Author Topic: Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint  (Read 374128 times)

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Offline lowpoly

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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #650 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 07:43:10 »
Quote
Is it possible to get cherry keycaps from somewhere in smaller quantities?

Original Cherry? I don't think so. I asked for a quote for hundreds of thousands and they didn't even answer. My theory is that the inquiry got stuck somewhere, where someone couldn't decide what to do with it. With double shots gone there's only lasered available and I think they laser them after keyboard assembly. Which means there are no single keycaps with symbols at all. There are still the spherical caps in the Cherry MX data sheet. These have all the same height though. And nobody mentioned those ever.

Edit: these here should be the spherical caps.
« Last Edit: Fri, 17 December 2010, 07:49:13 by lowpoly »

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #651 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 07:54:34 »
Quote from: lowpoly;264537
Original Cherry?

Edit: these here should be the spherical caps.


Not necessarily original cherrys but caps with the cherry cross mounting thingy.

I thought thoose "standard" caps were just flat on top like on most laptop keyboards... Having the same height would be a good property to me. Unprinted is good too =) Seems strange it's sort of easy to buy the switches but hard to get hold of caps to go on top of them =P

Edit: My idea for a case is to just take the mounting plate and having it bent down to form the front and back. Then another plain plate mounted under the pcb to have it enclosed. Rubber feets mounted on the bottom plate or to the downward pointing edge of the top plate. Different height feets could serve for different board angles. Perhaps some rubber inserts on the ends between the two plates as sides..
« Last Edit: Fri, 17 December 2010, 08:14:56 by PrinsValium »

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #652 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 09:16:54 »
Just the bent plate would be elegant I think. You can handwire the switches.

As for keycaps, search for Signature Plastics. A lot of info in the ROUND TWO and ROUND THREE threads, first page in the keyboard forum.

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #653 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 11:05:46 »
Apparently I did a horrible job googling for signature plastics... I ended up at http://www.signatureplastics.com/profile.html Thanks for setting me straight =) Seems like a great place. The $100 minimum order doesn't sound too bad at all.

It's the pbt plastic that is dyable right?

Offline kidchunks

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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #654 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 13:14:43 »
Glad that the project is back in effect even if only for kits. If I pass on a Leopold then I'll def be looking into getting one of these. I love DIY projects!
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Offline sairex

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« Reply #655 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 14:35:26 »
Thanks for reviving this project.  I joined GH after learning about the mini guru as well and would definitely consider ordering the DIY kit, depending on how difficult it was (never done any keyboarding modding).
   

Offline salcan

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« Reply #656 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 16:09:38 »
Quote from: sairex;264791
Thanks for reviving this project.  I joined GH after learning about the mini guru as well and would definitely consider ordering the DIY kit, depending on how difficult it was (never done any keyboarding modding).


same on all accounts, aside from the modding thing. Anyway, i'm interested.

Offline Broncosoozie

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« Reply #657 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 16:21:32 »
This looks like such a great keyboard for work, I'm really interested in this and hope it isn't too hard to pull off in the end.

After looking at the basic setup of a mouse and keyboard, though, I have to ask: Is there scrolling functionality?  Could we (for example) hold down the meta key and use the touchpoint to scroll, or is that out of the limitations of the hardware?  I'm fine with pg-up, pg-down if that's all it has, as I think sacrificing scroll for the small form factor and layout is worth it, but would be nice to have!

Work: White HHKB Pro 2 w/ lettering
Home: White Filco tenkeyless MX Browns
Laptop: Black Filco tenkeyless MX Blacks

Offline Sam

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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #658 on: Fri, 17 December 2010, 16:40:44 »
Nice to see this back on track.  The MiniGuru, or rather the cancellation of it, is what brought me to GeekHack.  I was looking for a mini keyboard for use when traveling and the MiniGuru seemed ideal.  Seeing it get cancelled, I started looking for alternatives, which led me here.  I'm actually in the first stage now of designing my own keyboard based on this and other keyboards and realizing that if I want my perfect keyboard I'll have to design it myself.  I still though would probably be interested in a MiniGuru for use until I finish my own keyboard, which could be a long time given my busy schedule.

Thanks for doing this project, if nothing else than for giving me some inspiration and opening my eyes to keyboard alternatives.

