Dell AT101 Space Saver

[eunjea]

This is what I did sometime ago and this board is still one of my favorite.

     

     

     

messy soldering job. Not accurate but it's (just) work!

     

     

another mistake here. The LOGO is gone. :-(

     

     

     

Now with 2 shot keycap from nExT.
And yes, it's not 101 anymore. :-)

I did "poor man's white alps" mod too.

[didjamatic]

Fantastic!  I might just have to try that.  Well done!

[wellington1869]

sweet, i've never seen an alps space saver.

[ricercar]

Been considering the Hacksaw PCB Mod with a Cherry brown POS. Glad to see I'm not the only one so daft, glad to see you're successful.

[elbowglue]

Wow.  Inspiring.

If one were to hack off a part of a G80-3000, how do you figure out where to solder connections so the remainder of the keys work?  For arguments sake that is.

[eunjea]

Wow.  Inspiring.

If one were to hack off a part of a G80-3000, how do you figure out where to solder connections so the remainder of the keys work?  For arguments sake that is.

That's why I took the photo of pcb before cut out. :-)



BTW. I have another(at101w) mod still in progress.
Molex connector for LED.

     

       

     

[elbowglue]

Someone did this with a dome board too - it looks real easy  I am intimidated by the soldering and re-connecting the cut pathways

http://tlb.org/keyboardchop.html

[ricercar]

how do you figure out where to solder connections so the remainder of the keys work?

You eyeball the PC board traces at the cut. You can do this (a) pre-emptively to ensure all connections are made, or (b) reactively if you prefer to be surprised as you type a paper due for class, and/or are hoping the need for jumpers is minimal. A picture of the intact PCB is priceless to either path.

This project would be prohibitively complex if keyboards used multi-layer PCBs (and therefore had invisible connections to cut)  Fortunately they don't.

[itlnstln]

sweet, i've never seen an alps space saver.

SIIG Minitouch.  If fake ALPS count, Filco Zero.  Hey, wait...

[didjamatic]

I really like the look of this mod, the deep footprint of the bigfoot make this space saver look more squarish and I really like it.  I think I might actually go for it.  Did you just epoxy the case together?

Minitouch and Ortek ALPS space savers are nice, but this mod has a much better layout.

[keyb_gr]

Boards like the Dell with the controller chip at the top make for good tenkeyless modding objects. A G80-3000 (old-style case in particular) would be a major mess.

[platon]

Eyeballing the pics of my ALPS keyboards the SGI makes a poor candidate because of controller placement.  The Apple mini uses OLD ALPS that makes switch swaps near impossible.  The Focus 2001 is the best candidate but you'd lose the best feature, the dust cover.

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I might pop this one open someday and look at it again.  Void that lifetime warranty. :biggrin1:

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In the meantime my NeXT keys sit lonely and unloved.

Ripster, if you are seriously considering of cutting that good looking retro-brightened sgi, please, let me make you an offer for it first.

[eunjea]

I really like the look of this mod, the deep footprint of the bigfoot make this space saver look more squarish and I really like it.  I think I might actually go for it.  Did you just epoxy the case together?

Minitouch and Ortek ALPS space savers are nice, but this mod has a much better layout.

Yes, epoxy the case and car spray paint.

Another mod(s) by kbdmania member.
http://www.kbdmania.net/xe/1224606
http://www.kbdmania.net/xe/111988

[elbowglue]

You've inspired me to cut the numpad off of one of my compax MX11800's.  I've started doing it, I cut the contacts to the numpad with a drill so far and the remainder of the board works with 3 simple solder connections.  I suck at soldering so this is sorta iffy, but I will post pictures later.  It's really simple actually.  I'll post pics later

[eunjea]

You've inspired me to cut the numpad off of one of my compax MX11800's.  I've started doing it, I cut the contacts to the numpad with a drill so far and the remainder of the board works with 3 simple solder connections.  I suck at soldering so this is sorta iffy, but I will post pictures later.  It's really simple actually.  I'll post pics later

Wow, Can't wait your photo.
BTW, trackball will be still there?

[elbowglue]

Heres my Compaq MX11800 mod and pictures:

Notes:
There are 3 connections that need to be soldered

1) 2-> 2'
2) 3-> 8
3) 4-> 9

After this you can crack the board where I did and it works fine still.

As we speak I am typing on my tenkeyless Compaq MX11800.  It is missing the trackball and the numpad but everything else works 100% fine.  At some point I will cut the case, but for now I have done that hard part which is demonstrating it works.  This works just fine, you need to make 3 connections.  Hopefully my pictures will help you to see the 3 connections you need to make.  Soldering is a ***** as I have never done it before, I hope this board dosen't suddenly stop functioning because of my ****ty solder job.

I did not take pictures of taking the case apart / removing the controller board / removing the trackball.  You should be able to figure this part out without difficulty.  

