Author Topic: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?  (Read 2013 times)

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Offline Quantum Dos

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Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 17:29:31 »
As the title implies, is there a general interest in full-sized assembly kits, or piecemeal components? Having been a relative newcomer to the world of mechanical keyboards, I've quickly honed in on what switches and features I deem appealing to me, personally, and those are gained by venturing into self-assembly/heavy modification/restoration.

Although, tbh, DIY seems a bit down the road financially: I've only seen kits, or PCB's, for TKL or 60% formats (with a much larger portion of those available being 60%). I really don't personally have anything against the format, but I prefer, at minimum, a full-sized layout. Anyone know of any vendors that supply such components, or is the demand simply to niche?

Offline sysfury

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Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 11 March 2018, 17:51:51 »

Offline TalkingTree

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Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 12 March 2018, 05:23:12 »
No idea if MX3000 are your thing but I made a replacement PCB for it. It requires SMD soldering and the project is open source.
You may wanna read more here.
My opensource projects: GH80-3000, TOAD, XMMX. Classified: stuff

Offline crystalhand

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  • Location: USA-MD
Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 12 March 2018, 12:22:47 »
Another example is here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=62003.0

It seems that the demand for full sized DIY is just not there.  Most people who are looking to build their own keyboard are doing it because they dont like the standard options.  I know that I prefer a numpad but just not attached to a keyboard (I use a dactyl).

Offline phorx

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Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 12 March 2018, 14:52:47 »
A recent IC came up for a custom full sized "Southpaw".  It's a regular full keyboard, just with the numpad swapped to the left side of the board.
You can find the IC here:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=94506.0

Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 12 March 2018, 14:57:22 »
Saw this recently: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=94449.0

Yes this is the best option...lol. I worked really damn hard to support so many different layouts and only have 13 orders, so...thank you for at least spreading the GB around.

Offline Quantum Dos

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Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 14 March 2018, 00:47:37 »
Yes, yes to all of the above.

Tbh, I'm very intrigued by the custom PCB

Saw this recently: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=94449.0

Yes this is the best option...lol. I worked really damn hard to support so many different layouts and only have 13 orders, so...thank you for at least spreading the GB around.

The flexibility of layout is very appealing, the only issue I think I personally would run into is finding a compatible case that isn't ludicrously priced -- I suppose I could just find a junked-up Omnikey, eviscerate the non-functional components and start anew.

Must. . . do. . . research


Offline BlindAssassin111

  • Posts: 1107
  • Location: Behind you
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    • Viktus
Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 14 March 2018, 00:53:39 »
Yes, yes to all of the above.

Tbh, I'm very intrigued by the custom PCB

Saw this recently: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=94449.0

Yes this is the best option...lol. I worked really damn hard to support so many different layouts and only have 13 orders, so...thank you for at least spreading the GB around.

The flexibility of layout is very appealing, the only issue I think I personally would run into is finding a compatible case that isn't ludicrously priced -- I suppose I could just find a junked-up Omnikey, eviscerate the non-functional components and start anew.

Must. . . do. . . research

That is true, not sure how much making a sandwhich case this large would cost as I haven't looked into it fully yet, but there are 2 on ebay right now that are under $100 shipped but they are dirty...

Just know that if you don't get in by friday, you may not get a chance for a while, I have no idea if I will be able to run another round or not.

Offline sysfury

  • Posts: 57
Re: Full-Sized DIY, Anyone?
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 15 March 2018, 13:18:09 »
Also stumbled upon this today: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93954.0