DisplayWriter Restoration and Conversion

JP! · 04 Aug 2017, 20:21

This is a DisplayWriter keyboard I purchased about a month and make been slowly working on it. I feel as though I have made enough progress with this that I can start a post detailing the progress. Before a tear down I decided to test the functionality using a modified Xwhatsit from Orihalcon.

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Banana for scale.

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A little bit dirty.

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Born 1983

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Original speaker, controller, and cable.

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Installed solenoid, Xwhatsit, and solenoid driver

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Here I have the ground wire attached to the case.

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After making sure the keyboard worked with the new controller I then proceeded to disassemble the great white.

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This part was a sticky mess. Even goo gone is no match for this gunk. I was able to wipe the mess away though with a paper towel.

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Shiny

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Here I just used some double-sided tape with a thin strip of scotch silicon rubber electrical tape

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I used art foam and a 15mm punch that I sharpened so that no hammer was needed to punch the holes.

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seebart · 04 Aug 2017, 20:27

Looks great so far, keep us updated. No need for more bananas though.

JP! · 04 Aug 2017, 20:37

Haha, I am fresh out of bananas. I have cleaned all the keys and now need to give the case a bath. I am worried about preserving the DisplayWriter information card. I would hate to damage it by getting it wet. I am hoping I can use a heat gun or hair dryer so that the adhesive holding the card will loosen up.

Sangdrax · 04 Aug 2017, 20:58

You can just use a sponge or wet cloth to keep from getting water on the card. You don't need to submerge the whole thing.

Techno Trousers · 04 Aug 2017, 22:58

That's some sweet work on the foam!

seebart · 05 Aug 2017, 10:16

JP! wrote: I am worried about preserving the DisplayWriter information card. I would hate to damage it by getting it wet. I am hoping I can use a heat gun or hair dryer so that the adhesive holding the card will loosen up.

Yeah I hear you, of course mine did not have the card. I might have to replicate one.

just_add_coffee · 05 Aug 2017, 17:32

seebart wrote: No need for more bananas though.

Wrong.

JP! · 12 Aug 2017, 22:24

So I removed the information card which did not go so well at first which has left my card with some damage. Not a show stopper though. It turns out my fear that the label might get damaged after getting wet was entirely unfounded as the card is not actually a cheap piece of paper but more like a thin mylar sheet or film. I will try and get a high quality scan of the original and make a reproduction which I will then laminate and reattach to my case using 3M double sided tape.

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Now here is this awesome new product I just picked up. Without it, this card would look a lot worse. The left half of the card was removed with this product which I think speaks for itself.

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I hand washed the case. I am happy with how that turned out. Some scuffs but overall very nice so I will leave the paint like it is.

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seebart · 12 Aug 2017, 22:34

JP! wrote: So I removed the information card which did not go so well at first which has left my card with some damage. Not a show stopper though. It turns out my fear that the label might get damaged after getting wet was entirely unfounded as the card is not actually a cheap piece of paper but more like a thin mylar sheet or film. I will try and get a high quality scan of the original and make a reproduction which I will then laminate and reattach to my case using 3M double sided tape.

Great thanks, I'll get back to you on the information card scan no rush though. The case looks great now, I'd leave it like that too.

JP! · 17 Aug 2017, 17:51

just_add_coffee wrote:
seebart wrote: No need for more bananas though.
Wrong.

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seebart · 17 Aug 2017, 21:55

JP! wrote: Wrong.

Right.

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JP! · 17 Aug 2017, 23:33

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JP! · 19 Aug 2017, 21:43

So back to work on this project, I made a scan of the Displaywriter info card which I previously removed and have decided to reproduce this label as mine has some slight damage and also because there are many of these which are missing their cards. Here is teaser of some of my work in progress. If anyone is interested in something like this, feel free to pm me. Also since there are different variations of these cards, if would be nice to see some pictures or scans as I might be able to reproduce those as well.

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JP! · 25 Jan 2018, 07:48

I finally got this back together. I added black keys from a Selectric typewriter. It types like a dream. I am disappointed though, I was not able to get the solenoid to work. I don't know if I have a defective Xwhatsit or driver or what the hell is going on but I will do some more troubleshooting later on.

My settings - not sure if these values are correct.

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Almost done, I still need to fix the info card and get the solenoid going.

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xxhellfirexx · 25 Jan 2018, 08:05

The extend and retract time cannot be the same or the solenoid does not trigger.
In the first and second pictures, what is the white plastic bits by the space bar and the black bar for? I have never seen those before.

OldIsNew · 25 Jan 2018, 08:21

JP! wrote: I was not able to get the solenoid to work.

xxhellfirexx wrote: The extend and retract time cannot be the same or the solenoid does not trigger.

