Author Topic: Phantom Custom Keyboard Group Buy (CLOSED)  (Read 352530 times)

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Offline litster

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« Reply #800 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 02:52:46 »
Thanks PrinsValium.  I won't have to desolder my super bright LEDs.  Now I want an externally accessible firmware flash switch for Teensy.

Folks, please note that PrinsValium's PCB and plate design have passed my prototype tests with flying colors.  And this is only our first test build.  The only problems so far is me.  My own errors.  PrinsValium has done an awesome design job!!!

Now that I finished filing mounting plates and soldering components and worrying about why the LEDs didn't work, I thought about stabilizers more.  The Cherry stabilizers have been working pretty good.  I like them from the keyboard builder's perspective.  They are very sturdy.  They are more forgiving in cutout size.  Their stabilizer bars have only 2 90-degree angle so they are easier to make.  installing and removing keycaps are much, much easier than Costar.  Costar stabilizers are such a pain to work with.  

And now that I have installed and pulled keycaps off of these Cherry stabilizers many, many times the last few days, the notch we cut out to fit a Costar stabilizer at the same place actually  hasn't been a huge problem.  Most of the time the stabilizer inserts stay in the cut out even though the hook isn't catching the plate at all.  Sometimes they do come out because of the notch.  But you can just push it back right it.  Much less painful than the Costar stabilizers where you have to put the stabilizer inserts back in place.

Costar stabilizer clips works better with plates that are a little thinner than the plate we have.  Whereas Cherry stabilizers can deal with the exact 1/16" plate thickness of the Phantom.  My Costar problem is also because that the Costar stabilizers I have are from some 15, 20 year-old keyboard, so my results is still kind of inconclusive.  

So, here is what I am going to do.  I just ordered a few sets of Costar stabilizers from WASDkeyboards.com.  When they arrive, I will desolder a few switches to remove my Cherry stabilizers.  Then, at the locations where Costar stabilizer clips are installed, I will file those places at an angle to make those edges a little thinner.  Then I will install Costar stabilizers and solder the switches back on to test them.  Spacebar would still be an issue.  the stabilizer bars WASDkeyboards.com sells are 6.25x wide.  I think most of us will want to use Cherry double shot 1.5x modifiers and 7x spacebars.  Cherry stabilizer bars are relatively easier to bend than Costar's.   Costar's stabilizer bars have 4 90-degree angle bends plus 2 Z bends.  It is a lot harder to bend them accurately.  At least it is for me.  So for spacebars we have these options: Cherry any length (as they are easy to bend), and Costar 6.25x from WASDKeyboards.  Backspace, Enter, Shifts could be either type, if my costar stabilizers from WASDKeyboards.com passes my Phantom compatibility tests.

What do you guys think?
« Last Edit: Sat, 07 January 2012, 02:59:10 by litster »

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #801 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 03:08:48 »
HGreat to hear im putting in a order into WASD keyboards as well for some.

does it matter that I ordered my switches on DT i did so because I thought is was a separate GB. I have not put in my order here yet for the actual PCBs and plates. How should I handle this?
« Last Edit: Sat, 07 January 2012, 03:53:53 by TheProfosist »

Offline John Fourth

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« Reply #802 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 10:17:42 »
For making stabilizers, have you tried a wire bending tool like the ones for making model aircraft pushrods?

Here is an example:

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/information_source/model_aircraft_hardware/l-bends_and_z-bends.htm

Here is the tool I have used.

http://www.stevensaero.com/Du-Bro-RC-E-Z-Bender-Wire-Forming-Tool-2-DUB481-p-20395.html

Offline litster

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« Reply #803 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 16:58:46 »
don't worry, when 7bit comes out of his Group Buy 4 dungeon, he will get back on this group buy.  He combines orders from DT and GH together to create the final order list.  I am sure he will send an invoice to your email address to let you know what you have on order.

Offline litster

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« Reply #804 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 17:17:26 »
Pictures I told the last few days while I was building the Phantom prototype, plus a few new pictures I took today.

