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Any interest in a SOL-20 keyboard replacement?

I haven't yet built one up, but the Sol keyboard should give you an idea of how it will look, since it is based on that keyset. The base keyset is all the same gray color. Once I have one built up, I'll post some photos in the "unified keyboard project" thread, and also will post them on Github.
 
dfnr2 said:
I did notice some errors, seen in the photo below:



There may be more, but what I noticed is that:

1) The RETURN key is gray, but should be black. I believe this is a factory mistake, and hopefully they will correct it.
2) I forgot to order a DEL/_ key. You can see I fitted a RUBOUT key from the basic keyset, but I will probably go ahead and order the DEL key for completeness.
3) I specified the keyboard decimal character as a period ("."), and it's not centered in the key. That's my fault. I'm not sure if I'm OCD enough to order a replacement, though.
Click to expand...

I finally got the replacement keycaps, so the problems I described are now corrected:

before:
errors.jpg

after:
fixed-keys.jpg

Full keyboard with corrected keycaps, compared to original:
full-kbd-fixed.jpg

Edit:

For some reason, the perspective of the camera makes the comparison somewhat less favorable than in person. But I do believe the new keyboard looks pretty good, especially once installed.

Dave
 
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"But I do believe the new keyboard looks pretty good, especially once installed".

I agree , you have done a really beautiful job on this project.
 
Hugo Holden said:
"But I do believe the new keyboard looks pretty good, especially once installed".

I agree , you have done a really beautiful job on this project.
Click to expand...

I second that. That replacement almost makes me want to snag the keyboardless one that was on ebay recently from the clutches of vintagecomputermuseum! Well done!
 
I'm interested!

I'm interested!

I'm not normally a joiner, but I found this thread which really struck a cord, so I signed up just to follow (encourage) this project! I am *very* interested in this project, having a SOL-20 which I am just now getting around to bringing back to life. I got it from a former employer for a "Here, let me help you throw away this broken computer..." I'm one of those owners Hugo Holden mentioned earlier (#9) in the thread.

JimT
 
I have the PCBs and keycaps, if you're up for building one. Are you comfortable soldering some parts onto the PCBs? Feel free to PM me.

Dave
 
Silly question - will the original Sol keycaps fit on cherry switches? I've got a Sol that's going to hit the restoration bench at some point and I know I'll have to go through the keyboard as part of that. It would be neat if I could swap in a new keyboard and still use the original caps.

Excellent work!

g.
 
geneb said:
Silly question - will the original Sol keycaps fit on cherry switches? I've got a Sol that's going to hit the restoration bench at some point and I know I'll have to go through the keyboard as part of that. It would be neat if I could swap in a new keyboard and still use the original caps.

Excellent work!

g.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the caps are completely different. The good news is that you have your keyboard, and these keyboards are designed to be repairable. No unobtainium encoder or other chips, and the keys themselves don't have any contacts to get dirty or corrode, so just replacing the gunked up discs, and a bit of cleaning, can restore these keyboards to new.

Dave
 
Hi all,

I have built up one of Dave's keyboard replacement projects using Futaba keyswitches and the through hole ATMEGA328P board. The PCBs were earlier boards that Dave had offered for shipping cost due some layout/spacing issues. The boards built up nicely but required a small modification to the encoder board as these were very early pre-production boards. Once I did the mod everything worked as expected. Here are a few pics of the built up boards. I built up a small hex decoder board to display the ASCII code for the key pressed. Pictures are the ASCII codes for 'A' (41) and CR (0D). I plan to build up another using Cherry MX switches.

IMG_2674.jpgIMG_2677.jpg 20201106_070558.jpg20201106_070812.jpg
 
I see our vintagecomputermuseum friend has installed the new keyboard in the keyboardless Sol20 he acquired on ebay and has adjusted the asking price to his usual markup. I must say until I got to the photo showing the keyboard PCB I did not clue in that it was not original. Well done!

I wonder if I went this route with my SWTPC KBD build if they could match the SWTPC font. I am using the original plans and am working on a 3d print of the original Mechanical Enterprises keyswitches.
 
Thanks!

I asked Signature Plastics about a custom font, and they said they can put a custom font on their keys, for a one-time charge of $50 per key, since they need to create tooling for the double-shot injection molded keys. I decided that their default font, Gorton, would do just fine. It looks good enough, and is period correct.

There's an SWTPC keyboard on Ebay right now. Not cheap, but way less expensive than custom keycaps. I seriously doubt there will be a bidding war.

Although I'd love to see your final result with 3d-printed caps.

Dave
 
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dfnr2 said:
Thanks!

I asked Signature Plastics about a custom font, and they said they can put a custom font on their keys, for a one-time charge of $50 per key, since they need to create tooling for the double-shot injection molded keys.

Dave
Click to expand...

On the other hand, double-shot molded caps aren't the only option. It may be cheaper to use a custom font with pad printing or dye sublimation.
 
I keep thinking there's gotta be a way to do some kind of transfer of white ink or toner to a black keytop. The keytop I can make, and this isn't a keyboard I'd anticipate using much anyway. I just want to do it for the challenge and see how close I get. I've got the plans.. why not use them. :)
 
If you're 3D-printing the keycaps, could you include the font as a depression in the top, then fill it with white epoxy (for black keycaps)?
 
That's an interesting idea. I wasn't going to 3d print those.. I was going to cast them.. but hmm...
 
Ended up here after I found a reference to this project over on Hackaday for a Sol 20 emulator build. Over there, it sounds like kits of this keyboard are available. Was wondering if this might be suitable as an IMSAI IKB-1 replacement.
 
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