GH-122.2016 Case Options

[Data]

Is anyone else having trouble with the numpad on their boards?  Specifically, Column 22 (2,5,8,/) is not registering.  I tried reflowing the solder at the joint marked D0 on the Teensy and reflowed all the joints for the 4 nonworking diodes in that column.  I don't have switches installed yet so I'm just testing with a wire and shorting manually.  Firmware was built with EasyAVR v2.03.01 for Windows, retrieved on 6/23/16.  All other switch locations tested good.  I flashed the .HEX with an older version of Teensy loader from Jan 2015 if that makes any difference, but I'm planning to try it with a newer version.

Yeah.  Just rebuilt a new HEX and flashed with the latest Teensy loader.  Still no Column 22. 

[Hak Foo]

Okay, it seems ,like upgrading to 0.16 on FreeCAD fixed the issue reading the DXF files.  I was able to make a plate with a marginally different layout, and it set me back 152USD delivered from BigBlueSaw.  FWIW, there wasn't much difference cost-wise- like $15- between a single switchplate only and adding top and bottom plates.

Regarding the bad column, I recall some chatter when Samwisekoi was producing the original revision PCB, he had some issues with that column.

Edit:  here's the layout I submitted.

[Data]

Looks good.  Glad you were able to get it working.

[0100010]

The pic in this post may help.  https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=80326.msg2168083#msg2168083

[Data]

The pic in this post may help.  https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=80326.msg2168083#msg2168083

Well that IS the column with the issue.  But the trace appears to be connected fine through the PCB.  I followed it as it switched sides twice.    One thing I didn't do is break out the meter and check for continuity.  I'll make a jumper wire tonight and see if I can connect it manually like in the photo.

Thanks.

[Data]

Well I'm at a loss.  I verified continuity from pin D0 (measured on the Teensy itself) all the way down through every point of contact in Column 22.  The PCB, for all intents and purposes, appears to be fine.  So the only other thing it could be is firmware, right?  Could it not be compiling correctly somehow?

[iamtootallforthis]

Well I'm at a loss.  I verified continuity from pin D0 (measured on the Teensy itself) all the way down through every point of contact in Column 22.  The PCB, for all intents and purposes, appears to be fine.  So the only other thing it could be is firmware, right?  Could it not be compiling correctly somehow?

I just got my Teensy in so I'll be building my soon and let you know.

[Data]

Well I'm at a loss.  I verified continuity from pin D0 (measured on the Teensy itself) all the way down through every point of contact in Column 22.  The PCB, for all intents and purposes, appears to be fine.  So the only other thing it could be is firmware, right?  Could it not be compiling correctly somehow?

I just got my Teensy in so I'll be building my soon and let you know.

Thanks.  I'm going to bring this up in the EasyAVR thread.  Maybe metalliqaz knows what's wrong.

[Hak Foo]

It may be swatting flies with a Buick, but what about flashing Soarer's Controller firmware and using that to test?

[Data]

That's a little outside my experience level, but I'll look into it.

I got my case plates from BBS yesterday.  Not sure if they adjusted the kerf for the water jet or if I mismeasured somehow, but the screw holes are ever so slightly too small for the 8-32 screws I had in mind.  Going to take a needle file to it tonight and adjust them back out to the right diameter.

[Data]

Just stuck a 5/32" chainsaw file through the screw holes and they are now perfectly sized for 8-32 screws.  It took some coaxing to get the file all the way through but now it's LIKE BUTTAH.

I'm gonna blame this on an artifact of the water jet cutting. 

[Hak Foo]

I got my plates today.  I chose the 6061 aluminium for stiffness.   I found a lot of "bow" in the edges of the holes for larger cutouts-- so bad that I ended up dropping Cherry PCB-mount stabs for Costar plate-mounted ones.

[Hak Foo]

Okay, here's a brief experiment config for the Soarer Firmware.

It is supposed to map every possible matrix position to "A".