Removing spacers from Teensy legs so Teensy can get as close to the PCB as possible:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36883[/ATTACH]

Teensy's legs through PCB, need to cut leg flush to PCB before soldering or the legs would interfere with switches F3, F4, 4, 5.
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36882[/ATTACH]

PCB with Doides soldered:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36879[/ATTACH]

PCB with Teensy soldered:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36878[/ATTACH]

The wrong way to solder Teensy, legs too long:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36877[/ATTACH]

Closeup  of Teensy on PCB:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36881[/ATTACH]

PrinsValium changed the firmware so the LEDs are not so bright.  It is perfect now!
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36876[/ATTACH]

Phantom living inside my mutilated clear acrylic case, which should give everyone a good idea where everything is:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36875[/ATTACH]

This is probably the first time you see how the USB cable comes out from the back.  that opening works perfectly for Filco's cable, very secure.  For Phantom, I zip-tied the USB cable to the Phantom PCB, and the hole appears to be too large, but the cable is very secure.  I found out Goldtouch's USB cable is exactly the same as Filco's.  I just have not tried using it on a Filco, and that it is missing Filco's Ferrite.  
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36874[/ATTACH]

End result:

Offline litster

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« Reply #805 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 23:52:03 »
PrinsValim has made it that you can change one value in the firmware code to adjust the LEDs' brightness.  Also, strobe tactical mode is now available as an option!  LOL!

[video=youtube;qNSAMBdpbow]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNSAMBdpbow[/video]

Offline hashbaz

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« Reply #806 on: Sat, 07 January 2012, 23:56:22 »
Quote from: litster;485780
Also, strobe tactical mode is now available as an option!  LOL!



Offline litster

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« Reply #807 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 00:03:24 »
Seizure!  Seizure!

Offline slueth

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« Reply #808 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 00:21:42 »
dam those leds are bright.. and that pulsing lol.

Offline whiskerBox

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« Reply #809 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 00:50:48 »
Quote from: slueth;485802
dam those leds are bright.. and that pulsing lol.


yes OMG!
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Offline tsangan

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« Reply #810 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 02:55:00 »
And I thought the Poker LED was bright enough, clearly litster had to one up that rofl

litster, do you know what colour you would be offering the casing yet? ie white or black and then a bunch of colour for the middle colour one? Or are you making all the selection smaller to get better pricing?

Reason I ask is because I think I want a white one and a black one now, and I would get every colour that's offered for the middle so I can swap it around later :P
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Offline litster

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« Reply #811 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 03:54:12 »
I plan to focus on one color scheme only.  At least the first batch.  If there is enough demand, I could make a second run with a different scheme.  If you have one of each, you could have 4 color combo options.  It is actually super expensive to do one-offs.  Material is cheap relatively.  But there is a lot of throw-away material from cutting.  The setup fees and laser time are the biggest cost.

Offline tsangan

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« Reply #812 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 03:55:18 »
I'll just wait for you to set that part up then :)
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Offline lootbag

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« Reply #813 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 09:12:41 »
Perhaps I can assist with some laser cutting duties.
I messaged litster already.

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36947[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 36948[/ATTACH]

Offline kaiserreich

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« Reply #814 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 10:23:30 »
2 trolls handling laser machines.

Offline dorkvader

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« Reply #815 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 12:40:59 »
I take it there is plenty of extra room on the teensy for more code/options? :p

That's a nice effect, but I certainly wouldn't use it: Too distracting, I'd spend all my time watching it, and not enough on typing!

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #816 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 12:56:51 »
Quote from: dorkvader;486053
I take it there is plenty of extra room on the teensy for more code/options? :p

That's a nice effect, but I certainly wouldn't use it: Too distracting, I'd spend all my time watching it, and not enough on typing!

I really just put it in to test that the PWM was functioning. It was the simplest I could come up with. The Teensy is probably ridiculously overpowered for a keyboard. There should be plenty of cycles left to play with =)

Offline litster

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« Reply #817 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 13:59:01 »
I think I saw on the loader that only 8% of storage is used.  There is plenty of room to add features.

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #818 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 16:04:19 »
Is the plate really only going to be compatible with cherry stabilizers? As now that WASD has them Costar are readily available those would be preferred.

