8 Nov
2011
8 Nov
'11
9:50 a.m.
On 8 Nov 2011 at 8:55, Eric Smith wrote:
I wrote about a hypothetical service to make one-off
custom keyboards:
Why not standardize the "undercarriage", if you will? An 8-by-28 (or
something like that) key PCB and overlying metal frame, where one
simply snaps in the keyswitches in the positions one desires? This
followed by USB programming from the host dictating what key is
where. Remember that old keyboards used a 44-pin DIP as the
controller and that you'd be going to an SMT package, so there are
lots of I/O lines available for the expanded matrix.
The top bezel could be molded in such a way to have scoring lines
molded into the underside. The user could simply cut, using a
utility knife, along the score lines to have the bezel match his
layout. Should he desire to change the layout, it'd be a simple
matter of moving old switches and cutting a new top bezel (should be
inexpensive enough).
Or does this sort of "kit keyboard" already exist?
One thing I miss from the old George Risk keyboards is switches that
are calibrated to respond to a certain force, so that function and
other special keys take a bit more force to activate.
--Chuck