isla.gg
Hi! I'm Isla! Welcome to my trash heap. It's not much but it's mine.
#TODO add more stuff
In the meantime, check out these links to some of my other socials!
In the Bloginning
Projects
Here's a list of my past and present activities online and IRL.
Mechanical Keyboards
After finishing college and in the midst of COVID, I got into building mechanical keyboards. I started with a basic GK64 though it stopped working pretty quickly and I moved onto better keyboards using QMK-based customizable and open-source software. The next one was I built and my current daily keyboard is a Portico from TheKey.CompanyRIP C³ Tangerine linear switches. I've switched the keycaps between GMK Bento and GMK Dualshot a few times as I change my mind about my desk aesthetics.
I also have built several keyboards for friends and my partner. I built a YMKD Melody96 with Box Jade clicky switches with knock-off GMK Noel keycaps. That one stopped working due to a PCB issue so I built her a new board out of DROP SHIFT v1, Glorious Panda tactile switches, and Novelkeys Spellbook keycaps. Additionally, I've built a Keychron Q1 Pro with Melon Marble Soda linear switches and GMK Grand Prix keycaps as well as a KBDFans Odin with Owlabs Tungsten linear switches and DROP MT3 Dwarven keycaps. Buncha nerds they are.
I also have amassed a few proper off-white retro keyboards including an Apple Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A). They haven't yet been updated to modern USB connections so I can't really use them right now. I'll definitely build some of the open-source adapter boards at some point and have fun being obnoxiously loud while typing with questionable accuracy :P
← Back to ProjectsSmall Form Factor PCs
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WOOOOOOOWWWW!!!!! Look at all of these totally interesting and unique tech-based "hobbies" you must never go on Reddit!
Listen..... I didn't find out about Reddit by choice... its icanhascheezburger.com's fault. Yes yes, a very 201X story indeed. Anyways, After using old computers and Raspberry Pis for berrious network and Linux ISO-related activities, I finally decided to build out a more prosumer setup.
Networking
The core of my home network is a Unifi Dream Machine SE. There are Cat6 runs out of it to my partner and my desktops, the server, the HomeAssistant Raspbery Pi 3, a Mac Mini (mid-2010), and an unmanaged switch in our TV stand.
Since we live in an apartment and can't really tear holes into the drywall to route cables through the ceiling, I ran the ethernet cable from the server rack in back corner of the building, through the HVAC ducting, to the front of the building where the TV stand is. That way the cable is nice and hidden the majority of its length with just the ends exposed running down the walls at either end.
Compute
#TODO
Lamentations of a Port or How I (tried) to Repair a Micro-USB Port
In the beginning, the Univers[al Serial Bus micro connector] was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
—Douglas Adams (mostly)
#TODO
Melody96 Repair
Years ago, I built a YMKD Melody96 as a gift for my partner. Unfortunately, the LED underglow started malfunctioning just a few months into its life. As this wasn't a CRITICAL ERROR, I put off repairing it (because I didn't have a soldering iron) or replacing the PCB because it was expensive and shipping from China is annoying. Finally, a few months ago, the pcb finally started functionally failing, resulting in me subbing out her precious keeb with a spare Drop SHIFT I had gotten for free from a friend and assembled. But with this, I was given a quest.
FIX THE FAULTY KEYBOARD!!!
And so off I went planning the greatest comeback since nineteen ninety eight when the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell, and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcer's table. I acquired a Pine64 Pinecil (which slipped into the astral realm for a bit while shipping from China), a bunch of starter soldering equipment from Amazon, and got to work on what would actually be the first time I soldered something in like 15 years.
The first step I take will be disassembling the keyboard and reflowing the solder around the USB-C port and the troublesome underglow LED. Ideally this will fix both problems. Or at least the flaky functionality of the whole keyboard... The LED itself might just be dead and in need of full replacement. Based on previous contact with YMKD over AliExpress, its an off-the-shelf LED so procuring one shouldn't be difficult. I might just end up with a 30-pack or something...
Hello World
Hey There!
Welcome to the isla.gg blog!
Heres a filler post for the blog on my site, isla.gg. I don't really have anything else to say… Follow me on Mastodon at @isla@mas.to.