During the dark age here at GeekHack (July 2012) like many of the displaced, I ended up at Deskthority. There, I put forth the idea of replacing just the matrix, pad, and top metal plate of an XT - re-using an unmodified case, barrels, springs, keys, and controller - then using a Soarer's Converter for USB connectivity and key mapping. I made lots of progress; decided on a layout, name, designs, and then hit a problem that could not be overcome. I found that once I removed the controller I could not re-attach it and get it working again reliably. Capacitive controllers are very sensitive things - completely different from that of a conductive switch controller.
But there have been some recent developments that make me sure that a replacement F controller is imminent. For one thing, xwhatsit made a beam spring controller and open-sourced it. For those that don't know, beam spring switches are very similar to F switches (see
here and
here), so the controller should be almost the same. Then there was that stockpile of Kishsavers that was found.
So rather than revive a long dead thread over on Deskthority, I'll be posting progress and updates here. If you haven't read part one, you can find it
here. The plan now is to replace the pad, top plate, and PCB including the controller. You will need to drill 10 holes in the donor bottom plate but there will be a template for that.
Just to let you all know i haven't been completely idle the last year, I offer you this:
new 1mm thick neoprene pad:
new steel top plate (thanks the_beast):
PCB design (the matrix anyway):
XTant PCB.pdf (63.99 kB - downloaded 581 times.)
PS: Remember where I said "Capacitive controllers are ... completely different?" If you would like to know HOW different,
this one post by xwhatsit explains it very well. If you want to get your head blown off completely, read the whole discussion between xwhatsit and dfj.