ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I haven't received my 400Mini yet, but its keyboard is already here: I'll make a video about it later (and when the 400 Mini is on my desk), but I couldn't resist showing this early... What we're looking at here is a USB mechanical keyboard, entirely custom-built based on my previous designs of XE, XL and 1200XL keyboards. There's a custom PCB, a custom aluminum plate, a custom 3D-printed enclosure, custom 400-themed key caps designed by @XL Freak, and USB and firmware are on a Pi Pico inside the enclosure. The keyboard itself without the Pico works fine as a real 400 keyboard (same matrix). I mounted Kailh Box Pink switches in there, but any MX-compat switches would do. 20 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobJones Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 This is fantastic! Would you possibly be interested in manufacturing and selling these? I would take one! Bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 14 minutes ago, BobJones said: This is fantastic! Would you possibly be interested in manufacturing and selling these? I would take one! I'm still pondering on this: I can certainly do the core of it like I do for my other models. The problem here is the enclosure. Printing this takes a whole day on my current printer, and I don't want to be in that business There are now excellent and affordable options to print as a service, but the problem then is the color. Choices are VERY limited, and you'd never have a period-appropriate beige like the one I'm using here. You could always paint but again not something I'd want to do myself, so the end-user would have to do that. I think I'll have a black one printed to see how that looks. That could be an option. Also, this would be quite expensive, probably around $350. Oh, and I haven't said it, but this is open-source, all the files are on my GitHub: 3d-junkyard/Decent400 at main · bleroy/3d-junkyard (github.com). I'll add instructions at some point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 We need this in miniature so it can fit inside the new Mini 400! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DjayBee Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 2 minutes ago, Stephen said: We need this in miniature so it can fit inside the new Mini 400! Then you only need a honey who shrinks yourself, so you can type on it. 🤪 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 32 minutes ago, DjayBee said: Then you only need a honey who shrinks yourself, so you can type on it. 🤪 Already have that part figured out - I will pinch toothpicks between my thumb and finger, and "hunt & peck" with just the two! 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeberbach Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 That's very cool. I see the SVG for the keycaps in the repo - are they decals on plain keycaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 (edited) 35 minutes ago, aeberbach said: That's very cool. I see the SVG for the keycaps in the repo - are they decals on plain keycaps? They're custom caps from WASD: DecentX Keycaps by XL Freak 85-Key Custom Cherry MX Keycap Set - WASD Keyboards The 400 set is not yet shown there, but you can upload it when you order a custom set. I updated the template to the latest on the repo: 3d-junkyard/Decent400/Caps/Decent_Atari_400_400Mini.svg at main · bleroy/3d-junkyard (github.com) Edited March 27 by ScreamingAtTheRadio 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjedavison Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 That looks amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Hello Bertrand That looks like it's easier to type on than the original keyboard on the standard size 400. Maybe there's a market for a similar keyboard for the original 400. (As a replacement of the original keyboard or as an additional (USB?) keyboard) Sincerely Mathy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 28 Author Share Posted March 28 19 minutes ago, Mathy said: That looks like it's easier to type on than the original keyboard on the standard size 400. Maybe there's a market for a similar keyboard for the original 400. (As a replacement of the original keyboard or as an additional (USB?) keyboard) Totally, that's what this started as. As I said above, the keyboard itself can replace the membrane keyboard in an original 400. There are issues though: it can't be internal, because the membrane keyboard has smaller keys and there just isn't enough space. The keyboard needs to be pretty much external to the case, so it still needs its own enclosure. Connection is also an issue. I'm considering several options. The simplest is to remove the original keyboard and attach the new one on top, with the connections making their way into the case through the hole left by the old keyboard. That's relatively easy and works. The other is to make the whole thing really detached, but that needs expensive cables and connectors, as well as a case mod. The enclosure is actually designed to fit on top of the case: I'll give updates as I make progress on this. The USB version works today 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 1 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 On 3/27/2024 at 8:31 PM, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: I