geekhack Projects > Making Stuff Together!
DIY handwired TKL with a faint hint of "Retro"
wjrii:
--- Quote from: Nlight on Mon, 11 December 2023, 09:18:23 ---Wow, that matrix is WILD, efficient for sure, but really wild.
Wasn't it a bit of nightmare to map in the firmware ?
Nice job anyway
--- End quote ---
Yes. It was challenging to map, but in the end KMK is so straightforward that it is manageable. I believe there are ways to assign aliases so the keymap itself would look more human readable, but in the end it's just a keyboard. There are only 83 keys :) Its little brother has a different MCU with more pins, so it is less crazy.
Here is the actual keymap pulled from my firmware, which is to say the plaintext python file:
--- Code: ---[KC.F1, KC.F2, KC.F3, KC.F4, KC.F5, KC.F6, KC.F7,
KC.ESCAPE, KC.N1, KC.N2, KC.N3, KC.N4, KC.N5, KC.N6,
KC.TAB, KC.Q, KC.W, KC.E, KC.R, KC.T, KC.Y,
KC.CAPS, KC.A, KC.S, KC.D, KC.F, KC.G, KC.H,
KC.LSHIFT, KC.LSHIFT, KC.Z, KC.X, KC.C, KC.V, KC.B,
KC.NO, KC.LCTRL, KC.LALT, KC.SPACE, KC.N, KC.M, KC.COMMA,
WINCALC, KC.F12, KC.F11, KC.F10, KC.F9, KC.F8, KC.N7,
KC.INSERT, KC.BSPACE, KC.EQUAL, KC.MINUS, KC.N0, KC.N9, KC.N8,
KC.BSLASH, KC.RBRACKET, KC.LBRACKET, KC.P, KC.O, KC.I, KC.U,
KC.DELETE, KC.ENTER, KC.QUOTE, KC.SCOLON, KC.L, KC.K, KC.J,
KC.PGUP, KC.HOME, KC.END, KC.MO(1), KC.RSHIFT, KC.SLASH, KC.DOT,
KC.PGDOWN, KC.UP, KC.RIGHT, KC.DOWN, KC.LEFT, KC.RCTRL, KC.RWIN]
--- End code ---
Nlight:
yeah that looks pretty clear 😄😋
Nice making it through
wjrii:
Board 3 of 3 has kicked off. This one will have its switch plate nested into a 3D printed frame/case loosely inspired by the Atari XEGS keyboard. Wedge shaped feet on the bottom will give it a slight angle and (from certain angles) continue the aesthetic. Through a design oversight, I didn't give myself the literal wiggle room I needed, so a little superglue and sanding are necessary. I'll paint this one a nice retro yellow, though I am not going to try to hide the fact that its 3D printed, because I don't hate myself. The color is Krylon "Bauhaus Yellow" which looks a little like Kraft Mac & Cheese, but also a bit like the yellow used sparingly on the Atari 400 and 800 keyboards.
Switch-wise, I am probably going to use some exceedingly cheap knockoff 67g holy pandas from AE that I have lying around. I doubt they compare to the real thing, but I've never done a build with heavy tactiles at all, so it might come out nice. I think once I use these up, I'll settle in and start buying Box Navies in bulk because I am who I am. Keycaps, I'll see which of the complete sets I have lying around looks better, the Apple-esque XDAs, or the no-name white-on-blue Cherry. Seems like something spherical in a glossy brown ABS would work well if it comes out how I think it will, though.
wjrii:
So this should wrap up the project. Board number 3 completed.
-“Holy Panda v2” 67g tactile switches from AE. How did they sell 110 of them for sixteen bucks? It’s a mystery.
-Laser cut aluminum switch plate and base plate.
-Random stabilizers. One or two of them are Durock I think.
-3D printed case, feet, and grommet. Case spraypainted “Krylon Bauhaus Yellow”.
-Handwired with a “YD-RP2040” and running KMK. USB-C pigtail for strain relief.
-Akko SA-L black and gold keycaps.
Lessons on this one:
-For thickness-sensitive measurements, my 3D printer needs about 0.3-0.5mm of wiggle room. Is what it is. Note for next time.
-Only hot air for heat shrink tubing that touches other wires. If the other wire gets too hot, it'll melt right through and you'll have to redo your columns.
-Poor measurements on your grommet? Never fail, 3D pen to the rescue!
-Careful on those captive nuts. Pretty sure one of the 8 is just rattling around loose and the screw is biting into plastic. Oh well.
-Next time, I'll try "fuzzy skin" (Joe Scotto loves this) or telling the printer to "iron" the top layer. Concealing the construction method was never the goal though, and overall I'm pleased and learned something on every board.
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