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Mission Control

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_rubik:
I found https://github.com/dcpedit/mission-control a few weeks back. I personally think it's a fun idea and slightly more involved than your average build.

Does anyone have any experience building one? Looks like a relatively new project (~3 months old)

wjrii:
Haven't built one, but a couple of thoughts come to mind:

1. The LCD version of this (and maybe the solenoid/piezo?) seems to require destructive disassembly.  It's the owner's board, but M122's are desirable to buckling spring fans, and it would be a shame to gut a working one.  There are other ways to get or make a Cherry MX battleship.

2. The PCB could benefit from some relief cuts.  This is a lot of tension, and while using the thin 1mm as the designer says should help, a lot of the writeup seems to focus on managing that tension during soldering and assembly.

3. This is a LOT of hotswap soldering on pads to do by hand.  I would not enjoy the work, personally.  I think the whole thing would benefit from a reflow setup maybe?

4. Now all that said, this is really intriguing and I love the idea of solenoid keyboards.

_rubik:

--- Quote from: wjrii on Thu, 02 May 2024, 08:37:37 ---1. The LCD version of this (and maybe the solenoid/piezo?) seems to require destructive disassembly.  It's the owner's board, but M122's are desirable to buckling spring fans, and it would be a shame to gut a working one.  There are other ways to get or make a Cherry MX battleship.

--- End quote ---

I absolutely agree. I think cutting the plastic rivets to get the back plate off is destructive from the start. Cutting a hole for the LCD is double damage. If I were to build one, I would only use an already broken board that doesn't have a clear repair. Devouring a working M122 for this would be a shame.


--- Quote from: wjrii on Thu, 02 May 2024, 08:37:37 ---2. The PCB could benefit from some relief cuts.  This is a lot of tension, and while using the thin 1mm as the designer says should help, a lot of the writeup seems to focus on managing that tension during soldering and assembly.

--- End quote ---

That was my first thought too. It's how curved keywells like the Kenesis Advantage operate. I wonder if the creator would be open to revision. I don't have PCB design experience, but maybe re-routing the paths to add relief cuts is a good first project? Maybe not


--- Quote from: wjrii on Thu, 02 May 2024, 08:37:37 ---3. This is a LOT of hotswap soldering on pads to do by hand.  I would not enjoy the work, personally.  I think the whole thing would benefit from a reflow setup maybe?

--- End quote ---

Meh. I always am looking for an excuse to use my soldering station. It absolutely would benefit from reflow.


--- Quote from: wjrii on Thu, 02 May 2024, 08:37:37 ---4. Now all that said, this is really intriguing and I love the idea of solenoid keyboards.

--- End quote ---

I'm considering it. I have maybe too many projects in flight at the moment, but I can't stop looking back at this one.

fohat.digs:

--- Quote from: _rubik on Thu, 02 May 2024, 12:31:34 ---
Cutting a hole for the LCD is double damage.


--- End quote ---

The case with the cut-out is a later M-122 case that has little collector's value, and may well be available from Unicomp anyway, at least in black.

The 1st-generation case is the desirable one that can easily be modified into a replacement F-122 case, so I would object to ruining one of those.



_rubik:

--- Quote from: fohat.digs on Thu, 02 May 2024, 15:58:22 ---
--- Quote from: _rubik on Thu, 02 May 2024, 12:31:34 ---
Cutting a hole for the LCD is double damage.

--- End quote ---

The case with the cut-out is a later M-122 case that has little collector's value, and may well be available from Unicomp anyway, at least in black.

--- End quote ---

I didn't know that; thanks for the context!

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