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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: sharktastica on Thu, 22 June 2023, 13:53:05
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Unicomp, the ‘stewards’ of the Model M keyboard family, was forced to update its controller design this year since their previous chip of choice for USB keyboards has been discontinued and [largely] unavailable. This chip was also difficult for anyone to reprogram existing Unicomp Model Ms. With its new controller designs, Unicomp has elected to embrace an RP2040 future, which has opened up opportunities to easily reprogram new Unicomp keyboards!
(https://sharktastica.co.uk/resources/images/covers/unicomp_pico.jpg)
I’ve written a guide to cover what to know about the controllers and what we can now do with them! This includes some background, how to check if your existing Unicomp keyboard is compatible with them, how to get them for your existing Unicomp, and some basic Vial-QMK download and flashing steps. I’ve aimed this guide mostly towards first-time buyers looking to get more out of their new Unicomp keyboard, but there may be helpful info for others too.
Guide: https://sharktastica.co.uk/guides/unicomp_pico
The new controller cards are "Justify/Mike Smith" (top) for the Mini M and "Aristides" (bottom) for most of their other keyboards. In keeping with Unicomp's previous naming convention, they're named after various parts of Kentucky's racehorse legacy. They replace the Cypress based "AP1" and "Ruffian" controller cards respectively.
purdeaandrei has now ported Vial-QMK to these new cards as previously alluded to by apastuszak (https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28167). The two flavours are:
- vial-qmk-mini-m (https://github.com/purdeaandrei/vial-qmk-mini-m) for "Justify/Mike Smith" (Mini M)
- vial-qmk-overnumpad-and-aristides-2862 (https://github.com/purdeaandrei/vial-qmk-overnumpad-and-aristides-2862) for "Aristides" (101-105/122)
If there's any suggestions on how to further improve this guide, let me know!
Enjoy!
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It's "Via" not "Vial"
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It's "Via" not "Vial"
If you don't have any idea what you're talking about don't try to correct people...
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Big vial fan, exciting to see how versatile these are now.
For those curious: https://get.vial.today/ (https://get.vial.today/)
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Via/Vial compatible Model Ms seems so goood man. Was there ever a third party chip that allowed you to use both software on a OG Model M?
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It's "Via" not "Vial"
Lil bro thought he did something :D
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Via/Vial compatible Model Ms seems so goood man. Was there ever a third party chip that allowed you to use both software on a OG Model M?
There is a drop-in replacement controller project for most early Model Ms called Model H (https://modelh.club/) that uses QMK firmware (though not sure about Vial support). Alternatively if you're happy with just a converter to stick on the end of your keyboard's cable, tinkerBOY (https://www.tinkerboy.xyz/) sells IBM XT, AT and terminal Vial-QMK converters.
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Via/Vial compatible Model Ms seems so goood man. Was there ever a third party chip that allowed you to use both software on a OG Model M?
There is a drop-in replacement controller project for most early Model Ms called Model H (https://modelh.club/) that uses QMK firmware (though not sure about Vial support). Alternatively if you're happy with just a converter to stick on the end of your keyboard's cable, tinkerBOY (https://www.tinkerboy.xyz/) sells IBM XT, AT and terminal Vial-QMK converters.
thank you for that, I'm not too sure about vial, but isn't vial a feature of qmk, so I feel that you could still access vial through the model H one, but I'm not too versed on how it works to know for sure.
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Based on comments and feedback on my Discord and Deskthority, I've overhauled the guide. Changes (which are signposted by clicking the "Show Updates"/"+" button):
* "How to get them" section has been split so it's no longer a massive text wall. Two "Compatibility with..." sections and the "Can I make my incompatible keyboard compatible?" section were formed from it.
* Created "How do I find out if new Unicomp already has one?" section to explain how you can find out what controller your new Unicomp has without opening it.
* Created "How to fit them" section to explain what, in my opinion, is the best way to fit both the new controllers to their keyboards. This was in response to concerns that the Aristides (101-122 key controller) is too thick to fit existing Unicomp keyboards.
* Updated info in "How to get them" with the latest info on whether Mini Ms ship with the new controller internationally, and made some changes to the ordering instructions.
* Updated info in "Can I make my incompatible keyboard compatible?" section reflecting deskthority user jsheradin's experience with modifying a 1996 Lexmark-made Model M to fit Aristides.