Extreme Model M Modding (m122 chop and 1u layout mod)

fricked

31 Mar 2021, 18:21

My new key board
Image

Here's link to imgur gallery showing the process: https://imgur.com/gallery/yCZXpi6

Extra info: I moved 8 pads (in 2 rows) from the numpad that i chopped off to the spacebar area to make my beautiful 1u layout. I connected them back with wires so that the controller had no idea anything changed. I used single strands from a stranded wire, and attached them to the membrane traces by simply taping them to the traces with copper tape. Even though the tape is copper and the adhesive is supposedly conductive, i did not have good enough results by putting only the tape on the membrane traces (hence why i taped the wire strands themselves to the traces).

Final thoughts:
I do not recommend moving pads on the membrane like I did. Getting the membrane to work is a very delicate dance. I had to reassemble it 13 times, tweaking stuff, putting copper tape under failing pads, etc. It is perfectly working now but I am not confident that it will last forever. In the end, the nav/numpad chop was the easy part. Anyhow i made some mistakes with the membrane surgery that i will share. 1. turns out the top membrane is thinner (presumably since it is the layer that needs to be bent to make contact). I did not realize this until after i put a bottom layer membrane on top, this probably did not help. 2. Melting the membranes together like i did is probably not a great idea after all because it is stiff, which again probably doesnt help with making contact. I should have used copper tape.
Now that i can use my layout i realized a fatal flaw with this keyboard and it is not even my fault: 2kro... turns out when typing fast i often have more than 2 keys pressed at once. This is very annoying. On this keyboard the "you" and "ion" trigrams are especially problematic for me, and they are not exactly uncommon...

Overall its fun keyboard but this is not excellence. The quest continues

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ddrfraser1

31 Mar 2021, 19:30

Lol, saw this on reddit. Bananas :lol:

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XMIT
[ XMIT ]

31 Mar 2021, 20:31

Nice!!!

I would encourage you to consider silver conductive glue/paste for future membrane repairs. It's worked really well for me.
iu-2.jpeg
iu-2.jpeg (17.77 KiB) Viewed 25610 times
I've also used archival quality packing tape to hold membranes together.

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Go-Kart

31 Mar 2021, 21:49

You mad man!

I actually love it. Great layout. Anything that gives right hand space but has little impact functionality is a winner for me. What would you call this layout?

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Muirium
µ

31 Mar 2021, 22:17

That better be original gangster graffiti!

Why’d you chop the arrow cluster off as well as the (entirely understandable) numpad? A look? Or more of a psychopathy?

Anyway, it’s got attitude, I’ll give it that. Maybe redo the traces like Xmit says and this time pay the original matrix more attention. If you stare at it long enough, it too will speak to you.

Image

fricked

01 Apr 2021, 00:27

XMIT wrote:
31 Mar 2021, 20:31
Nice!!!

I would encourage you to consider silver conductive glue/paste for future membrane repairs. It's worked really well for me.

iu-2.jpeg

I've also used archival quality packing tape to hold membranes together.
Was considering a conductive glue for attaching the wires but i figured it wouldnt be any thinner than taping them. However using it to draw traces over the tape bridge etc to somewhere with more space to attach wires could definitely be an improvement (some wires are probably unavoidable since the traces would need to overlap). Not too eager to deal with membranes again though :lol:

fricked

01 Apr 2021, 00:30

Muirium wrote:
31 Mar 2021, 22:17
That better be original gangster graffiti!

Why’d you chop the arrow cluster off as well as the (entirely understandable) numpad? A look? Or more of a psychopathy?

Anyway, it’s got attitude, I’ll give it that. Maybe redo the traces like Xmit says and this time pay the original matrix more attention. If you stare at it long enough, it too will speak to you.

Image
Chopped the arrows off because I have no use for them. One of my thumb keys activates a layer where i have all those arrow keys, home end etc in the alpha block

Many lessons learned but i definitely wont be redoing this haha

fricked

01 Apr 2021, 00:34

Go-Kart wrote:
31 Mar 2021, 21:49
You mad man!

I actually love it. Great layout. Anything that gives right hand space but has little impact functionality is a winner for me. What would you call this layout?
I am open to suggestions
I am leaning towards a play on unsaver, maybe resaver

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Go-Kart

01 Apr 2021, 07:21

fricked wrote:
01 Apr 2021, 00:34
Go-Kart wrote:
31 Mar 2021, 21:49
You mad man!

I actually love it. Great layout. Anything that gives right hand space but has little impact functionality is a winner for me. What would you call this layout?
I am open to suggestions
I am leaning towards a play on unsaver, maybe resaver
More like numdestroyer :lol:

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Muirium
µ

01 Apr 2021, 11:08

Good name. Destroyers are smaller than aircraft carriers, after all, which pretty much describes the full 122.

Image

Sixties, meanwhile, are sneaky: like submarines.

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ddrfraser1

01 Apr 2021, 14:40

Needs to be paired with this

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Muirium
µ

01 Apr 2021, 15:18

The PC Macintosh!!

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fohat
Elder Messenger

01 Apr 2021, 15:50

Muirium wrote:
01 Apr 2021, 11:08

Good name.

smaller than aircraft carriers
It is really a shame that Apple appropriated the names "Saratoga" and "Nimitz" for their AEKs.

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ddrfraser1

09 Apr 2021, 15:23

On second thought, you may need to pair it with one of these:
170976559_4178552152196913_1391933384787438268_n.jpg
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wcass

17 Apr 2021, 05:14

I made this in 2011 and has been my daily driver since. Typing on it right now.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but the Caps Lock key has blue LED indicator under it.
hack14.JPG
hack14.JPG (68.51 KiB) Viewed 25112 times

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XMIT
[ XMIT ]

17 Apr 2021, 18:01

ddrfraser1 wrote:
09 Apr 2021, 15:23
On second thought, you may need to pair it with one of these:

170976559_4178552152196913_1391933384787438268_n.jpg
What the hell is this atrocity of a display?!

