Jobu needs a refill

[Azriel]

I've been trying to replace my beloved Gateway Anykey keyboard with one of the current "Gaming Keyboards" and to be honest, it's really starting to piss me off.

The anykey is a keyboard that supports programming a macro to any key except the ctrl, alt, shift, and enter in the main cluster (or the programming control keys of course). It also gives you the ability to remap any key on the keyboard to any other key, this time only excluding the programming keys. The QWERTY area has physically identical keys, so they can be physically moved if you desire.

the keys are stable and very low effort. Entry is much higher in the stroke of the key than in newer keyboards, which is very nice for gaming.

The board will be front lit. I'm making something similar to a razer battlelight, but with a bit more style. I'll be fabricating a wrist rest for it.

The PS2 and coiled cored are pretty ghetto, so I'm going to attempt to convert to USB internally. (this should not be hard at all.)

Finally, I am going to be doing some testing with similar age keys from other keyboards to find out what works best for darkening the keys so I can paint the keyboard black. I'm going to try an acidwash/Black RIT clothes dye, and an acidwash/ebony wood stain. I don't want the keys black. I want them grey so I don't have to redraw the letters onto them.

If I can manage key coloring, I'm going to wash the keyboard housing and leave it at a local bodyshop to sit until something is being painted black so they can shoot it for free.

(Edit: Explanation of the thread title. I refer to my keyboard as Jobu. Named after Saranto's little idol in the movie Major League. I commonly quote the movie in Vent while gaming "You no help me now, I say **** You, Jobu. I do it myself.")

[Azriel]

A quick search just got me the answer on dying the keys. Aparently if you dip plastic in 1 part viegar, 2 parts water (boiling) with a spoonfull of black RIT dye it will dye the plastic evenly, regardless of wear. I'm off to the grocery store in a couple hours. Time to plug in that worthless Logitech G11 for a couple days. I, being ghetto, have the keys in a pitcher with the shower head striring them with skalding hot water.

[Azriel]

Need some help:
Save me some hunting. Anyone who has EL wired a keyboard before that could point me to a retailer who has thin EL wire and good inverters. I plan to steal power from the keyboard, so a 5v compact inverter would be ideal.

[Samuknow]

I thought Xoxide had some decent ones.

Great to see you back at it. I look forward to seeing the finished product...

[Áedán]

Originally Posted by Azriel

The PS2 and coiled cored are pretty ghetto, so I'm going to attempt to convert to USB internally. (this should not be hard at all.)

I presume you're just going to throw a PS2 to USB converter inside the keyboard then?

[Azriel]

Yes. But if anyone is interested in doing a ps2 to usb conversion internally, please note that the little green adapter will not work. You need the laptop version that gives you 2 ps2's off a single USB. The green slug is just rearranging pins.

The 2 port adapter is ideal for me, as I can steal power off the second port for EL wire, and it gets the USB in so I can steal it's power for the front lighting. I'm thinking of uncasing a tiny passive USB hub and adding USB ports to the keyboard as well.

The front light is going to be ghetto fabulous, keeping to the theme of this mod. Just a 12 inch CC tube with all but a thin line painted flat black. The one I have here is the pretty kind with the square blocks at both ends. It's going to be jacked up on 1 inch chrome hex stand-offs. luckily there is plenty of room for the inverter inside the keyboard after I cut out some structural webbing. I'll be doing some discreet venting of the area for heat dissipation.

[Áedán]

The little green adapter is for devices that can already talk both USB and PS/2 - as you note, it just allows physical connection.

One small warning - a USB port is supposed to be limited to 500mA of current (2.5W). Not all USB ports enforce this limit, but some get snotty if you go over it. Others just ignore the problem. (Actually, this isn't entirely true - USB guarentees 100mA of current, and up to 500mA after negotiation with the USB controller).

[Azriel]

well, the dye job on the keys went very well. I was stirring the mixture with a plastic fork. When the fork began to melt, I shut off the stove, and waited 3 min, then poured the dye slowly into a disposable roaster pan with the keys in it. I let them soak for 30 min. After that, I took the pan outside and poured off the vinegar and dye. I immediately rinsed the keys in very hot water, and washed each key with a rag and dish soap to get the blotchy spots off of them. They are all looking very nice, and soakin in hot water atm.

They got to a nice medium grey color which will look fine on a black keyboard. I had considered dying the casing of the keyboard the same way, but I want it to be much darker than the dye will get it. It is going to be painted.

[Samuknow]

Make sure to post some pics when your done.

[Azriel]

It appears that I distorted my space bar. the water was a bit too hot. All the other keys are fine. Looks like an excuse to make a custom space bar though. Thinking polished aluminum. Need to think about weight though. Shouldn't be too hard to make. I have some 3/4" lexan plates here if the aluminum is too heavy.

[Daniel ~]

Cool! ":O}

[cloasters]

Some people are genuinely hard core. It's great to read about your adventures in serious modding, Azriel!

[dsio]

This, my dear sir, is a man's keyboard:

Vintage IBM Model M PS/2 Keyboard 71G4644 NEW in box - eBay (item 120236168015 end time Mar-27-08 18:15:00 PDT)

Best ever made, even 20 years later.

[Azriel]

I'm being lazy. Don't expect to see a lot on this real soon. It'll get done, just not for a little while.

[Daniel ~]

Originally Posted by dsio

This, my dear sir, is a man's keyboard:


Best ever made, even 20 years later.

How do you know it was a man's keyboard...still sticky?

[dsio]

Originally Posted by Daniel ~

How do you know it was a man's keyboard...still sticky?

Now that sir is filthy =P

[Daniel ~]

I just knew you would like it! ":O}