Whats funnier about this is that now I have completed this mod, my MX11800 has less keyboard flex.

[Rajagra]

Hmm. I have a stack of those Compaqs, I might cut the numpad off one. I was planning to make a split keyboard from one, but that would take much more time.

[kriminal]

if it wasnt for the arrow keys you could've made a easy cut of the housing... how are you going to this now, lots of epoxy?

[ch_123]

Brown Alps?! What are they?

[itlnstln]

The ****ty ones.

[elbowglue]

I haven't thought too carefully about how I am going to saw it - I think essentially I'm going to make a straight cut up and down removing the trackball section..

I can tell you what it's gonna look funny when it's finished but it's gonna be small small small.

I sort of enjoy making things totally ghetto, and I can't see how this is going to end up a polished product.

[elbowglue]

Behold, I presents to you the Compaq MX 84u

Spacesaving tenkeyless design for your desk space needs, allows for great midline mouse placement.

Measures 13.1 inches across.

[platon]

i really like it !

[ricercar]

Well done. Just the incentive to do an "elbowglue tenkeyless" mod to my MX 11900 (Cherry black) this weekend.

[elbowglue]

Hmmm I'm trying to decide if I'll cut down the upper right edge, or if I'm going to try to shape the cut off end to make an end cap.  Or leave it ghetto style like it is so nobody dares to take it.

Most likely I will leave it ghetto style.  If I do that I may even cut the left rim off too.  Although distance from the midpoint(F-G) of the keyboard to the right edge is more important than distance from F-G to the left edge, since I use the mouse right handed.

[ricercar]

I was considering a column to the right, essentially in-line with the right arrow

Home
PageUp
PageDn
End

I also require a Delete, but haven't decided where that will go.

[elbowglue]

Now that would be a really tricky mod.  I can't even begin to think how you would do that..

For my next stunt I am going to put extra keys on the top of my ricercar SPOS.  You know the top ridge which seems to have an extra piece of plastic on it, you can probably crack that off and solder a whole new row of keys up there.  There are empty slots for more MX switches up there, the PCB is already wired for it..

[eunjea]

Nice mod elbowglue.
BTW, double shot keycap from MY-1900?
http://kbdholic.net/xe/kbd/1246
looks familiar. :-)

[elbowglue]

Yep the same keycaps (MY 1900) - I got them about 2 months ago, double shot but very very yellowed.


This keyboard is great.  The 13 inch width of it is really nice.  I rarely use the navigation keys and insert and delete so it's ok that it's up higher, and it's narrower than a filco tenkeyless, and the arrow keys are useable.  I could use a HHKB autohotkey script and have a HHKB lite layout with PCB mounted cherry browns... that would be fun too.

Man this is quite a sweet (if not totally ugly) board.  Man this board is so yellowed too, super fugly.

[EverythingIBM]

You put the bracket keys in the wrong order: "] [" instead of "[ ]".

[eunjea]

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You put the bracket keys in the wrong order: "] [" instead of "[ ]".

and NumLock too. ;-)

[ricercar]

This is the plan for my elbowglue mod this weekend.


The column of keys will have to be handled in software. By the PCB traces it will be

NumLock
7
4
1
0

With a big Oh Oh on the double-wide 0. Or maybe ditch the column and fill with Bond-O. You never knO.

[didjamatic]

This is the plan for my elbowglue mod this weekend.

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The column of keys will have to be handled in software. By the PCB traces it will be

NumLock
7
4
1
0

With a big Oh Oh on the double-wide 0. Or maybe ditch the column and fill with Bond-O. You never knO.

That's a layout I could live with, be sure to post how it works out.

[Rajagra]

If I was going that far, I'd make the extra effort to hardwire the 5 keys. I suppose it can be done later on though, if you change your mind.

[elbowglue]

Looks interesting..  The trackball housing will not be cut at the low point unless you make the cut have a turn..  I cut mine straight down where the trackball housing rises up.

[Nonmouse]

Why the doubling up on home/end/delete, etc. keys?

[ricercar]

I like to have the page navigation keys available to my right hand with the heel of my right hand planted on the desk, or edge of the keyboard. In other words, I want home/end, pageup/dn on the right-most edge so I can find them in the dark.

[(X "_____")]

Did a spacesaving mod and thought that this thread was as good a place as any to post it. It's effectively just a much lower quality copy of lowpoly's wonderful looking miniguru, sans the trackpoint, programmable layouts, removable cable, nice case etc.

I took a G80-3000, UK layout, noted what cuts connected to where, and removed the alphanumeric part by scoring and snapping the pcb, which worked much better than expected. Then I soldered a few wires onto the board and connected them up to the controller. My soldering is so terrible that I'm quite surprised that everything works, this is the first time I've so much as looked at a soldering iron in about 3 or 4 years.

