), there are some really great ideas, work, and results I see there, plus it's inspiring as well. I'm actually kicking around the idea of a thumb-joystick now....

So the doubleshots improve the typing experience?
« Last Edit: Sun, 16 January 2011, 15:29:41 by input nirvana »
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Offline Lanx

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« Reply #96 on: Mon, 17 January 2011, 10:56:52 »
Quote from: input nirvana;279531

So the doubleshots improve the typing experience?

imo not really, inversing the keys work well, i'll always keep that around (my thumb hasn't been sore since i inverted the space bar). Maybe it was the signature plastics doubleshots but those doubleshots feel flimsy and weak compared to the regular cherry keys (pad printed or whatever they are), so they "sound" bad even when not bottoming out.

But this "thumb" issue is holding me up honestly I cannot find the proper thumb switch to provide stability (i've tested the vertical psp thumb switch and it "bends" too much).

I've been thinking about hacking off the thumb switch of my spare nostromo n52 and see how that works out.

Offline TacticalCoder

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« Reply #97 on: Thu, 16 June 2011, 08:48:04 »
Amazing mod but something boggles me: what is left of the original keyboard after such a mod, besides the wrist rest?  Say, you could have taken a Belkin Ergoboard (also split) and end with basically the same mod no?

It's an honest question: you didn't keep the original keycaps (like the big ALT keys) and it's kinda hard to see what is left of the original board!?
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Offline jumpfroggy

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« Reply #98 on: Fri, 24 June 2011, 12:59:07 »
Quote from: TacticalCoder;361664
Amazing mod but something boggles me: what is left of the original keyboard after such a mod, besides the wrist rest?  Say, you could have taken a Belkin Ergoboard (also split) and end with basically the same mod no?

It's an honest question: you didn't keep the original keycaps (like the big ALT keys) and it's kinda hard to see what is left of the original board!?

 
I've been wondering this too.  I have an Ergo 4k (unopened) in my closet waiting for this kind of mod, when I can find some cherry blues cheap.  But I also wonder - after this amount of work, would it be better to just go with a custom-made case?  Machined metal for the base, thick fiberglass layup for the top maybe?  I know that's more work, but it really does appear that there's not much left of the original keyboard.  I'm curious, since I plan on doing this same thing someday.
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Offline redpill

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« Reply #99 on: Fri, 24 June 2011, 18:11:34 »
Well if you wanted to really get nuts you could try to splice cherry keycap stems on the bottom with a big blob of strong epoxy but I don't know how you'd get em to fit on a PCB

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