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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: DanielT on Fri, 08 May 2015, 06:50:02

Title: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: DanielT on Fri, 08 May 2015, 06:50:02

I was one of the lucky guys who got one of the TMK64 alps PCB's made by Hasy , my PCB is Nr.7 and this is my build log  :cool:
Here it goes:
First step was to prepare the diodes, I used a piece of wood cut down to size so I could bend all the diodes :
(http://imgur.com/QqkAw81.jpg)

All diodes soldered in place:
(http://imgur.com/O9BVArI.jpg)
With the diodes soldered I tested each switch with some needle tweezers to make sure that everything works.

Now the hard part, as a donor I used a NIB black Dell keyboard Alinh had, de-soldering the switches was a pain but that was not the hardest part.
I had to cut down to size the steel plate, for that I used a Dremel and some cutting disks, I think I broke around 10 of them but it worked in the end :D The disks were not meant for cutting 1.5mm steel but I didn't had the time to order something else. Anyway, the end result looked good :
(http://imgur.com/a2jmLkF.jpg)
I managed not to destroy any of the stab mounting holes. For the screw holes I used a carbide drill and it worked well.
This is what was left of the Dell plate :D :
(http://imgur.com/cn7JpMb.jpg)
After cutting and sanding the plate I made a test to see if everything fits and it did to my surprise :
(http://imgur.com/4j0StvZ.jpg)

Final step was to solder all the switches and test if all the switches work, and surprisingly it did  :lol:
(http://imgur.com/mpJf2Tf.jpg)
This is how it looked on the back :
(http://imgur.com/iKTc3b2.jpg)

For the case I have used a stock Poker X case :
(http://imgur.com/vGIWX29.jpg)

For the firmware is just classic TMK everybody knows it so I won't cover that part. You have a reset switch on the back in the same position where the Poker DIP switches are placed, I must say it's a nice touch:
(http://imgur.com/2tKcpXC.jpg)

And the final product :
(http://imgur.com/fmnSptT.jpg)

Conclusions:
Except for the short 1.75u Right Shift and Pinky Fn that I miss so much the board is great, I managed to put a layout that it is easy to use, I'm typing since yesterday on this keyboard and it feels really nice. I know people hate the black Alps, but I like them, they feel interesting. I didn't had any issues with the PCB, everything worked as it was supposed to.
It was the first time I got a chance to test and evaluate a prototype and it felt great  :mrgreen: This small project had a lot of firsts for me, modding a plate, Alps switches, TMK firmware and the end result is a fully functional keyboard that looks and feels better than a commercial one  :D 

For soldering I used an Antex XS25 soldering iron with 1mm tip and 0.5mm 60/40 soldering wire. The Antex soldering iron was much better than the cheap one I used in the past, it allowed me to make much cleaner soldering points, a great tool all together. I bought this one directly from their web site, they have fast and cheap delivery, and their products are of very good quality for a good price.

Title: Re: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: joey on Fri, 08 May 2015, 07:09:48

Awesome  :thumb:
Glad it all worked out and the prototype was a success!

Title: Re: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: CPTBadAss on Fri, 08 May 2015, 07:25:24

Ooo nice build and it's cool you went with black alps. Most people seem to shy away from them unfortunately

Title: Re: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: sprit on Fri, 08 May 2015, 07:25:38

Nice Build log from all the scratches!   :o   

Need to read again for my build!  :thumb:

I love Alps Black mod to linear   ;)

Title: Re: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: DanielT on Fri, 08 May 2015, 08:31:47

Thanks  :cool:

I like the black alps, after 2 days of typing on this board hey feel really nice. It was fun doing this :)
I will try the linear mod for the black, I'm curios how they feel. Tested on one and it's not bad at all.
Anyway I don't understand why people speak so bad of black alps, these are nice switches.

Title: Re: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: Yoe on Fri, 08 May 2015, 08:34:14

Nice build!

Title: Re: TMK Alps 60% Keyboard build log
Post by: hasu on Fri, 08 May 2015, 16:10:02

Quote from: DanielT on Fri, 08 May 2015, 06:50:02

You have a reset switch on the back in the same position where the Poker DIP switches are placed, I must say it's a nice touch:

Show Image

(http://imgur.com/2tKcpXC.jpg)

Nice write up! and convex modifier keys look interesting.


One thing good to know, that reset switch is also genuine Alps switch :D

TACT switch SKRP
http://www.alps.com/prod/info/E/HTML/Tact/SurfaceMount/SKRP/SKRP_list.html