The case was made out of two halves of a floppy disk drive which holds the pcb in place, and a metal plate from a dell rubber dome that I cut and bent into shape. Very ugly and cheap, but fairly effective, and gives the keyboard a surprising amount of weight and heftiness.

The bottom has one of those non-slip mats attached to it which prevents the keyboard from sliding around even with a pretty significant amount of force applied to the side of it. It's covered in electrical tape to try to cover up the protruding metal bits and make it look a bit better (which it doesn't).

Anyway, to pictures. Sorry about the quality, phone camera.







Dimensions are 29.5x11.0x1.7cm for the base alone, and the key switches+caps add around 2cm to that height. Fits on my netbook nicely and still allows me to use the trackpad, which was half the reason for doing the mod, so I'm pleased. As I wrote before, it's quite heavy for it's size, which gives it a fairly solid feel in spite of the poor build quality. Haven't weighed it yet, might do so tomorrow.

It's also quite a lot quieter than the original keyboard, with less pingy resonance than in the plastic casing of the G80-3000. Key feel is pretty much the same, or at least I can't detect much of a difference.

Anyway, fairly happy overall. Left win key is assigned to Mode_switch, and couples up with hjkl to do arrow keys, and np and bf to do pgdown and pgup and home and end respectively, whilst the right win key (swapped with menu key so it falls under the palm easier) is a normal mod4 key which handles volume and brightness. All of this is done in software with xmodmap and xbindkeys.

[ch_123]

Nice mod!

[(X "_____")]

Wow, that did come out nice.  Can't make a Filco that small because the controller is right above the Arrow cluster (at least on a tenkeyless).

Are they Cherry Blacks?

And Welcome To Geekhack!

Thanks. They're blues, and thankfully the controller in the G80-3000 was completely separate from the main pcb, above the number pad. Because it was above the number pad I ended up needing to use quite a lot of wires to connect everything up, I cut 36 connections on the pcb, and needed something like 25-30 wires to actually get everything working.

[elbowglue]

This my second mod.

By the way, disregard the red wire.  Someone had already played with this keyboard before I got to it.  it is connecting something that is already connected.  (you don't need to do the red wire)

This actually a very fast mod once I have learned how to solder and have done it once or twice.

[(X "_____")]

OOooo...  Cherry Blues.  Even better.

This mod gets a Geekgirl.  She's kinda little because of the electrical tape.  Awesome first post though.

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I feel so honoured :) Might do something about the electrical tape at a later date, but I'm just pleased to have it working for now.

[elbowglue]

Oh by the way ricercar - I have looked at the matrix at more detail.  You will most likely be able to make the cut as you had described on your post, without doing *any* solders, and I predict it will work without *any* soldering.  You'll still need to remap using autohotkey though.

Can I get a tiny weensy geek girl if this works as I predict?




By the way awesome mod X "____"
It's like a HHKB but with cherry switches.  Better IHMO than topre switches.

[ricercar]

Exquisite ambition, ballsy, successful. Kudos.

[elbowglue]

Just a quick update.  I put a whole bunch of foamy tape onto the inside of the case of my MX-11800, and onto the parts of the PCB which contact the plastic.  This makes a *huge* difference in feel of the MX11800.  All of a sudden I have gone from a cheap feeling so-so keyboard with a little bit of PCB flex to an awesome stable PCB mounted cherry brown board of the quality of the ricercar SPOS.

Oh yeah, if you cut the end off your MX 11800, you need to put some thick tape or foam tape into the base so it sits totally level.

For all of you PCB mounted cherry brown fans out there, you need to do this mod. This makes a huge difference in the feel of the board, it is much more solid now, feels great.

If you guys need pics let me know and I'll crack open my keyboard again to take some pics for you guys.

Here is a pic of the tape I used:


It's thick, stretchy and spongy tape.  One brand is 3M microfoam.

[(X "_____")]

Roughly how much of that stuff did you use? Is it along the lines of filling the thing up, or coating the casing, or less than that? Sounds like it would be worth doing.

Also, I want to fill pretty much all the free space in the case because there's some flex at the moment under the 90- area if I apply a lot of pressure, and flexing pcbs are something I want to avoid. Any suggestions?

[Nonmouse]

I'm still thinking Great Stuff would work. :madgrin:  Maybe I'll try it out on my semi-DOA MX-8100 or one of my MY boards...

[(X "_____")]

I'm still thinking Great Stuff would work. :madgrin:  Maybe I'll try it out on my semi-DOA MX-8100 or one of my MY boards...

Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of that. I think I'd probably avoid lead since it's quite a bit of hassle to use, though I wouldn't mind adding some more weight to it either. Haven't weighed it properly yet, but I think it's hovering close to the 1kg mark at the moment.

[elbowglue]

Roughly how much of that stuff did you use? Is it along the lines of filling the thing up, or coating the casing, or less than that? Sounds like it would be worth doing.

