Search found 361 matches

by Sangdrax
17 Jun 2023, 08:31
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Harris Digitran leaf switch keyboard
Replies: 5
Views: 8528

Re: Harris Digitran leaf switch keyboard

Love these gorgeous old boards. Keep posting as you go along!
by Sangdrax
26 Apr 2023, 04:32
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Replacing bemaspring coil springs
Replies: 4
Views: 2159

Re: Replacing bemaspring coil springs

That's so cool man. I knew a lot of parts were the same but not the coil springs. Really makes me want to grab a Round 2.
by Sangdrax
18 Apr 2023, 06:14
Forum: Workshop
Topic: IBM Beamspring 5251 Restoration
Replies: 2
Views: 4555

IBM Beamspring 5251 Restoration

Hey folks, Been awhile, but I got the itch to do some conversions and restorations again. I got a 5251 for a pretty good deal off ebay but it needed a lot of work. Needed a lot of time in the evaporust. The rust was really bad in the front left corner. A number of coil springs were ruined, two stems...
by Sangdrax
17 Apr 2023, 06:34
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Replacing bemaspring coil springs
Replies: 4
Views: 2159

Re: Replacing bemaspring coil springs

Seems a little high. I got the 90 gold spring set for 75CAD+ shipping for my own restoration. On the plus side, I now have like 70+ original springs in fantastic shape. I'll do $3 apiece if you need them. A little evaporust should save most of yours I would think.
by Sangdrax
15 Mar 2023, 02:39
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Whatever happened to ________?
Replies: 136
Views: 239601

Re: Whatever happened to ________?

Where are andrewjoy and Findecanor? They were great guys. What about conversion heros like Sangdrax, OldIsNew and, of course, xwhatsit ? Did this place die or what? 6 month necrobump but I thought I'd share my story at least. I got a new job in 2019, moved states. DMA even visited me in the rundown...
by Sangdrax
06 Mar 2023, 17:59
Forum: Keyboards
Topic: Foam and foil conversion on TRS-80 clone
Replies: 7
Views: 3388

Re: Foam and foil conversion on TRS-80 clone

Capacitive controllers can be tuned to work with regular switches. The PCB for a capacitive foam and foil usually has pads on two sides and has them lacquered over. These would be in the way of any switch leads. If it has a switchplate, I wouldn't bother with destroying the existing PCB and just han...
by Sangdrax
05 Mar 2023, 19:44
Forum: Keyboards
Topic: Foam and foil conversion on TRS-80 clone
Replies: 7
Views: 3388

Re: Foam and foil conversion on TRS-80 clone

Magnets are a much bigger mess. Anything capacitive will do the trick. You just need something with a conductor and an insulator over it. I used to use punches from antistatic bags as they were an insulative sandwich of plastic over metalized material. Worked great. I also used harder closed cell fo...
by Sangdrax
03 Dec 2019, 21:37
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Another KeyTronic F&F with CommonSense
Replies: 9
Views: 3032

Re: Another KeyTronic F&F with CommonSense

Topre springs should click right into the 11mm holders, no mods required. The problem is acquiring them in bulk at a non-topre price. I've never had the luck to find their souce. Plus you'd have to lacquer the boards with bare metal pads I suppose. Nice work on the board, OldisNew. Always love seein...
by Sangdrax
03 Dec 2019, 00:19
Forum: Workshop
Topic: CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface
Replies: 572
Views: 227553

Re: [Done] CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface

Hooked up my PR1ME and having the same initial problem as the Harris. Everything works perfect except two columns which refuse to register at all. I checked the electrical connection for those pins on either side of the ribbon cable with a multimeter and resoldered everything, even the factory jumpe...
by Sangdrax
21 Nov 2019, 17:16
Forum: Other external
Topic: Great/Interesting Finds
Replies: 26272
Views: 9340790

Re: Great/Interesting Finds

kmnov2017 wrote:
21 Nov 2019, 14:59
Another storage unit

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 4106289673
That's only an hour drive for me, but I don't know where I would store it all.
by Sangdrax
20 Nov 2019, 16:55
Forum: Other external
Topic: Great/Interesting Finds
Replies: 26272
Views: 9340790

