Who knows what you’ll find in a second-hand shop? [Zeal] found some old keyboards made to fit early Alcatel phones from the year 2000 or so. They looked good but, of course, had no documentation. He’s made two videos about his adventure, and you can see them below.
The connector was a cellphone-style phone jack that must carry power and some sort of serial data. Inside, there wasn’t much other than a major chip and a membrane keyboard. There were a few small support chips and components, too.
The Blackberry made phones with real keyboards popular, and smartphones with touch keyboards made that input method the default. However, the old flip phone crowd had just a few telephone keys to work with. If you have a key-limited project, maybe check out the libt9 library from [FoxMoss].
There were two methods for using these limited keyboards, both of which relied on the letters above a phone key’s number. For example, the number 2 should have “ABC” above it, or, sometimes, below it.
In one scheme, you’d press the two key multiple times quickly to get the letter you wanted. One press was ‘2’ while two rapid presses made up ‘A.’ If you waited too long, you were entering the next letter (so pressing two, pausing, and pressing it again would give you ’22’ instead of ‘A’).
Continue reading “Add TouchTone Typing To Your Next Project”
When [daniely101] wanted a split keyboard, he decided to build his own. It wound up costing $25 to create a wireless board with no custom PCB required. Each half has its own microcontroller, and the whole thing connects via Bluetooth. While we don’t mind making a PCB, we can appreciate that you could change your mind easily with this wiring scheme.
The 3D printed case holds the keys, and then it is just a matter of carefully soldering the keys to the microcontrollers. Of course, each side also has to have its own battery. The ZMK firmware is split in half, one part for each side of the keyboard. The nRF52840 CPUs have plenty of wireless connectivity. The keys are set in rows and columns, so the amount of soldering back to the controller is manageable.
While we applaud the wireless design, it does seem odd that you have to charge both halves and turn them on and off separately. But that’s the nice thing about a design like this — you could modify the design to not have a split. Or, you could allow one flexible wire pair to run across for power. Of course, you could modify the layout, including adding or deleting keys.
You might consider adding a pointing device. At least you don’t have to pull out a saw.
When a wrist mounted keyboard floated past in the Hackaday feed, a mental image surfaced, perhaps something like a Blackberry keyboard mounted on a wrist cuff, maybe with some kind of display. It’s impressive indeed then to open the link and see [AdamLeBlanc]’s Schist01. It’s a wrist mounted keyboard, but with its bracket curving in front of the had to support a custom ergonomic chording keyboard, it’s definitely a break from the norm.
The wrist mount has clearly taken a lot of thought, and despite looking something like the arm of a Star Trek Borg, appears comfortable. It’s extremely adjustable, and can be demounted into several different parts. Meanwhile the keyboard itself has been formed to his hand by a trial and error process involving keycaps and a clay model. there’s even a thumb-operable touchpad.
We like this peripheral a lot, for the huge attention to detail that has gone into its design, for its boldness, and because we can’t help seeing ourselves using it as the input device for a futuristic head-mounted display. For now though we don’t have any futuristic silver clothing in the wardrobe, so that will have to wait. If you’d like to see more, there’s a video.
Continue reading “Taking A One Handed Keyboard To The Next Level”
Perhaps you have a tilt towards glowing cyberpunk peripherals. Perhaps you’ve been hunting for a keyboard that you can position perfectly to suit both your left and right hands. In that case, you might just like this nifty design from [Modern Hobbyist].
The first thing you’ll note is the split design, which allows each half of the keyboard to be placed optimally for each arm’s comfort. They’re linked with a cable, which allows the STM32 microcontroller to read the keys on both sides and then spit out the right stuff upstream over its USB-C connection. The microcontroller is also in charge of running the per-key LED lighting and the LCD screens on each half.
The board owes its sleek and slim design at least in part to using Kailh Choc low-profile switches. They plug in to hotswap compatible sockets so the switches can easily be changed if desired. Keycaps are blank off-the-shelf parts because this is a keyboard for those who aren’t afraid to spend the time establishing the right muscle memory. It might take some adaptation if you’re not used to the staggered columnar layout. However, the LCD screens can display a keymap if you need a little help now and then.
We’ve seen a lot of great split keyboards over the years, including one amusing design made by hacking an existing keyboard in half with a saw.
What could happen when you open-source a hardware project?
No, seriously. I hold a fair few radical opinions – one is that projects should be open-source to the highest extent possible. I’ve seen this make miracles happen, make hackerdom stronger, and nourish our communities. I think we should be publishing all the projects, even if incomplete, as much as your opsec allows. I would make ritual sacrifices if they resulted in more KiCad projects getting published, and some days I even believe that gently bullying people into open-sourcing their projects can be justified. My ideal universe is one where companies are unable to restrict schematics from people getting their hardware, no human should ever hold an electronics black box, by force if necessary.
Why such a strong bias? I’ve seen this world change for the better with each open-source project, and worse with closed-source ones, it’s pretty simple for me. Trust me here – let me tell you a story of how a couple reverse-engineering efforts and a series of open-source PCBs have grown a tree of an ecosystem.
Continue reading “The Blackberry Keyboard: How An Open-Source Ecosystem Sprouts”
For those of us who’ve spent far too long hammering rubber keys into submission, a glorious solution has arrived. [Lee Smith] designed the ZX Mechtrum Deluxe, the ultimate keyboard upgrade for your beloved ZX Spectrum 48k. Thanks to [morefunmakingit], you can see this build-it-yourself mechanical mod below. It finally brings a proper spacebar and Spectrum-themed Wraith keycaps into your retro life.
The Metrum Deluxe is a full PCB redesign: no reused matrices or clunky membrane adapters here. [Lee Smith] got fed up with people (read: the community, plus one very persistent YouTuber) asking for a better typing experience, so he delivered. Wraith keycaps from AliExpress echo the original token commands and BASIC vibe, without going full collector-crazy. Best of all: the files are open. You can download the case on Printables and order the PCB through JLCPCB. Cherry on top (pun intended): you’ll finally have a spacebar your thumbs can be proud of.
So whether you’re into Frankenstein rigs or just want your Spectrum to stop feeling like an air mattress, check this video out. Build files and link to the keycaps can be found on Youtube, below the video.
Tip: if you foster a secret love for keyboards, don’t miss the Keebin’ with Kristina’s series on all sorts of keyboards.
