NEC PC-8801 (Davey's first blue alps experience)

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

03 Jun 2018, 03:12

Edit: See this post for converter details:
workshop-f7/nec-pc-8801-davey-s-first-b ... ml#p420895

Original post:
Spoiler:
I insta-snatched this board when it was posted the "Interesting Finds" thread the other day. I caused a small stir because supposedly these frequently are available on yahoo auctions for a lot less. I hid in the shadows as the guys argued. I think at one point I'm pretty sure The Bill of Deskthority Rights was referenced. The conversation eventually progressed to the topic of whether it's kosher to post your own eBay listings to that thread. Finally when the dust settled and I was safe from the embarrassment of overpaying like a sucker, I snuck out of the thread almost as sneakily as I snuck in in the first place. Like a sneaky sneaky snail.

Now I'm going to clean up this crazy board.

I hear that it is not convertible. Is this the truth?

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Last edited by snacksthecat on 03 Aug 2018, 21:52, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
//gainsborough
ALPSの日常

03 Jun 2018, 03:19

You could always convert it using a teensy! What do you think of the boards acoustics? Love the caps on these!

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

03 Jun 2018, 03:29

It sounds reeeaaallllly nice.

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

User avatar
//gainsborough
ALPSの日常

03 Jun 2018, 03:33

Those are skcm heavy blues - had the same switches in the black pc-8801 I got recently. They are SUPER heavy. Heaviest switches I’ve ever typed on by far! They gotta be like 200g!

samuelcable

03 Jun 2018, 03:49

//gainsborough wrote: Those are skcm heavy blues - had the same switches in the black pc-8801 I got recently. They are SUPER heavy. Heaviest switches I’ve ever typed on by far! They gotta be like 200g!
You wouldn't wanna STOP or COPY by mistake

User avatar
Chyros

03 Jun 2018, 09:20

You can commercially get much stiffer switches than 200 g from Tai-Hao ;) .

orihalcon

03 Jun 2018, 19:39

For conversion purposes, best bet on these is to either handwire a new matrix or you might be able to use the original PCB's matrix if you map it out. You could then wire an Xwhatsit or something like Soarer's Controller, or I believe TMK also has controller support. Let us know what you decide to do!

The heavy blues likely just have a different spring in them but are probably otherwise identical to normal blues. If you don't like it, you could swap the spring from something else.

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

04 Jun 2018, 03:16

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

User avatar
Chyros

04 Jun 2018, 07:20

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

00.

04 Jun 2018, 07:35

Chyros wrote:
snacksthecat wrote: Thinking about retrobriting at least the case and the spacebar. The caps are PBT right? So no point in doing those i suppose?
The caps are ABS.
the alphas are dyesubbed pbt

User avatar
Chyros

04 Jun 2018, 07:57

00. wrote:
Chyros wrote:
snacksthecat wrote: Thinking about retrobriting at least the case and the spacebar. The caps are PBT right? So no point in doing those i suppose?
The caps are ABS.
the alphas are dyesubbed pbt
Oh yeah, it's only the other ones that are doubleshot ABS. Wow, that's weird, don't think I've ever seen that before xD .

User avatar
Blaise170
ALPS キーボード

04 Jun 2018, 16:30

Oh hey that's the one I sold. But I'll sneakily sneak out before I start getting decried again. :lol:

User avatar
//gainsborough
ALPSの日常

04 Jun 2018, 16:50

Blaise170 wrote: Oh hey that's the one I sold. But I'll sneakily sneak out before I start getting decried again. :lol:
I thought that one went to Brett - did you have multiple boards?

In any case, these boards are lovely!

User avatar
Brett MacK

04 Jun 2018, 16:59

//gainsborough wrote:
Blaise170 wrote: Oh hey that's the one I sold. But I'll sneakily sneak out before I start getting decried again. :lol:
I thought that one went to Brett - did you have multiple boards?

In any case, these boards are lovely!
Yeah he had told me that at one point he had 3 or 4. The one that snacks has is in a little bit better condition that mine.

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

10 Jun 2018, 16:23

So darn satisfying...

Image

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

10 Jun 2018, 16:54

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

Image

User avatar
scottc

10 Jun 2018, 18:47

Damn, that PCB removal video is beautiful.

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

11 Jun 2018, 05:20

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.

Image

User avatar
lucar

11 Jun 2018, 09:48

Hi,

I have the very same keyboard, here are pictures of mine:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

I've not converted it yet. Be careful if You're going to retrobright the caps, they react to peroxyde, use at least a light formula.


Luca

EDITED: whooooooooooooppsss , it's not the VERY SAME :D

User avatar
//gainsborough
ALPSの日常

11 Jun 2018, 21:53

lucar wrote: EDITED: whooooooooooooppsss , it's not the VERY SAME :D
Hahahaha! It's for the same PC at least!

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

12 Jun 2018, 03:59

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

User avatar
digital_matthew

13 Jun 2018, 03:07

snacksthecat wrote: 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.
Spoiler:
Image
She's a keeper. :)

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

14 Jun 2018, 00:16

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.

Image

User avatar
Blaise170
ALPS キーボード

14 Jun 2018, 03:09

Interesting. Are you going to build your own firmware or wire it by hand?

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

14 Jun 2018, 03:16

I'm going to see if I can build my own firmware for it. But it will be an arduino sketch as I do not know low level C like some of the great minds of DT.

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

24 Jun 2018, 01:21

Man, what a pain to solder. Might hot glue it to make sure the bits and pieces don't move around and short out.

Image

User avatar
Sangdrax

24 Jun 2018, 02:50

Slip some 1/8" heat shrink around the terminations.

User avatar
Chyros

24 Jun 2018, 11:59

Sangdrax wrote: Slip some 1/8" heat shrink around the terminations.
Yeah, that's the way I did it with my WYSE as well. Although I didn't have those elegant termination clips xD .

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

24 Jun 2018, 17:59

Yeah, I ended up having to redo it because it was shorting out. Used electrical tape this time. It was tedious but everything's nice and insulated now.

Image

User avatar
snacksthecat
✶✶✶✶

24 Jun 2018, 21:06

The explanation of the protocol sounds simple but I'm stuck at step #0
What this means in practice is that the PC88 itself does the key reading. The keyboard connector has 13 pins (14 if you count the ground sleeve), and in order to read a key, the computer triggers four of those pins. A multiplexer on the keyboard uses those four lines to activate the appropriate row on the keyboard matrix, and eight lines are triggered in response to tell the computer which keys on that row are pressed.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!

Post Reply

Return to “Workshop”