[Coco] Mechanical keyboard upgrades for the CoCo

[Zippster]

Ok Brian, you’ve convinced me.  It needs to be done.  :)

It generally only takes about 30-50 units to make a hobbyist run viable.

My biggest concern would be any fittings/plates needed to mate the PCB
to the CoCo case.  Who is set up to help with that?

The CPLD would be for ease of mapping/remapping with the legends on modern keycaps,
nothing to worry about though.  It would only add $5 or so to the cost, and would allow for
matrix changes without a new PCB.

I’m pretty sure keeping it at $150 or less will be doable if that’s acceptable to enough people.

- Ed


> On Aug 21, 2015, at 10:08 AM, Brian Blake <random.rodder at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I'm not picking on Ed specifically here, especially considering all of his contributions to the CoCo-Cause, but, I'm having a hard time justifying the recent comments regarding a mechanical keyboard being prohibitively expensive, and here's why.
> 
> We all have significant investments in our CoCo systems. Those of us running MPI's, floppy systems, hard disk systems, etc... have hundreds of dollars in them. When the items were available, you were looking at $100+ for a hard disk controller (not complete disk system) from Cloud 9. An MPI on eBay is all over the map, but, I've seen them go for over $200 or as low as $50. How much will Jim's replacement MPI cost?
> 
> Why is it that paying $145 for a drop in keyboard seems scary? Especially considering a keyboard is used EVERY TIME the CoCo is turned on - the above equipment may or may not be.
> 
> Are PS/2 adapters wallet friendly? Hell yes they are! They also offer the ability to use the keyboard a bit of a distance from the CoCo due to the PS/2 keyboard's long cord. But, there's a lot to be said about keeping the CoCo original, or semi-original. If the original keyboard dies, and we still don't know about the mylar replacements yet, I don't think anyone can argue with the utility or durability of the switches Ed mentioned previously being on a drop in keyboard replacement. Having a drop-in ready keyboard to keep the CoCo semi-original would be a great item. I've got three CoCo's here with dead keyboards - while I wouldn't necessarily buy three replacements at once, I certainly would over time since I can only use one CoCo at a time, and I do like my hardware to be functional - I only have two CoCo's that I consider parts machines, and I bought them that way.
> 
> And to explain my admittedly biased though a little more, let's look at the cost of the 'original' replacement keyboards and compare them to today's dollar:
> 
> Keyboard                              1984 Cost 2015 Cost
> 
> Macrotron Pro                      $49.95 $115.78
> Macrotron Premium            $89.95                        $208.50
> Keytronic                                $89.95     $208.50
> MarkData                               $69.95     $162.14
> HJL-57                                     $79.95         $185.32
> 
> 
> No, it's not any easier to swallow, but, $150 for a drop in replacement keyboard is not out of line compared to what was being sold 'back in the day.'
> 
> Ed,
> 
> Unless your plan is to make a keyboard that might be modular between several systems (which would be difficult at best considering keyboard layouts), I don't understand why a CPLD would have to be placed on the PCB. As long as the CoCo matrix is mapped out on the PCB and there's a cable with an adapter to fit the CoCo motherboard, it should be fairly simple.
> 
>