Offline lapin00b

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« Reply #659 on: Sat, 18 December 2010, 00:28:30 »
O dear Lord, thanks for listening to my prayers \o/

Man, I was so despaired I was considering building one myself but that would have taken ages.

Count me in for at least 1 kb in your (hopefully "first") batch of 100 !

Offline hoggy

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« Reply #660 on: Sat, 18 December 2010, 05:08:26 »
Yay!  Can't do that much in way of helping getting it built, but would really like to help out by buying one.

Devlin.co.uk do keycaps - might cut down on the shipping costs...

Really pleased to see this going again...
GH Ergonomic Guide (in progress)
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Offline Cort

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« Reply #661 on: Sat, 18 December 2010, 16:10:53 »
Just posting because it seems to be the only way to get notified about Miniguru updates (and this version of vBulletin apparently can't subscribe to a thread without posting to it).

Offline mSSM

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« Reply #662 on: Sun, 19 December 2010, 09:15:40 »
I heard about the Miniguru quite a long time ago, and always thought it's one of the most beautiful boards I saw so far.

I would be extremely interested in getting one of those kits. What would the difficulty level in putting one of those things together? And what would the price estimate approximately be?

Offline PikePlight

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« Reply #663 on: Sun, 19 December 2010, 09:34:29 »
My first post on GH.

Only ever found this forum because of the MiniGuru.

Count me in.

Offline bigpook

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« Reply #664 on: Sun, 19 December 2010, 09:51:47 »
Quote from: mSSM;265678


I would be extremely interested in getting one of those kits. What would the difficulty level in putting one of those things together? And what would the price estimate approximately be?


: ) If the cost isn't insane then count me in.
HHKB Pro 2 : Unicomp Spacesaver : IBM Model M : DasIII    

Offline bigpook

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« Reply #665 on: Sun, 19 December 2010, 09:52:42 »
Quote from: mSSM;265678


I would be extremely interested in getting one of those kits. What would the difficulty level in putting one of those things together? And what would the price estimate approximately be?


: ) If the cost isn't insane then count me in.

'insane' is as yet to be determined : )
HHKB Pro 2 : Unicomp Spacesaver : IBM Model M : DasIII    

Offline WhiteRice

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« Reply #666 on: Sun, 19 December 2010, 22:07:05 »
Quote from: lowpoly;262409
I was just going to contact SP.

Help would be great, thank you.

Specifications:

Standard alpha part ANSI 61 keys, ISO 62 keys.

I guess it would be cheapest to take what they have but I'd prefer if it was Cherry compatible (stabilizers, space bar switch position, etc).

Choice of stabilizers will affect pcb and maybe body construction.

They probably have black and white but what about additional colors: gray, cream, brown (with black lettering)?

With and without symbols?

Maybe ISO languages?

Materials? Edit: Lasered? Double Shot?

Edit2: And a swirl key would be nice!

Edit3: Control keys for CapsLock position and additional blank keys for the spacebar row (even with symbol sets).

To keep it simple, quotes for 5 and 10 units would be fine. Less than 5 will be too expensive, more than 10 won't happen that often. Quotes should include stabilizers.

For the curious, here's what chimera15 found out:
http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=197816&postcount=58

Significant price drop from 5 units on.


lowpoly, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.

Signature keys are compatible with both cherry and filco layouts.(Stem and stabilizer) The space bar has dual middle stems to accommodate.

Some members have already ordered color rings from SP. I will find a picture and post it here.

They can produce blank keys or keys with legends. Blanks are cheaper.

The most affordable keys are the abs doubleshot keys.

If you can get a CAD or Adobe Illustrator file with your swirl image, they can make a double shot key of it.

Extra keys like the long control or the blanks cost and additional $0.80-$1.15 per key. This is also mitigated by quantity.

I asked for quotes for 25, 50, 100 sets. I will get the quotes for 5 and 10, but in my experience the price drop once you hit 25 is significant.

« Last Edit: Sun, 19 December 2010, 22:13:38 by WhiteRice »

Offline zmurf

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« Reply #667 on: Mon, 20 December 2010, 02:03:42 »
Yepp.. as some of you know I hadn't patience enough to wait... so I made my own kit:

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:11420

(More pictures)

:)

(But mine isn't a mini keyboard though... :/ )

By modding my way you get a modern Lenovo trackpoint with three mousebuttons and Win7 drivers. Which I think is a better solution. Those generic Pointing Sticks is usually not as good as IBM/Lenovo trackpoint... And as I understood it only has 2 mouse buttons?
« Last Edit: Mon, 20 December 2010, 02:16:29 by zmurf »
At last! A mechanical keyboard with Trackpoint of my own! Now with Hyper-Scroll! And also Ergo-Clear switches. Ohh... look... custom keys! :D

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #668 on: Mon, 20 December 2010, 03:44:59 »
Thanks for commenting.

