New Cherry MX keyboards for the A500, A600 and A1200

[Mick]

It is a bit confusing, kipper says he put on a set of typewriter style keys which I read as whatever he had available at the time but in the same post he mentioned receiving sample keycaps so why not use those instead? and why would you show how the A600 looks with a completely different style of keycaps to those being planned? some clarification probably needed.

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Also, the beta version of the A600MX keyboard came today so i have assembled it and put on a set of (typewriter style) keys. Some of the keys are obviously labelled wrong but it is strictly to show how the A600 looks.

[Marlon_]

Originally Posted by Puggsy

Why do you have to be like that? So aggressive for no reason? What have I done to you?

I did read the thread, what concerned me, sorry I don't have time to read all pages of blabbering though and still had a question. It was a valid question, and again, you don't need to be mean to someone asking something How unwelcoming.

I think you applied something to what I wrote that wasn't there. All I said was if you had read the thread you'd know that those keys was only for test purpose. Reading the threads before asking questions is not a bad thing.

I'm sorry for hurting your feelings.

[obitus1990]

Kipper,

How much of the green PCB is visible around the periphery of properly sized keycaps? I ask since the original keyboards have that black plastic plate that retains all the switches, and everything just blends in around it, making it pretty much invisible. Just a quick read through the thread and the website gives me the impression that the final PCBs are green, but, possibly I am mistaken and just didn't see if you were planning to make them in black instead.

[amenophis]

Originally Posted by radfoo

... at that point it seemed as if he thought that a500/a2000 keys had just yellowed more than the a1200.

Was disappointed with the response at the time, still backed his campaign but won't put them in an a500/a2000...

My goodness I certainly never said anything like that!
You certainly took my comment out of context.

I DO consider A500 keys having yellowed more than A1200 did, on the scale of how they yellowed.
However, not ALL followed the same scheme, since there's at least 3x different variations in plastics mix and colors for the A500 keys.


From where do you turn something I never said to something being "my answer" that disappointed you?
At least double check the information,
At last, ask me directly.

• A1200 keyboards and A500 keyboards do not share the same base colors.
• - Original A1200 keyboards had a least 2x variants in colors. Subtle differences, but differences anyway.
• - There isn't just ONE A500 keyboard colors, but there's at least 3x variants, possibly 4 since we did not pursue more tests..

Sorry for the incursion Kipper.
Thank you guys.
Cheers
Phil

[zodiac]

Any updates on when the pre-order A500 keyboards will ship? I am literally going to take a sledgehammer to the old keyboard for all the grief it has given me. Can’t wait to do it. Thanks for making this possible!

[zodiac]

[QUOTE=Mick;1290414]It is a bit confusing, kipper says he put on a set of typewriter style keys which I read as whatever he had available at the time but in the same post he mentioned receiving sample keycaps so why not use those instead? and why would you show how the A600 looks with a completely different style of keycaps to those being planned? some clarification probably needed.[/QUOTE

Those may very well be the ugliest key caps ever produced.

[radfoo]

Originally Posted by amenophis

My goodness I certainly never said anything like that!
You certainly took my comment out of context.

I DO consider A500 keys having yellowed more than A1200 did, on the scale of how they yellowed.
However, not ALL followed the same scheme, since there's at least 3x different variations in plastics mix and colors for the A500 keys.


From where do you turn something I never said to something being "my answer" that disappointed you?
At least double check the information,
At last, ask me directly.

• A1200 keyboards and A500 keyboards do not share the same base colors.
• - Original A1200 keyboards had a least 2x variants in colors. Subtle differences, but differences anyway.
• - There isn't just ONE A500 keyboard colors, but there's at least 3x variants, possibly 4 since we did not pursue more tests..

Sorry for the incursion Kipper.
Thank you guys.
Cheers
Phil

Thanks for the clarification, appreciate the detailed response, I expect you were a little busy at the time of the campaign. I did send a message direct and did post on eab and on the campaign thread, as did others.

Although maybe there were number of subtle variations of a500 keyboard they were all very different in colour to the whiteish a1200 keyboard.

As I had written before, i backed your campaign for 2 sets, they look great, looking forward to receiving them. Thanks.

[MartinW]

Upfront, I have not yet had time to read the whole thread - just the first few and last few pages!

This is a great development. I think people might be quite surprised by the demand for A1000 keyboards. I've got one with two missing keys and have been looking for MANY years without luck since they are different to all the other keys (or so I am told whenever I try to source them).

The only other thing to mention, which may have already been posted but are people aware that CherryMX Amiga keycaps were already done by a chap a few years back? Not the Aminag.NET ones that we're all still waiting for. I'm only saying because it means the legwork for the print of the layout is already complete. Obviously that doesn't mean they would necessarily be willing to share, I'm just saying

For example, from that, I have a custom "Ducky Shine 4" Cherry MX keyboard with full Amiga keys but in a UK Mac layout (because I use Macs and my fingers are now wired that way).