Also once you have the time a complete list of parts needed to build this would be nice along with what can be and what cant be purchased in the groupbuy. If I remember correcty only Red and Clear switches have made the cut for orders correct?
« Last Edit: Sun, 08 January 2012, 16:07:33 by TheProfosist »

Offline litster

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« Reply #819 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 16:22:08 »
Quote from: TheProfosist;486147
Is the plate really only going to be compatible with cherry stabilizers? As now that WASD has them Costar are readily available those would be preferred.

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?23572-Phantom-Custom-Keyboard-Group-Buy-(Order-Only)&p=485235&viewfull=1#post485235

Quote from: TheProfosist;486147
Also once you have the time a complete list of parts needed to build this would be nice along with what can be and what cant be purchased in the groupbuy. If I remember correcty only Red and Clear switches have made the cut for orders correct?

I will post more about the parts list later.  It maybe a few days to a week away.  Red and clear have passed MOQ.  Others haven't yet.  Keep the orders coming.  For switches below MOQ, we will try to buy them from Mouser, but will be at a higher price.

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #820 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 16:50:16 »
Quote from: litster;486156
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?23572-Phantom-Custom-Keyboard-Group-Buy-(Order-Only)&p=485235&viewfull=1#post485235



I will post more about the parts list later.  It maybe a few days to a week away.  Red and clear have passed MOQ.  Others haven't yet.  Keep the orders coming.  For switches below MOQ, we will try to buy them from Mouser, but will be at a higher price.

ok cool on the stabilizer can wait to see the results. Ok cant wait as i would like to get things together best I can before the fact.

Offline litster

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« Reply #821 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 17:06:31 »
Before the fact?  So you want to make things up?  LOL!  Take it easy.  No need to hurry up and wait.  You don't need to be ready until we are ready. :D

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #822 on: Sun, 08 January 2012, 17:10:03 »
Quote from: litster;486185
Before the fact?  So you want to make things up?  LOL!  Take it easy.  No need to hurry up and wait.  You don't need to be ready until we are ready. :D
Well im order some stuff for both my DOX and the phantom if I could order the parts together that would be prefered to save on bulk costs and on shipping. Also when building on a budget it takes some time for some stuff to get here from all the different places.

Offline dorkvader

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« Reply #823 on: Mon, 09 January 2012, 00:03:47 »
I was going to try blues, but the best buy in gainesville failed me. It was more like loseville. I will have to try elsewhere.

I'm still on the fence between blue/clear, but I'm on clear for now, as it should be a little cheaper.

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #824 on: Mon, 09 January 2012, 00:06:31 »
Started up a assembly service in my subforum if anyone is interested.

Offline John Fourth

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« Reply #825 on: Mon, 09 January 2012, 19:53:29 »
You may want to look at selling the PCB on Sparkfun's site. They handle all the logistics and first level tech support.

http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/92

Offline litster

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« Reply #826 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 03:27:52 »
I have a draft of Phantom soldering instruction here: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Phantom_Instruction

I still need to upload more pictures, but 95% of the steps are there.

Offline slueth

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« Reply #827 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 03:35:19 »
Quote
ph7bit: 579 switches
wtf:?

Offline dorkvader

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« Reply #828 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 08:31:05 »
Yeah, it's actually like 100.

Any idea what sort of file I should buy to square off the corners?

That's a good writeup! I'll probably use a DMM in amps mode to short switches (It's a bit easier with the probes)

Why can't the Teensy touch the PCB? they're both covered in nonconductive soldermask, right?

Also, an step 19, you can say that if they're too bright, you can also up the resistance, and if they're too dim you can lower it. I like to think of this as gain vs volume.

step 20: "bended" should be "bent"

Finally: maybe you shroud include pictures of the PCB somewhere for reference.
« Last Edit: Tue, 10 January 2012, 08:41:58 by dorkvader »

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #829 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 09:40:21 »
Quote from: dorkvader;487227
Also, an step 19, you can say that if they're too bright, you can also up the resistance, and if they're too dim you can lower it. I like to think of this as gain vs volume.