I tested it with a board with the first and last column of switches soldered, and it seemed to show some signs of life... but when I placed numpad 5, it didn't register.

Possible logic:  Column 22 (Numpad 5) is connected to Teensy++ pin PD6.  PD6 seems to be used as the onboard LED, and that might well cause some issue with using it as part of the matrix.

The board I have seems to have already accounted for that.  The column is mapped to PD0, not PD6.  The schematic is wrong.

Here is a modified firmware that does appear to activate on the column.
Other concern: when I plugged it into my Thinkpad, the numlock light seemed to be stuck on.

[Data]

I'm not really equipped to troubleshoot at the firmware level, so thanks for doing that. I know Ron had this issue on the Rev 1 PCBs and that it was resolved in Rev 2 in coordination with metalliqaz, but it looks like that fix didn't make it into the latest release of EasyAVR for whatever reason. It would be huge if one of them could respond.

[Data]

Found this exchange in the original GB thread on 5/31:

Built and tested good.  Address validation and shipping starts tomorrow!

 - Ron | samwisekoi

I assume the mainline version of EasyAVR now has the wrong matrix for the new boards and will have to be updated, correct?

Correct.  D0 was replaced with B7 using your final patch files.  Also ANSI \| is used as ISO Enter.  (I can send you the matrix positions when I get into the office.)

Thanks!

 - Ron | samwisekoi
(Auto-typed by my GH36 Matrix Keypad.)

p.s.  Also, I killed the ziggurats.

The last commit for EasyAVR on Github was 5/8, so I'm guessing the required updates were not made.  I'm not quite sure what the D0/B7 swap means in this context but D0 is definitely the column that's having problems.  Where do we go from here?

[Data]

Metalliqaz got back to me and said he would look into it. Fingers crossed...

[Hak Foo]

I have set up Soarer's Controller and am typing this message from a more-or-less functional GH-122.


If you want to try it, retrieve the package from Deskthority. (https://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/soarer-s-keyboard-controller-firmware-t6767.html)

Extract the "Tools" and "Firmware" directories.

Use the Teensy Loader to install the  AT90USB1286 HEX file in the Firmware directory.

Extract the correct package in the Tools directory for your OS.

Run the "scas" program with my config to get a compiled config file (example: scas.exe columnoriented.txt config.hex)
Run the "scwr" program to flash it to the keyboard (example: scwr.exe config.hex)

Things that could do with some looking into:

* My board seemed to emit "a" repeatedly when first initialized sometimes.  I suspect this may be something as simple as the tight casing fouling one of the switches.

* The config file seems to have line length limits of around 320 characters-- scas will cut off and report errors.  I had to define some normally unused matrix spots as keys instead of the long ASSIGNED to bring it under the limit.

[0100010]

Metalliqaz got back to me and said he would look into it. Fingers crossed...

Any update?  I have been travelling souch, so no time to build any boards.

[Data]

Metalliqaz got back to me and said he would look into it. Fingers crossed...

Any update?  I have been travelling souch, so no time to build any boards.

He went quiet a few weeks ago, after reviving his Qazpad project, and has never gotten back to me.  Ron also hasn't responded to my email or PM, so my GH-122 is sadly back in a holding pattern until something happens with the firmware.

[0100010]

Going to take stab looking at the GH122.py source file.

EDIT : After checking all of the pin assignments on the board, it is only the D0/D6 assignment that is incorrect.

I corrected the GH122.py source file.  If one were to follow the instructions here : https://github.com/dhowland/EasyAVR#supporting-custom-boards

And copy this GH122v2.py file to the C:\Users\User\.EasyAVR\boards folder (if using windows) - just might fix column 22...

EDIT - removing old attachment here, refer to updated attachment a few posts below.

[Data]

Going to take stab looking at the GH122.py source file.

EDIT : After checking all of the pin assignments on the board, it is only the D0/D6 assignment that is incorrect.

