zx81 Keyboard...Sort of

[rune]

My keys arrived yesterday. They seem good quality and have a nice clicky action. The keytops connect to a square peg and sit nicely with no rotation.

My plan was to use an old keyboard membrane but the keytops are slightly too small to get all keywords in. I may try printing my own, but doubt I'd get enough resolution to include everything in 1cm square.





Now Ive got to decide whether to build on a perf board or drill the faceplate on a ZX81 and hold the body on with epoxy.

[mrtinb]

Look like you are trying to create the same as I am.

I will have it as an external keyboard via expansion board however.

I have similar keys.

http://sinclairzxworld.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1793

[Paul]

My keys arrived yesterday. They seem good quality and have a nice clicky action. The keytops connect to a square peg and sit nicely with no rotation.

That is good news.
May we know where we can buy these quality keys?
kind regards Paul

[RetroTechie]

Last summer I found an old PC keyboard in a 2nd hand store, that used actual switches. Exact feel when pressing the keys, gave it away...

Took it home for a few Euro's, selected which keycaps I wanted to use for the ZX81 keys, unsoldered the key switches (some flavor of Alps switches), and used a Dremel to cut up the metal plate holding them, to 'ZX81 size':



Then wired up the individual switches according to ZX81 keyboard matrix, with more-than-long-enough flatcable on the end. Also used some rubber + small piece of pcb to make sure solder points don't move when flatcable is pulled:
(no that's not blood on the wires, just a polarity marking... )



Result plugs right into a ZX81 board, and works fine.
Next to a ZX81:



Also had a heap of switches + keycaps left over. Unfortunately quite a few not functioning too well. And keycaps are different shapes due to some curvature between keyboard rows. Making it virtually impossible to construct a 2nd keyboard out of those spares...



In the meantime added some rubber feet such that wiring never touches a surface the keyboard sits on. Tbh don't particularly like the look (or feel) of this keyboard, but still it's the best keyboard I've ever had on a ZX81. Should basically last forever, and any failed switch is trivial to repair. When in use, I do need a ZX81 next to it for the keyword markings.
Before this I was using a dk'Tronics ZX Spectrum keyboard with its cable re-wired, which is a good keyboard but rather big (and will return to ZX Spectrum duty shortly).
To do: find/make a case for this + ZX81 pcb, and somehow whiten those keycaps (RetrObright or similar, soap didn't do).

Afaik you can buy keyswitches + keycaps like this brand new (Cherry MX series + others), but with a few problems:

• Too expensive (in the order of >1 Euro per switch. And you need keycaps too)
• No ready-to-use solution to have ZX81 markings on those keycaps
• Still needs a lot of DIY. Okay it's doable, but in practice this puts off a lot of potential users

Btw: those look like nice switches earlier in this thread!