Typewriter to Keyboard Mod

[morpheus]

I'm curious does anything like this exist?

[fohat.digs]

Google it. We have seen several very interesting projects of this type.

[1391406]

Yes:

http://www.usbtypewriter.com

[ideus]

While a mechanical keyboard could be seen as an extravagance, I found it to be very practical, but an $800 type writer as a keyboard just does not make sense to me. Why someone may want to write with such device?, while with half the cost of that a good mechanical keyboard could be bought.

[FoxWolf1]

I like typing on a typewriter sometimes-- when eyestrain is starting to get to me, or when I just want to clear my head by being away from the virtual world for a while-- but really wouldn't want to use one as a keyboard.

[morpheus]

While a mechanical keyboard could be seen as an extravagance, I found it to be very practical, but an $800 type writer as a keyboard just does not make sense to me. Why someone may want to write with such device?, while with half the cost of that a good mechanical keyboard could be bought.

I agree with you that it doesn't make sense. I would say it's nonsense, who the hell would pay $800 for a bloody keyboard? I'm having a hard time justifying $200+ for a Topre!

I was just curious to see if it existed.

[1391406]

What's all this about $800? The company sells a conversion kit for $49 - $79:

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/collections/kits

[IvanIvanovich]

So... if I took the Cherry switch PCB out of electronic typewriter does it count? LOL

[morpheus]

What's all this about $800? The company sells a conversion kit for $49 - $79:

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/collections/kits

So has anyone on Geekhack tried this mod yet?

If so, was it as easy as they claim it to be?

[asura]

It's open source -hardware and software - so you could always roll your own.

[Jamesbeat]

I made a 'typewriter' keyboard.
Mine was a lot simpler than this though, I cut down the keycaps from a rubber dome keyboard and made fake typewriter keys out of binder disks.
It looked very cool and, while nowhere near as nice as typing on a regular keyboard, it was usable.

Funnily enough, this was how I stumbled across geekhack and got interested in mechanical keyboards

[dorkvader]

I plan on converting my selectric to USB. I think I can get optical sensors thin enough to fit inbetween the typebars. If so, it'd be easier to mount, and wont affect the action.

While a mechanical keyboard could be seen as an extravagance, I found it to be very practical, but an $800 type writer as a keyboard just does not make sense to me. Why someone may want to write with such device?, while with half the cost of that a good mechanical keyboard could be bought.

I bought both my working IBM selectric II's for a total of $12.50

not my cheapest mechanical keyboard, but a good price nonetheless.