deskthority

There are a couple plug in converters out there but none that are universal. The 5251 protocol and pinout is completely different than 3278 which is different from 4979, etc. Most people just go for a full controller replacement since the original protocols are a bit limited. Most beamsprings use a ...

jensma wrote: ↑

04 Apr 2024, 17:31

I'm mostly interested in the switches on this one, I can't identify them..

Low profile ITW magnetic valve

Cloudflare broke a DT Telegram bot which is how a good chunk of spam posts were dealt with. Would be nice if the forum owner would bother popping in to say hello rather than hanging out on a Discord server that's not even affiliated with Deskthority. You'd think a company burning as much money as On...

If your input method is novel, non-obvious, and useful you can seek a patent. Upon being granted the patent, you can attempt to license it to various companies if you're able to demonstrate a business case. Novel keyboards are generally patent-able so long as they're sufficiently different from any ...

Ellipse wrote: ↑

15 Feb 2024, 20:52

a deadline that is not firm is better than no deadline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Cried_Wolf

Here's a model I made a while back if it's any use: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5209110 You could have one printed/machined from somewhere like Protolabs out of a known high-temp plastic. They also do laser sintered metal for "cheap" but you'd probably want to modify the model to give it some ...

It's prong over membrane with a plunger for overtravel. The switch is indeed documented but barely: http://telcontar.net/KBK/Key_Tronic/#screened_contact Is it conductive or capacitive? You should be able to tell using a multimeter connected to a row and column and pressing the corresponding switch....

I got a sweet modern board with damped white Alps! I've never had good condition damped whites; definitely eager to get some use out of it.

I'll take 200

Does anyone recognize this or the switches it uses? Very bizarre layout. http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/eagleComputer/brochures/Eagle_PC_Brochure.pdf https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/eagle-computer-keyboard-ft02-2554-01-1955532020 FT sticker means Keytronic foam and foil. It's for a PC clone so...

Well at least the flashing worked. Sounds like it thinks a modifier key is being held down or something similar. You probably have the wrong firmware flashed to it. Make sure you've selected the correct controller and board type in the QMK configurator and try flashing that instead. Try Universal in...

digital_matthew wrote: ↑

30 Nov 2023, 20:43

At that point do I just export the keymap.json from the QMK configurator link you gave me?

You'll need to compile it and then upload the hex file to your board using something like QMK toolbox.

Probably best to follow a step-by-step: https://docs.qmk.fm/#/configurator_step_by_step

madrobby wrote: ↑

30 Nov 2023, 16:29

Haven't seen this Commodore PC keyboard before

Mitsumi of some sort, nothing exceptional.

Buzzer would be pretty neat if it's actually enabled in firmware. You should be able to check for a signal on whatever pin goes between Q2 and the controller. If you see a square wave blip when you push a key then you're good to go. Do a bit of reverse engineering and figure out which pins are CBE f...

Unless you're regularly spilling coffee on the keyboard, you probably won't need to disassemble it once screw modded the first time. That being said, there are a variety of threaded insert designs out there, most aren't melt insert. A self tapping insert would probably work best. https://www.mcmaste...

The problem is probably not Soarer's side if it's actually getting scancodes from the keyboard. You can use hid_listen to see if that's the case. Try cleaning the card edge connector, re-seat the controller a couple times to break up corrosion, make sure all the grounding wires are tight, and try a ...

thefarside wrote: ↑

17 Nov 2023, 15:52

This looks interesting. No clue what the switch type would be:

Sanyo MBC-550. Should be Fujitsu leaf spring of some sort.

In my experience, the F paint is at least slightly soluble in isopropyl alcohol. You could probably splash some on a rag, let it soak for a while, and then go over it with a stiff plastic bristle brush. I'm not sure what iso would do to the underlying plastic though - probably not great for it. Best...

Barring some physical damage to the cable resulting in a short, there's not a whole lot that can be wrong with the board that would cause the cable to heat up. Give the cable a really close look all over. Look for any signs it was pinched, stretched, or crushed. If it's not the cable then there's on...

There's a few others that use them, like the bigfoots, but they're not super common.

That's some great sheet metal fab work; nice job! Wyse stuff has always been no-nonsense serious business gear. Full metal case really adds to the industrial aesthetic. Relay as a clicker is a cool idea! Are you using a flyback diode? If not you should probably add one to prevent frying the transist...

That's a quick fix if you have a reasonable soldering setup. Scrape off the solder mask using a pick Use flux to etch whatever metal remains If there's still a layer of copper there, just tin it with solder and move on If there's no remaining copper, use some 30ish AWG wire to redo the trace. Keep i...

Some early RAFI like this one ? Four pins per switch usually means contactless. Your board has TKI stickers on the inside which tracks with Rafi of some sort. They're definitely not RS74/76 and don't look like any of the RC72 examples that I've seen. Rafi magnetoresistive should only have 3 pins, 5...

Conversely, here's one I pulled from a literal trash pile with perfectly intact rivets: https://deskthority.net/download/file.php?id=78714 https://deskthority.net/download/file.php?id=78716 My guess is that rivet failure rates are mostly tied to storage temperature. M barrel plates (at least Greenoc...

Huh, simple but effective mechanism.

DocFreud wrote: ↑

02 Oct 2023, 00:41

Hello everybody. What would be an estimate for IBM keyboard clone BTC KB3270?

It's a neat board but you'll probably have a hard time finding anyone willing to take it for free+shipping. Best bet might be finding someone in the vintage computer hobby who needs it for an AS400 or something.

It's a pretty cool mechanism!
Jump to about 2:22 for the quick explanation.

My experience is of course anecdotal but this fragility is not an issue on any of the OG Fs I've come across. Even the completely battered and corroded examples still worked fine without needing to fiddle with springs, etc. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%20F%20X...

Which "latest" firmware? I flashed the "latest" as of the last time I tried to use it. Would be great if there were dates or version numbers used to refer to this stuff other than "the latest factory batch", "a comment from some guy on that thread", etc. I've fixed the actuation issues on nearly all...

Here is a video I put together comparing Model F keyboards to Model M keyboards generally Keep in mind that this is coming from Ellipse himself so it's not exactly an unbiased source of info. To balance out the propaganda: I have one of his F77s, several original Fs, and quite a few Ms from the who...