Ok so I know this question has been asked and answered a number of times. Call me a knowledge junkie or just a curious idiot but does anyone know why a solenoid can’t be added to a model M BEYOND THE STANDARD ONE IS MEMBRANE AND INE IS CAPACITIVE....
More specifically if you can retrofit a M122 with a different controller then why couldn’t that controller trigger the needed output for a solenoid or solenoid driver?
The question is for those that know more than I and I’ll apologize in advance if someone has given a detailed answer previously and I missed it.
M122 solenoid.... I know I know...
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Tbernstein2368
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: IBM Model M
- Main mouse: Logitech
- Favorite switch: Buckling Spring
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kmnov2017
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: Model F77
- Main mouse: Logitech MX Master 3S
- Favorite switch: Alpaca V2
A solenoid can be added to ANY keyboard. You need to program the firmware that sends a "fire/enable" signal through one of the controller pins, then something to drive the solenoid (like an NPN transistor).
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Willy4876
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Main keyboard: Focus FK-2001 with Alps Doubleshots
- Main mouse: Logitek MX Master 2S
- Favorite switch: Blue Alps
- DT Pro Member: -
I would agree with kmnov I don't see any reason why you couldn't put one in. It might be a decent amount of work though. One thing that I will add is that it might be a good idea to put in a Flyback Diode to protect your driver. A quick search on digikey brought up this part:
https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/deta ... CALoC%2BQA
This solonoid runs off of 6 V at 220 mA (~1.3 W). That is a small enough amount of power that it could be powered off of a USB port (USB ports can provide a minimum of 5 V at 500 mA, which is 2.5 W). You might be able to get away with running that solonoid at 5 V but you would have to test that. If you cannot get it to fire off of 5 V then you will need something like a boost converter to increase your voltage or use an external 6 V supply.
Also that solonoid has a travel of about 3 mm and is about 2 cm long so it can probably be made to fit into the M122 but I am not familiar with that board in particular so do your own research on that.
https://www.digikey.ca/en/products/deta ... CALoC%2BQA
This solonoid runs off of 6 V at 220 mA (~1.3 W). That is a small enough amount of power that it could be powered off of a USB port (USB ports can provide a minimum of 5 V at 500 mA, which is 2.5 W). You might be able to get away with running that solonoid at 5 V but you would have to test that. If you cannot get it to fire off of 5 V then you will need something like a boost converter to increase your voltage or use an external 6 V supply.
Also that solonoid has a travel of about 3 mm and is about 2 cm long so it can probably be made to fit into the M122 but I am not familiar with that board in particular so do your own research on that.