What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
I've got a number of vintage Apple Extended Keyboards that I've been wanting to modernize for ages, and one project I'd like to get off the ground is a conversion kit to modernize your Apple Extended Keyboard or Apple Extended Keyboard II (AFAIK they use the same sized PCB so I think they'd be interchangeable). The primary advantage I'm looking for in such a modernization would be adding native USB support as well as NKRO, but I'm also open to other features, like retaining one or more ADB ports so it can be used with original Apple hardware (in fact, ADB itself supports NKRO; the keyboard just lacked diodes as a money-saving measure), and also custom firmware support.
The catch: I know absolutely nothing about PCB design or getting things manufactured (I have done one of these conversions on one of my own keyboards, but it was a hand-wired job with a Teensy and it's a mess). But small-scale custom projects like this are exactly the kind of thing Massdrop does on a regular basis.
If I could drum up the interest here on Massdrop is it something that can actually be made a reality? Has this kind of thing been done?