Contrary to what I used to think I have learned that this is ok. Though I'm not sure of how far it is possible to lower the current through a LED, perhaps you can enlighten me (oh the puns..). One thing I read though is that there might be a color shift when under powering LEDs. This shouldn't be too noticeable with single colored LEDs, but in white LEDs the different color components might drift by different amounts, or at least the intensity of the individual colors. And also PWM'ing the LEDs isn't very hard once the correct registers to use have been figured out =P

Edit: I think the 579 switches is an intended joke directed at 7bits fascination with filling the board up =)

Offline kps

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« Reply #830 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 09:55:47 »
Quote from: PrinsValium;487273
And also PWM'ing the LEDs isn't very hard once the correct registers to use have been figured out =P

Yes, and you can do nice effects... but one thing you cannot do is slowly pulse the LEDs when in sleep mode, because Apple patented that!

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #831 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 10:14:10 »
Quote from: kps;487290
Yes, and you can do nice effects... but one thing you cannot do is slowly pulse the LEDs when in sleep mode, because Apple patented that!

Well, I guess we perhaps shouldn't provide firmware that does it, and certainly not sell it.. But explaining how to do it, or at least figuring it out yourself and implementing it on your own shouldn't be a problem =)

Offline eth0s

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« Reply #832 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 10:36:11 »
Quote from: kps;487290
Yes, and you can do nice effects... but one thing you cannot do is slowly pulse the LEDs when in sleep mode, because Apple patented that!

lol, I hope this is an attempt at humor, because it is completely wrong.  You can build a keyboard with a slowly pulsing LED array and not worry about Apple's patent.  Patents only prevent you from profiting from the technology, not from using it yourself.  So you can make your own pulsating LED and still be completely within your rights under the law, but you would not legally be able to sell it to somebody else.  However, if you did sell your personal creation to another person, how is Apple going to find out?  And second, are they really going to invest the money to sue you to recover the profit you made from the sale?  It would cost them $200K to recover $100.   The patent is used to prevent another computer company from mass producing keyboards with pulsating LED's, without paying Apple a royalty or license fee.  Apple doesn't give a r@ts @ss what you are making in your basement.  But if you feel guilty about it, I guess you could send them some money as an ad hoc "license fee", and I'm sure Tim Cook will cash the check (b/c he's a greedy bastard).

Oh, and I want to make my own Phantom, btw, so I'm in for a set of parts.  I just sent Phantom my order.
« Last Edit: Tue, 10 January 2012, 10:57:30 by eth0s »
I ♥ Click Clack.  I ♥♥♥ Bro Caps.

Offline litster

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« Reply #833 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 11:28:30 »
Quote from: dorkvader;487227
Yeah, it's actually like 100.

Any idea what sort of file I should buy to square off the corners?

That's a good writeup! I'll probably use a DMM in amps mode to short switches (It's a bit easier with the probes)

Why can't the Teensy touch the PCB? they're both covered in nonconductive soldermask, right?

Also, an step 19, you can say that if they're too bright, you can also up the resistance, and if they're too dim you can lower it. I like to think of this as gain vs volume.

step 20: "bended" should be "bent"

Finally: maybe you shroud include pictures of the PCB somewhere for reference.

Thanks for proving reading the wiki, dorkvader.  I will make the changes.  Keep the suggestions and bugs coming.  Yes, the 579 number is a joke.  I was going to count, and then I saw the plate layout on my screen, and I thought, there are a million of them!  LOL!  So I made it up and see who gets the joke. :D

For brightness, we making changes is alway easier to do it in the software/firmware than the hardware. So once the resistors are soldered, you don't really want to go through take them off if the light up the LEDs.  If you soldered the resistors on the top side of the PCB, you would have to desolder all the switches to remove the plate to get to the resistors on the PCB.  If you solder them on the back of the PCB, it could potentially interfere with the supporting ridges on the bottom of the Filco case, certainly would with my acrylic case.

Changing brightness in the firmware takes 15 seconds from change a value in a editor, up-arrow in the CMD box to bring back your last command "make" hit enter, then press the reset button on Teensy.  If Teensy programmer is already running and set to auto mode.  Firmware is loaded in 2 seconds after you press the reset button and you can be typing again.  Very slick.

Offline riffautae

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« Reply #834 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 16:12:26 »
This custom keyboard is looking really cool. I'm not too late to get in on it am I? I didn't see anything announcing the end of ordering.