[talybont]

Originally Posted by MartinW

The only other thing to mention, which may have already been posted but are people aware that CherryMX Amiga keycaps were already done by a chap a few years back? Not the Aminag.NET ones that we're all still waiting for. I'm only saying because it means the legwork for the print of the layout is already complete. Obviously that doesn't mean they would necessarily be willing to share, I'm just saying

This one perhaps:


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ical-keyboards



€35 for a full set of keys.


I'm hoping kipper (or someone else) will offer an alternative for people who don't have $200 to spend on a keyboard, however awesome it is. Personally I have a keyboard (A500) with a broken controller board, and I would rather re-use most of that and just replace the part that is actually broken.

[MartinW]

Originally Posted by talybont

This one perhaps:


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ical-keyboards



€35 for a full set of keys.

Yep, that's the one - thanks. Didn't realise they were €35 mind. Mine was closer to £200. I guess that's what you get going for the full keyboard and coming up with a custom layout. Loriano was great though and very helpful throughout.

I need to read through this whole thread over the weekend. My goals have changed somewhat since 2015 and I'm not really in the market for two $200 keyboards any more when I just have a broken space bar on an A600 and two missing caps on the A1K (assuming that's the ballpark price).

The flip side is, you never know, if people have the chance to buy new keyboards I might finally be able to locate the 3 replacement keys I need

Hello,
any news about the release of this keyboard ?
I've 2 amigas, and I would like to replace at least one keyboard with this one (the one with a Vampire in it).

[SpocksBeer]

Spotted this update on AOTL:

http://amigaonthelake.com/blog/kippe...eyboardupdate/

So...waiting a while then.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by SpocksBeer

Spotted this update on AOTL:
http://amigaonthelake.com/blog/kippe...eyboardupdate/

That post is dated 30th January, i.e. tomorrow so that is somewhat impressive.

[Metropolis]

Wait. I thought all of this work had been done in October, as evidenced by AOTL saying so in their store entry? More importantly, Kipper's web page mentions cherry keycap availability in over 200 colors in multiple sizes. Why make new key caps if we have over 200 colors to choose from in multiple sizes already?

[indigolemon]

Originally Posted by Metropolis

Wait. I thought all of this work had been done in October, as evidenced by AOTL saying so in their store entry? More importantly, Kipper's web page mentions cherry keycap availability in over 200 colors in multiple sizes. Why make new key caps if we have over 200 colors to choose from in multiple sizes already?

Because the original supplier changed the goalposts, and a new supplier had to be found? It's in the blog post.

Hobby projects like this, even when well funded, are a big ask as the manufacture volumes that many suppliers demand just isn't there. Welcome to the world of vintage computer projects.

[lmimmfn]

Would have preferred if Kipper provided updates, just for the sake of it, is he working with a1200.net in any way?

[Jope]

There's no collaboration to be had with a1200.net. Cherry MX keymounts are not compatible with Mitsumi hybrid keymounts.

[spudje]

I'm totally confused now. Wasn't part of the advantage of this initiative that off the shelf key caps could be used.... I guess I totally lost interest now, having to make custom molds will increase the price even more...

[indigolemon]

No, as Jope said the standard Amiga keycaps won't fit MX switches. The advantage of this project was always that you could have a brand new mechanical keyboard that is a drop in replacement in your machine.

As far as I am aware, the change of keycaps supplier will not increase the proposed pricing, but will ensure that the caps produced are an excellent match for the OEM ones in terms of look and shape.

[spudje]

Sorry, but that is not how I interpret this:

Enter Cherry MX, why try to keep alive and spend money on an old unreliable keyboard when hopefully it can be replaced with a much more reliable, responsive keyboard which can be easily fixed and parts are abundant. There are lots of places where you can buy key caps in multiple colours, sizes and at decent prices so lets take advantage. Fortunately there are only a few differences between the A500 and A1200 cases so using a universal designed Cherry MX board in either shouldn't be an issue. (There will be slight differences between the 2 of them to allow for the LED board for the A1200 which is a separate screw on board)

The design of the A500/A1200 Cherry MX keyboard is relatively simple, it is in 2 main parts, the upper plate is where the MX switches are pushed down and lock into place, the lower plate is where the switches are actually soldered to. Due to the fact that Commodore were pretty well proprietry in some of their designs the majority of keys are the wrong size when compared to their PC equivalents, with a massive spacebar and bigger Function keys etc. So now the task is to maintain the Amiga key layout and make it fit into the hole of the Amiga upper cases. A little bit tricky but wasn't all that bad and we have come up with a slightly modified layout that needed an extra couple of blanks and a smaller spacebar. We have put together a shopping list and can purchase all the different sizes we need without having to go to fabrication.