gianlucarenzi

Are those cases and keyboards good for you?

Yes. I have a working prorotype with internal 256K SRAM shared to the Atari bus. The next step is to add an external bigger 8MBytes of RAM, and I suppose it will be working either. The only drawback is the lack of time in this project. 😞

Adding washers in a no-go option. The top case will never close well. It should be apart of those tenths of inches from bottom. It's a matter of personal taste IMHO. It's better to remove the shield or reduce the shield height by 2 millimeters sanding the lowr part of the shield... It's better to 3D print everything with the correct measures IMHO. And the keyboard PCB will stand correctly at that point.

It is really easy to add a couple of millimeter to achieve that, but you will lose the compatibility of the top case with the original bottom one, or vice versa. My goal was to have full compatible cases (bottom, top or both)...

Simply because the clearance between the new keyboard PCB and the shield depends heavily on the production-run shield. It's a matter of a single millimeter (less than 1/10 of inch) but sometimes the top case is not closing good. So my advice is to remove the metal shield. The RF noise nowadays is not so crucial at all. And the keyboard stands beautifully...

What do you mean? If you need 9 fn keys, you'll surely need the opening hole for 9 keys, otherwise the top cover will not install over the cherry mx switches. You can desolder them, just to use the 5 fn keys hole opening, but I do not see any advantage to do that...

Thank you for posting! Just to let everyone knows: the keycaps I am using are XDA profile, and they do not permit the semigraphic font on front side like OEM or Cherry Profiles... I painted (as already shown) the original keycaps, then added waterslides for legends and semigraphics and they turned out just fine. The main issue is you will need a sort of stem adapter for cherry mx stem. In this case they feel a little wobbly, but workable on the mechanical keyboard. My goal is to have a different style, more or less like merging together Atari 800, 800XL and 130XE styles with a 70s retro typewriter feeling, so that's why the new keyboard styles. If somebody needs a replica keyboard (but without the semigraphic fonts on the front side) with the semigraphics in the same top side like Commodore 64G this need to be asked when (or if) the Kickstarter will start. Anyway the keycaps profile will be different.

If you remove the RF Shield, the new keyboard and keycaps can stand like the original keyboard, so you can re-use your original 130XE case. It's only a better keyboard. It's a matter of millimeters (I think 2 or 3), like 1/10 of inches. But if your case is damaged or simply want to have a fresh look to your system, you should have the MODEL A case plus keyboard complete set.

It's a matter of OS + Pokey / GTIA scancode routines. To tell the truth this version of PCB suffers of the so call GHOST KEYPRESS. The only viable solution is to add a diode for every keyswitch like @ScreamingAtTheRadio did in the last incarnation of his PCB. Anyway with the USB controller (i.e. not used in the Atari motherboard) the anti-ghosting is done in firmware as good as possible, with the diodes there will be NO GHOSTING at all. But in Atari motherboard you hardly find this issue due to the slow scancode routine and buffering.

And now some other pictures... I am sorry I didn't setup the keyboard top cases for standard (nowadays) rectangular function keys. But with the pictures you can imagine... Sky is the limit!

Here is the post. If someone is skilled enough to place a better way to poll with explanations and pictures can do it by him/herself. And do not forget to link here everything! Thanks! Hello everybody! I would like to start a Kickstarter's campaign to make my dream come true. Having a mass-production case and keyboard for my old/broken Atari 130XE machines. Due to the last post I made on other Facebook groups, I have found a lot of people asking me how to have some cases and keyboard, or even only the keyboard, or even only the keycaps. Well, now it's time to have it Kickstarted. Due to the very high costs of molds, keyboard PCB and PLATE, and naturally the keycaps, I need to know which combo is needed to be part of Kickstarter's campaign. Please take your time to evaluate everything carefully, depending on your needs. The only missing thing will be the XE motherboard. To tell the truth, the keyboard and the case can be used as USB keyboard, so it's simple having a modern stuff inside, like Raspberry Pi with an Atari Emulator, or a FPGA based solution with USB keyboard support, or simply use the case and keyboard as USB keyboard for you Personal Computer, it's up to you! The backpanel cuts-out can be adapted with something 3D printed just to have a better looking retro-machine as well. But for now, I need to know how many people will join my project and which project is the best fit for their needs. I have a personal blog too: https://gp61.blogspot.com It's in italian but it's easy to translate with some online tool. Please have a look at it! Here is my original post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/atariworld/permalink/6186496578031754/ The following pictures show off all the style of the computer's case. All the cases are split in two to fit my 310x310 mm 3D printer bed, but they will be as one piece if they turn to mold. There is a REPLICA of the Atari XE case, but with the connections for the mechanical keyboard. Let's call it ATARI XE CASE MODEL A (it will need 5 function keys HELP, START, SELECT, OPTION and RESET [ they will be part of the project ]). There is a new concept with 9 function keys (it will need 9 function keys: F1, F2, F3, F4 plus the standard HELP, START, SELECT, OPTION and RESET). Let's call it ATARI XE CASE MODEL B. After there is new models: ATARI XE CASE MODEL C & MODEL D. The first has the cutout for 5 standard function keys, and the latter has the cutout for 9 standard function keys. After there is a BRAND NEW CASE. We call it: OMICRON XE (it's a real variant of the CoVID-19 virus)... I am joking... It is a new case based off the Atari VCS 2600, the new VCS game console, an Atari 400 and Atari 800. With a mix of them. It has wooden style facial plate, a keyboard keycaps set resembling the computers in late '70s... With an embossed Atari Fuji Logo on front. All these top-cases are using the same bottom case. So they share the same motherboard casing. Please share this post around your groups, friend, cats and dogs as we need to reach the maximum audience possible.

I will no start two polls, as they have to be managed well then. For who wan't/can't use facebook poll (which it's a bag of sh*t anyway) can ask some friend to vote for him/her. Basically the only thing I want to know, is which combination of Atari XE case + keyboard (including keycaps) is the best to your opinion. After that I can start a Kickstarter's campaing.

I have started a poll in Facebook. I would like to start a Kickstarter's campaign for mass production of cases and keyboards and keycaps. https://www.facebook.com/groups/atariage/permalink/10159857563135255/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/atariage/permalink/10159857568265255/ Please vote!

Here is the final update: I had a couple of days @ Modena Nerd Show in Italy, with a very large attendance. A lot of people tried the keyboards and they were stunned by the Omicron XE. Now it's time to start a Kickstarter. I am going to have some renderings, an introduction video clip, and some pricing for molding, keycaps production run and PCB and PLATE assembly. Please be patient. In the meanwhile look at the pictures! VID_20220807_184226.mp4

Mine are better. Do not look at the spacebar, I was installing it in the stabilizers