geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: seiden on Sat, 23 January 2016, 16:46:30
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So some time ago I got my hands on this ISO AEK II with dampened cream alps.
I don't have a picture of the full thing prior to disassembly, so here's a nude shot instead.
(http://i.imgur.com/AMGqwo6.jpg)
And then I went on to gather some gear.
(http://i.imgur.com/O4fqqKk.jpg)
And took the whole thing apart.
(http://i.imgur.com/O6he3Q4.jpg)
At this point. A huge THANK YOU! to Yoe.
This being my first attempt at building a keyboard myself, I checked if anyone else did something with an old apple keyboard, and certainly enough I found this here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69841.0
Yoe was so friendly to not only share the firmware he used for his project, but to also have a plate cut. I probably would have gotten last at this point if it hadn't been for Yoe. Thanks a lot.
(https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69841.0[/img[spoiler]]
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Putting in the switches and the keycaps was the most satisfying part.
[spoiler][img]http://i.imgur.com/Pdcu9SD.jpg)
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What follows is a bunch of pictures.
(http://i.imgur.com/nG4sAwe.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/dwgwlTq.jpg)
Did I mention that the capslock key actually locks down?
(http://i.imgur.com/rDsITgq.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/CNfpyu9.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/zZyY5UY.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/fDlcVoH.jpg)
On to actually connecting the switches so I can make a switch matrix.
(http://i.imgur.com/YfT6rTd.jpg)
As you can see, my soldering skills are on a very amateur level.
(http://[img]http://i.imgur.com/4PgFB5q.jpg)[/img]
(http://i.imgur.com/CU6wRw3.jpg)
At some point I noticed that my white balance was off.
(http://i.imgur.com/dQIxuED.jpg)
And that's it so far.
I'm currently waiting on a teensy, next step will be hooking that up and loading the firmware. Hopefully everything will work right from the get-go with Yoe's firmware since I copied his keyboard matrix.
Another thing that needs doing will be bleaching the spacebar, thank goodness we have a school lab for that kind of stuff. :p
Update: So my teensy arrived and I hooked everything up.
After resolving a cable issue on the 8 key and fixing three diodes on the bottom row which I had somehow attached to each other in some horribly incorrect manner, everything is working just like it should!
It's a lot of fun to type on this thing, but not having a case makes things a bit unusual.
(http://i.imgur.com/4UU6i3X.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/sh7ubmN.jpg)
As you can see, I did not put a moment of thought into how I'd actually cable this up before doing so. I'll be looking into PCB design from here on (and reducing my coffee intake prior to doing stuff like this).
http://i.imgur.com/sFJ45lL.jpg
And here's a preliminary typing test. I'll do another one once I've got the case and everything's neat and assembled (sometime by the end of next week).
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That's coming along nicely! Diode matrix looks a bit confusing near the space bar, though. Any closeups on that part?
Love your workstation and that exploded view keyswitch drawing! Is that the coat of arms of your family hanging above it, btw? A friend of mine is very much into heraldics, so I made a coat arms for myself back in 2007. Haven't used it much since, but anyway :) http://helgo.net/ikon/full.php?p=/johan/pictures/vapen/skold.jpg (http://helgo.net/ikon/full.php?p=/johan/pictures/vapen/skold.jpg)
Edit: I realized I could zoom into that pic. There are some diodes in serial. They should all go switch->diode->common row wire.
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That's coming along nicely! Diode matrix looks a bit confusing near the space bar, though. Any closeups on that part?
Love your workstation and that exploded view keyswitch drawing! Is that the coat of arms of your family hanging above it, btw? A friend of mine is very much into heraldics, so I made a coat arms for myself back in 2007. Haven't used it much since, but anyway :) http://helgo.net/ikon/full.php?p=/johan/pictures/vapen/skold.jpg (http://helgo.net/ikon/full.php?p=/johan/pictures/vapen/skold.jpg)
Edit: I realized I could zoom into that pic. There are some diodes in serial. They should all go switch->diode->common row wire.
Thanks! The coat of arms is of my grandmothers's mother's side of the family. Apparently of Italian origin.
Yeah, I got told that having the diodes like that (was just looking for something to bridge that gap there and the diodes seemed quite handy) would cause trouble. Going to get that fixed before the teensy arrives. I have a feeling that making the case after that will probably be the most labor intensive part of all.
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I really want to do this too, I also have an AEKII ISO coming for harvesting part because damn I am an ANSI person :(
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I really want to do this too, I also have an AEKII ISO coming for harvesting part because damn I am an ANSI person :(
I understand your pain. I live in a country that uses ISO, but I switched to ANSI with my second keyboard. This one will go to a friend. I'll have to get an AEK in ANSI sometime so I can make one for myself.
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I really want to do this too, I also have an AEKII ISO coming for harvesting part because damn I am an ANSI person :(
Ooh, well if you want to get rid of some ISO modifiers from it, I'm interested :)
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Do you have the files for the plate? I love this build and I would like to do something similar with an extra M0116 i have laying around.
Thanks!
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Do you have the files for the plate? I love this build and I would like to do something similar with an extra M0116 i have laying around.
Thanks!
You'll want to PM Yoe (one post above you) for that, he's very helpful! (This being my first dabble at keyboard building, I probably wouldn't even have gotten as far as this without his help).
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Do you have the files for the plate? I love this build and I would like to do something similar with an extra M0116 i have laying around.
Thanks!
You'll want to PM Yoe (one post above you) for that, he's very helpful! (This being my first dabble at keyboard building, I probably wouldn't even have gotten as far as this without his help).
Thanks for the info I have gotten all the files from Yoe super helpful! I am looking to see if the cost of producing the plate will be to much before i proceed. If not i might just wait for the alpine fox if that project takes off.
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This is so awesome!
I am forced to use a mac for work, and this would be a cool addition to my desk at the office!
I need to buy stuff :D