this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

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Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)

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¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid

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Rolio Progress (it works!) (i.imgur.com)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I’ve been working on a design for a split keyboard that is a hybrid between a Corne and a Sofle.

So fair the electrical and software aspects work, I still need to sort out the chassis.

Some features:

  • Efficient backlight circuit (at 100% it uses 20mA)
  • Custom MBK Choc caps from fkcaps.com (the glow is awesome)
  • ~250mAh battery (still low profile as there’s a hole in the PCB for the battery)
  • Dual EVQ encoders
  • Fully wireless using Nice Nanos
  • The layout has MacOS and Windows modes
  • Choc spacing

Once I’ve got the chassis done and I’ve cleaned everything up a bit I’ll open source it.

Here’s a preview of the chassis design so far:

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I love the cyberpunk look the have now tbh.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Agreed - the minimal black frame makes the keycaps stand out, especially with that nice glow.

Being able to see the pins on the displays really adds to the aesthetic.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It’d be pretty easy for someone to take the design and make a more typical “naked” base plate etc.

I am having trouble getting the chassis to a point that I’m happy with the appearance. I also made some mistakes in the PCB edge cuts that make it harder again. All part of the learning process I guess.

Either way, once done I’d like for this to be at least as robust as any commercial product so that I can put it in a backpack easily/safely

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Looking great! What are those displays?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nice!Views, they’re incredibly power efficient.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

OLED?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sharp memory display, it’s a bit like Epaper in terms of appearance. Most of the OLED panels I could find eat batteries.

More info here: https://nicekeyboards.com/nice-view/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Beautiful design. I love the casing over the nice view and roller.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Damn that's amazing. Looking forward to details.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

i can’t remember their name right now, but these are the custom MBK caps, yeah? I’ve been designing a similar set, where the layer characters are on the caps. I actually printed up transparent stickers in 2020 with this goal in mind.

Also, what do you have the scrollers mapped to?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Nice, I highly recommend the fk caps guys, really happy with them.

I have an updated set of caps that I’ll order soon, I’m currently tinkering with the backlight glyphs. Still not quite satisfied.

I like your caps idea, I toyed with dye sublimation but then decided against that (clear stickers would have been way easier). Then I saw a link to FK caps somewhere and gave it a go.

My encoders are mostly mapped to arrow keys. But, here’s the current map (it’s derived from my Corne’s map):

https://pastebin.com/9XRqkKYH

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have an updated set of caps that I’ll order soon, I’m currently tinkering with the backlight glyphs. Still not quite satisfied.

Do you know if their system allows to share designs as a starting point? I know you can save for later.

I like your caps idea, I toyed with dye sublimation but then decided against that (clear stickers would have been way easier).

Thanks! I was happy-ish with the result. I created the font from a handwritten script I use when I send greeting cards. I didn’t find a way to keep the ink from rubbing off though, so they never lasted very long. I tried lacquering them, but likely didn’t do a very good job - I can be aggravatingly impatient.

My encoders are mostly mapped to arrow keys.

I think that’s almost what I’d do too - I’d like an easier way to select text when composing email/whatever, so I dream of a single key whole-word select function. I’d map it to a (variable) shift arrow, depending on whether I’m on the MacBook or the windows box.

Side note - I noticed your map has both windows and Mac specific commands - I didn’t know that was possible. Are these separate layers, or is the keyboard somehow aware of the OS it is attached to?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If the GUI key is tapped twice it switches to the windows base layer, double tap again and it goes to the Mac OS (default) layer. This is done using a “tap dance”, look for “td” in the map to find it.

If you look at the conditional layers you’ll see how I accomplished the stacking of key bindings.

Since the board is naked I’ve not really used it, but I was playing with the scrollers and doing text navigation, it was very very nice.

I think you can share layouts from FK Caps:

https://fkcaps.com/custom/HUA582

The above is my current WIP. Hopefully it works, I’d like to share it as a basis for people to customise the Rolio if they want.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If the GUI key is tapped twice it switches to the windows base layer, double tap again and it goes to the Mac OS (default) layer. This is done using a “tap dance”, look for “td” in the map to find it.

This could easily a game changer for me! My brain warps whenever I require a multi key/layer function, while I’m connected to a windows box from my mac.

I think you can share layouts from FK Caps

Nice, I’m on mobile but will make a note to check this out later.

Honestly, this project, caps, and key map… I feel like you are me, lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Glad to be of service. Check out the “lstart” and “lend” macros as a starting point for your single key to select a whole word thing.

I must admit I thought what I was doing here was pretty niche as I couldn’t find anything similar. Even the Bluetooth + Backlight seems a rarity. To be fair routing a 2 layer PCB with the added complexity was a PITA, soldering the resistors was super fiddly (either by hand or reflow).

The fact that it scratches an itch for you is pleasing, it means the added effort of open sourcing may be worth it as a few other people will get some value.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Very nice indeed!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Looks super nice. Why did you decide on this design?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks.

I took hand measurements using the following:

https://pashutk.com/ergopad/

As it turns out the Corne is very close to my best layout.

I like the Corne, except it has no backlight, arrows are not very convenient (hence scrollers). I also move between Mac and windows, the extra modifiers on the Sofle make that easier.

In the end I’ve basically got a Sofle/Corne hybrid with scrollers and a backlight.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Jesus, you people are crazy, it looks so cool 🙃

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks.

The time and cost exceeds any practical advantage, so, yeah, a little crazy is about right I guess.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Not everything needs to be about practicality. Even tho I don't really understand the world of "ergo mech keyboards" I deeply admire the passion and creativity flourishing from this community. Cheers to you!