Hello,
I guess this will serve as both my official introduction, and a build-up of my impromptu decision to mod my newly acquired NEC APC H-412.
I have fallen in love with the switches, but I can't stand the layout or the size. I felt a slight twinge of remorse for potentially destroying such an uncommon piece of keyboard history, but it was far from mint condition and as the other thread demonstrated, a far better example of "mint" has been preserved.
I've been a hardware hacker for as long as I've been able to hold a knife and screw driver. (Got my first swiss army knife and my first computer (Commodore64) at the age of 7.) I've been around a few scenes. Got my first taste in software modding (scripting) in '98 with the introduction of LiteStep, a shell replacement program for Windows, modeled after the AfterStep Windowing System for Linux/Unix (Which was thusly based off of NeXTStep, the predecessor to OS X). Tons of computers, RC Cars, and Robots later, I've found my self grossly interested in the "art" and "Philosophy" of Mechanical Keyboards. My favorite keyboard, as mentioned in the other NEC thread that I threadjacked, was a LiteON SK-6000.
It was made in '94, and I've had it since 97-ish. Traded a backpack and a 486DX4 for it. It's a Dome Key, but compared to my old MS Ergo 4000, I found it vastly superior, that is until my cat peed on it 6 years ago. I'm torn between trying to revive it, or just give it up for a newer one on ebay for $20. Or just give up on it entirely.
Due to aesthetics mostly (and the Command Key), my primary keyboard at home was an Apple Wireless Keyboard. That and the fact that my desk is in my closet and my 24" iMac is rather large for the small space.
I've been lurking on here for awhile and been searching for a cheap/free Mechanical Keyboard I could use full time. I've had a couple over the years but due to my move to macs and my issues with space, got complacent with the AWK.
But I had the bright idea, why not make my own? I've made tons of other PCBs and various autonomous robots. I've got all the electronics for 6 repraps sitting in a box, and a few other MCUs (Teensies and such), plenty of gear to get the job done. And BatchPCB is an easy company to work with. So here it is.
What started as a routine cleaning job, turned into a full-fledged disassembly.
Here we go, from start to finish.
(EEEEW)
So there we have it, it's now a bucket of parts. I'll work on deciding how I'll build it in the next few days and update accordingly.
Hello, and Cheers!
Christopher