Quote from: Broncosoozie;264893
After looking at the basic setup of a mouse and keyboard, though, I have to ask: Is there scrolling functionality?  Could we (for example) hold down the meta key and use the touchpoint to scroll, or is that out of the limitations of the hardware?

The prototype has only 2 mouse buttons because I used a Trackpoint IV from an IBM 8xxx keyboard. The mass production model was supposed to have a thin horizontal plastic stripe as a third mouse button. Not sure if this will happen with the kit as I have to keep the number of custom made parts to a minimum. And three of the regular buttons would ruin the design. :-)

Using a regular key should be possible if the pointing stick can be read by the Teensy.

Quote from: hoggy;265101
Devlin.co.uk do keycaps - might cut down on the shipping costs...

I remember these now, thanks for reminding me. Other manufacturers than SP are interesting if the crud problem cannot be solved.

Quote from: mSSM;265678
What would the difficulty level in putting one of those things together? And what would the price estimate approximately be?

Too early for pricing. Hard to say what the difficulty level will be. I'd prefer 'bolt together' but this means pre-assembling the pcbs. Maybe this can be done, maybe other members will do it to make some money. Worst case it will be DIY.

I will avoid SMT parts for the pcb though.

Quote from: PikePlight;265683
My first post on GH.

Only ever found this forum because of the MiniGuru.

Count me in.

Welcome! And thanks.

Quote from: WhiteRice;265965
lowpoly, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.

Signature keys are compatible with both cherry and filco layouts.(Stem and stabilizer) The space bar has dual middle stems to accommodate.

Some members have already ordered color rings from SP. I will find a picture and post it here.

They can produce blank keys or keys with legends. Blanks are cheaper.

The most affordable keys are the abs doubleshot keys.

If you can get a CAD or Adobe Illustrator file with your swirl image, they can make a double shot key of it.

Extra keys like the long control or the blanks cost and additional $0.80-$1.15 per key. This is also mitigated by quantity.

I asked for quotes for 25, 50, 100 sets. I will get the quotes for 5 and 10, but in my experience the price drop once you hit 25 is significant.

[pic]


Thanks, those are good news.

As for stabilizers, do you know if SP has stabilizers? I'll try to get quotes and MOQ for Cherry stabilizers anyway. Then we can decide.

Having thought about this during the weekend, it may be a bit early to get keycap prices. It will be several months until everything is ready.

I'll try to get those color rings from SP. Was the upper one the ABS ring and there is clear plastic among those? This would mean there could be double shots with clear symbols? That would be great because with a 4 layer pcb it would be easy to have individual LEDs per switch. For ex. you could have clear in black keycaps and if you want to see the symbols you switch on the LEDs. Teensy++ has enough additional connections for a 8x8 matrix for the LEDs. Meaning you could program which keys will light. Like WASD or F,J. Just thinking aloud. However, this would be too much for a first step.


Quote from: zmurf;266034
By modding my way you get a modern Lenovo trackpoint with three mousebuttons and Win7 drivers. Which I think is a better solution. Those generic Pointing Sticks is usually not as good as IBM/Lenovo trackpoint... And as I understood it only has 2 mouse buttons?

Good work! IBM did use 'generic Pointing Sticks' too. :-) The TP4 I used for the prototype was made by Bourns, not by IBM. No third button on this one. Not available anymore, btw. I'm going to use one made by a company that has been an OEM supplier for Thinkpad pointing in the past. It will have 3 button capabilities. Also, running it through the Teensy means that it should be possible to influence the characteristics in the firmware, no driver necessary. Well, that's the plan at least.
« Last Edit: Tue, 21 December 2010, 05:58:26 by lowpoly »

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline zmurf

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« Reply #669 on: Mon, 20 December 2010, 04:26:27 »
Quote from: lowpoly;266053
IBM did use 'generic Pointing Sticks' too. :-) The TP2 I used for the prototype was made by Bourns, not by IBM. No third button on this one. Not available anymore, btw. I'm going to use one made by a company that has been an OEM supplier for Thinkpad pointing in the past. It will have 3 button capabilities. Also, running it through the Teensy means that it should be possible to influence the characteristics in the firmware, no driver necessary. Well, that's the plan at least.


