1 Gross Vomit

One Dozen Dozen Vomit Keys

The unquadquad with 144 random DSA profile key caps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_(unit)

Gherkin BLE

First try at a BLE Gherkin

The PCB has several routing problems and so the matrix does not work without a lot of cutting and jumpering.

Will be working on a revised board. Probably remove the reset button since the Adafruit Feather BLE already has one. Will look at adding the connector for the battery on the PCB so that a power switch can be added to disconnect it from the Feather when not in use. I will probably remove the LEDs too, probably just add a few status LEDs instead of a full backlight.

The LIPO connector is very large on the Feather. Much larger spacers ~14-16mm will be needed even with low profile sockets.

Wood Plate 60

60% Keyboard with Wood plate

I assembled this from parts I had lying around. It has an older version of the Winkeyless b.face PCB and a cheap plastic case from Aliexpress. The plate is 1/16 inch birch plywood laser cut from a design from http://builder.swillkb.com. Costar stabilizers clipped into the plywood.

The layout has the maximum number of keys you can have on a b.face. Split backspace and short left and right shifts, give you 3 extra keys over the standard ANSI layout.

Keycaps are DSA from a PMK grab bag. Switches are Kailh Copper tactile.

With the wood plate, this is a very light keyboard.

GOTW #8

Gherkin Of The Week #8

Gherkin with perforated aluminum bottom. Same bottom as this one. I had a lot of the same keys in one of my grab bags. They must have made way too many number row keys. They don't look defective at all.

If you Google 0909090909 you actually get quite a few hits.

SA Row 3 profile. These are grab bag keys from the 1976 keyset.

These M2 spacers were really cheap. Something like 500 for $6. They are very poor quality. Some have bad or missing threads. They are really meant to be press fit into plastic holes, where the inconsistencies of length would not matter.

5052 aluminum plate with punched and drilled holes.

Gherkin Links

Some links to Gherkin related info

Some links I found via Google.

Gherkin build log

https://mechkeys.tech/2017/09/gherkin-build-log/

Building a 30 key keyboard

https://hackerific.net/2017/10/08/building-a-30-key-keyboard/

頑張ってGherkin 30 key Keyboardを作るぞ！【材料集め編】

http://romly.com/archives/2017/10/gherkin_gather_materials.html

Finalized Gherkin Build

https://www.ifunnybox.com/show/321206177

Black Gherkin Build Log

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/6a2b4b/black_gherkin_build_log/

BUILD LOG: Anti-climatically Sad Gherkin

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/6u9gos/photos_build_log_anticlimatically_sad_gherkin/

Livestream - The Board Podcast LIVE! -Attempting to build a Gherkin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INw0XjMiGX0

Gherkin Firmware Flashing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDdCJEmXtf8

Gherkin 30% keyboard

http://adventurist.me/posts/0287

GOTW #7

Gherkin Of The Week #7

The "Massdrop" Gherkin. All 2U POS DSA keycaps from PMK grab bags.

"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play." Joshua (WarGames 1983)

30% with only 15 keys.

 Each POS style key cap covers 2 switches.

 Soldermask sanded off the bottom, exposing the copper layer.

More Germanium Diodes

More Russian Diodes

Got a few more Russian diodes from eBay. There is very little documentation available for these. They are popular with retro audio electronics tinkerers. For the purposes of a scanning switch matrix just about any kind of diode will work. I purchased these just for their looks.

I removed the colored bands on some in this post. The glass is brittle compared to modern 1n4148 glass diodes.

I believe these are D9K, D9J, D2D and D9B. They are all NOS Russian diodes.

GOTW #6

Gherkin Of The Week #6

Another Gherkin using left over parts from the 30% Edward. This one uses the plain PCB top, not sanded or dyed. The keycaps are SA profile from a PMK grab bag.

 The 30% Edward plates have TOMATO on them. These got sanded off on previous version that were dyed.

 PCB middle pieces. These have white soldemask, but you can't really tell from the side.

 You can see the supports for the last middle piece through the bottom PCB. These would normally be cut off before being used.

Extra thick with 12mm spacers.