Author Topic: M0118 PCB replacement project  (Read 5050 times)

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Offline mode

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M0118 PCB replacement project
« on: Mon, 16 March 2020, 01:59:46 »
I'm thinking of making a PCB for an M0118 I have in the mail, which would involve taking out the dividing column to enable having a normal nav, and some clear/delete and home/end keys and a Fn I think this would make the M0118 pretty much ideal.

I have most of the apple keycaps required for this spare, I may use some XDA blanks for the home/end keys, or just some spare numpad keys of the right profile I have.

I'll keep this thread updated as I make progress on the project, and post any resources I make designing the plate/pcb. I plan to complete everything I can before modifying the M0118 case, so that'll be the last step.

I'll be following this guide: https://github.com/ruiqimao/keyboard-pcb-guide#associating-components-and-footprints at first, but I may change my mind, I'll do the plate after the PCB, as that's something I'm a lot more comfortable with.
« Last Edit: Mon, 16 March 2020, 02:23:52 by mode »

Offline 4sStylZ

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Re: M0118 PCB replacement project
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 16 March 2020, 05:42:49 »
Hi dude, good luck with your project,

I have many Apple boards and can probably profite of your PCB if you nailed-it.

I am familiar with recents ASK and AEK projects for PCB / case that maybe you don't know their existence, maybe that can help you :

Golden delicious replacement PCB for M0116 ASK
ASK55 case / pcb / plate by Paradigm
My 60% 3D printed case
The AEK64 ISO PCB by Applet

Good luck.
Bépo user here : AEK64 White linear dampened, XD75 Cherry Blue Jailhoused, TypeMatrix2030 black skin, Lenovo 0B47200 w/ trackpoint, G13, G512. Kensington Expert Trackball & Orbit, Magic touchpad 2.

Offline mode

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Re: M0118 PCB replacement project
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 16 March 2020, 16:16:38 »
Hi dude, good luck with your project,

I have many Apple boards and can probably profite of your PCB if you nailed-it.

I am familiar with recents ASK and AEK projects for PCB / case that maybe you don't know their existence, maybe that can help you :

Golden delicious replacement PCB for M0116 ASK
ASK55 case / pcb / plate by Paradigm
My 60% 3D printed case
The AEK64 ISO PCB by Applet

Good luck.

I've seen them, and the golden delicious seems most applicable, but I'm honestly happy to just take my time and do it all myself. I really like the case design, so I'm really motivated to keeping that in tact and making the best board I can within that constraint, while keeping a numpad.

Offline mode

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Re: M0118 PCB replacement project
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 17 March 2020, 01:49:28 »
The M0118 I bought is delayed as it's coming from france and the mail service they used has been suspended :/ it's impossible to get away from the impact of this virus!

Oh well, Guess I'll just continue regardless, I just wanted an M0118 so I could confirm measurements. I have an M0116 I can use for the common bits though.
« Last Edit: Wed, 18 March 2020, 10:29:04 by mode »

Offline 4sStylZ

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Re: M0118 PCB replacement project
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 18 March 2020, 03:38:41 »
I have probably some PCB of thoses not used. I can probably search for them and take measurements if you want.

PM me if needed.
Bépo user here : AEK64 White linear dampened, XD75 Cherry Blue Jailhoused, TypeMatrix2030 black skin, Lenovo 0B47200 w/ trackpoint, G13, G512. Kensington Expert Trackball & Orbit, Magic touchpad 2.

Offline mode

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Re: M0118 PCB replacement project
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 07 May 2020, 01:37:13 »
Still intending to follow this through, but my M0118 still hasn't been able to ship from france, I'm hoping mondial relay opens soon!


I bought a spare M0116 plate though, that'll let me get the CAD done for the replacement plate, I'm not too nervous about getting the layout right, just want to nail the perimeter.

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Re: M0118 PCB replacement project
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 01:29:11 »
I've finally got my hands on an M0118, and I'm just using it with an adapter for a while to see how I find it.

I've a few observations though:

The skinny ISO enter would probably be annoying with keys on the other side of it, I occasionally strike on the outer edge of it, with my current design I'd be striking keys, we'll see how I get used to it and whether this is an ongoing problem.
Typing | is pretty awkward as my finger gravitates to the up arrow, not the short shift. I'm tempted to scab a normal right shift from an M0116 and adjust my layout accordingly. Otherwise the stubby shift is fine, it's just when I use pipes in bash.
The space bar is a bit longer than the M0116! somehow I had not noticed this at all. I'm not sure which one I'll go for in my final design.

Overall it's a really nice board though and I really like it, I managed to get one with exceptionally clean switches, it had a fine layer of soft keyboard chow in it, but zero abrasive dirt. I've yet to go through the switches but I expect it'll clean up to alps perfection. I'm not going to ultrasonic it or desolder, just use canned air on the switch tops. It's like it was used in someone's sewing room, and there's just light fibre dust.


I swapped in some spare AEK keycaps I had kicking about to make it approximately mac ISO UK, I didn't have a spare \| key so left Ć as a nod to it's danish past.

I won't be laying a hand on this one btw, I'm holding out on acquiring a case and keycaps from someone else's keyswitch harvest for the PCB redesign.
« Last Edit: Sun, 24 May 2020, 01:45:13 by mode »