Re: Great/Interesting Finds

kmnov2017 wrote:
19 Nov 2019, 23:23
Not a bad price for whats most likely a white alps board https://www.ebay.com/itm/233236468619
I grabbed it for $25 shipped so I can't really complain even if it's not.
by Sangdrax
20 Nov 2019, 15:06
Forum: Gallery
Topic: SMK Reed switches
Replies: 4
Views: 2888

Re: SMK Reed switches

What a great find! Nice breakdown too.
by Sangdrax
15 Nov 2019, 05:19
Forum: Workshop
Topic: CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface
Replies: 572
Views: 227553

Re: [Done] CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface

The extra grounding worked great. Everything registers now. I'm typing this on the Harris as I speak. The repeating pressed #16 16 shows up every time I use the upload function. Afterwards, it will still commit and write to the EEPROM but I have to physically disconnect and reconnect the board for i...
by Sangdrax
14 Nov 2019, 19:18
Forum: Deskthority talk
Topic: Deskthority Awards 2019 ~ Phase 1: The nominations
Replies: 48
Views: 43976

Re: Deskthority Awards 2019 ~ Phase 1: The nominations

I nominate DMA for best project for the Magnetic Valve switch conversion added to Commonsense this year. It made a new legion of beautiful boards usable again on modern PC's.

I know he won last year, but this is different enough to be considered another project I think?
by Sangdrax
14 Nov 2019, 17:10
Forum: Keyboards
Topic: Mini Mechanical Keyboard with Magnet - Custom Value and Macro
Replies: 4
Views: 1963

Re: Mini Mechanical Keyboard with Magnet - Custom Value and Macro

Looks like the magnetic bottoms are snap-in. If that's the case, anything with a cherry compatible plate and pinout should work. Plus they got box switches in the example picture.
by Sangdrax
13 Nov 2019, 19:12
Forum: Keyboards
Topic: Wash springs & flippers in IBM Model F XT?
Replies: 9
Views: 3279

Re: Wash springs & flippers in IBM Model F XT?

kmnov2017 wrote:
12 Nov 2019, 23:11
The flippers have a conductive coating on them
Aren't they just carbon doped plastic all the way through? I could have sworn it was still black when I saw a busted one in my old blue switch.
by Sangdrax
13 Nov 2019, 19:08
Forum: Workshop
Topic: CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface
Replies: 572
Views: 227553

Re: [Done] CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface

This is the Harris, which you noted might need extra grounding at a couple points to pick up a couple columns. Those I think are the ones not triggering. I'll have an hour or two to fiddle with it tonight and I'll report back. Settings right now are Debounce 8, Threshold 10 (though up to 20 works th...
by Sangdrax
13 Nov 2019, 16:28
Forum: Workshop
Topic: CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface
Replies: 572
Views: 227553

Re: [Done] CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface

v 1.0.0.4 is out: https://github.com/dmaone/CommonSense/releases/tag/1.0.0.4 It ignores the matrix positions for which threshold is set to zero. Useful if you printed a PCB for your beamspring which has unpopulated pads (like __red__'s 3741) Would've noticed this much faster if I had an actual beam...
by Sangdrax
13 Nov 2019, 16:11
Forum: Workshop
Topic: CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface
Replies: 572
Views: 227553

Re: [Done] CommonSense: matrix LCR meter with a HID interface

Finally got some new kits in from Cypress directly (the kits have skyrocketed in price from the distributors for some reason so direct is the only real choice now) and had a chance to fiddle with the Magvalve stuff a little bit. I had to update my PSoC virtual components to get the current bootloade...
by Sangdrax
30 Oct 2019, 14:35
Forum: Keyboards
Topic: Key Tronic Corp. Early '70s Keyboard
Replies: 14
Views: 7133

Re: Key Tronic Corp. Early '70s Keyboard

It wouldn't bug me much if they weren't the rare magnetic reed variant. I love the old foam and foil myself, but it ain't the end of the world if someone used one of those for some silly project like that instead.
by Sangdrax
24 Oct 2019, 16:09
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Are there any unconvertible switches left?
Replies: 11
Views: 5693

Re: Are there any unconvertible switches left?

