TAG Posted December 7, 2010 Report Share Posted December 7, 2010 I am working on making a copy of the axis-64. It is based on cherry MX switches, I am using a different method to achieve the velocity sensing. See the attached diagram: So far I have used din_velocity_unmuxed_v1c.zip for software and have achieved good results, but this project is limited to 64 keys. I have seen the fast scan project for the 32 bit core, but even that project is limited to 128 keys. Does anyone have ideas for achieving 192 keys (384 inputs) or is this not feasible for a single core? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyon Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 TAG: registered just to see your diagram... I'm building a "jammer" but with ALPS keys from an old keyboard instead of Cherry keys. It will not be velocity sensitive but I've thought about how to do it for future projects and one of the ideas is very similar to your solution. I also cut off the bottom peg on one of the cherry switches I had and was going to try it with a photo interrupter as a switch by the new opening. Haven't tried it yet, I should have some appropriate cheap photo interrupters somewhere but I just can't find them :( I was a bit skeptical about using another set of mechanical switches but maybe it doesn't have to be that bad and it would be nice to not have to drive a bunch of LED:s for the photo interrupters. Wilba: Have you finished your keyboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilba Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I haven't finished Cherry Jammer yet... got distracted by sammichSID kits, sammichFM prototyping, etc. :whistle: I like those switch caps... did you make them yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAG Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I ended up finding a tactile switch with 50gF activation force, it is low enough that you barely notice when the 2nd switch is being pressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyon Posted December 22, 2010 Report Share Posted December 22, 2010 Wilba: Yes, had to make some use of free 3d-printer access before I was kicked out of school after graduating, didn't know exactly what to do then other than some accordion inspired instrument with the ALPS-keys I got from an old silicon graphics keyboard. So the black and white ones were made then but when I made my PCB I screed up the key spacing a bit so I can't use them without the keys getting stuck because they are too tight, could always make a new PCB but while working on it I came to the conclusion that it's probably better to have rounded corners instead of a pure hexagon shape anyway. Makes it easier to press two keys with one finger without accidentally having the adjacent key follow. I printed a few Cherry MX compatible too just in case but not enough for a full keyboard, dunno if there's any good DIY mould making technique that could be used to multiply them, I'm guessing that it would be a bit expensive to use and 3D fab service or paying to use the school's printer to make more now that I'm no longe r student. Anyway for my first jammer now I'm going with the green CNC-milled caps attached in a not to elegant way with "friendly plastic" and screws. TAG: Seems like a solution worth investigating but I'm a bit concerned about having the second switch so close to when they key is bottomed out, should be variable though with some tweaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyon Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 I found two Apple Extended Keyboard II at a thrift store for ~5€ a piece so now I got 200+ more ALPS switches... Think I'm going to try making a velocity sensitive jammer simply using two keyboard switches per key.. should make everything simple apart from making the custom caps. Ganryu: Where in Sweden are you? I'm in Stockholm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyon Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 After some testing with a quick hack test cap it doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Having to overcome 2x the tactile bump probably makes it pretty useless for soft presses. Think linear non-tactile cherry switches with complimentary secondary switches will offer a better feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAG Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Check out my prototype on the make blog: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/03/diy-isomorphic-keyboard.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilba Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Nicely done, TAG! What tactile switch did you use for the bottom PCB? I considered doing this for my prototype but couldn't find a tactile switch with low enough activation force.... hence my labour-intensive extra contacts idea, which got very boring to make. One day I'll get around to finishing it so it wasn't a complete waste of time and money :wink: In the meantime, I bought an Axis-49 to satisfy my isomorphic keyboard cravings... there are some utilities to convert it to Wicki-Hayden (aka. jammer) layout. I saw this video and decided I needed a short-term fix: People watching this thread might also be interested in this too: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAG Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 The switches on the bottom PCB are: Panasonic EVQ-Q2B03W They have an activation force of 50gF. Unless you are intentionally feeling for it, you don't notice the 2nd switch at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ganryu Posted March 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 I found two Apple Extended Keyboard II at a thrift store for ~5€ a piece so now I got 200+ more ALPS switches... Think I'm going to try making a velocity sensitive jammer simply using two keyboard switches per key.. should make everything simple apart from making the custom caps. Ganryu: Where in Sweden are you? I'm in Stockholm. Beyon: I'm pretty close actually. Uppsala. I've personally decided to completely ignore velocity sensitivity. It makes it far too pricey and unecessarily complicated. If I ever want velocity sensitivity I'll buy the real Axis 64 instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAG Posted January 9, 2017 Report Share Posted January 9, 2017 I finished my project a couple years ago but never posted pics, you can find them here: http://wiki.lvl1.org/Isomorphic_Keyboard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latigid on Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 10 hours ago, TAG said: I finished my project a couple years ago but never posted pics, you can find them here: http://wiki.lvl1.org/Isomorphic_Keyboard Awesome! What keycaps did you use for the Cherry MX stems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAG Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 They are custom caps milled from acrylic sheet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workspace Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alasdair Moon Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Now this iiiiis cool, @TAG do you have more buildocs or some of the code you used for this project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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