Hackaday readers are likely the kind of folks that have a favorite keyboard, so you can probably imagine how devastating it would be to find out that the board you’ve sworn by for years is going out of production. Even worse, the board has some internal gremlins that show up after a few years of use, so functional ones in the second-hand market are becoming increasingly rare. So what do you do?
This is the position [TechBeret] recently found himself in with his beloved Sculpt keyboard. When Microsoft decided to step back from the peripheral market last year, he started looking at alternatives. Finding none of them appealing, he decided instead to breathe new life into the ergonomic keyboard with the RP2040. Every aspect of the resurrection is covered in a phenomenally detailed write-up on his blog, making this a valuable case study in modernizing peripherals with the popular microcontroller.
According to [TechBeret], the biggest problem with the Sculpt was its wonky wireless hardware. It was bad enough that the board was permanently paired to its USB dongle, but apparently, the RF side of things would degrade over time, leading to an ever shorter range. So he decided the best course of action was to simply give the board a brain transplant. Since he didn’t really want it to be wireless anyway, he figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to create a replacement PCB that reads the keyboard matrix and speaks USB Human Interface Device (HID).
In fact, he was able to find a couple of projects that did that exactly. Instead of copying them, he took them as inspiration to help direct his own effort. His primary goal was to develop a drop-in replacement for the original PCB — specifically, he didn’t want to have to take a Dremel to his keyboard just to get it working again. He also wanted to use components he knew would be available for the foreseeable future, as well as bring USB-C support to the party. Finally, he didn’t want to get bogged down in writing code, so the replacement board had to be able to run the popular QMK firmware.
By his own admission, [TechBeret] is no expert in such matters. But that makes the write-up all the more compelling. Rather than seeing a perfect result on the first attempt, we get to learn along through his trials and tribulations. Even if you’ve done this kind of thing before, we bet you’ll pick up some interesting tricks along the way. We particularly liked his tip about test-fitting your PCB by exporting it as a STEP file and 3D printing a replica.
It might seem like a lot of work to save a keyboard, but then, those who’ve come to love it — like our very own [Lewin Day] — will tell you the Sculpt isn’t just any keyboard. QMK might even make it better.
Incase is relauching the Microsoft Hardware portfolio
https://www.incase.com/pages/incase-designed-by-microsoft
Still, cool hack
not the story i expected! i think of keyboards as dying at the switch / spring / keycap level, not the logic board. i was thinking, if it uses discrete switches (‘cherry mx’ or whatever), no reason it can’t last forever. but here they’ve solved the problem with the logic board but still have a future of possible membrane troubles?
but i do find some wireless devices seem to slowly ‘go south’ over time and i’d like to know why that is! that’s ultimately what removed my asus c201 chromebook from daily rotation. i tried replacing the wifi antenna with no improvement, on the thought it was cumulative flex damage from the hinge movement. ???
over time they deplete their 5g radiation into your skull and must be replaced in order to keep control
but THEY don’t want you to know that
@der.rule Thank you for that link! I’ve had a sculpt set for close to a decade at work, and have been wanting one for home now that I actually have a desk again, but I’m not interested in spending $400+ for a used set. It’s great to know that someone picked up the Microsoft hardware and will continue making it!
Been there, done that, although decidedly less fancy and more hacky: https://lemmy.ml/post/14213458
I’m aware Incase is relaunching the MS peripheral business, but it’s taking them a very long time and worldwide availability isn’t great…
I’m currently using the Logitech K860 Ergo, it’s a good alternative but over a sample size of 10 or so I’ve had 1 DOA and 2 that only worked with very fresh batteries and died after a couple months as well. Logitech has a fairly pleasant RMA procedure but it’s still a bit of a pain.
I’m software developer and my right wrist quite quickly goes south when I use a normal keyboard, giving me a burning sensation from my wrist, through my underarm to almost the elbow. I can’t survive without a slanted keyboard, and really, really love the Microsoft keyboard. For one: it’s quite silent! I hit my keyboard quite hard, and I’ve had colleagues complain about the noise I make on certain keyboards! :P
I tried the Logitech K860, and to be honest, it feels great too. And I would buy it as a replacement if my Microsoft one dies. But I really don’t like the keypad part. I never use the keypad, it’s just a dead weight that takes up a lot of desk space.
I already have made plans to fix my Microsoft keyboard if it fails. :) I already had one failing before, but could buy new one for just a few dollars, so I threw it away. But if any breaks now, I will convert it to Bluetooth and a rechargeable LiPo.
Ah yeah, and if Incase relaunches the Sculpt Ergonomic keyboard, I hope they forget about the separate keypad and that stupid mouse. I want the keyboard only. That mouse messes up my wrist even faster than a normal straight keyboard does. Waste of time, money, effort, natural resources and energy, to sell all three as a complete set with no option to buy them separately.
Especially because the mouse and keypad are paired to the same dongle as the keyboard and cannot be resold or used separately. They just end up unused in a recycling plant. I’m even tempted to say: boo Microsoft!