Ah... didn't know that.

Well.. anyway. I'm going to want to buy one of the kits when they are done...
I use my modded keyboard at work. But it would be nice to have something equivalent at home. And if you are going to sell kits I can as well buy one from you for good measure. :)
« Last Edit: Mon, 20 December 2010, 04:31:58 by zmurf »
At last! A mechanical keyboard with Trackpoint of my own! Now with Hyper-Scroll! And also Ergo-Clear switches. Ohh... look... custom keys! :D

Offline gtklocker

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« Reply #670 on: Mon, 20 December 2010, 15:57:10 »
Count me in, but I'd like one *without* that mouse-like thingy, if possible! ;)

If not, no problem, the keyboard is awesome and I will cope with it.

I just want a low price, at about <60$!
« Last Edit: Mon, 20 December 2010, 16:02:03 by gtklocker »

Offline mkawa

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« Reply #671 on: Mon, 20 December 2010, 16:48:58 »
through-hole for the PCB is ideal, but in the case that some chips come in only SMT, i think the preferred option is to have the following purchasing options: a) bare board b) bare board with SMT parts mounted (extra cost).

Also, I don't like pre-populated boards for a couple of reasons:

1) the time that you would spend populating 100 boards could be much better spent in CAD or some other aspect of design or parts production/sourcing

2) i imagine the board design will be somewhat customizable, which would make mass production particularly hard

3) extra cost. unless you're planning on stuffing more than 100 boards at once and you have an army of low-paid elves to stuff boards, the builder will probably end up spending less to populate the board than he would if he were paying you for parts + labor.

4) i imagine you won't be able to test the board without switches, and the switches will clearly be the most customized/contentious/user populated part of the keyboard.

anyway, long story short, as long as the board doesn't require superhuman skill to populate, i think DIY is likely to be the best case, not worst case. i could be completely wrong about this, but this is my impression, again, from DIY audio (although do note that nearly every component in an audio circuit is highly contentious)

finally, keep in mind that the individual parts you design and produce won't necessarily be used in exactly the way or configuration that you imagine. some people will want to use your board in their own chassis, (and v.v.!).

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline WhiteRice

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« Reply #672 on: Mon, 20 December 2010, 18:19:22 »
lowpoly,

Quote

Pricing is as follows:
2-shot keyset:
5 sets           $211.50 / set
10 sets          $116.03 / set
15 sets          $86.62 / set
20 sets          $71.92 / set
25 sets          $63.09 / set
50 sets          $45.44 / set
100 sets        $36.62 / set
 
Blank keyset:
5 sets           $108.49 / set
10 sets          $62.75 / set
15 sets          $47.51 / set
20 sets          $39.89 / set
25 sets          $35.31 / set
50 sets          $26.17 / set
100 sets        $21.59 / set


This is for the 61 ANSI. I used this picture as a base of reference.



For the ISO the price wouldn't change too much.

Signature wanted to let me know that they do not have the tooling for domed keys. If they made the swirl key it would be flat profiled.

I need to clear up some information about stabilizers, and I will get back to you.

Offline lowpoly

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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #673 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 06:26:26 »
Quote from: gtklocker;266372
Count me in, but I'd like one *without* that mouse-like thingy, if possible! ;)

If not, no problem, the keyboard is awesome and I will cope with it.

I just want a low price, at about <60$!

There have been a couple of requests for a 'board without pointing. It will depend on body manufacturing. Maybe I can mill the cutouts myself.

As for the price - that's not possible with a mini series.

Quote from: mkawa;266412
through-hole for the PCB is ideal, but in the case that some chips come in only SMT, i think the preferred option is to have the following purchasing options: a) bare board b) bare board with SMT parts mounted (extra cost).

Also, I don't like pre-populated boards for a couple of reasons:

1) the time that you would spend populating 100 boards could be much better spent in CAD or some other aspect of design or parts production/sourcing

2) i imagine the board design will be somewhat customizable, which would make mass production particularly hard

3) extra cost. unless you're planning on stuffing more than 100 boards at once and you have an army of low-paid elves to stuff boards, the builder will probably end up spending less to populate the board than he would if he were paying you for parts + labor.