The old Hall Effects (pulse vs hold) are not hammered out yet IIRC. New Hall Effects are made and they are understood but there is no basic conversion process for the old boards. This is as far as anyone has gotten fullsize I think https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21908 I got an NOS Micro...
by Sangdrax
21 Oct 2019, 04:59
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Chyron 4046 (Super Scribe) Keyboard, Xwhatsit USB
Replies: 5
Views: 4617

Re: Chyron 4046 (Super Scribe) Keyboard, Xwhatsit USB

Now that's how it's done. I got another keytronic in recently I need to give the same treatment to. :D
by Sangdrax
19 Oct 2019, 19:13
Forum: Reviews
Topic: Epson Q703A keyboard review (Fujitsu leaf spring 2nd generation)
Replies: 1
Views: 2830

Re: Epson Q703A keyboard review (Fujitsu leaf spring 2nd generation)

New old stock is amazing. Wish my case was still that white instead of a tad yellow. I've been using mine as a daily driver since May and it's great. Gotta say I like the white case more than black though. One thing you forgot to mention between this and the 3rd Gens is that these don't have the dio...
by Sangdrax
10 Oct 2019, 00:09
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Best replacement foam for keytronic foam and foil switches
Replies: 26
Views: 11549

Re: Best replacement foam for keytronic foam and foil switches

Different switch types probably had different thicknesses. The 1978 block style keytronic I'm working on right now seems like it had around 2mm pads instead of the 4'ish of the 1980's tall single switch models.
by Sangdrax
09 Oct 2019, 23:32
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Best replacement foam for keytronic foam and foil switches
Replies: 26
Views: 11549

Re: Best replacement foam for keytronic foam and foil switches

And you guys know I'm a fan of the hard foam. Super Glue brand precut archival grade foam tape ($1 and you need two rolls for the average full size board double stacked) and electrostatic discharge bags because they have both sides insulated and they're basically free and laying around if you do any...
by Sangdrax
07 Oct 2019, 21:17
Forum: Workshop
Topic: Another Data General 6246-A
Replies: 4
Views: 4290

Re: Another Data General 6246-A

Yeah, these are all 3rd Gen leaf springs IIRC. Great boards. And unlike the 2nd Gen, they have all the diodes integrated already which makes converting so much better. With your matrix now, someone could actually convert one in less than an hour if they knew what they were doing. Really great work a...
by Sangdrax
11 Sep 2019, 16:20
Forum: Off-topic
Topic: Taking a break
Replies: 29
Views: 27606

Re: Taking a break

I haven't posted hardly at all the last few months because life got in the way. Sometimes you need a break or just to lurk for a bit. Nothing wrong with that. Plus, when you reach a happy endgame board and have tried most of the legends, you're just not in a massive hurry anymore. You KNOW what's go...
by Sangdrax
29 Aug 2019, 15:48
Forum: Try before you buy
Topic: [IC] Fall 2019 Austin, TX Meetup
Replies: 5
Views: 18432

Re: [IC] Fall 2019 Austin, TX Meetup

Been super busy with my new job but I'm over by Killeen now. I might be able to make a September meetup and bring some oddballs like the Harris Digitran or the Epson QX-10 conversions, plus some common fun oldies like the Pingmaster if nobody else is hauling them.
by Sangdrax
19 May 2019, 00:53
Forum: Keyboards
Topic: IBM Model M - Cleaning Membrane. Isopropyl / sterilized water / or?
Replies: 3
Views: 2402

Re: IBM Model M - Cleaning Membrane. Isopropyl / sterilized water / or?

Alcohol is the best option because it will dissolve grease and whatnot while leaving everything clean afterward. Dish soap and tap water will do the same job with a little more work.

You'll want some very fine sandpaper to clean any oxidized contacts in either case.

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