Also, I want to fill pretty much all the free space in the case because there's some flex at the moment under the 90- area if I apply a lot of pressure, and flexing pcbs are something I want to avoid. Any suggestions?

I took apart the case bottom, PCB, case top.  I applied a layer of tape to the case bottom with sticky side down touching the case bottom.  Then I applied a small piece of tape adherent to the bottom and the top part of the PCB where the case bottom and top have "teeth" that poke into the PCB.   Then I poked a small hole in these latter pieces of tape to allow the screws to get through.  Then I tightened the screws pretty tight, then applied some to the very bottom of the case as "feet".

Now I look at this kind of tape on amazon, it looks quite expensive..  Probably a similar sort of tape would suffice, as long is it is foamy.

Having grippy rubberized feet is just as good as having heavy weight in my opinion for a keyboard.

[(X "_____")]

Thanks, that's less than I was thinking. I might get some of that tape at a later date. Fixed the flexing problem by excessive use of bubble wrap and duct tape, now I can't get the keyboard to flex even a little bit under even heavy force, which is good enough for me.

[Rotlaus]

Long time Geekhack Lurker here. Inspired by all this i tried this, too. I had this lying in my cupboard:


I thought it would be a nice Idea to have PgUp/PgDown, Ins/Del and Home/end on the right side available. Opened the keyboard up and cut off the board:


I had to solder only three wires in:


The Final Layout:


The keyboard layout will be done in software. My only problem now is, where exactly to cut the case.

Thanks to all of you for your great ideas.

[itlnstln]

Well done.  I'm actually typing on my G80-1863HUMUS-2 right now.  I have all my stuff at the office (including my HHKB) boxed up and ready to move.  I'll be excited to see what it looks like when you get it finished.  It's not going to be much wider than an HHKB when you're done.

[elbowglue]

Awesome cut.  I like it!

For what it's worth, if you wanted to cut the MX11800 in the same fashion (leaving one row of the numpad still on) I theorize you would have to do zero soldering and it would work just fine.

Welcome to geekhack!

Hey ripster - if you cut you ricercar spos, you can also remove the upper rim of the keyboard to reveal extra macro keys as noted in ricercar's post..  I was going to do that myself but I decided to sell it instead..

[ZeNmAc]

So no one exactly answered... how do you figure out where to connect the wires?  You just find all the traces that were cut and solder them back together?

I've been thinking about doing something similar, but my at101w looks extremely complicated no matter where you cut it.

[lmnop]

can you do this with a SGI?

[Rotlaus]

So, i'm done:



It was a lot more difficult than i thought. The bottom part of the case is totally messed up, but i've learned much. The next will get better.

Thanks again for all the inspiration.

André

[didjamatic]

NIIIICE!!!  That looks fantastic

[aegrotatio]

How do you know which wires to jumper?

[elbowglue]

Wow- i can't believe I missed that post above.  ThAtS hOt!@!

That picture above required no soldering if i am correct?

[ricercar]

Yeah baby! Proof of concept. You rock.

[elbowglue]

Aegrotatio:  If you are starting with a g80-1800 like rotlaus, make the same cut as him and the same solder points pointed out by him, then it should work.

If you are starting with a MX11800, follow my pictures and it should work.  I put a picture above in the thread called "ricercar cut here" - if you cut it at where I suggested, zero soldering will be required.

How do you determine where to solder on a brand new mod?  You have to trace out the traces on the PCB and reconnect anything that you have cut with a hacksaw.  You sort of need to look at the board, mark a hypothetical cut point with a marker, then start labelling connections with stickers as what should connect to what..

Make sure you take some high res visible pictures of the PCB before you cut it up, in case you need to look back at the original tracings.

It is a nice coincidence that the MX11800 and the G80-1800 have a tracing pattern such that it is actually very simple to re-connect if you cut off the tenkey section.  Some other boards that have the controller on the right side of the board are very tricky and complicated to re-connect.

[Rotlaus]

Mine needed definitely soldering, 3 wire bridges to be exactly. If someone else want to mod this specific model, i can make some pics showing where to connect the wires.

[elbowglue]

So I cut another one of my mx 11800 boards here:


It works great required no soldering, except for the fact that I cracked the PCB and had to repair it.

If you make the cut here, you have 4 extra keys (numpad 1, numpad 4, numpad 7, numlock) to work with, and you need to solder nothing at all.

It works!  If you guys need pictures I'll post some... haven't cut the case yet.

[ironman31]

A work in progress. I got the keyboard working fine, just need to make the case look halfway decent.

[microsoft windows]

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Yeah baby! Proof of concept. You rock.

That keyboard looks pretty good. Just clean up that edge and it'll look like it came that way!

[elbowglue]

A work in progress. I got the keyboard working fine, just need to make the case look halfway decent.

Well done ironman.  Much sexier than my compaq.