I corrected the GH122.py source file.  If one were to follow the instructions here : https://github.com/dhowland/EasyAVR#supporting-custom-boards

And copy this GH122v2.py file to the C:\Users\User\.EasyAVR\boards folder (if using windows) - just might fix column 22...

You're a braver man than I.  Thanks for confirming my suspicions.  If I have time this weekend I'll attempt to try your fix.   

[0100010]

I hope it works, my GH122 is still a bare board - a state I can't use for testing.  While I was in the .py file poking around, I also updated the layout to reflect the version of the GH-122 I am going to build.  But, now I need to make sure I have the matrix assignments correct for each key.

EDIT : Had to correct the matrix column assignments for right alt / menu / ctrl, and fix the numpad 0 / del keys.

[Spaceman1200]

What material from BBS did you guys use? Looking to get a case made here in the next week or so, Was looking at my options.

[0100010]

What material from BBS did you guys use? Looking to get a case made here in the next week or so, Was looking at my options.

BBS is having a sale starting on Monday for 0.06" 304 SS; I'm going to order my plate then.

https://www.bigbluesaw.com/big-blue-saw/big-blue-saw-special-info/big-blue-saw-customer-appreciation-sale-sept-19-21.html

[Spaceman1200]

What material from BBS did you guys use? Looking to get a case made here in the next week or so, Was looking at my options.

BBS is having a sale starting on Monday for 0.06" 304 SS; I'm going to order my plate then.

https://www.bigbluesaw.com/big-blue-saw/big-blue-saw-special-info/big-blue-saw-customer-appreciation-sale-sept-19-21.html

I seen that in my emails today! Not sure if im gonna go for the low taper or not

[Hak Foo]

I

What material from BBS did you guys use? Looking to get a case made here in the next week or so, Was looking at my options.

I used the 1.5mm aluminium.  Personally, I'd go for the steel if it's cheaper... the weight is not a big factor, and aluminium is famous for being difficult to mill if you need to file out a hole neatly.

[Spaceman1200]

I

What material from BBS did you guys use? Looking to get a case made here in the next week or so, Was looking at my options.

I used the 1.5mm aluminium.  Personally, I'd go for the steel if it's cheaper... the weight is not a big factor, and aluminium is famous for being difficult to mill if you need to file out a hole neatly.

With the sale from BBS the 304 steel should be around the same price if not a little more, When you got yours cut did you opt in for the low taper machining?

[Hak Foo]

No.  I found there was definitely some issues with square cuts not being perfectly square.  I intended to do PCB-mount Cherry stabs, but ended up going with Costars instead because they were easier to fit.

If you use Data's plate as a base, this may require gluing one or two of the inserts into place to ensure they stay put.

[0100010]

OK, had to make a couple more changes to the GH122.py source file to get column 22 working; had to reduce the number of LEDs from 5 to 3.

Updated file attached here.

Note - I put in all the diodes on my board and I have been using a bare switch to test. :-)

[AKmalamute]

BBS is having a sale starting on Monday for 0.06" 304 SS; I'm going to order my plate then.

https://www.bigbluesaw.com/big-blue-saw/big-blue-saw-special-info/big-blue-saw-customer-appreciation-sale-sept-19-21.html

Great timing!

 Now if only copy & paste worked in LibreCAD the way it does in graphics or word processing programs.

 I wanted to make a few minor changes but when I try to import Data's .DXFs into inkscape, it says please use 2013 (I think?) and just gives me a few dots as the drawing. So I installed LibreCAD and tried copying just the 7x spacebar plate mount thing from the phantom .dxf .zip files, and it's showing as five times the size of the whole GH122 drawing.

 I almost managed this making a MX->Alps conversion using inkscape but the original plate imported fine.

 I don't suppose someone could convert the universal drawing to an SVG so I could fiddle with copy/pasting component? Or maybe if I describe what I wanted I could get it whipped up by somebody here in time to submit to the BBS sale...?

