Tag: The A500

PCB’s finalised for Next Mini and A500Mini

Actual cash has been paid!

the 2000 custom switches are being sent to @jlcpcb, To use them all up, I’ve ordered 15 of the next mini keyboards to prototype

Front of the First prototype

Rear of the prototype

The rear of the Spectrum Next Mini keyboard has a Raspberry Pi Pico option – I’ll create a PRK keymap – this will allow people to use the device with USB ‘things’ like raspberry pi’s, PC’s or even the A500 Mini 😉

Without the Pico, it’ll work as a standard 5+8+2 next keyboard, or, for it’s main intended use – with the Xberry Pi’s 10×2 header.

Render of the prototype Spectrum Next Mini keyboard.

I’ve also ordered 10 of the A500 Mini Prototype – this one’s on version 10. it should be the final one before I can hit ‘production’ – everything fits, no reason why it won’t work. This revision just adds a little circuitry – which is easily bypassed if it doesn’t work

So, ETA – at some point in 2024!

New A500Mini keycaps – ready for prototype printing!

*any colour available as long as it’s beigey brown

Have spent the last week tweaking, adjusting…probably too much really. Likely i’m actually procrastinating about making this thing physical. The new stems and locking mechanisms are are all aligned and merged in with the keycaps!

There really ain’t too much left now on the keycaps. Some minor adjustments will be needed to the stem – It’s parametric – so I print, fit, adjust one parameter which changes all keycaps at the same time (unless something breaks) and re-print.

Have made final tweaks also to the main PCB – I’m on version 11 of revision 9 now!…Again, too many little tweaks here and there, I really must fire the printers up!

Till the next time!

Lots of CAD work to do…A500Mini

Everything ‘fits’ – Lots of tweaking needed

I keep working with EASYEDA from JLCPCB as it’s just ‘easy’ and their PCB part has a great Export 3D model. For us metric types, just scale it by 0.254 and it fits like a glove. Very useful to align electronics and plastics in more complex models.

The new switches arrived

So, now to tweak the CAD to match the switches, make sure my resin printers are running, hand solder up a bunch of the sample switches onto an early revision keyboard, test and…

Keyboards! – Progress on the A500 Mini working keyboard.

Version 9 – Looks just like all the other ones 😛

Version 9 – Testing for interference fits – the support column is exactly underneath the RP2040 , D’oh!

Continue reading “Keyboards! – Progress on the A500 Mini working keyboard.”