4) i imagine you won't be able to test the board without switches, and the switches will clearly be the most customized/contentious/user populated part of the keyboard.

anyway, long story short, as long as the board doesn't require superhuman skill to populate, i think DIY is likely to be the best case, not worst case. i could be completely wrong about this, but this is my impression, again, from DIY audio (although do note that nearly every component in an audio circuit is highly contentious)

finally, keep in mind that the individual parts you design and produce won't necessarily be used in exactly the way or configuration that you imagine. some people will want to use your board in their own chassis, (and v.v.!).

All good points. You're right, given the switch and layout variations (6 atm) it's probably too expensive to have it factory produced.

When I said worst case I was under the impression that most people do not want to solder. So it's more a matter of statistics. We can always set up a poll later.

And there's no reason why unpopulated pcbs (and cases) shouldn't be available.

Quote from: WhiteRice;266445
lowpoly,

This is for the 61 ANSI. I used this picture as a base of reference.

[pic]

For the ISO the price wouldn't change too much.

Signature wanted to let me know that they do not have the tooling for domed keys. If they made the swirl key it would be flat profiled.

I need to clear up some information about stabilizers, and I will get back to you.

Thank you!

That's a lot more than Chimera's quote. It looked like it was for a full alpha set but I probably missed something due to bad reading. Any hidden cost killers in the Miniguru layout?

Swirl key: I think flat would be better anyway.

I went through Chimera's thread again and it looks like SP has no stabilizers.
« Last Edit: Tue, 21 December 2010, 06:29:40 by lowpoly »

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline WhiteRice

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« Reply #674 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 10:46:51 »
Quote from: lowpoly;266638

Thank you!

That's a lot more than Chimera's quote. It looked like it was for a full alpha set but I probably missed something due to bad reading. Any hidden cost killers in the Miniguru layout?

Swirl key: I think flat would be better anyway.

I went through Chimera's thread again and it looks like SP has no stabilizers.


The larger keys tend to cost more, but there are no large outliers. I believe that the tool costs for the swirl key were built into the price of each set.

Signature does not provide stabilizers. I will ask to see if they have any connections though.
« Last Edit: Tue, 21 December 2010, 10:50:05 by WhiteRice »

Offline turbocharged

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« Reply #675 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 11:20:09 »
DIY kit would be incredible. I'm definitely in if it is a DIY kit...save a bit of money and have some fun.
| Deck Legend Fire (MX Blacks) | KBC Poker X (MX Reds) | Cherry G80-11900LTMUS (MX Clears) |  Cherry G80-11900HRMUS (MX "Ghetto Reds")
| IBM Model M 1391401 (BS) | Goldtouch GTC-0033 Keypad (MX Browns) |

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #676 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 12:33:35 »
^^^ Thanks!

Quote from: WhiteRice;266729
The larger keys tend to cost more, but there are no large outliers. I believe that the tool costs for the swirl key were built into the price of each set.

Maybe it's the cut-outs for the pointing stick (G, H, B, space) too? I had planned to do these myself (but failed to say so).

I'll ask Chimera what exactly his quote was for.

Quote from: WhiteRice;266729
Signature does not provide stabilizers. I will ask to see if they have any connections though.

Good idea!
« Last Edit: Tue, 21 December 2010, 12:52:18 by lowpoly »

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline zmurf

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« Reply #677 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 14:33:06 »
Will you try to make an ISO keyboard kit also? Or will there only be an ANSI style board?
At last! A mechanical keyboard with Trackpoint of my own! Now with Hyper-Scroll! And also Ergo-Clear switches. Ohh... look... custom keys! :D

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #678 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 16:33:34 »
I'll try to make both ANSI and ISO versions of the pcb. Not sure yet if this can be done in a single pcb. Problably not. Too many drill holes in the same space for left shift for ex. Altough I think I've seen something like that here lately.

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #679 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 16:34:04 »
I'll try to make both ANSI and ISO versions of the pcb. Not sure yet if this can be done in a single pcb. Problably not. Too many drill holes in the same space for left shift for ex. Although I think I've seen something like that here lately.

