Keyboard recommendation

[cloverskull]

Hey friends, I've been waiting for years for the A1200 Cherry MX kipper2k keyboard to become real, but there hasn't been any news in a long time and I've given up hope

My A1200 is in a black Checkmate 1500 case and I have the keyboard attachment to go with it, which is also black. I would like to have a proper keyboard inside with comfortable feeling keys, Amiga keycaps in an appropriate color...but for some reason this seems to be very hard to figure out! :P

My plan was to use the kipper2k keyboard inside of the enclosure with black keycaps. What alternatives exist, here?

Thanks!

[aeberbach]

https://github.com/aeberbach/A1200KB

BUT
- you have to order and assemble PCB, keyswitches, ribbon cable connector and ribbon cable
- it is a pain to get the keyboard filled with keycaps of the correct size with the correct legends
- you need a 3D printer and a length of 10x3mm aluminium to print the mounts to put it in the case

estimated cost US$300 once you have bought all the custom keycaps you need and it is absolutely complete!

OTOH after you are done you have the feel of the keyswitches you like and you never have to worry about a cracked ribbon killing your whole keyboard (it's replaceable).

Only for those with too much time and money.

[cloverskull]

Time and money are in short supply! Nevertheless this looks interesting. Maybe it's something I can liquidate some of my unused Amiga stuff for to help finance Thanks for the recommendation!

[acidbottle]

There is https://rastport.com/products/KA59/ as an alternative to kipper.

For "new" keyboard on my 2nd 1200 I just and bought an old 1200 keyboard off fleabay and threw some a1200.net black keys at it.

[cloverskull]

Yeah, I really just can't stand the feel of the OG A1200 keyboard. It's squishy and I can't get into it. :/

Not to mention the membrane on the one I had was broken so I need a replacement anyway hehe

[DanBy]

Originally Posted by aeberbach

https://github.com/aeberbach/A1200KB

BUT
- you have to order and assemble PCB, keyswitches, ribbon cable connector and ribbon cable
- it is a pain to get the keyboard filled with keycaps of the correct size with the correct legends
- you need a 3D printer and a length of 10x3mm aluminium to print the mounts to put it in the case

estimated cost US$300 once you have bought all the custom keycaps you need and it is absolutely complete!

OTOH after you are done you have the feel of the keyswitches you like and you never have to worry about a cracked ribbon killing your whole keyboard (it's replaceable).

Only for those with too much time and money.

Hi, I plan on building this keyboard soon. Do you have a list of the different keycaps that are needed? i.e. 68 1U keys, 16 1.5U keys etc....

[qz3fwd]

Originally Posted by acidbottle

There is https://rastport.com/products/KA59/ as an alternative to kipper.

For "new" keyboard on my 2nd 1200 I just and bought an old 1200 keyboard off fleabay and threw some a1200.net black keys at it.

Yeah but that keyboard also is close to unobtanium similar to but not as bad as the vaporware Kipper2K keyboard.

A really nice brand new mechanical keyboard recently sold on Amibay for ~$220. By the time I woke up here in the USA and checked the new listings it had been snatched up already. It was really nice.

[aeberbach]

Originally Posted by DanBy

Hi, I plan on building this keyboard soon. Do you have a list of the different keycaps that are needed? i.e. 68 1U keys, 16 1.5U keys etc....

Yes... in the github repo there is a file that gives you part numbers for a complete A600 set, from Signature Plastics:

https://github.com/aeberbach/A600KB/...%20keycaps.txt

Specifically for A1200 try this link:

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/##@@_c=%23aaaaaa%3B&=Esc&_x:0.5&w:1.25%3B&=F1&_w:1.25%3B&=F2&_w:1.25%3B&=F3&_w:1.25%3B&=F4&_w:1.25%3B&=F5&_x:0.5&w:1.25%3B&=F6&_w:1.25%3B&=F7&_w:1.25%3B&=F8&_w:1.25%3B&=F9&_w:1.25%3B&=F10%3B&@_y:0.5&w:1.5%3B&=~%0A%60&_c=%23cccccc%3B&=!%0A1&=%2F@%0A2&=%23%0A3&=$%0A4&=%25%0A5&=%5E%0A6&=%2F&%0A7&=%2F&%0A8&=(%0A9&=)%0A0&=%2F_%0A-&=+%0A%2F=&=%7C%0A%5C&_c=%23aaaaaa&a:5&f:9%3B&=%3F&_x:0.5&a:4&f:3&w:1.5%3B&=Del&_w:1.5%3B&=Help&_x:0.5%3B&=(&=)&=%2F%2F&=*%3B&@_w:2%3B&=Tab&_c=%23cccccc&f:6%3B&=Q&=W&=E&=R&=T&=Y&=U&=I&=O&=P&_f:3%3B&=%7B%0A%5B&=%7D%0A%5D&_x:0.25&c=%23aaaaaa&a:7&f:9&w:1.25&h:2&w2:1.5&h2:1&x2:-0.25%3B&=%3F&_x:4&c=%23cccccc&a:4&f:6%3B&=7&=8&=9&_c=%23aaaaaa&f:3%3B&=-%3B&@_w:1.25%3B&=Ctrl&=%0ALock%0A%0A%0A%0A%0ACaps&_c=%23cccccc&f:6%3B&=A&=S&=D&=F&=G&=H&=J&=K&=L&_f:3%3B&=%2F:%0A%2F%3B&=%22%0A'&_a:7%3B&=&_x:2.75&sm=cherry&sb=cherry&st=MX1A-G1xx&a:4&f:6%3B&=%3F&_x:1.5&sm=&sb=&st=%3B&=4&=5&=6&_c=%23aaaaaa&f:3%3B&=+%3B&@_w:1.75%3B&=Shift&_c=%23cccccc&a:7%3B&=&_a:4&f:6%3B&=Z&=X&=C&=V&=B&=N&=M&_f:3%3B&=%3C%0A,&=%3E%0A.&=%3F%0A%2F%2F&_c=%23aaaaaa&w:2.75%3B&=Shift&_x:0.5&c=%23cccccc&f:6%3B&=%3F&=%3F&=%3F&_x:0.5%3B&=1&=2&=3&_c=%23aaaaaa&f:3&h:2%3B&=Enter%3B&@_x:0.75&w:1.25%3B&=Alt&_f:8&w:1.25%3B&=A&_c=%23cccccc&a:7&f:3&w:9%3B&=&_c=%23aaaaaa&t=%23fa0000&a:4&f:9&fa@:7%3B&w:1.25%3B&=A&_t=%23000000&f:3&w:1.25%3B&=Alt&_x:4.75&c=%23cccccc&f:6&w:2%3B&=0&=.

You can print it out and make a chart to check off the keys as you source them.

[DanBy]

Originally Posted by aeberbach

Yes... in the github repo there is a file that gives you part numbers for a complete A600 set, from Signature Plastics:

https://github.com/aeberbach/A600KB/...%20keycaps.txt

Specifically for A1200 try this link:



You can print it out and make a chart to check off the keys as you source them.

Great, thanks. I somehow missed that in the repo

[DanBy]

Originally Posted by cloverskull

Time and money are in short supply! Nevertheless this looks interesting. Maybe it's something I can liquidate some of my unused Amiga stuff for to help finance Thanks for the recommendation!

I just priced out the cost of this as I have been intending to build one for the last couple of years. Assuming you have a soldering iron and access to a 3D printer. Then it should come to about $180 in parts, plus your time. Add a further $30-40 if you're going all the caps printed with the correct/custom markings