186
Garage door opener now uses Cherry MX Blues (programming.dev)
submitted 9 months ago by riskable@programming.dev to c/mechanicalkeyboards@lemmy.ml
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Manufacturer wanted $25 (+shipping) for a replacement garage door opener wall switch. 13 minutes of printing + 5 minutes of soldering + two leftover Cherry MX Blue switches (that I'll be use) and the problem is solved 👍

Note: The wiring was slightly more involved than I thought... needed a resistor for the light (there's only two wires but it's got two functions: Light on/off and garage open/close.

If folks are interested I could make a much fancier PCB-based version with screw terminals and whatnot. It's a very trivial schematic.

top 11 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] AlpacaChariot@lemmy.world 27 points 9 months ago

Very resourceful, I like it.

Added benefit: you'll definitely hear it if someone tries to open the garage door and steal all your stuff in the middle of the night

CLACK

[-] TheFlame@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

This is so stupid, but I love it so much. 🤣 I’m tempted to give it a try, but I’m worried that once I get used to mechanical switches on my garage door opener - I’ll need them throughout the rest of the house too.

[-] riskable@programming.dev 9 points 9 months ago

Do it! Normal garage door openers are good for like 1,000 cycles (if that, haha). With these switches it should be good for 50 million.

[-] bluGill@kbin.social 7 points 9 months ago

You have to replace the door hinges and rollers a few times to get that life.

[-] bruh420@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Very cool

[-] Stalins_Spoon@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 4 months ago

Did you complete the PCB?

[-] riskable@programming.dev 2 points 4 months ago

Nah. The inlaws seem to be satisfied with the way it is right now and I've got better things to do 🤷

[-] timespace@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago

Put me down as interested in the whole shebang!

[-] HidingCat@kbin.social 1 points 9 months ago

Curious, wouldn't waterproofing be an issue? Or is this on the indoor side of the garage?

[-] riskable@programming.dev 5 points 9 months ago

It's inside the garage so water isn't an issue.

Having said that I would have no trouble at all making a version of this that's waterproof! For that though I'd make a PCB and use my own magnetic key switches (Void Switch)...

https://youtu.be/iv6Rh8UNWlI?si=HLxDopztmpPDVTVI

When I made that keyboard for Chyros I asked him if he wanted it to be waterproof and he said no so I never bothered but it's not very difficult to do such a thing when your entire keyboard is contactless.

The "key" is to use waterproof connectors or just solder the wires directly to the PCB. Then you just coat the whole thing in silicone sealant (or similar e.g. seal it with epoxy, Flex Seal, etc). The chips don't care and hall effect sensors will still work just fine through any non-ferromagnetic coating (e.g. any plastic or hydrocarbon-based material).

[-] HamBrick@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago

I should do this with the one in my car; the stock don’t work very good

this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2023
186 points (97.9% liked)

Mechanical Keyboards

8120 readers
3 users here now

Are you addicted to the clicking sounds of your beautiful and impressive mechanical keyboard?
If so, this community is for you!

Here you can discuss everything about mechanical keyboards (and only mechanical keyboards).

Banner by Jay Zhang on Unsplash

founded 4 years ago