[ironman31]

Where is the best place I can get ABS plastic? Ebay and amazon seem kind of expensive on the shipping side...

[ZeNmAc]

Might as well post this here.

Maybe it needs a new thread, but I did figure out how to do it from this thread.

OP: This is what your mod inspired me to do...

...because I so love wires sticking out of my keyboard
(My apologies for the stenciling on the desk, not my choice, I don't own the desk :redface:.)


wait a sec...


Muahahaha, this is how I ended up using it normally :evil:.


And yes, I know the "b" is on the wrong side, that was intentional.  It's how I learned to type.

It doesn't look nice yet because it's not finished.  When first attempted this mod I had all the wires in black heatshrink and sleeved in the techflex you see there.  The wires were from an old ide cable I sacrificed for this mod, that's why they're beige.  I missed a few traces though so it ghosted like crazy, and I ended up forgetting about it for a month or so.  Just got around to fixing it recently and had to cut out the black heatshrink and add the black wires.  At least I was able to save the sleeving :ohwell:.  A total of about 33 wires are needed to connect the two halves (which is luckily almost exactly the same number as in an old ide cable).  I could take a pic of the pcb if anyone is interested.  It was kind of tedious, but not impossible like you might think.  It just takes a little patience like any keyboard mod does :tongue1:.  I did have to desolder some of the switches for the keys in the middle in order to cut the metal plate.

You can see the mdf blocks I cut for a temporary stand.  They work ok, but they do slide around a little when I type certain keys.  TBH I don't really think I like it enough to take the time to make a permanent case for it; I don't think I like the black alps enough, but I HAD to do it :biggrin1:.  I would make a case, but it would be ideal if it were adjustable and that would be somewhat complicated.

I usually use the one I modded for gaming anyway (dyed/painted keys and case with linear modded switches).

On a side note, The WASD keys are what RIT scarlet dyed at101w keys look like after about a month.  That's why they ended up on my second keyboard.  LCtrl and LShift are sprayed with plastidip.  Too rubbery for me.

[sealcouch]

I'm going to be lazy and not read the rest of the thread, is this possible with a model m?

[JBert]

I'm going to be lazy and not read the rest of the thread, is this possible with a model m?

Hardly. Either you have to manage attaching wires to a plastic membrane sheet with solder printed on it or you have to remake that whole membrane.

I wouldn't recommend it - get a model M space saver instead.

[WhiteRice]

Can this be done with a AT101W?

[ZeNmAc]

Hardly. Either you have to manage attaching wires to a plastic membrane sheet with solder printed on it or you have to remake that whole membrane.

I wouldn't recommend it - get a model M space saver instead.

Maybe.  Depends though.  I've heard of people rolling up the membrane sheet, but not sure if that's possible with the model m.  If so it'd be even easier, just saw off the keys, buckling springs, and domes, then roll up the membrane and fix the case.  No soldering involved.

I'd give it a try.  It's worth attempting for 15 bucks vs. 200.

Can this be done with a AT101W?

Probably, you'd have to check the pcb though, I noticed some resistors around the tenkey that I'm not sure if matter.

[Findecanor]

Can a few circuits on a membrane be rubbed off, and new traces be drawn using some kind circuit pen, conductive glue or paint?

[ironman31]

So I found pretty much an unlimited supply of abs plastic. Some of the washer manufacturers use a large piece of abs plastic to hold the drum in place when they ship. And since I work at an appliance store... will be getting plenty of them.

So I applied it to that cherry keyboard I was working on. Didn't spend the time to make it look nice though.

[elbowglue]

Hey ironman, where did you get that g80-11900 HRMUS from?  that's hot too.  It uses cherry blacks right?  Board does not have NKRO correct?

[ironman31]

I bought a lot of two on ebay a little while ago. My cousin is using this one atm, and the other one is a key slave. and yeah, they both use blacks. have not tested nkro yet, for i never really used the boards.

[Findecanor]

I had bought a cheap German Compaq MX11801 on ebay.de. First I modded it like elbowglue and Ricercar have shown earlier in this thread. Then, I concidered adding Pg Up/Pd Down into the space above the right arrow, because I did not like their original position so far away.. but it turned out to become a full six-key cluster, made from a part of the numpad and epoxied to the side of the main circuit board.



Unfortunately, to make room, I had to cut and rewire a couple of leads leading to the arrow keys and the bottom row. I did manage to save one lead on the right side leading to the arrows, by instead cutting more off the num pad's board.
In retrospect, I think that it would have been a good idea to have used ribbon cables, so that I did not have to route so many individual cables half-way across the keyboard. I did take advantage of the holes that were in the circuit board, and I did take advantage of similarities in the num pad's matrix and the original nav-cluster's matrix.

About half of my rewired leads, though, are because I had managed to overheat and destroy a soldering pad that I had originally intended to use. I have to read up on how to desolder and solder correctly so that I won't make such a mess the next time.