I was thinking about the 7bit layout. That means I would need the following right?

Code: [Select]

TEENSY 1
PHANTOM 1
PH7BIT 1
DIODE 100

As well as whatever type of switch I want.

I have some other questions that I thought were answered but I can't seem to find:
What size are the all these special keys so I know what caps to look for
Where is the code and such for the teensy. I have several ideas I'd like to explore.

Has anyone figured out if you can order just the filco case without the innards? The case you are making looks cool but since I will be carrying my keyboard everywhere (and I travel a lot) I think I'll need a case made of a harder plastic.

Any suggestions and answers would be appreciated.

Offline dorkvader

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« Reply #835 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 16:42:50 »
Quote from: PrinsValium;487273
Contrary to what I used to think I have learned that this is ok. Though I'm not sure of how far it is possible to lower the current through a LED, perhaps you can enlighten me (oh the puns..). One thing I read though is that there might be a color shift when under powering LEDs. This shouldn't be too noticeable with single colored LEDs, but in white LEDs the different color components might drift by different amounts, or at least the intensity of the individual colors. And also PWM'ing the LEDs isn't very hard once the correct registers to use have been figured out =P

Edit: I think the 579 switches is an intended joke directed at 7bits fascination with filling the board up =)

Hmm, My initial thought was wrong, but I still have a point: Controlling the LED brightness via PWM is a good idea, but you sholud have a "max" brightness in mind. as if you're already at 100% duty cycle, it can't get any brighter without more current. Since you can go conceivably pretty low with PWM, maybe the best option is to set the "max" current with the resistor in the hardware, and lower the brightness with PWM.

Also, can you set the frequency above 60Hz? If so: that's awesome. If not, I'll go with my resistors, thanks.

Quote from: litster;487357
Thanks for proving reading the wiki, dorkvader.  I will make the changes.  Keep the suggestions and bugs coming.  Yes, the 579 number is a joke.  I was going to count, and then I saw the plate layout on my screen, and I thought, there are a million of them!  LOL!  So I made it up and see who gets the joke. :D
Ah, I see!

Quote from: litster;487357
For brightness, we making changes is alway easier to do it in the software/firmware than the hardware. So once the resistors are soldered, you don't really want to go through take them off if the light up the LEDs.  If you soldered the resistors on the top side of the PCB, you would have to desolder all the switches to remove the plate to get to the resistors on the PCB.  If you solder them on the back of the PCB, it could potentially interfere with the supporting ridges on the bottom of the Filco case, certainly would with my acrylic case.
while I still prefer to program in solder, I think I agree with you.

Quote from: litster;487357
Changing brightness in the firmware takes 15 seconds from change a value in a editor, up-arrow in the CMD box to bring back your last command "make" hit enter, then press the reset button on Teensy.  If Teensy programmer is already running and set to auto mode.  Firmware is loaded in 2 seconds after you press the reset button and you can be typing again.  Very slick.
wow, I like it! And programming in keys is easy too? I may want to be able to give my dvorak layout to a computer that's expecting QWERTY (or have a mode that does so), which would bake it easier to game. Some programs won't let you use comma or period as directional keys.

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #836 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 17:19:34 »
Quote from: dorkvader;487514
Also, can you set the frequency above 60Hz? If so: that's awesome. If not, I'll go with my resistors, thanks.

If the PWM timer counts at the same frequency as the processor clock (which I am not sure of) the blinking frequency should come out at ~60kHz if the Teensy is set to operate at 16MHz. I had put a 1 in the wrong place in the symmetric stagger keyboard firmware. The LEDs were noticeably blinking when not looking directly at them. Putting the 1 in the correct position removed a 1024 divider from the clock =)

Offline litster

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« Reply #837 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 18:22:41 »
Quote from: riffautae;487502
This custom keyboard is looking really cool. I'm not too late to get in on it am I? I didn't see anything announcing the end of ordering.

I was thinking about the 7bit layout. That means I would need the following right?

Code: [Select]

TEENSY 1
PHANTOM 1
PH7BIT 1
DIODE 100

As well as whatever type of switch I want.

I have some other questions that I thought were answered but I can't seem to find:
What size are the all these special keys so I know what caps to look for
Where is the code and such for the teensy. I have several ideas I'd like to explore.

