First off this is my first thread in DT so hoping it goes well.
Got my hands on a Zenith Z-150 AT a month back. Been eye-ing on one for quite a while since I always like how it stands out specially with that badge. Was aiming for a black badge but always misses on one or if I don't its on the high end of my budget. Brett MacK then had a Zenith sale which I jumped into one. Thanks Brett. I know then it would be a project but hoping I can use it as is. Shipping was always expensive, used a forwarder where it saved me like $2-3 with added 2 weeks delay.
This is the finish build.
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Anyway, here's the build log.
The switches are indeed nice (first alps), the case though needs work. The sticker on the top right scares me since that might show the original color of the case.
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This is why I hate stickers; residues.
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After going with cycles through ultrasonic cleaner, hard scrubbing with cloth and some with wiping it with a product similar to goo off it ended up like this.
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But decided to push through with the project route after cleaning. The AT version works with a DIN to ps/2 then a cheapo ps/2 to USB converter though the F7 wont work and somehow pressing any key with the leds just make the keyboard stop functioning.
The spacebar needs work since its ABS while the rest are PBT. Went with sanding it with 1500-2000 grit since I don't know how retro would react for uneven yellowing.
Removed the badge by making several passes with a heat gun at back of the case then giving it a nudge. Once a corner can be lifted slid a hard plastic between and slowly slice it through.
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There are several nick on the case, filled them with epoxy and some I just had to even them out.
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The bottom rear of the case is now even and also altered the hole for the cable. I used epoxy again.
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Going with aviator connector.
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With how long the cable is, I got 2 cable that can connect to the board and another where I can use those 2 as a mini.
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The case would be painted and as well as the plate since the paint already chipped off (sanded it a bit). I'm staying in an apartment with two small kids so doing this on my own is out of the picture. My wife's gonna kill me. Going with Cerakote.
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Before and after
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Traced the PCB and its a 8x11 (row x col) or 11x8 matrix. I think I got it wrong. But had to stick with 8x11 since when I realized it I was already mapping the matrix. Initial plan was to be part of BladeAssasins GB as that's much cleaner but went with the cheaper route since shipping (pcb and teensy ++ 2.0) is another cost.
Tried to find a Teensy 2 locally but didn't find one, thus had to go with a clone. Found where to connect the "Teensy" but made a mistake of removing the bridges and resistors rather than just plainly cutting them. The back of the pcb is a complete mess since ALL the pads complete got removed. Epoxy to the rescue on the back and front. Used KLE and KBFirmware; wished I knew this when I did a full handwired TKL.
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The red are my columns (used to be bridge; C0-C10 left to right), green rows (resistor; R0-R7 left to right), orange vcc, blue leds (scroll,num,caps) and pink is for the buzzer (yeah!). There was a chip I removed in the place of the led and buzzer. This is the only one I suggest to desolder. With those exposed, this can now be hooked up to Teensy or even a Pro Micro if you choose to drop 2 leds and the buzzer.
Soldered everything back and hooked up the "Teensy" which by the way worked fine. Then "Teensy" to the female connector. You can see the massacre on the PCB here. If it fails one day, I'll just fully handwire it.
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Placed some mat on the bottom of the case and had to file/sand the 4 corners since they been scratching the inner paint of the top case.
Assembled back and here's how it looks on my desk. A bit darker here so the color is diff.
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Last edited by kokokoy on 13 Aug 2018, 04:37, edited 1 time in total.
I’ll attach the json file and update the image with the row and col numbering here so just in case any one wants to do the teensy route; once I’m back at my place.
One thing, don’t know how to trigger the original beep. Now it beeps more annoyingly, still can be turned off though.
I'm restoring a Z-150 AT, too. Stickers are the worst. There was an asset tag next to the badge that created uneven yellowing. What's worse is that the adhesive from the tag melted the plastic enough to remove the texture. There are also gouges that look like someone went at the asset tag with a knife.
After two rounds of Retr0bright, it's still very noticeable where the tag was.
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I think I want to go with a coating like you. Where, outside of gun shops can I get something coated with Ceracote?
fer.real wrote: I think I want to go with a coating like you. Where, outside of gun shops can I get something coated with Ceracote?
The main reason I jump to coat because of the uneven yellowing.
No idea man. I had this done in an auto shop but I’m in Singapore whereby no guns to the public so all custom paints are done on this type of shops.
Scarpia wrote: That’s gorgeous! And I can’t believe how clean those epoxy details look - could you share some tips / technique for that?
Some parts wasn’t. But for those which are, it just boils down to sanding. Used 1500 and 2000 grit to sand it down. You can also wet sand it also. And while the expoxy is not completely hardened it can be shaped then just let it dry, sand and reapply some more if needed. Problem with the zenith is that the case had some texture on it so for those you need to repair by joining two pieces you need to live with the glue a bit sticking out.
I love the level of finish. And that particular case color is super appropriate for a Zenith. Almost the exact same as the accents on the 1982 console I grew up watching.
Oh right… you made them yourself all from the looooooong original cable. Nice.
I’ve never installed USB jacks on a cable. How hard was it? I can imagine doing something similar to this with a few of the impractically long cables on my own larger boards. I know orihalcon and others make cables like this with Soarer’s converter inside them somewhere, but I don’t know *how*. I’d rather put the Teensy inside the keyboard anyway and have modular cables as you’ve done, so I can dedicate the converter to the keyboard and not have to reconfigure when swapping.
Not that hard at all but better to get new DIY jacks. I reused old usb cable whereby I had to remove the existing rubber molds first; wont be doing that again. Also I had to make the end of the cable’s diameter smaller (by slicing off sides of the cable not exposing the internal wires) so that the jack can hug it. The zenith one is crazy beautifully thick. Then use a 9.5mm adhesive 3:1 heatshrink to cover it.