I have sanded away the Compaq logo from the case. I have not decided whether I want to use model putty/paint or ABS sludge/Vinyl dye to hide my plastic surgery. After that, I think I'll make this my "daily driver" at work instead of the rubber dome that I use there now.

[ironman31]

looking good. When I used ABS sludge it came out a little lighter than expected. I'm not sure if that'll be a problem with a white keyboard

[WhiteRice]

The trick to desoldering is after removing most of the solder, heating up the contact and using a tool simultaneously to move it while the solder is still hot. This works especially well for bent pins.

[elbowglue]

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[CeeSA]

i follow this thread and cut of the numpad from my G80-1800 (solder 5 cables).
i am very satisfied  with the outcome.

but i would like to have a cherry blue mx to test and tenkyless.
so i ordered a Cherry G80-3000LSCDE-2 for cutting.

yesterday i open the parcel and a few moments later the keyboard.
bad fail - the keyboardcontroller is soldered  direct above the numpad

thats to mutch for me to solder :/
so i have to order an expensive filco....

somebody know tenkyless kbd with cherry blue beside the ones listed in the wiki?

[keyb_gr]

The way to go would be swapping switch innards here, so you get a G80-1800 with blues.

[CeeSA]

swapping the switches from the plates...
that is also mass todo, hmm

[keyb_gr]

swapping the switches from the plates...
that is also mass todo, hmm

No, I meant opening each switch and swapping out the slider and spring. Some folks around here have done it, there may also be a writeup somewhere. It seems reasonably easy for PCB-mounted switches like your two boards have, even though you're probably well advised to do one at a time and take care that the springs don't jump away and get lost (they're like really small - a magnet could be handy).

[Shawn Stanford]

Awesome thread. I like the idea of 'rolling up' the unused portion of the Model M membrane. Has anyone actually tried it?

[Daniel Beaver]

Awesome thread. I like the idea of 'rolling up' the unused portion of the Model M membrane. Has anyone actually tried it?

Yes :becky:

Shhh...

[CeeSA]

No, I meant opening each switch and swapping out the slider and spring. Some folks around here have done it, there may also be a writeup somewhere. It seems reasonably easy for PCB-mounted switches like your two boards have, even though you're probably well advised to do one at a time and take care that the springs don't jump away and get lost (they're like really small - a magnet could be handy).

ahh, get it - i will try, thank you

[Shawn Stanford]

Yes :becky: Shhh...

Awesomesauce!

But...

[Daniel Beaver]

Still a work in progress - I need to attach the far right end-piece, and make it look all pretty. Everything is functional, though. A layer of packing tape between the mylar sheets prevents phantom keystrokes from the numpad.

[elbowglue]

[Daniel Beaver]

There we go, proof of concept. The seam is pretty awful, but it's good enough for my own use. I'll probably make that cut with a bandsaw next time, and use some MEK to weld the pieces together. I wanted to preserve the legs on the right side, but I can't think of a good way to do that which doesn't get in the way of the supports.

[WhiteRice]

Did you just ruin the model M space saver market?

Or create a new one for mini mods...

[Shawn Stanford]

He made it possible for folks who want to use them to have them. Collectors are still going to go the the real thing and keep prices nice and high.

Of course, once he gets the technique down, he can probably double his money on any Model M he buys off the 'bay. Obviously, not everyone who wants a Space Saving is a GHer or a collector.

I am absolutely going to try this. I'll post pics when I'm done.

[WhiteRice]

He made it possible for folks who want to use them to have them. Collectors are still going to go the the real thing and keep prices nice and high.

Of course, once he gets the technique down, he can probably double his money on any Model M he buys off the 'bay. Obviously, not everyone who wants a Space Saving is a GHer or a collector.

I am absolutely going to try this. I'll post pics when I'm done.

Good point. I kinda wish I didn't sell my full size M now; I would like to try it as well. Make a personalized mini without fear of ruining my stock case.

[Daniel Beaver]

Shawn basically summed it up. I wanted a mini. Now I have a mini. If I make a nice one, I might be able to sell it. But it's not a real mini.

[sealcouch]

I bought an extra model m to try this but I've been nervous.  I am going to try it when I get home this weekend.

[sealcouch]

Also, how could I make it look seamless? To make it actually look like a mini.

[Daniel Beaver]

Also, how could I make it look seamless? To make it actually look like a mini.

Sure, though it would probably require some painting and a filling agent to achieve that effect.

[Findecanor]

There is "crinkle paint" that can achieve the textured effect on the front of the keyboard.
I have only a very small amount of black, that I got from a guy in Britain who claims that he got it from a guy who restores old cars. That is the only lead I've got, I'm afraid.
It could be a bit tricky to use, though, because the thickness of the layer of paint defines how large crinkles that will form when the paint dries. I was painting a cylindrical object, and I quickly learned that I could not paint it in squirts from three sides -- the areas where my painting overlapped got crinkles that were three times as large as the others! I had to build a motorized rig to be able to paint it in a single sweep. I suppose that painting just the top of a keyboard would be easier to do in one sweep.