[0100010]

Tried using QCAD?  It's free and that is what I use.  Anyway, exported Data's universal file to an SVG (using QCAD).

[AKmalamute]

Tried using QCAD?  It's free and that is what I use.  Anyway, exported Data's universal file to an SVG (using QCAD).

 Downloaded, thanks.

 I'd read that QCad sorta morphed into LibreCAD, but it might be a fork or something.

 I don't doubt I could have made it work eventually ... but CAD controls don't seem to do what I'm expecting them to; similar to when I transitioned from OpenOffice Writer to Lyx.

 And the sale is only three days :-) So for this, I'll just stick to what I'm used to.

  Thanks again!

[Spaceman1200]

Got my plates ordered, Now to figure out what standoffs and screws i'll need lol

[AKmalamute]

Got my plates ordered, Now to figure out what standoffs and screws i'll need lol

I took the time to sort-of make a spacer file...it would leave gaps but be reversible to reduce costs, a tiny bit.
Still would have added $150 in almost any material -- more for things like wood, even MDF that I'd hoped would be cheaper.

 Hopefully the careful sliding of parts in Inkscape will work out. I'll feel really dumb if I just spent $200 and the space bar won't line up.

 I doubt anyone will want them but I'll attach for comment, the spacer file I tried to get too. Should I have skipped the corners? Maybe I just need to find an acrylic specialist. But whatever material I get it needs to be just over half an inch to make sure the Teensy++ clears the floor piece.

 Or at least maybe someone could clean up the flat edges when I attached two pieces -- it's the only way I know to have a rounded edge right angle, but it leaves the other end rounded too, which I thought might add to laser time / cost.

[Data]

BBS is having a sale starting on Monday for 0.06" 304 SS; I'm going to order my plate then.

https://www.bigbluesaw.com/big-blue-saw/big-blue-saw-special-info/big-blue-saw-customer-appreciation-sale-sept-19-21.html

Great timing!

 Now if only copy & paste worked in LibreCAD the way it does in graphics or word processing programs.

 I wanted to make a few minor changes but when I try to import Data's .DXFs into inkscape, it says please use 2013 (I think?) and just gives me a few dots as the drawing. So I installed LibreCAD and tried copying just the 7x spacebar plate mount thing from the phantom .dxf .zip files, and it's showing as five times the size of the whole GH122 drawing.

 I almost managed this making a MX->Alps conversion using inkscape but the original plate imported fine.

 I don't suppose someone could convert the universal drawing to an SVG so I could fiddle with copy/pasting component? Or maybe if I describe what I wanted I could get it whipped up by somebody here in time to submit to the BBS sale...?

Sorry you're having trouble with the files. Not sure why LibreCAD wouldn't open the DXFs but you might not be the only person to have that same issue.  They're R12 format exported directly from AutoCAD 2013, and they only contain polylines on Layer 0. BBS didn't have any problem reading them.

I can try exporting to another format if you think it would help. Let me know. 

Edit: missed the tail end of your post somehow.  I can try writing to SVG if you still need it.

[AKmalamute]

 Thanks for your help, Data -- I forget what all I had to do, but it involved switching back and forth a between LibreCAD & Inkscape. Attached just above your reply, is the output of what I was able to make. Everything I uploaded got interpreted as "inches" but they had a button to convert to mm, 1/25.4th the size, and that could fit into their machinery.

 Thoughts about the spacer? Who is a good choice for acrylic? Does anybody else provide harder plastics? I remember MOZ experimented with a TKL case spacer that could be cut in small strips, then lined up at the corners and in the center ... and after actually building one, decided the idea was bunk and recommended abandoning it.

 But my poor phantom needs a case too and I was hoping to get it cut in PETE while I was doing everything else, but it doesn't seem to be that much cheaper than the on-sale SS, which was too expensive for a keyboard I'm happily using with just a block of wood as the case.