love your other keyboards, but please god no. A recreation of the b-key with mechanical switches would be the only way to go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 if it were mounted inside the case and not sitting on top it'll look much better I'd bet. I think the picture was to give some idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 12 minutes ago, Stephen said: I love your other keyboards, but please god no. A recreation of the b-key with mechanical switches would be the only way to go. Yes, I agree this one is not for everyone. I'll let somebody else do a b-key recreation, though. This is my idea of what I want for myself. If I may explain, the main idea is that there are too many compromises in attempting to make a modern in-case 400 keyboard. Believe me, I tried very hard to make it work, and I hate all the solutions. Instead, I'm making it an external keyboard. This way, you can keep the original 400 membrane in place, and your 400 computer mostly intact except for a new connector that I can hopefully make as hidden as possible. When not using the computer, you have the option to put the keyboard on top of the computer, which is what you see above. I'm not saying this is where it should be when you use it. 15 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said: if it were mounted inside the case and not sitting on top it'll look much better I'd bet. I think the picture was to give some idea. Well, it can't: the 400 "keyboard" is a miniature ersatz. You have to use an alternative and very unpleasant layout to compensate for the size difference. My goal is not to make an unpleasant to use keyboard. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Also, I don't really need to do it, since this should be fine: https://mobeets.com/product/kj400-lp-pcbkit/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 It has arrived, and it is ADORABLE: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_M Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 I hope all the keys work.... I attached a normal USB keyboard and there is no mapping for the Atari/Inverse and the Help keys. It is not possible to remap keys in the 400 mini (yet...) Weirdly enough the 4 F-keys of the 1200XL are mapped....🤐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 11 minutes ago, Fred_M said: I hope all the keys work.... I attached a normal USB keyboard and there is no mapping for the Atari/Inverse and the Help keys. It is not possible to remap keys in the 400 mini (yet...) Weirdly enough the 4 F-keys of the 1200XL are mapped....🤐 Yeah, the mapping of the shifted numbers is giving me trouble. I was able to make it work except for SHIFT+8 for some reason. They have some weird internal mapping logic. I've sent them email to ask about an atari/inv mapping. Also, I want to map RESET to something, like home? Other than those three keys, everything works... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred_M Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 Shift 8 works fine on my USB keyboard. Take a look at the400 subforum, there are many other (small) issues. I guess that Retro Games / Plaion (Atari is just the IP holder and reseller in the US) did not expect Atari 8-bit users to test everything so precisely 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 (edited) Yeah, I connected a regular USB keyboard, and their mapping makes no sense: SHIFT+2 maps to " (ATARI layout), whereas all the other shifted numbers give the PC-mapped characters. That's an issue for @, that is SHIFT+8 on the ATARI and * on the PC. On the PC, @ is SHIFT+2, which we've established gets ATARI-mapped for some reason. I didn't find a way to get @ from a USB keyboard. I'll send them a bug report by email... UPDATE: LOL, SHIFT+' is @. That makes no sense, but I can work with it. That leaves Inverse and reset to map. Edited March 29 by ScreamingAtTheRadio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 23 minutes ago, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: That leaves Inverse and reset to map. On the TK-II, I map the Tilde key to be the Atari inverse key since both characters printed on the key cap are not present in the Atari, And I assigned the Reset key to F5, with F1=Help, F2=Start, F3=Select, and F4=Option. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 13 minutes ago, mytek said: On the TK-II, I map the Tilde key to be the Atari inverse key since both characters printed on the key cap are not present in the Atari, Let me try that, just in case they adopted the same convention... aaaaand, no they didn't. I think I need to add some hotkey combination like CTRL+SHIFT+something to swap keyboard layouts on-the-fly, given there are so many different mappings out there, between RetroArch, Altirra, The400 Mini, TK-II and maybe more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreamingAtTheRadio Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 Missed opportunity: add a cartridge connector to that device. The scaled down trap door is exactly the right size... 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Hello Bertrand On 3/29/2024 at 2:36 AM, ScreamingAtTheRadio said: ... except for a new connector that I can hopefully make as hidden as possible. If the keyboard would be wireless... Sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.