Another method could be to use epoxy putty and a rubber stamp. First lay some latex rubber or silicone onto a piece of textured plastic and let cure. Then lay down epoxy putty on the area that you want textured, wet it thorougly (because water makes epoxy putty soft and slippery) and press your flap of rubber onto it. If it does not look right, you can smooth over the epoxy clay/putty and try again.

On my Compaq MX-11801, I did not care about replicating the texture, as it was quite fine. I used only ABS (from cut off pieces of the case) dissolved in acetone as putty and then filed and sandpapered it smooth. I figured that I would paint it with Vinyl Dye, but right then the supplier of the chain of shops that I was going to buy it in decided not to stock it any more ... and I can't find another source of it in Sweden. Gah!
I doubt that the stamp method would work with ABS/acetone sludge, though. ABS sludge needs to cure properly, and it changes it shape while it does so. Be extra careful with ABS sludge so that you don't lay on too large 'a layers -- that may never dry. It can also shrink considerably when it dries.

[Daniel Beaver]

I like that stamp idea. I couldn't think of a way of replicating the texture. I also suck at painting.

[Necroleachate]

There we go, proof of concept. The seam is pretty awful, but it's good enough for my own use. I'll probably make that cut with a bandsaw next time, and use some MEK to weld the pieces together. I wanted to preserve the legs on the right side, but I can't think of a good way to do that which doesn't get in the way of the supports.

Show Image

That made from a Unicomp space saver would be even more space-saving.

[ricercar]

Now thinking of a Space Saving Model M13!



Don't bring the mountain to Mohammed, when you can cut off his feet and make the hill look taller.

[kishy]

I already KIND of theorized about that already...minus the "M13" part. Come to think of it, leaving the trackpoint in place would be a good idea and would deal with the problem of the button hole at the bottom.

May keep my eyes open for a cheap second black M13 now...

[WhiteRice]

Model M-guru...

[Half-Saint]

Has anybody hacked off the numpad off a regular Cherry G80?

Cheers

[Shawn Stanford]

I've got my eye on an M on the 'Bay that closes in a few hours...

[ironman31]

do you mean a g80-3000? Because I posted a picture of a g80-11900 earlier in the thread with the numpad cut off

[Half-Saint]

Yes, a G80-3000 Sorry for not being specific.

[ironman31]

Haven't seen one yet, but I imagine it would be less difficult than the 11900, since it's just a straight cut.

Than again, it all depends on what the traces on the PCB look like and whether they are harder to follow.

[laden3]

Are there any keyboard cases that are compatible with the Model M mini? Would be nice to find one since it takes forever for Unimcomp to make one...

[CeeSA]

Haven't seen one yet, but I imagine it would be less difficult than the 11900, since it's just a straight cut.

Than again, it all depends on what the traces on the PCB look like and whether they are harder to follow.

http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=236667&postcount=92

in this case it would be much more difficult...

[KillerBee]

I say move the model M topics to its own thread, its confusing as we share this thread with the dell space saver the compaq space saver and now the m space saver

[Daniel Beaver]

I made a new thread for the space saving Ms.

[CeeSA]

anyway here is my "daily driver" @ home



source: G80-1851 LPCDE with Cherry MX Blacks (10 Euro from ebay)

i change the Blacks in Blue (w/o soldering) from a G80-3000 LSCDE and took most lasered keycaps from it

cut the board and the body. i paint the body with "duplicolor".
the green "5k177" was from my “Geek Hack Space Saver” shopping.
the coursor key programmed with sharpkeys.

thanks for all the idea and the good work here

[didjamatic]

THAT IS HOT!!!

Love the mix of caps from different boards and you did a really clean job modding that case.  Looks great!

[microsoft windows]

The arrow key area has an interesting layout.

[Daniel Beaver]

Cute arrow key layout.

[WhiteRice]

Cute arrow key layout.

I was thinking the same thing.

[ironman31]

So I accidentally melted my case when I was trying to put sides on it...

[Shawn Stanford]

A little duct tape and it'll be fine.

[keyboardlover]

You could give it to MW...I hear he needs Christmas ornaments.

[arieswu]

Chopping my 11900 MX board...

[hoggy]

Just thought of a good use for g81 boards - practice.

[arieswu]

my 11900 became mini 60% board, without a case

the case is a big problem now....

[CeeSA]

more details about the modding plz.
i cant believe the 2. keyboard (below) is a 11900. where is the controller?
solderpoints? keylayout???

in the meantime i like keyboards without case very much...

