Sinclair ZX80 / ZX81 / Z88 Forums

I had a small batch of Swetland ZX81plus38 mechanical keyboard PCBs made - I wanted 2 but minimum order was 5.
It's PCB only so needs the Cherry MX keys (~ £30 for 40) and keytops - which can be printed in ZX stylie - see info in link below.

Info here:- https://github.com/swetland/zx81-keyboard

Anyone interested? I'm only looking to recoup costs so £5 each + postage?

Trev

Hi Trev,

Yes, I would be interested in one PCB (I need to get some keyboard switches and caps for another completely unrelated project anyway).

I’ll send you a PM when I have a bit more time (I have a stack of emails that need to be read today).

Mark

I would like a PCB. Where / How did you get the key caps printed they look awesome.

Regards Andy

No problem - just PM me your info I'll sort out the boards.

If you want to get the key tops made, it looks like WASD are the only people and they charge ~$60 a set + postage.. I'm looking at other options before committing to that.

Trev

I've seen some clear 2-piece Cherry compatible keytops on ebay for around £15 for 40 - just ordered some so not sure of quality yet. I'll probably scan/print a standard ZX81 keyboard and enlarge/print the labels to fit the keys.

I do like the WASD custom printed keys but this is just for hobby purposes so ~£60 + postage +import duty is a bit much...

Where did you find those keycaps?

I probably need to point out that the Github page isn't mine -it belongs to the original designer Swetland.

He had the keys made in the US - and you can't get them made in the UK or EU (or not that I've found) hence I'm looking at the 2 piece clear keys and printing the inserts for them.

There's one keyboard PCB left if anyone is interested.

Trev

I meant the two piece clear keys

Ahh - sorry! The keys on the Github site look great so I naturally assumed you meant them..

Here's the link to the clear cap keys:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374237954770

40 keycaps costs ~ £13 (bulk discount etc..!)

Yes they look great.