Has anyone figured out if you can order just the filco case without the innards? The case you are making looks cool but since I will be carrying my keyboard everywhere (and I travel a lot) I think I'll need a case made of a harder plastic.

Any suggestions and answers would be appreciated.


That sounds about right.  You won't need any stabilizers for the 7BIT layout.  I don't know the sizes for the special keys.  In 7bit's Round 4 group buy, there is Phantom key set you can order.  I don't know what is included though.  I think TheProfosist is also into the 7bit layout.  He maybe able to help on 7bit related questions.

I have the teensy source code.  I can upload it later.  I have checked.  You can't buy just the Filco case.  PLU's tenkeyless case is apparently a copy of Filco's case.  You could get a PLU tenkeyless keyboard for cheap and use its case instead.  I am not sure PLU is plate mount or PCB mount.  If it is plate mount then you can de-solder switches off of the PLU keyboard and no need to order switches.  If it is PCB mount, you will need new switches, or just cut the extra legs off of the switches' bottom.

Offline litster

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« Reply #838 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 18:33:12 »
Quote from: dorkvader;487514
wow, I like it! And programming in keys is easy too? I may want to be able to give my dvorak layout to a computer that's expecting QWERTY (or have a mode that does so), which would bake it easier to game. Some programs won't let you use comma or period as directional keys.


Programming keys is super simple.  The keys in the source code is listed in rows and column.  Find the right location for your switch and you can change it to what you want.  That is just for straight key presses.  If you want to program macros, that will be extra work.  What I would like to see is to adopt Soarer's code base to make it programmable on the fly like AIKON.  His version also has NKRO over USB and BIOS boot support at the same time.  But what we have now is super good already.

Quote from: dorkvader;487514
while I still prefer to program in solder, I think I agree with you.


Here are the LEDs and resistors I picked out:
white 3mm T1 3.5V LED: http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?WT.z_header=search_go&lang=en&site=us&keywords=350-2318-ND&x=0&y=0
75ohm resistors ±1% tolerance: http://search.digikey.com/us/en/products/RNF14FTD75R0/RNF14FTD75R0CT-ND/1974978

I agree with you that we should choose the right resistors so it has a lower maximum brightness, and we can do small adjustment with firmware changes.  Help us pick a new resistor for us and I will include that in the parts list.

Thanks.

Offline dorkvader

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« Reply #839 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 19:25:20 »
Quote from: litster;487590
I agree with you that we should choose the right resistors so it has a lower maximum brightness, and we can do small adjustment with firmware changes.  Help us pick a new resistor for us and I will include that in the parts list.

Thanks.
Well, It depends on the datasheet for the LED, I'll look through it and come up with something more suitable. If people want super bright, then the current value is fine, but I can do some calculations for a more "reasonable" brightness without PWM, though the PWM is well done here, so it's not a huge issue.

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #840 on: Tue, 10 January 2012, 20:27:32 »
Quote from: litster;487584
That sounds about right.  You won't need any stabilizers for the 7BIT layout.  I don't know the sizes for the special keys.  In 7bit's Round 4 group buy, there is Phantom key set you can order.  I don't know what is included though.  I think TheProfosist is also into the 7bit layout.  He maybe able to help on 7bit related questions.

I have the teensy source code.  I can upload it later.  I have checked.  You can't buy just the Filco case.  PLU's tenkeyless case is apparently a copy of Filco's case.  You could get a PLU tenkeyless keyboard for cheap and use its case instead.  I am not sure PLU is plate mount or PCB mount.  If it is plate mount then you can de-solder switches off of the PLU keyboard and no need to order switches.  If it is PCB mount, you will need new switches, or just cut the extra legs off of the switches' bottom.

I modified 7bits layout a bit so that I could get all my caps with custom legends for the layout I made. The change is with the size of the keys in the bottom row and the return which should be a R2 1.25x sadly has to use a R1 1.25x as WASD can not get the correct size key. I have already tried the different profile key on one of my keyboard and its not much different and may actually help you find the return key since it is smaller. The custom plate is because I wanted a ISO like left shift not what ever 7bit had.