[arieswu]

more details about the modding plz.
i cant believe the 2. keyboard (below) is a 11900. where is the controller?
solderpoints? keylayout???

in the meantime i like keyboards without case very much...

It was a 11900 pcb, and I sawed the other parts off it



The controller is called  "MONKEY"

It was made by two KBC members



And the Mod is not finish yet...

 I would like to add a trackpoint module on it

[ironman31]

that looks gross

[hasu]

Nice bottom row
I wonder your key assignment. How?

[elbowglue]

Win!  That is beautiful areswu!

[Kragarmendes]

Oh by the way ricercar - I have looked at the matrix at more detail.  You will most likely be able to make the cut as you had described on your post, without doing *any* solders, and I predict it will work without *any* soldering.  You'll still need to remap using autohotkey though.

Can I get a tiny weensy geek girl if this works as I predict?

(...)

In a case of permanently remapping single keys to single keys like this, I'd prefer KeyTweak (registry "hard-coding") over AutoHotkey.

Or how do you guys map your \ to backspace?

[sixty]

Many thanks to CeeSa for the cutting job of the case and PCB. PCB re-routing I will deal with tonight. Its gonna be powered by Aikon, full nkey rollover. After that I still have to repaint the case for a clean finish look.

[WhiteRice]

Wow sixty that looks great! What did CeeSa use to cut the case?

[sixty]

Wow sixty that looks great! What did CeeSa use to cut the case?

I'm not sure. Maybe when CeeSa reads this he will explain the process. I had seen his great MX1800 mod and asked him if he could cut something for me if I would send him all the parts. This was the result

PS: PCB re-routing turned out harder than expected, I'll really have to read up on diodes one of these days.

[CeeSA]

for cutting i use something like this:


i wish i have this to make an straight line:


gluing and "filing" is not so fast todo as cutting...

for the bottom part (not so fine ....)
i use this:


for the top:


the more u polish the better it looks

when sixty paint the case,  the line of the right sight is not visible anymore

i have 3-4 cases in work...

[lowpoly]

Good work on the case, CeeSA.

Looks like some pics don't show?

[CeeSA]

updated the pics.

[arieswu]

Nice bottom row
I wonder your key assignment. How?

cut the sapce to add 3 mouse and 2 Fn buttons

[arieswu]

Win!  That is beautiful areswu!

Thanks!
and my 40% with trackpoint was done today

[didjamatic]

Oh my, that looks wonderful!  Excellent work!

[turbocharged]

Looks sick, but why do the buttons go RM, LM, MM instead of LM, MM, RM? Easier to hit that way with your thumb?

[arieswu]

Looks sick, but why do the buttons go RM, LM, MM instead of LM, MM, RM? Easier to hit that way with your thumb?

looks ugly or ?

I need MM more
so swap the order and use differnet size of keycaps

[CeeSA]

in lack of a controller i keep on modding cherry boards

the pics looks better than original, i am not happy with the outcome.
to many ?oversights?

i found a G80-11900 colored some sort of creme and i think brown would fits best.

before and after
do you notice the different color of the housing and the numpad keys?
the other keys are more grey


single

[turbocharged]

looks ugly or ?

Sick meaning awesome...stupid american slang...I know.

[arieswu]

Ok, I see
my poor English, ha

[laden3]

In Chinese slang, arieswu= uncle ar

[arieswu]

In Chinese slang, arieswu= uncle ar

XD....

[Thimplum]

Wow! Nice mod!

[Thimplum]

[nubbinator]

Haha, love how you called yourself out on that necro.

It is an awesome mod though.

[listokei]

Wow!
Alps saver it's cool!!

Black & Green doubleshot keycaps 

[DamnDan]

Totally making a DELL 101 TKL when i find one cheap locally....GREAT WORK! Still trying to find my dropped jaw.

[Thimplum]

Totally making a DELL 101 TKL when i find one cheap locally....GREAT WORK! Still trying to find my dropped jaw.

You might find it in the earth's mantle.

[gargintua]

my 11900 became mini 60% board, without a case

the case is a big problem now....

Show Image

Wow dude, i love the layout of that other keyboard. model?
is that mod or something?

[Thimplum]

my 11900 became mini 60% board, without a case

the case is a big problem now....

Show Image

Wow dude, i love the layout of that other keyboard. model?
is that mod or something?

The guy who posted that pic hasn't been active for a while, so I'll tell you. I think that it's a Cherry G80-1800. They aren't as common as the G80-3000, but you can still find them around.

[gargintua]

my 11900 became mini 60% board, without a case

the case is a big problem now....

Show Image

Wow dude, i love the layout of that other keyboard. model?
is that mod or something?

The guy who posted that pic hasn't been active for a while, so I'll tell you. I think that it's a Cherry G80-1800. They aren't as common as the G80-3000, but you can still find them around.

Thanks for the tip!  :thumb:

unfortunetly it be hard for me to get one of these in australia