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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: DrHubblePhD on Sun, 19 October 2014, 17:54:05

Title: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Sun, 19 October 2014, 17:54:05: I use my calculator daily and it is an essential piece of equipment for me, but the buttons just suck. Anyone have any ideas how I could take a scientific or graphing calculator and mod mechanical switches onto it, say using the frame for a keypad?
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: cinnamonrollz on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:42:18: well if you find a calc that uses straight up tach switches you could mod some cherries onto it. Other wise you would have to build one.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: SpAmRaY on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:42:56: There are alps calculators.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: cinnamonrollz on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:45:18: Last I checked an alpsulator cost well more than it would to build one.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: dorkvader on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:53:51: Quote from: cinnamonrollz on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:45:18
Last I checked an alpsulator cost well more than it would to build one.

they were overpriced from the design studio that made them but have been available for like $15 from other sources on occasion.

Sadly they use terrible switches and you cant put matias ones in there. Mine is currently broken, but I did put some NeXT keycaps on it.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:58:50: I could probably just buy a teensy or arduino and use it to emulate a calculator
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: dorkvader on Sun, 19 October 2014, 19:17:38: Quote from: drhubblephd on Sun, 19 October 2014, 18:58:50
I could probably just buy a teensy or arduino and use it to emulate a calculator

that would probably be the way to go.

You could expand all the keys out to MX switches, but they wouldn't fit in the area, so it's probably easier (and maybe cheaper) to just run a calculator program off a teensy or arduino or whatever.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: peachesenregalia on Sun, 19 October 2014, 19:57:21: Building your own is definitely the way to go.

http://kbdlab.co.kr/index.php?mid=board_Lsno50&page=13&document_srl=344913 (http://kbdlab.co.kr/index.php?mid=board_Lsno50&page=13&document_srl=344913)
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Sun, 19 October 2014, 20:15:57: Quote from: peachesenregalia on Sun, 19 October 2014, 19:57:21
Building your own is definitely the way to go.

http://kbdlab.co.kr/index.php?mid=board_Lsno50&page=13&document_srl=344913 (http://kbdlab.co.kr/index.php?mid=board_Lsno50&page=13&document_srl=344913)

That thing is sweet! Does anyone know if arduino has advanced math libraries to do things like trig.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: peachesenregalia on Sun, 19 October 2014, 20:47:31: Pretty sure it uses the C math library.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: dorkvader on Sun, 19 October 2014, 21:14:04: There's also this (http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/tvv8/pock.html)
(http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/tvv8/pock02s.jpg)
A little old school, but it was DIYd in 1978
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Sun, 19 October 2014, 21:31:27: Quote from: dorkvader on Sun, 19 October 2014, 21:14:04
There's also this (http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/tvv8/pock.html)
Show Image
(http://www.tatjavanvark.nl/tvv8/pock02s.jpg)

A little old school, but it was DIYd in 1978

That is also very cool, the real question is how would i make a case for this?
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: dorkvader on Sun, 19 October 2014, 22:04:59: acrylic like the kbdlab one would likely be your best bet for a decent cheap:good ratio.

I'm sort-of puzzled here. Most desk-calculators use rubber domes with sliders designed to minimize binding on off'axis presses. Cherry MX is not the best for off-axis perssing performance. Why do you want MX over a good RD calculator here?
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: jacobolus on Sun, 19 October 2014, 22:11:38: One thing I’d like to do sometime, if I get around to it, is making a custom keyboard designed for PCalc, a great iPad calculator app. They have bindings from a standard keyboard to all their functions, but the layout of a standard keyboard isn’t quite what I’d want for it, but a custom keyboard with programmable firmware should make it possible to set up something pretty nice.

Quote from: dorkvader on Sun, 19 October 2014, 22:04:59
I'm sort-of puzzled here. Most desk-calculators use rubber domes with sliders designed to minimize binding on off'axis presses. Cherry MX is not the best for off-axis perssing performance. Why do you want MX over a good RD calculator here?
Ideally a calculator layout would be optimized for touch typing. Most calculator layouts are really quite inefficient because they’re designed for one-finger hunt and peck.

I find desk calculators (including expensive graphing calculators, etc.) to have quite atrocious buttons, which actuate unreliably.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Mon, 20 October 2014, 09:26:17: It is definitely time that someone make a calculator that can be operated without looking down. Let's brainstorm some layouts! Also, where could I order the acrylic pieces for this?
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: MOZ on Mon, 20 October 2014, 10:49:30: This is an interesting idea and would like to see it develop into a full-fledged project.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: 0100010 on Mon, 20 October 2014, 10:53:17: Quote from: peachesenregalia on Sun, 19 October 2014, 19:57:21
Building your own is definitely the way to go.

http://kbdlab.co.kr/index.php?mid=board_Lsno50&page=13&document_srl=344913 (http://kbdlab.co.kr/index.php?mid=board_Lsno50&page=13&document_srl=344913)

Nice. Like a GHPAD with an LCD on top.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: MOZ on Mon, 20 October 2014, 12:05:17: It would be hyper cool to have a MX/Alps based calculator (GHPad with a screen) that can be connected to the PC via USB to charge the internal battery as well as allow the usage of the calculator as a numpad. Then you can charge and use it as a numpad, while also being able to disconnect it and use it as a standalone calculator. Oh my, so exciting.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: dorkvader on Mon, 20 October 2014, 14:34:40: Quote from: MOZ on Mon, 20 October 2014, 12:05:17
It would be hyper cool to have a MX/Alps based calculator (GHPad with a screen) that can be connected to the PC via USB to charge the internal battery as well as allow the usage of the calculator as a numpad. Then you can charge and use it as a numpad, while also being able to disconnect it and use it as a standalone calculator. Oh my, so exciting.

That's how the ALPSulator works. I really like it.
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: MOZ on Mon, 20 October 2014, 15:18:33: I didn't even know. My keyboard is abysmal. (Not being sarcastic)
Title: Re: Cherry mx Calculator
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Mon, 20 October 2014, 16:02:14: Quote from: MOZ on Mon, 20 October 2014, 12:05:17
It would be hyper cool to have a MX/Alps based calculator (GHPad with a screen) that can be connected to the PC via USB to charge the internal battery as well as allow the usage of the calculator as a numpad. Then you can charge and use it as a numpad, while also being able to disconnect it and use it as a standalone calculator. Oh my, so exciting.

yeah I think it could have some really great functionality!