The ZX81 Finally Gets The Keyboard It Deserves

© Submitted by Registry

Chap has released a free specification for free builds with Cherry MX switches

Some computers, such as the Sinclair ZX81, are polarized. The low-cost microphone is revered for being so cheap that it introduced a generation to computing and makes fun of the totally unsightly keyboard many people find hard to get into...

Fixed the last issue, and it didn't get resolved very quickly. A guy named Brian Swetland built a mechanical keyboard for the device and was kind enough to post specs and schematics on GitHub.

On Twitter, Swetland told The Register that Sinclair is one of many working on the technology, in his case the MicroAce ZX80. Then he switched to the Commodore 64, but then decided to visit the ZX80 and ZX81.

As documented in his Mastodon briefing, he was building a version of the ZX81, specifically the ZX81plus38, and while working on the project decided he needed a proper keyboard.

At one time, several third-party manufacturers designed and sold keyboards for the ZX81. Most of them have been lost to history. Swetland started from scratch, developing a PCB and inventing a combination for printing a special keyboard that reproduced the famous Sinclair layout, allowing multiple commands to be typed from a single key after proper deformation.

It based its design on Cherry MX Switches, the kind of high-end keyboard combo that makes gamers and statisticians cry, with a terrible average time between failures.

On Wednesday, he released his hard work on GitHub under a license that allows free use, modification, distribution, and even sublicensing.

Here it is in all its glory.

The Swetland repository contains KiCAD layout and layout files, along with a Gerber export "built for five PCB orders by JLCPCB".

SVG files of custom keys recovered from WASD are also provided

The only thing that hasn't been fixed yet is the keyboard I/O interface, an omission that I attribute to not having "time to dig these days".

Perhaps when creating a keyboard, it will complete the task. Or maybe a retro-loving reggae reader could think and help? ®

As promised, the ZX81 is still alive! And a 32k upgrade is included!