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline PikachuDX

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« Reply #680 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 18:38:36 »
R3EoDdWXb,!AKq_@zKrDJ=;dgxfSiuI-Emh&d-xy)%pGp-rGc@
« Last Edit: Tue, 20 June 2023, 05:42:49 by PikachuDX »

Offline turbocharged

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« Reply #681 on: Tue, 21 December 2010, 19:38:57 »
What switches are you thinking of going with? Possible option or do you plan on just buying one switch in uber-bulk?
| Deck Legend Fire (MX Blacks) | KBC Poker X (MX Reds) | Cherry G80-11900LTMUS (MX Clears) |  Cherry G80-11900HRMUS (MX "Ghetto Reds")
| IBM Model M 1391401 (BS) | Goldtouch GTC-0033 Keypad (MX Browns) |

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Offline victheslik

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« Reply #682 on: Wed, 22 December 2010, 00:31:22 »
-
« Last Edit: Sun, 26 November 2023, 22:30:04 by victheslik »
"The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain. " Karl Marx
A wiseman once said, "If Bible proves the existence of God, then comic books prove the existence of Superheros."

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #683 on: Wed, 22 December 2010, 05:27:47 »
Quote from: PikachuDX;266935
I'd love one with a UK layout.. :<
Should be possible one way or the other.

Quote from: turbocharged;266977
What switches are you thinking of going with? Possible option or do you plan on just buying one switch in uber-bulk?

Cherry MOQ for switches is 1000. The common switches should be possible (and cheaper if I buy them).

Quote from: victheslik;267084
I don't know if anyone posted this yet, but good job on getting on OTD again ;D

http://www.otd.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=product_news&wr_id=2301

Keep up the good working :) ~

-Victheslik

Thanks for the link. :-)

Of course, Google translate fails again. I wish I could read Korean. I think I get the general direction though.

Reminds me that I got new mail from distributors. The pace of this thread suggests that everything is well on the way. However, it will take several months from now as I have to learn some new stuff. Nothing too complex I hope but it will take its time. Also, I have yet to finish the M0110 mod. That's only a matter of a few days though and I plan to use it as a Teensy test environment.
« Last Edit: Wed, 22 December 2010, 05:34:35 by lowpoly »

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline zmurf

  • Posts: 156
  • Location: Sweden
    • Cherry G803000LQC With Latest Generation Trackpoint
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #684 on: Wed, 22 December 2010, 07:29:02 »
I don't care about how the key caps looks, which switches that will be used or how long it takes before you start selling these kits. I'll buy anyway...

... or well... If there only is an ANSI version I'll will probably buy... if there is an ISO version I will definitely buy! :)
At last! A mechanical keyboard with Trackpoint of my own! Now with Hyper-Scroll! And also Ergo-Clear switches. Ohh... look... custom keys! :D

Offline calavera

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« Reply #685 on: Thu, 23 December 2010, 00:26:39 »
Great news indeed!! :D

Offline gore

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« Reply #686 on: Thu, 23 December 2010, 18:02:45 »
Really looking forward to this! Looked at any start up helps like this http://www.kickstarter.com/ ?

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #687 on: Thu, 23 December 2010, 19:27:50 »
Kickstarter won't work as I'm not U.S. based. :-(

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline jaynoon

  • Posts: 152
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #688 on: Fri, 24 December 2010, 12:41:58 »
Hurrah for hope!

I would definitely be interested in buying the kit.

EDIT: User error, didn't realize there were 5 more pages in the thread. Disregard my comment about the pointing stick.
« Last Edit: Fri, 24 December 2010, 12:51:20 by jaynoon »
Home: Filco Tenkeyless Brown | Work: KBC Poker w/ Reds | Laptop: MacBook Air Keyboard

Offline SirClickAlot

  • Posts: 285
    • http://www.mrinterface.com
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #689 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 12:52:00 »
Yes, Y E S, YES!

I am very glad to see the miniguru has risen out of the ashes!

In whatever form it will be in, I am sure to be buying one. Excellent stuff...

