Replace Keyboard in external USB Keyboard?

[ftl_error]

Hello,
I'm looking for the right external keyboard for me, but it looks like nobody produces it.
As far as i know there is mainly these two models in question.

1) The current "ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard with TrackPoint"
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/itemdetail ... 1FF88E33C7

2) The older Model
http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/migr-73183

The problem with both models is, they are too big for my taste. I actually want the keyboard from a 12" laptop as an external one.
I used 12" laptops for about five years and now work on a W520 for two and a half. I still cannot get used to the wider spacing on the larger keyboard.
I read here
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 21#p737258
that the board inside the external USB keyboards can be replaced with a normal laptop replacement.

Is it possible to replace the board with one from a 12" laptop as well? I'm sure its not going to fit perfectly, but I'm willing to rebuild the chassis.
Can you guys help me find out which replacement could work in which of the external USB keyboards?
I suspect that a 12" with the same layout should work at least in the older model. But I don't know for real if the connectors and keymatrix are the same.
And what about the newer chiclet model? Its much easier to buy than the old one, but it has quite a different layout. Can a replacement be done on that one too?

Here is a project from someone who used an arduino as a keyboard controller to interface the replacement part of a T60 with a pc.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a- ... /?ALLSTEPS
I would like to get around all that work, by reusing the controller inside the external USB keyboard. Preferably the new one, since its easier to get.

I appreciate any tips and pointers.

[TTY]

Hallo and welcome to the forum

Cherry makes the Compact-Keyboard G84-4100.

http://cherry.de/cid/compact_keyboards_ ... 4-4100.htm?

It's smaller than the ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard with TrackPoint. I suppose the key raster for the Lenovo ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard is approximately 19.0 mm. The key raster on the Cherry G84-4100 seems to be approximately 17.8 mm.

[ftl_error]

Hey

Thanks for the suggestion, I know that keyboard from Cherry. I bought it years ago and its literally in arms reach on my desk right now.
Its no good. The keys are too heavy and too loud. Yes they have different ones, but they all lose against average scissor switches.
The layout is weak as well. For navigating IDEs or the whole system without a mouse the 3x2 navigation block from Lenovo is great.
Which the G84 does not have. Sadly that already eliminates a lot of other possible choices.

Lenovos keypads are close to what i want. Short travel, silent scissor switches. Comparably good layout on most versions. Ok Accupoint + Buttons.
Non-chiclet/non-island keys available.
They just have a too wide spacing for me. Over two years on my W520 and I still type "better" on my 12" Samsung Q35 ... -_-

[TTY]

The layout is weak as well. For navigating IDEs or the whole system without a mouse the 3x2 navigation block from Lenovo is great.
Which the G84 does not have.

The different layout can be a nuisance of course.

Lenovos keypads are close to what i want. Short travel, silent scissor switches.

Classical ThinkPad keyboards have 2.5 mm key travel. The ML switches in the Cherry G84-4100 aren't meant to be bottomed out, i.e. pressed all the way down. While the total possible key travel on these keyboards is 3.0 mm, the keys reach their operating position, i.e. the position, at which the character is generated - after just 1.5 mm of key travel. The actuation force on the ML switches also is less than it takes to press the keys all the way to the bottom: 45 cN versus 60 cN.

I haven't used a keyboard with mechanical switches for any significant amount of time myself. But i have read, that some practising might be necessary to use such a keyboard correctly, i.e. to type without bottoming out every time. Also, the force during key travel isn't linear with those keys. The diagram on

http://cherry.de/cid/keymodules_ML1A-xxxx.htm?

shows how the force varies while pressing a key. I have read that - with some user experience - the variation in force should make it possible for the user to feel when the letter is written without having to look at the display all the time.

But of course - the different layout can make the keyboard unusable, no matter how good it is otherwise.

[ftl_error]

Thanks! I know about the mechanics of the switches. In the end all the theory doesn't change the results. The G84 has been sitting on my desk even longer than my current Thinkpad and is no good for me. I'd be happy if I could make it work by telling myself how "great" those keys are. I mean, that is what i bought it for actually. But it's simply not the right product. And its not the only small keyboard I tried. Right now there are two more (Keysonic, Sansun) lying somewhere around my feet.
Its a bit like buying a Happy Hacking and trying to convince yourself that you don't need an arrow block.

Additionally lenovos Trackpoint is ok and the integration with the buttons directly in the keypad is great. Best experience I had was a Toshiba Tegras AccuPoint but with external buttons.

I appreciate that you suggest alternatives, but I'm pretty much set on an external lenovo board. Having same/similar layouts to the laptop would be another great benefit while on the road.
I have even been thinking about buying an old/damaged small Thinkpad and use it as external keyboard via network. With some custom software the small screen could even hold special shortcuts etc. and help cleaning up the main screens. But that is at least as excessive as replacing the keypad in the external usb lenovo or trying that arduino hack to build a controller.