deskthority

Techno Trousers wrote: ...and really looking forward to seeing these in the real world.

You and me both.

My own opinion is that two spacebars would be enough.

I have made the design change. I now have an LSpace and an MSpace. The placeholder for the RSpace remains in the design, but there will be no physical switch for it installed by default.

If you select "Split" and move the mouse over the image ...

I’d use left space bar as a backspace key, myself. Programmability being the way to serve everyone’s desires.

The driver I have has multiple layers of programmability. One layer is a physical to logical layout, so you could re-map the LSpace key to be the BackSpace key, so that when you hit the ...

My own opinion is that two spacebars would be enough. I think most people would use the one under N/B as space, and the one to the left as backspace, like the "erase ease" configuration on some vintage keyboards. Or since it's reconfigurable, they might want to use it as an easy to reach modifier ...

Take ANSI split backspace and move backspace one row down to |\.
Please, no. Unless this is an optional alternate config.

Don't worry. My keyboard layout is as I have indicated.

Rick, the layout looks nice and symmetrical, but have you prototyped the locations of the three space bars in actual ...

My favorite to look at were NMB's implementation of stepped caps. Pics are not mine; they're from a completed eBay auction.

Rick, the tiny backspace and big-ass enter key are totally UNcool, so don't get any ideas. :D

I have my keyboard layout http://www.libsf.org:8990/projects/LIB/repos/libsf ...

I appreciate the advice. I am still considering it, as I really like the stepping. Maybe if it was reduced, so the delta between key and step was marginal, and mostly for appearance sake.

I've been working on this project and am making some final design decisions on the physical key forms themselves. In so doing I've been reviewing existing keyboards I have and looking at their various form factors.

For example, I have an IBM Model M that has key caps like these https://qph.fs ...

If any of you are interested in working with capacitive switches in general (where you touch your finger to a metal plate), there's a good video here which gives you a primer. The Arduino product lines give you an excellent and easy way to create your own home projects and are a good place to start ...

digital_matthew wrote: That's awesome. I'd like to buy one of your keyboards one day.

Thank you for the encouragement. My son has me working on capacitive touch panels for our house right now. He wants to turn his room into a Star Trek touch panel-like interface I think.

You are a legend! I'm keeping an eye on this!

My son and I are working on the keyboard portion of it right now. I've decided for my first product I'm going to create a capacitive board that will sample keys and communicate over a USB or PS/2 connector. It will allow existing Model-F keyboards to ...

If someone can figure out a way to put a display in this keyboard, we could run Doom! I mean, it's 386, so it checks out. :mrgreen:

The keyboard itself will not use an 80386-based CPU. It will use a small FPGA, and will have the ability to be completely configured inside and out (you can make the ...

I’d be interested in your CPU design / Blender node designer project (for reasons unrelated to CPU design and related to neural network design instead) - will you be posting about that somewhere?

My CPU designs are here:
Arxoda is a 40-bit 80386 with support for an ARM ISA as well -- The current ...

j0d1 wrote: What are the two other software projects? Are they keyboard-related?

A CPU design for a protected-mode only 80386 multi-core offshoot, and the software to author the CPU design in a new way, one like the 3D software app called Blender, and specifically the way its node editor works.

For the past several weeks I have been considering returning to this project. I have two other projects I am interested in working on as well, but they are entirely software design ... and I do that for a living and it's boring. :-)

I need something to do that's physical, and I'm considering ...

gianni wrote: Sorry for that. I hope that you'll be able to solve those problems and that you'll be back with simpler objectives

Objectives remain the same. I am intending to craft great keyboards. And later other products.

Chyros wrote: Oh dear! Is everything alright? Oo

Yes. Thank you.

I hope to return to the project quickly. Work will continue, though scaled back, on its software and hardware design, but no creation of production equipment for manufacturing will occur until some time later.

Again I apologize.

Development has halted on this project due to several factors. I will resume when I am able. I apologize for the issues and the delay. Things are happening in my life outside of my control.

--
Rick C. Hodgin

Thank you for your advice, gianni.

Techno Trousers wrote: Nice! I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.

You and me both. LOL!

Woah, wait a minute... So you are going to be machining each key from a block of plastic, even the standard shapes? Or is that just for the arbitrarily shaped ones you'd talked about (like the "artisan" types with protruding shapes on top)?

I guess this would be one way to do the "carve out" of ...

Ah! I had hoped that you made molds for double shot!

Nope. I am still having difficulty getting things translated from the digital design into the analog application. But, I also keep making strides. I have a very solid base on the digital side, so there remains only that last hurdle to get ...

Any update?
Thanks

I began designing the software and hardware for 3D machining. It will be a five-axis design with X,Y on the table, Z on the cutter, and then two additional axes to rotate the part on angles on the X axis (relative to its plane), and then on the Y axis (relative to its plane ...

Since I'm interested in seeing any project related to buckling springs succeed, I can't stop to wonder why you can't at least start to sell something.

Can dyesub/ doubleshot keycaps? Start selling those.

Can you make a PCB? Sell it.

Do you have a mold for the model f case? Sell it.

The ...

Hahaha. :-) Try Olive Oil, and just anoint the case without having it drip down to the keys. :-)
I wonder if oiling a model m would silence the springs at all come to think of it.

If you gave it the full C3PO oil bath then yes, but a real anointing only requires a fingertip of oil. The power ...

I'm sorry for asking, but; What's the point? You, as a christian, can't use the already available tools because they were designed by Satan?
I too am forced to use satantic keyboards, I have tried on multiple occasions to bless them with holy water but they all seem to stop working after that :lol ...

I have been following this from the sidelines since it started, and I have to blurt out my two cents: This monstrosity looks like a ridiculous over-design, with too many distinct modules, loads of reinventing-all-the-wheels and little regard for commercial reality -- being a niche product that's ...

I would suggest shooting for a goal of 50 million actuations of durability, if possible. It would be good to at least match Cherry, although I think IBM's original capacitive buckling spring had a durability of more like 200 million actuations.

When I do my testing, how many strokes per second ...

I for one can't wait to try a Hodgin switch. You can never have too many mechanical keyboard switch choices.

I call my switch a UKM Glide . They'll also be for sale separately as individual units in addition to being in the actual keyboards. I'm almost 100% positive I'm going to also create a ...

Khers wrote: I'm sorry for asking, but; What's the point? You, as a christian, can't use the already available tools because they were designed by Satan?

LOL!