Yes I bought 3 PLUs from qtan to use for switches and case. The PLU is the exact same as the first gen Filco from what I can tell so it is plate mount. And cutting the legs off the bottom work fine as long as you have a wire cutter that cuts flush.

Also noticed in the assembly that you mentioned both cherry and costar stabilizers
« Last Edit: Tue, 10 January 2012, 21:42:16 by TheProfosist »

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #841 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 03:22:43 »
OK, so my take on proof reading =)

step 2. addition -> additional

step 4. I think there is a real hazard that the cherry stabilizer comes apart if pulling it out of the plate. The wire coming out of the mounts. That would take some soldering or very icky fiddling to get back together...

step 5. I find that it is a good idea to first only mount a few switches at strategic locations to only hold the plate in position above the PCB before putting the rest in. It is tricky to get all little switch legs to find there holes otherwise. A slight bend and it easily ends up flattened to the switch bottom instead of in its hole. The ISO <> next to left shift is also mounted upside down, and it is the ISO enter that is rotated 90 degrees (this is due to costar stabilizer compatibility).

step 6. A very good tip. it will be a lot harder to fix this later on. Stress this in bold red =)

step 7-10. I usually insert all diodes first, bending their legs on the back for them to stay in place. Sometimes I bend them back before soldering, other times I don't. Cutting legs after soldering might induce micro fractures in the solder joint (so I've read at least) but I've never bothered to cut before soldering and it have worked out fine this far (might be more important with really high frequency signals).

step 12. potentially NKRO!!1

step 18. I think your LEDs are 3.5V 20mA, both voltage and current rating matters for the required resistor. In ubuntu the scroll lock led is deactivated by default. And I think each keyboards caps lock led is activated separately... The anode of LEDs is usually a little longer, it is also usually possible to look inside the LED to identify the anode (the internal metal parts have different sizes). The anode should be connected to the round hole of the LED footprints.

step 20. see step 5


And yes, the timer that controls the PWM runs at the "systems" (the Teensy in this case) clock frequency, 16MHz if not scaled down. This gives a blinking of ~60kHz, that is no flickering =) It should also be possible to run the PWM in 16bit mode to achieve 65536 steps of intensity =D

Offline litster

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« Reply #842 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 03:49:04 »
Thanks for the feedback, Prinsvalium.  I added them to the wiki, some as pro tip from you.  I will edit them later.  Thanks.  I should receive my Costar stabilizers this week for testing.  Hopefully we will know if we could do both or just one type of stabilizers.  I am not sure how to avoid dislodging the Cherry stabilizer bars if you pull the keycap out too hard.  Glue?  Not support Costar stabilizers?

Offline kidchunks

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« Reply #843 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 14:36:54 »
@litster
Will your teensy source work with the Teensy++? Not sure if it had to be written differently. For how long with you guys allow orders? I just about have my solder station setup so looking forward to start on this project after I finish up an imod.
« Last Edit: Wed, 11 January 2012, 15:03:09 by kidchunks »
Topre || BS > *
my root : kidchunks[dot]com

Offline Tranquilite

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« Reply #844 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 14:38:49 »
I'm highly interested in building one of these boards, but the listed cost of components puts this project out of my price range :(

Nevertheless, I'll be keeping my eye on this thread.

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #845 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 15:04:50 »
Quote from: kidchunks;488136
@litster
Will your teensy source work with the Teensy++? Not sure if it had to be written differently. For how long with orders be taken? I just about got my solder station setup so looking forward to start on this project after I finish up an imod.

The only real thing that needs to be changed is the chip specification in the Makefile. Pin names and functions differ from the different chips, although I don't know the differences by heart. I use essentially the same code for my Symmetric Stagger Board, which uses the Teensy++.

Offline litster

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« Reply #846 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 15:07:43 »
And the firmware is PrinsValium's creation, not mine.  He deserves all the credit for this project!  =D  :clap2:

Offline bpiphany

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« Reply #847 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 15:27:46 »
Quote from: litster;488149
And the firmware is PrinsValium's creation, not mine.  He deserves all the credit for this project!  =D  :clap2:

Well... all the real low level programming was done by someone else. My code is a simple add-on to the usb_keyboard example from pjrc.

