New Cherry MX keyboards for the A500, A600 and A1200

[idrougge]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

If people are adamant that they want the correct size for spacebar/alts etc then it would be based on the cost and the amount of people willing to pay a bit extra.

People who go to the effort of buying a new keyboard would surely not accept anything less than a match of the original keys.

Originally Posted by kipper2k

The eagle eyed of you will notice that on the number row i used a "*" key instead of the "Help"

That's a "Del" key, but I'm sure you knew that already.

[Hiddenevil]

I have to echo what has already been said, I'm holding off committing to any pre-order until I see the finished item. That said, what I have seen has left me leaning toward an A1200 keyboard for sure and perhaps even an A600.

I personally don't mind if the keyboard isn't a clone of the original, it's enough for me that there might soon be a replacement for my yellowing keyboard. So long as it slots in, does the job and doesn't have an obvious "third party" look to it, I'll be happy.

Oh and before I forget, most important of all, isn't priced so only the uber rich collector can afford to buy. I love buying stuff for my Amiga, but I prefer not having to sell my kidney for the privileged. :-P

[kipper2k]

Hi all,

quick update. Moulds are complete and the keys are getting ready for mould injection. Samples will be sent to me/Aaron and then we will post some pictures. There are some new items that will be announced in the near future, too soon to give details in case they flop

[adonay]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Hi all,

quick update. Moulds are complete and the keys are getting ready for mould injection. Samples will be sent to me/Aaron and then we will post some pictures. There are some new items that will be announced in the near future, too soon to give details in case they flop

This is great news look forward to this

[kublai]

Will there be any USA distributors? Shipping to the USA is so darn expensive which probably end up costing more than the keyboard itself.

[aeberbach]

Originally Posted by kublai

Will there be any USA distributors? Shipping to the USA is so darn expensive which probably end up costing more than the keyboard itself.

Amiga On The Lake has preorders up right now.

[Hercules]

I preordered... Any further updates or photos?

[SpocksBeer]

Waiting for an official update too, but I note that AOTL have a couple of photos up that show seemingly complete keycap sets integrated into Checkmate external keyboards - both black and classic colours. Not sure if they are renders or not, some keys look a little...wonky.

[Mick]

It doesn't look like there is any PCB underneath the black keyboard so they may just be showing off the keycaps arranged loosely? that might explain the wonkiness?

They are kind of shooting themselves in the foot with stuff like this though, first impressions matter.

[SpocksBeer]

Interesting that there are a few mech keyboard projects on the go at the moment too. One open source based on cherry switches (no keycaps), another one based on optimising the layout for commonly available keycaps, and A1200.net (the Kickstarter new cases/keycaps group) have announced a mech keyboard designed for Mitsumi-compatible keycaps (like they are currently mass producing).

It's becoming a crowded market!

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by SpocksBeer

Interesting that there are a few mech keyboard projects on the go at the moment too. One open source based on cherry switches (no keycaps), another one based on optimising the layout for commonly available keycaps, and A1200.net (the Kickstarter new cases/keycaps group) have announced a mech keyboard designed for Mitsumi-compatible keycaps (like they are currently mass producing).

It's becoming a crowded market!

I wouldn't consider it a crowded market, I would consider it that we have more options and that's obviously a great thing.

[Metropolis]

A crowded market of products that have yet to actually exist, maybe.

[FREEMILK]

Those pics are real,
the keysets are complete, the pics look wonky due to the camera wide angle, seems to distort.
yes there is no PCB on black one, its just sitting for show.
I can confirm the USB works perfectly on X5000 and A1222

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by Mick

It doesn't look like there is any PCB underneath the black keyboard so they may just be showing off the keycaps arranged loosely? that might explain the wonkiness?

They are kind of shooting themselves in the foot with stuff like this though, first impressions matter.

Hi Mick,

you are right,

the keycaps/switches are not soldered to the pcb so they are a little wonky, i just laid them on for visual display...

So for an official update, the samples are now all approved, the keycaps are paid for, manufacture has started.

The MX keybpards have full PC USB compatibility for those people that would like to just plug in an MX keyboard into a PC to use PC emulators etc. The MX keyboards will also fit into the external Amiga KB cases. I have included a few headers for other options which i am not announcing at the moment.. Once the boards are actually in Aarons hands i will reveal all.

I know people have created their own MX style boards, they will be good for OEM usage but our MX keys will not line up to their layout as the keycap sizes they are using are PC style and use completely different sizes and not the Amiga sized keycaps.

I

[FREEMILK]

Here is my test board, in my A4000d case connected to USB on the x5000


i also tested on
A1222
A4000D / T
A3000
A2000

[rmzalbar]

I put in my MX-A1200 order last week at AOTL. Thank you for bringing us this project!

[Mick]

Well it gets my approval and I'm quite fussy, I'll probably await reviews first though.

[SpocksBeer]

Looks amazing, thanks for the update.

[digiflip]

Originally Posted by kublai

Will there be any USA distributors? Shipping to the USA is so darn expensive which probably end up costing more than the keyboard itself.

Is there any keyboards to be made in europe importing from Usa/Canada will be cost prohibitive with import duties and tax to uk or europe

[kipper2k]

Hi All.

News update...
Keycaps are on the way to the USA. I have made a major addition to the MX features so the keyboard will be held up by 2 weeks. Sorry but this is the reason below ..

http://www.kipper2k.com/mxgotek01.mp4

The MX keyboard now accepts input from the Gotek for the buttons (Up, down and eject)

You will heed to solder 3 wires to your gotek buttons and then simply connect them to the header i have supplied on the MX keyboard PCB.

This button mod will work on all Goteks. The gotek i have just designed will now be invisible as everything needed will be on the board plugged into the floppy header. It will have the HXC Video mod (not available on Flash Floppy... yet?), a USB header and will have headers on it for pins 33, 34, 35 and 36 of the Arm chip allowing for easy future upgrade ability and also the headers for the Up, Down and Eject button with the other mods added to the board.

The gotek menu is accessed by holding down L. Shift/L. Alt and then selecting Up, down and Eject by pressing L. Ami, R.Ami or R Alt to select your file in the listing.

I have also allowed 3 more keys that can be assigned in the event of more upgrades (Pin 33, 34 and 35 of the arm are available for use). Pin 36 has been assigned for the video mod. The board also has the required resistor on it so you just need to run the wires from the header. I have also made some easy install boards for all versions of the A500 and the a600/a1200 is on my list to finish very soon.

for developers info... pins 33, 34, and 35 will react to a logic low signal so any upgrades could be designed to activate when the signal goes low. These 3 unused combos are accessed by a different 3 key combo