First keyboard mod thread- COMPLETED

[Fozzer]

..it's a funny old do...

...but just thinking about it...

On most/all of my usual General Aviation, Piston Props, I rarely use my keyboard for controlling the Aircraft, except for:

F9: FS Navigator display on/off.
Y: Slew.
Numpad 7 and 1: Trim up/down. (could be performed on the Joystick if required).
G: Gear Up/Down. (could be performed on the Joystick if required).
Ctrl + E: For engines without a starter.

That's about it!

My Saitek Cyborg Evo Joystick carries out:
Throttle.
Aelerons/Elevators
Twist Rudder.

...and the buttons...

Brakes.
Flaps Up/Down.
Bendix-King Radio Display On /Off.
Cycle Views: (W and S).
Hat switch Pan around.


All the rest of the controls are operated on the Main 2D (/3D) Panel with the Mouse.

That leaves the Keyboard free for chattin' in Multiplayer...
(Just got to remember to place the Cursor in the Chat Box BEFORE typing!)...LOL... ...!

Paul...G-BPLF... 8-)...!

[machineman9]

my saitek cyborg evo covers the basic flight controls... and landing gear, brakes (parking or tap on brakes)... flaps, lights, drop tanks and engines off/on

oh, and hat switch... and change views


but yeh, i just hate having to think of all the keypresses, so it would be nice to get a visual representation

[Sir_Crashalot]

Same here, Paul. I rarely touch my keyboard (except for ATC commands). My Saitek X-52 has enough buttons and switches to do the rest together with the mouse. It was just that I thought it was a nice idea to see if it was possible to make something of an old keyboard. Haven't finished modding it though. Need to remove the buttons I don't use, fill up the space left, make something to put it somewhere, maybe give it a grey/metallic paintjob. So many things you can do.......

Crash

[machineman9]

well tomorow im going all the way down to Plymouth to see my grandad and cousin... should be buying an old keyboard... and also a DVI to VGA so i can get 2 monitors working

should be fun.

[AnGeL_MaKeR]

Any update to this keyboard mod thread?

[machineman9]

im still awaiting the keyboard im afraid... maybe friends arent the most reliable source  :'(  (he turned it into a dvorak keyboad and there isnt much chance of me seeing it again)

shall see if i can find a cheapy one in a shop tomorow after school

[machineman9]

Alright, looks like a really nice guy named Jeff L has given me an amazon voucher for

[machineman9]

I am sure quite a bit of faith has been lost, but I have recieved the keyboard (cost me

[AnGeL_MaKeR]

No faith lost here... but I have been keeping my eye on this post since last year to see if there had been any updates!!

Are you going to have to remove keys just to make this work?

[machineman9]

You make it sound like this project has been taking ages to complete  ;D (like 2 or 3 months actually... damn)

The other 'modifications' are they I am spraypainting the non-keys bit of the keyboard a sort of shiney grey/silver. Where the keys arent being used I will probably fill the gaps with cardboard to make it look like more of a panel.

[machineman9]

Keyboard is currently being painted... Shall update with images soon

(Damn its annoying removing over 100 buttons and their poppers in the keyboard)


Keyboard buttons and labels are currently drying from the glue. This Araldite hardener and resin are sticky as anything  ;D My dad suggested using a 1:1 mixture so hopefully it will dry properly. The space bar was a bit tricker because the paper (all laminated buttons) is longer and more liable to bend.. and also the space bar isnt as concave as the other keys and the contacting surface area is lower, so it will be a bit harder to glue down



Pictures will be coming up at about 12 noon tomorow GMT.

[AnGeL_MaKeR]

[quote]You make it sound like this project has been taking ages to complete

[machineman9]

Updates shall be coming soon... but I have run into quite a snag...

One of the keys I am using is the Sleep key... and as I just found, it will act as a system function over a keyboard command.

Does anyone have any ideas how to turn the system commands (Start, print screen, sleep etc) into regular buttons like A,B,C,D etc


Cheers

[machineman9]

Here are the images... the lighting wasnt the best, but I am sure it is enough to get the general idea.

There is a fine line between awful and terrible... I think this came out awfully... but just because it is that awful I really like it  ;D. I still need to get it to work in the sim, the problems are listed above.

Thumbnails are linked to imageshack because compression looked really bad on these shots.


The keyboard on my desktop before getting modified



The keyboard on my desktop before getting modified (second view)



The keyboard half way through spraypainting it. Took about half an hour to get all the keys off and the keyboard open (I took only the top half off, the bottom half is still black)


*Insert missing image of where I show you the keys drying with the araldite adheisive*



The keyboard with the required keys put back on. If I need to I can use some tweezers to put the rubber bouncer into the keyboard through the holes to add more keys.



Just a picture of the final piece.




Just a larger view of the above image (1024, not 800). The keyboard is sitting happily amongst the rest of my hardware family... A saitek cyborg evo, Wacom Volito 2 tablet, router, keyboard, mouse, router etc... and my 19" widescreen monitor




I hope youve enjoyed these past months more than I have  ;)


Cheers for the patience.