Duly noted as far as the AT101W/Omnikey stuff goes. Speaking of the AT101W/Bigfoot and Leeku PCBs, I was thinking about posting an IC to make an Alps equivalent for the Bigfoot boards. I threw together a draft and I've been debating about posting it for a while:
After hearing about the Leeku PCBs and how they are compatible with widely available Cherry cases, I began thinking about how a similar concept could be implemented for Alps boards. The ubiquitous Bigfoot reference design came to mind, known by most as the sturdy Dell AT101W keyboard. If such a PCB could be made available, it would offer members of the keyboard community curious about Alps switches a chance to get up and running with a custom keyboard on the cheap. As such, the primary goal of this GB would be to design and produce a PCB that could be dropped into Bigfoot-series Alps keyboards. The secondary goal would be produce Bigfoot-compatible plates that would offer a wider variety of layout options. A tertiary goal could be to add support for SMK Alps-mount switches since the keyboards that utilize those switches are typically "flimsy" (at least relative to a Bigfoot). Adding support for MX-compatible switches would not be outside of realm of possibilities as well.
FAQ:
Q: Which firmware would these boards support?
A: The goal would be to use hasu's TMK firmware.
Q: What would have to be done to get one of these boards up and running?
A: Disassemble the Bigfoot keyboard to get the plate, Attach all of the (new/old) switches to the plate, Solder in the diodes then the switches, Program the MCU,
, Profit
Q: Why are you qualified to work on this project?
A: I am educated as a Computer Engineer which means I have experience working with PCB design tools and micro-controllers. I am by no means a professional but I am not an amateur, either.
Q: Do you have any schematics, designs, price estimates or the like?
A: Nope, this IC is simply to check if there would be any interest in this sort of thing in the first place. If it is able to garner enough interest, those things will begin to flow in.
Q: What is "enough" interest?
A: I am going to play it by ear.