 Guess I should try to post pictures of that, but it's so unfinished. Moreso than most of my projects. Okay I'll shut up now, and promise to post a picture when the GH122 is assembled.

[Hak Foo]

For spacers I just used motherboard-style standoffs.  You can get assortments of different sizes from Banggood/Dealextreme style rubbish-from-China sites cheap.  You could potentially do something like a strip-wood trim frame around the edges since the syandoffs would provide the actual structure.

[0100010]

Data - you get a chance to try that updated source file yet?

I'm waiting on my plate to come in from BBS and I ran wires on the back of the PCB for the Scroll Lock and Num Lock LEDs.  Tested and confirmed they are working (as well as Caps Lock LED).

[Data]

Thanks for your help, Data -- I forget what all I had to do, but it involved switching back and forth a between LibreCAD & Inkscape. Attached just above your reply, is the output of what I was able to make. Everything I uploaded got interpreted as "inches" but they had a button to convert to mm, 1/25.4th the size, and that could fit into their machinery.

 Thoughts about the spacer? Who is a good choice for acrylic? Does anybody else provide harder plastics? I remember MOZ experimented with a TKL case spacer that could be cut in small strips, then lined up at the corners and in the center ... and after actually building one, decided the idea was bunk and recommended abandoning it.

 But my poor phantom needs a case too and I was hoping to get it cut in PETE while I was doing everything else, but it doesn't seem to be that much cheaper than the on-sale SS, which was too expensive for a keyboard I'm happily using with just a block of wood as the case.

 Guess I should try to post pictures of that, but it's so unfinished. Moreso than most of my projects. Okay I'll shut up now, and promise to post a picture when the GH122 is assembled.

I had BBS cut a test plate in PETG for me.  Pricing was about the same as acrylic.  It's not quite as rigid as acrylic but it's a lot tougher and would be great for spacers, particularly at a larger material thickness -- 1.5mm was just too thin.  I'm not really a fan of acrylic just because of how brittle it is.

[Data]

Data - you get a chance to try that updated source file yet?

I'm waiting on my plate to come in from BBS and I ran wires on the back of the PCB for the Scroll Lock and Num Lock LEDs.  Tested and confirmed they are working (as well as Caps Lock LED).

I spent almost the entire day Sunday disassembling, fixing, and reassembling my GH-122.  The cutouts for the stabilizers were not cut to spec so I had to modify them with a file.  Prior to modding they were too narrow and all the stabilized keys were binding.  So heads-up if anyone is using my file -- if you have plates made at BBS and especially if you use their water jet service, be prepared to measure everything carefully and make adjustments.  I don't think they adjusted for kerf properly.    This wasn't the only fitment issue I had, either.  I mentioned the screw holes issue earlier in the thread.

I'm typing on it now.  Just glad that the nightmare is over.  I should have a chance to tackle the firmware problem this week and I can finally call it done.

[nathanrosspowell]

Data - you get a chance to try that updated source file yet?

I'm waiting on my plate to come in from BBS and I ran wires on the back of the PCB for the Scroll Lock and Num Lock LEDs.  Tested and confirmed they are working (as well as Caps Lock LED).

I spent almost the entire day Sunday disassembling, fixing, and reassembling my GH-122.  The cutouts for the stabilizers were not cut to spec so I had to modify them with a file.  Prior to modding they were too narrow and all the stabilized keys were binding.  So heads-up if anyone is using my file -- if you have plates made at BBS and especially if you use their water jet service, be prepared to measure everything carefully and make adjustments.  I don't think they adjusted for kerf properly.    This wasn't the only fitment issue I had, either.  I mentioned the screw holes issue earlier in the thread.

I'm typing on it now.  Just glad that the nightmare is over.  I should have a chance to tackle the firmware problem this week and I can finally call it done.

Show Image

Woah. Nice one, Data. That is a beast!

[Spaceman1200]

Data - you get a chance to try that updated source file yet?