Yes, here's a bit from the xwhatsit solenoid driver installation guide (page 6):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the extend time is set to a higher number than the retract time, the
solenoid will never turn on, or may be held on permanantly until the values are
modified).
By the same token, if they are set to an identical value, the solenoid will
never actuate at all.
Ideally they should be set to the smallest value possible, so that the solenoid
will keep up with the fastest typing. However, because the solenoid can physically
only move so fast, you will need to allow at least a minimum time.
If the values are set very high (e.g. 125 and 250), the solenoid will click very
slowly and it will quickly fall behind your typing speed.
Based on the individual characteristics of your solenoid, you may have to
experiment with different values.
In practice, values of 40 and 80 have worked well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice work and awesome boards BTW!

JP! · 25 Jan 2018, 08:30

xxhellfirexx wrote: The extend and retract time cannot be the same or the solenoid does not trigger.
In the first and second pictures, what is the white plastic bits by the space bar and the black bar for? I have never seen those before.

Thanks for the input! I am currently too tired to read the manual. The white bits are where the space bar stabilizers fit into. If you scroll up a ways there is a picture of the space bar but it does not illustrate this in close detail. The black bar, do you mean the long metal bar with the plastic paddles/flippers? If so it is used to unlock the lock key. The lock key is actually missing the coil spring so when you push that key it stays down. Think of a mechanical caps lock function. Both shift keys are able to push the beam spring of the lock key back up through the use of this bar.

depletedvespene · 25 Jan 2018, 08:33

Magnificent. Let's hope you can solve the solenoid issue and afterwards you film this beast in action for our pleasure.

JP! · 25 Jan 2018, 08:34

OldIsNew wrote:
Yes, here's a bit from the xwhatsit solenoid driver installation guide (page 6):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the extend time is set to a higher number than the retract time, the
solenoid will never turn on, or may be held on permanantly until the values are
modified).
By the same token, if they are set to an identical value, the solenoid will
never actuate at all.
Ideally they should be set to the smallest value possible, so that the solenoid
will keep up with the fastest typing. However, because the solenoid can physically
only move so fast, you will need to allow at least a minimum time.
If the values are set very high (e.g. 125 and 250), the solenoid will click very
slowly and it will quickly fall behind your typing speed.
Based on the individual characteristics of your solenoid, you may have to
experiment with different values.
In practice, values of 40 and 80 have worked well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice work and awesome boards BTW!

Thanks! I will give this a go tomorrow.

Chyros · 25 Jan 2018, 08:53

I use 40 and 80 as well. That gives the most reliable performance, I found. However, it limits the typing speed of the keyboard. If you set it to shorter times, the typing speed increases, but the possibility for chattering increases. If you turn off the solenoid, none of these issues persist at all (although the solenoid is a very fun part of the keyboard, of course

).

JP! · 26 Jan 2018, 00:47

I just tried this advice and the solenoid seems to be working nicely. My standard typing doesn't max out these settings. It is an oddly satisfying sound. I am a bit tempted to take this in to my office but this thing obviously is a bit cumbersome to carry.

xxhellfirexx · 26 Jan 2018, 00:55

JP! wrote: I just tried this advice and the solenoid seems to be working nicely. My standard typing doesn't max out these settings. It is an oddly satisfying sound. I am a bit tempted to take this in to my office but this thing obviously is a bit cumbersome to carry.

Just get 2 or 3 beam springs and you can have it wherever you go.

JP! · 26 Jan 2018, 01:05

xxhellfirexx wrote:
JP! wrote: I just tried this advice and the solenoid seems to be working nicely. My standard typing doesn't max out these settings. It is an oddly satisfying sound. I am a bit tempted to take this in to my office but this thing obviously is a bit cumbersome to carry.
Just get 2 or 3 beam springs and you can have it wherever you go.

I already do. I am putting together a 66 key mini beamer next which is much easier to lug around. I got a bit of inspiration from Red for another project though. I want to put a spare keyboard module into a suitcase for portability.

JP! · 26 Jan 2018, 01:18

Here is a quick demo of the display writer in action. Sorry for the crappy production.

Techno Trousers · 26 Jan 2018, 06:00

JP! wrote:
xxhellfirexx wrote:
JP! wrote: I I am a bit tempted to take this in to my office but this thing obviously is a bit cumbersome to carry.
Just get 2 or 3 beam springs and you can have it wherever you go.
I already do. I am putting together a 66 key mini beamer next which is much easier to lug around.

I'm feeling extreme envy. Don't ever take it for granted!

Brett MacK · 27 Jan 2018, 04:04

What an awesome keyboard. Great progress thus far. This board is definitely on my dream list.

Sangdrax · 27 Jan 2018, 13:32

To make the solenoid trigger faster without chattering, you have to up to overall matrix voltage. It's kind of like how you have to up voltage on a computer overclock for stability. Current surge in this case instead of voltage droop though IIRC.

It will do at least this fast. I think you have to hit 120+wpm to outrun it at optimum settings. https://www.dropbox.com/s/89u3xyerkz2m2 ... 0.MOV?dl=0