Quadra 950 was a great machine. Quadra 840av ran circles around it but had a way worse case.

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XMIT
[ XMIT ]

17 Apr 2021, 18:03

wcass wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 05:14
I made this in 2011 and has been my daily driver since. Typing on it right now.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but the Caps Lock key has blue LED indicator under it.
Beautiful!

I really want to do an ANSI mod and an inverted-T arrow mod on an M122, that would make it vastly more usable for me. I just can't deal with the plus shaped arrow cluster. I could just cover the down arrow location but even better would be to move barrels around.

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fohat
Elder Messenger

18 Apr 2021, 02:59

XMIT wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 18:03

I just can't deal with the plus shaped arrow cluster.
I always program the center as another down arrow, that way the muscle memory is happy and either way you aren't in trouble.

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XMIT
[ XMIT ]

18 Apr 2021, 03:00

fohat wrote:
18 Apr 2021, 02:59
XMIT wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 18:03

I just can't deal with the plus shaped arrow cluster.
I always program the center as another down arrow, that way the muscle memory is happy and either way you aren't in trouble.
It'd be easy enough to remove the barrel (perhaps destructively on an M122) and just cover it, too.

headphone_jack

18 Apr 2021, 04:19

XMIT wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 18:03
wcass wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 05:14
I made this in 2011 and has been my daily driver since. Typing on it right now.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but the Caps Lock key has blue LED indicator under it.
Beautiful!

I really want to do an ANSI mod and an inverted-T arrow mod on an M122, that would make it vastly more usable for me. I just can't deal with the plus shaped arrow cluster. I could just cover the down arrow location but even better would be to move barrels around.
Funnily enough, I actually slightly prefer having a cross nav rather than a T nav. Binding the key in the middle to space makes it even better!

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an_achronism

04 May 2021, 12:12

wcass wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 05:14
I made this in 2011 and has been my daily driver since. Typing on it right now.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but the Caps Lock key has blue LED indicator under it.
hack14.JPG
This is lovely. I think one of the things I'll be doing with my F77 is sticking some indicator LEDs under various keys for lock lights etc. Only thing being I'm not really sure where to light for Scroll Lock on an F77. I'd probably go for upper nav cluster on a bigger layout, but I intend to flip back and forth between num lock and nav functions on the RHS grid. Perhaps I could just put both Num Lock and Scroll Lock LEDs under that grid, but use different coloured LEDs for each.

I wonder how easy it would be to figure out how to get a functional Compose key LED going on it... I would assume that they only exist in Set 3 boards but apparently there is a setting to light the Compose LED on WinCompose, which I have to assume means that it's doable!

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wcass

05 May 2021, 01:43

i posted how i did the lighting for this back in 2011 on GeekHack. For anyone interested, ... https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=21436.msg406236

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an_achronism

05 May 2021, 02:01

wcass wrote:
05 May 2021, 01:43
i posted how i did the lighting for this back in 2011 on GeekHack. For anyone interested, ... https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=21436.msg406236
I know, I think it's linked somewhere on the Model F Keyboards site! (If I recall correctly, I found it in the Q&A section while looking for something unrelated. Which was ideal, because I was already thinking that it would be cool to do, but hadn't begun researching it!) Thanks for putting that together.

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Jesseg

05 May 2021, 02:03

I wish people would do this after they learnt how to join plastics properly :P

Tribal

06 Jun 2021, 19:09

Very nice!

I have some junked up 122s that I bought for parts and was thinking of doing something like this. Ideally, something like a 65% (plus the upper and left function keys) with split right Shift.

Three questions, if I may:
1) When you cut the membrane, is there anything you need to do regarding the exposed leads? Maybe just cover with tape?

2) How possible would it be to turn the chopped off numpad into a stand-alone macro pad? I’m not good with power tools and I’m not any kind of electrical engineer, but I can follow directions pretty well if the solution is something like “plunder a controller board and solder the leads to the numpad (maybe adding a Soarer’s or xwhatzit).”

3) And, for a really big stretch, is it possible to have two controllers in one board? I strongly prefer capacitive buckling springs, but don’t really care about them except for the main portion. Could I get a FSSK PCB and Model F flippers and create a Franken-Unsaver with a FSSK embedded in a M122 case?

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fohat
Elder Messenger

06 Jun 2021, 21:12

Tribal wrote:
06 Jun 2021, 19:09

1) When you cut the membrane, is there anything you need to do regarding the exposed leads?
It's easier if you just fold the membrane under and don't cut anything.

Jesseg wrote:
05 May 2021, 02:03

I wish people would do this after they learnt how to join plastics properly
I have tried this a few times and ancient IBM cases are made of plastics that are frustratingly hard to join with the strength that is required. And the 2nd problem is that the original colors and textures are devilishly hard to re-create.

__red__

06 Jun 2021, 23:47

wcass wrote:
17 Apr 2021, 05:14
I made this in 2011 and has been my daily driver since. Typing on it right now.
It doesn't show well in the picture, but the Caps Lock key has blue LED indicator under it.
hack14.JPG
What happened to that glorious metal-milled beauty of Model F you built?

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wcass

07 Jun 2021, 03:28

Reserved for special occasions.

fricked

02 Jul 2021, 16:13

Forgot to give an update
It worked perfectly for about a week, then a key on the bottom row failed. Didn't bother fixing it as the 2KRO drives me crazy anyway.
Thankfully I recorded a typing video while it still worked, finally got around to uploading it:

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doomsday_device

21 Oct 2021, 20:47

i love it so much


hi fricked
you should fix it

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