I'm waiting on my plate to come in from BBS and I ran wires on the back of the PCB for the Scroll Lock and Num Lock LEDs.  Tested and confirmed they are working (as well as Caps Lock LED).

if you have plates made at BBS and especially if you use their water jet service, be prepared to measure everything carefully and make adjustments.  I don't think they adjusted for kerf properly.    This wasn't the only fitment issue I had, either.  I mentioned the screw holes issue earlier in the thread.

Just what i needed to hear, ordered my plates from your file in last week's BBS 304 sale. All well, more fun for me!

[0100010]

I drew my own plate, and compared with yours (Data) to ensure I wasn't way off.  Hopefully won't need too much fitting.

Your GH122 looks amazing!

[Data]

Thanks!  I won't be happy with it until I fix the firmware!   

[Data]

OK, had to make a couple more changes to the GH122.py source file to get column 22 working; had to reduce the number of LEDs from 5 to 3.

Updated file attached here.

Note - I put in all the diodes on my board and I have been using a bare switch to test. :-)

Let me see if I understand this correctly.

I take your .py file and save it to

Code: [Select]

keymapper/easykeymap/boards/
Then I open EasyAVR and select the new GH-122 board from the list.  Configure keymap and export the new .hex file.  Flash to Teensy.

Is that it?

That is definitely something I can handle, but it looks like we're using wildly different keymaps so I'm probably going to have to do some manual edits...

[AKmalamute]

Let me see if I understand this correctly.

I take your .py file and save it to

Code: [Select]

keymapper/easykeymap/boards/
Then I open EasyAVR and select the new GH-122 board from the list.  Configure keymap and export the new .hex file.  Flash to Teensy.

 I've programmed my sentraq S60 that way, and yes it's that simple.

 Having not looked at the .py file myself, I might recommend throwing the proffered file into an editor, for this reason: the program already has a GH-122 setting, and if this one is named the same, it will be a little unclear which one is "new" but if you call it "fixed GH122" then when you select layout->new->fixed GH122, you'll know the resulting .hex file references the correct pins at the correct time.

 Also if you edit the .py file you can have it default to dvorak or whatever, before you start "manually editing" the layout.
 
If you don't mind manually editing the .py file first, I mean.

[Data]

Let me see if I understand this correctly.

I take your .py file and save it to

Code: [Select]

keymapper/easykeymap/boards/
Then I open EasyAVR and select the new GH-122 board from the list.  Configure keymap and export the new .hex file.  Flash to Teensy.

 I've programmed my sentraq S60 that way, and yes it's that simple.

 Having not looked at the .py file myself, I might recommend throwing the proffered file into an editor, for this reason: the program already has a GH-122 setting, and if this one is named the same, it will be a little unclear which one is "new" but if you call it "fixed GH122" then when you select layout->new->fixed GH122, you'll know the resulting .hex file references the correct pins at the correct time.

 Also if you edit the .py file you can have it default to dvorak or whatever, before you start "manually editing" the layout.
 
If you don't mind manually editing the .py file first, I mean.

I opened it in Notepad++ and he has it labeled "GH-122v2" with a unique identifier.  So that part isn't a problem.

The problem is I have no idea what I'm doing once I get into the actual keyboard definition.   

[0100010]

You shouldn't have to change anything in the file.  When you select the GH122c2 as a new layout, you can pick which version of the layout to use (All, ANSI, Optional).

[Data]

You shouldn't have to change anything in the file.  When you select the GH122c2 as a new layout, you can pick which version of the layout to use (All, ANSI, Optional).

Excellent.  I'll give it a try.   

[0100010]

1 : Copy updated file to (in windows) C:\Users\[Username]\.EasyAVR\boards\gh122v2.py
2 - Run easykeymap.exe
3 - File - New Default Layout
4 - Select GH-122v2
5 - Select desired layout (All / ANSI / ISO / Offset)
6 - Complete layout scancode assignments
7 - Build firmware
8 - Load firmware (teensy loader)