Apple Macintosh Portable (enclosure and conversion)

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snacksthecat
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03 Apr 2018, 02:55

Hi guys, I picked up an Apple Macintosh Portable keyboard to convert to USB. Since this is a bare board intended for an old laptop machine, I decided to build a case for it. I went with an acrylic "sandwich" style case since I don't really have any CAD skills. The case turned out okay but I'm not 100% happy with it yet. Full write up and more photos are available on my blog.
Spoiler:
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First of all, I really hate how bad the white case clashes with the rest of the board. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I selected that. I'm looking for options on how I can remedy this gracefully.

Some things I'm considering:
- Should I paint it? (can you paint acrylic?)
- Should I cover the base acrylic pieces with an outer shell of more acrylic? (better color)
- What color(s) should should I consider (I think a close match to the caps would look nice)
- Anyone got any other cool ideas?

Findecanor

03 Apr 2018, 03:43

Yes, acrylic can be painted. I have not been able to find a spray paint that matches, though (grey with only a hint of beige)... Please post if you find one!
Maybe it would be better to select an accent colour: a darker grey or pure white.

Maybe a case made of laser-cut wood, but with the edges sanded so they are not black.

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snacksthecat
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07 May 2018, 00:49

Looks a bit better after painting it. I went with a dark gray color which should be a pretty safe bet. I might do another coat and sand it a bit to cover up the seams. I think I'm pretty okay with this result.

Working on converting it now. I have the matrix mapped out but for some reason it's acting crazy when I try to configure TMK. I'll post the info if/when I'm able to get it working.

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hippo126

13 Sep 2021, 23:05

Hey there nice project,

I'm intending to convert the same keyboard to usb, and was looking to see if anyone had tackled a project like this before and it seems you have. I was wondering if you were successful, and could give me some tips on how to accomplish the same thing?

Thanks for your time

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