chris r Posted November 4, 2023 Author Share Posted November 4, 2023 Remembered I had these in my hoard and had some inspiration to dig them out I'd forgotten how dirty they were I'd forgotten/lost the link to remap the teensy so cheated a bit and ordered that board which replaces the original control board Cleaned up the housings Tried a single keyboard worth of key caps in some dish soap. Left them to soak overnight and they came up pretty good with next to zero effort The cat helped me sort and group the key caps One cleaned and usb converted model m. Only thing is the num ad scroll lock lights are swapped around. I'll see if I can figure out how to reprogram that. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Slideways~ Posted November 5, 2023 Share Posted November 5, 2023 Cool I didn't know this was a thing, where did you get it from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 3 hours ago, ~Slideways~ said: Cool I didn't know this was a thing, where did you get it from? Neither did I hah. I found it when I was looking for the instructions/remapping stuff for the other module https://keebd.com/products/model-h-usb-controller-upgrade-ibm-model-m?syclid=cl43vgetuops738tu4c0&utm_campaign=emailmarketing_140968493208&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 Right so many hours later I've found the file/instructions and figured out how to remap the keys on the other converter so that two of them working and USB converted now This one is running the original control/encoder board with a teensy module attached to it - Can kinda see the teensy module above it there Ended up jumping between 4 different programes to sort out the mapping Had to figure out what key was actually being pressed then cross-reference it to the table of key tags/labels. The firmware I flashed into the teensy is called soarers converter and once everything is figured out you just need to create a text file with the remapping then enter that file into a compiler/flash tool Then everything will work on the num pad. I've mapped the tab button as a backspace and the old scroll lock button as the windows button for now 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted November 10, 2023 Author Share Posted November 10, 2023 And a quick vid of the Mrs typing on it. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted November 16, 2023 Author Share Posted November 16, 2023 Before I ordered the other key caps I thiyght I'd have a look on trademe and see if there were any model M. There weren't but was a listing for a "antique keyboard" Chucked some bids on and in had a delivery when I woke up this afternoon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted November 16, 2023 Author Share Posted November 16, 2023 Part number says it came from a ibm 3277 I opened the board up and was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting it to be semi fucked but it's pretty good inside Dust cover thing was there but brittle and came apart when I touched it I had hoped it had the circuit board that would let me just order and plug in the USB converter. I've found this old thread where someone designed a replacement pcb. Will need to figure out who/where to order it form https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?t=16867 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted November 20, 2023 Author Share Posted November 20, 2023 Did some more digging and learning and now have ordered the PCB. I found the files for the converter and solenoid driver so I ordered them at the same time. The minimum order quantity was 5 so I've got spares if I mess up the SMD work. I'll need to order a bunch of components but have some time until the PCB arrives as I ordered it on snail mail 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 Had a exciting courier package today Carefully disassembled the keyboard Next to the new one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted December 14, 2023 Author Share Posted December 14, 2023 Cleaned the switch pads Carefully cleaned the plastic isolator and installed the new pcb And back in the keyboard I'll give the key caps a clean before final assembly 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 I figured since I was paying freight I'd order the solenoid driver board and usb converter board at the same time. I had my eye on a pre made board but for the same price I had 5 of each board and enough components to make 3 solenoid drivers. I've spent hours trawling old forum posts finding information and cross referencing stuff. Probably took the best part of 8 hours to trawl through old threads etc Bag of bits Visited my mate who has patience and experience with smd stuff Talked some shit while he applied the paste and I passed the components. We made up a couple of solenoid drivers and one converter. I missed two components but can order them And in the oven And out of the oven Iittle bit of re work needed then we can test it and I can spend a few more hours (days) looking for the software and flashing the micro. We both ran out of energy for the year so more progress will happen in the new year and once I order the missing components 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 That's what nearly 40 years of electronics evolution looks like. That small purple board replaces all of those through hole components and had the same if not more functionality 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted December 28, 2023 Author Share Posted December 28, 2023 Forgot that I ordered the wrong card connector and was mad when it arrived Then I opened the other parcel Works crazy busy until Feb so I won't be able to do anything until then 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 Long story short have a working board and solenoid driver Had to play around with some settings in the software as it it's a capacitive sensing switch and not a contact switch. Need to tweak voltage and current settings for everything to register correctly So each key needs to be mapped or assigned a function. The controller is designed to work with a variety of keyboards from this error so there are some unused rows or columns which need to be ignored as they aren't connected to anything 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 Laptop for scale. It's not exactly small 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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