Offline TheProfosist

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« Reply #848 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 17:02:19 »
Quote from: PrinsValium;488164
Well... all the real low level programming was done by someone else. My code is a simple add-on to the usb_keyboard example from pjrc.
Would you be willing to modify the firmware to my layout if you have time?

Offline litster

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« Reply #849 on: Wed, 11 January 2012, 17:18:43 »
Phantom firmware attached:


It is very straight forward to change.  Download install the compiler you need here: http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/gcc.html
Also install the firmware uploader here: http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/loader.html

In phantom.c, look for the section below.  Find the switch you want to change on the PCB, note the row and column numbers.  Find the row and column in the code, change it to the key you want it to be.  Repeat for all the keys you want to change.  Then save it, build it, and upload it.  As simple as that.

Code: [Select]
const uint8_t is_modifier[NKEY] = {
  true,            true,            false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  0
  true,            false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  1
  true,            false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  2
  NA,              false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  3
  NA,              false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  4
  NA,              false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  5
  NA,              false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  6
  false,           false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  7
  NA,              false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  8
  NA,              false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL  9
  true,            false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL 10
  true,            false,           false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL 11
  false,           NA,              false,           false,           NA,              false,  // COL 12
  true,            true,            false,           false,           false,           false,  // COL 13

  false,           NA,              NA,              false,           false,           false,  // COL 14
  false,           false,           NA,              false,           false,           false,  // COL 15
  false,           NA,              NA,              false,           false,           false,  // COL 16
};

const uint8_t layout[NKEY] = {
//ROW 0            ROW 1            ROW 2            ROW 3            ROW 4
  KEY_LEFT_CTRL,   KEY_LEFT_SHIFT,  KEY_CAPS_LOCK,   KEY_TAB,         KEY_1,              KEY_ESC,        // COL  0
  KEY_LEFT_GUI,    KEY_PIPE,        KEY_A,           KEY_Q,           KEY_2,              KEY_TILDE,      // COL  1
  KEY_LEFT_ALT,    KEY_Z,           KEY_S,           KEY_W,           KEY_3,              KEY_F1,         // COL  2
  NA,              KEY_X,           KEY_D,           KEY_E,           KEY_4,              KEY_F2,         // COL  3
  NA,              KEY_C,           KEY_F,           KEY_R,           KEY_5,              KEY_F3,         // COL  4
  NA,              KEY_V,           KEY_G,           KEY_T,           KEY_6,              KEY_F4,         // COL  5
  NA,              KEY_B,           KEY_H,           KEY_Y,           KEY_7,              KEY_F5,         // COL  6
  KEY_SPACE,       KEY_N,           KEY_J,           KEY_U,           KEY_8,              KEY_F6,         // COL  7
  NA,              KEY_M,           KEY_K,           KEY_I,           KEY_9,              KEY_F7,         // COL  8
  NA,              KEY_COMMA,       KEY_L,           KEY_O,           KEY_0,              KEY_F8,         // COL  9
  KEY_RIGHT_ALT,   KEY_PERIOD,      KEY_SEMICOLON,   KEY_P,           KEY_MINUS,          KEY_F9,         // COL 10
  KEY_RIGHT_GUI,   KEY_SLASH,       KEY_QUOTE,       KEY_LEFT_BRACE,  KEY_EQUAL,          KEY_F10,        // COL 11
  KEY_APPLICATION, NA,              KEY_BACKSLASH,   KEY_RIGHT_BRACE, NA,                 KEY_F11,        // COL 12
  KEY_RIGHT_CTRL,  KEY_RIGHT_SHIFT, KEY_ENTER,       KEY_BACKSLASH,   KEY_BACKSPACE,      KEY_F12,        // COL 13

  KEY_LEFT,        NA,              NA,              KEY_DELETE,      KEY_INSERT,         KEY_PRINTSCREEN,// COL 14
  KEY_DOWN,        KEY_UP,          NA,              KEY_END,         KEY_HOME,           KEY_SCROLL_LOCK,// COL 15
  KEY_RIGHT,       NA,              NA,              KEY_PAGE_DOWN,   KEY_PAGE_UP,        KEY_PAUSE,      // COL 16
};