Regards.
[Succes is when you get what you want
Happiness is when you want what you get]

Optimize your interfaces : http://www.mrinterface.com
Currently using( not necessarily my favorite : I iterate over my collection many times ):
Filco White Majestouch Mx Brown DS White on Black.
Looking for : New and interesting interfaces. Working on :www.deskthority.net

Offline troll

  • Posts: 1
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #690 on: Thu, 30 December 2010, 16:04:24 »
Hi, geekhackers :)
I only registered because of this thread. These are awesome news!
My wishlist would be:
- Clicky keys
- Blank keycaps (US / British layout would be also ok)
- Stick or no stick - don't care
- DIY / Soldering: Yes, please :)
- Electronics: Don't care if self-developed or not as long as everything works well
- Price max. 250 US$$

Hey, and thanks for your fantastic (and currently nonpaid, I guess) work guys! I bet you could easily sell > 500 of those keyboards. Maybe think about some "pre-order form" with an advance payment. Should be useful to get an idea about how many people are really interested in getting one.
I wish you all the best!

Offline jeff

  • Posts: 1
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #691 on: Sat, 01 January 2011, 03:11:22 »
I want this.  The size, trackpoint, and option for awesome switches are perfect.  If I may make a single suggestion it would be to offer a keycap for the control/caps lock key that's flat all the way across.

I think I'd be able to deal with a pretty steep price for this.  If I have to become reasonably good at soldering, then so be it.

Bring it on!

Offline turbocharged

  • Posts: 298
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #692 on: Sat, 01 January 2011, 22:23:24 »
Another question that is probably unanswerable...do you have a remote time frame that you are trying to have this project completed by?
| Deck Legend Fire (MX Blacks) | KBC Poker X (MX Reds) | Cherry G80-11900LTMUS (MX Clears) |  Cherry G80-11900HRMUS (MX "Ghetto Reds")
| IBM Model M 1391401 (BS) | Goldtouch GTC-0033 Keypad (MX Browns) |

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Offline lowpoly

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« Reply #693 on: Wed, 05 January 2011, 10:06:49 »
Thanks for the comments.

Quote from: turbocharged;271857
Another question that is probably unanswerable...do you have a remote time frame that you are trying to have this project completed by?

I want to ship a kit in 2011. There'll be no new deadline though. I don't want to miss one again.

Finally finished my blank keycaps:



This was a set with symbols which I hand-sanded away. First using 180grit, then 600grit with water. 600 seems to be too fine, it gets glossy where scratched. Looks great when new though.

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline kidchunks

  • Posts: 496
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #694 on: Wed, 05 January 2011, 13:26:02 »
Quote from: lowpoly;273474
Thanks for the comments.


I want to ship a kit in 2011. There'll be no new deadline though. I don't want to miss one again.

Finally finished my blank keycaps:

Show Image


This was a set with symbols which I hand-sanded away. First using 180grit, then 600grit with water. 600 seems to be too fine, it gets glossy where scratched. Looks great when new though.


One word...SEXY!

How long did the sanding take?
Topre || BS > *
my root : kidchunks[dot]com

Offline lowpoly

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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #695 on: Wed, 05 January 2011, 13:46:40 »
Quote from: kidchunks;273554
How long did the sanding take?

Several hours.

Miniguru thread at GH // The Apple M0110 Today

Offline Broncosoozie

  • Posts: 50
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #696 on: Wed, 05 January 2011, 13:58:59 »
Quote from: kalrykh;273555
I'll have to second that.  That's hot.


I don't think there is anyone who wouldn't second that.

Awesome work, lowpoly! :D

Work: White HHKB Pro 2 w/ lettering
Home: White Filco tenkeyless MX Browns
Laptop: Black Filco tenkeyless MX Blacks

Offline gilgam

  • Posts: 298
Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #697 on: Mon, 10 January 2011, 13:51:30 »
You can rely on me for buying one, but no soldering, even if i pay more.
Realforce 105 FR, HHKB Pro 2 black, 1 Raptor K1 Black Cherry and 1 Raptor K1 Red Cherry , Compag MX 11800  tBrown Cherry, G80-3000 Clear Cherry , G80-1000 Blue Cherry / Ghetto red, Lexmark 1992 SSK Buckling spring, Unicomp 2011 Customizer 102 Buckling spring
and a few rubber dome/scissors keyboards from Apple/Logitech

Offline flooberjobby

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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #698 on: Thu, 13 January 2011, 10:19:27 »
Sign me up for at least one, maybe more. With Cherry Red MX with Black and red color scheme.

Offline Vittra

  • Airflow Optimizer
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Mini Keyboard with Trackpoint
« Reply #699 on: Fri, 14 January 2011, 13:32:17 »
Miniguru + Cherry MX Red = Want. Want NOW.

I'd definitely purchase one. :dance:
Filco MJ Linear R LE TKL