deskthority

Got 10 of these connectors off amazon for pretty cheap. If anyone needs one for their own conversion purposes, I'm happy to send it to you for the cost of shipping.

Well here I am again filling up the workshop board with more half finished projects. https://i.imgur.com/UkXc8zB.jpg This time I'm working on fixing up a Contec (rebranded Costar) keyboard. This board has clicky amber omron switches and the board itself is nearly as yellow as the switches. https://i...

Aw man, split spacebar is like 10 more cool points than big boi spacebar

waldorf120 wrote: ↑What's better than one unsaver?

Two Unsavers.

Twinsavers? (trademark pending)

De-rusted, stripped, and painted the plate. Cleaned and lubed the switches.

My girlfriend helped me reassemble ~100 alps this evening. I think she might be the one.

Oh man, I wish it was so simple. I've had three keyboards with RJ11 connectors and each had a different pinout, spoke a different protocol, and required different voltages.

I have this little plastic pry tool that works perfectly for popping switches out of a plate

So darn satisfying...

Hi DT, I have this C.ITOH keyboard from a CIT324 video display terminal. Presumably it is a cousin to the SM-101 but with a completely different connector/controller/protocol. I've racked my brain trying to convert this keyboard to USB over the course of the past year but, alas, I'm not much further...

Did a write up on the whole thing here:

https://www.keyboardjunk.com/posts/allo ... -keyboard/

Avast! Ol' Ahab here spottin' another White Whale. This one skinned right to the bone! But it also appears to be tamed... https://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-6580-Beamspring-Keyboard-Made-in-Italy/282995287487?hash=item41e3d565bf:g:2C8AAOSwNNVbFcD6 Alas, she's already fallen into the fathoms of the briny ...

Thinking about retrobriting at least the case and the spacebar. The caps are PBT right? So no point in doing those i suppose?

It sounds reeeaaallllly nice.

I'm wondering what's up with these two switches though?

Edit: See this post for converter details: https://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/nec-pc-8801-davey-s-first-blue-alps-experience-t19136-30.html#p420895 Original post: I insta-snatched this board when it was posted the "Interesting Finds" thread the other day. I caused a small stir because supposedly th...

Ooooh very cool! I'm not sure if it will work with a Soarer's because I don't think there's a clock. One line is giving the XT scancodes like you mentioned, the other gives these little blips (but only sometimes). I don't know much about this stuff so I'm not sure what this might mean. https://i.img...

To no surprise it wants more than 5V

When hooked up to 5V it gets regulated down too low


When hooked up to 12V it gets regulated down right to 5

Hi Guys, Got this new mysterious terminal keyboard. The style of it caught my eye and I thought it would make a fun project to see if I can get it to work on a modern PC. I haven't played with it yet but here are some photos to start with! Hopefully I'll have some time this weekend to dig into it an...

Well it's two weeks since I placed my order and still radio silence from the vendor -- apart from the confirmation email I got immediately after the purchase. I've come to accept that this thing is never getting delivered to me. Exhibit A: Their contact page... ...lists AIM as one method of getting ...

zool wrote: ↑but that stands in the way of keyboard sovereignty, if you care for such things.

I never knew I cared about this until you opened my eyes. Thank you, oh wise zool

Got a bunch of these organizing thingies (oh and a label maker about a month back. best purchase ever.)

Yes sir! They've got their own special baggie.

Frankenböard lives!

I call this the Coil Master 5000



In related news, RIP plastic hanger (2011-2018)

Had to use a bit of elbow grease to seat the switches but at least I can be sure they're solidly in place. https://i.imgur.com/7vkVwua.jpg P.S. I did end up getting LUBAR last night (lubed up beyond all recognition). But unfortunately my WD-40 was all out so I had to use this Teflon junk https://i.i...

How much WD-40 do you typically put on Alps switches? I only have one can.

To make the paint more uniform, could you paint a second layer and then after it's dried lightly sand the plate down? This is an actual question, not a suggestion - because I have no idea if that would work, hahaha. I've heard that suggested before (wet sanding). If I knew you were going to be brus...

Well now you've got me on a mission...

Some of the springs are gold so I'm presuming that one of the previous owners swapped them out but didn't do the entire board. I'd like to make sure it's uniform (or at least not random). I have a ton of springs on hand. Would anything be particularly interesting or should I shoot it get it close to...

You don't need primer if you get metal paint or self priming paint. I just used Rustolium for my projects and seems to be just fine. Thanks! I had some blue rustoleum brush on paint so I used that (can't use spray paint where I live). It's looking a bit goopy but I don't really mind. https://i.imgu...

Let the cleansing begin