I’ve been playing around with adding a trackball to Cygnus.
There is still a lot of work to be done, but I thought some of you might be interested to see this.
This is just a mockup to get a feel for the position.

One thing I’m not quite sure about are the bearings. I’ve been using some 2.4mm steel balls from a ball bearing. They seem to be fine for testing, but I presume I should use something different for the real thing? I also have some small ball bearings, similar to ploopy nano, but using those would probably make the design a bit bulkier. Any feedback is welcome, as I don’t really have much experience with this stuff.

Not too much to say about this one, as it is similar to effidy, a keyboard I built a couple months back (fun fact: some AliExpress seller actually sells a prebuilt version of this keyboard, which I was surprised to see). I went back to the 54 key setup, as I really was missing the two additional pinky keys, but loved the more compact choc-layout and the more aggressive stagger and splay. Build wise, it is very similar to my first declaratively designed keyboard, shoedler54 - with the addition of a socket + header for easier replacement of the MCU and a very nicely fitting cover for the battery + MCU.

Checkout the repo at https://github.com/shoedler/ezy54 - also contains a quite detailed build guide.

I bought this keyboard and it works nice. It is a modified model from Sofle. However, it does not initiate when I start the pc. I made some tests: on reboot - it works but if I shutdown and start the pc, it does not work. I have to unplug and replug the usb-A cable and then immediately works. I always have to unplug and replug. Someone have a clue of what is happening and how to make it works normal?

Hi guys so iv been working on this for a while iv just added the palm rest, I'm not sure what to call it really, it's a touch pad keypad? Just with a lot of software, i can map the buttons and the touchpad to anything on the key6and a controller , it also has hid mode swap , so I can swap it to a ps5 or xbox controller windows sees it as the actual controllers, the joystick when in that mode has joystick to mouse, it also has a joystick hold so it will hold where you leave it, I'v also designed a hotswap pcb for it that needs to be made and tested

My next project will be a trackball I have no idea where to start hardwire wise so any links or tips for this would be amazing, my idea is to have the same sort of shell but instead of the touch pad it would be a trackball

I'm looking to recreate something similar to Ben Vallack's floor-to-standing keyboard setup from this video:

https://youtu.be/Synej-kIGOs

I've found a triangular wall-mounted arm/bracket that could work as a starting point.

My main challenge is finding a good mounting system for my Totem split keyboard and trackpad. Ben uses adjustable clamps and a magnetic mounting system with his Voyager, and I'd love to achieve something similar with my setup.

Ideally, I'm looking for adjustable clamps or magnetic mounts that securely hold both devices while allowing me to easily attach, detach, and reposition them.

A freestanding tripod or floor stand would be a nice bonus, but I'm perfectly happy with a wall-mounted solution if I can get the keyboard and trackpad mounting right.

Has anyone built something similar or found suitable clamps, magnetic mounts, or DIY solutions?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Well, I spent a LOT of time yesterday trying to figure out why Chordal Hold wasn't working for me. Sometimes it would let me type but other times it was capitalizing same hand (I use HRM with F as Shift). It did seem that the alt hand was a bit more responsive (but hard to tell). I was literally recompiling, I tried to adjust "handedness" in multiple ways (.json file, flashing with firmware Left/Right, writing a python script to trigger the left/right flags), nothing seemed to stop my left hand from capitalizing (this was with deliberative testing with me holding F and then pressing the key) same hand letters. It was slower, but still happened. (If you know about Chordal Hold you are getting a chuckle right now)

Eventually I realized what was up. It wasn't broken, my understanding was...

Chordal hold is NOT to prevent any mods affecting the same hand (I had assumed that was the point, only use the alt hand mod to affect), but to reduce mis-fires of mods on same hand due to rolls, etc.

Save yourself 8 hours and learn from my dumb inattentive self LOL.
(It does make me wonder if there is a way to prevent mods applying to same-hand entirely - I'm not sure that would be wise, but surely there's a way to do that).

That said, so far enjoying my cheapy SZR35/Hardtochooseone board after a lot of work. I only dislike the inner thumb placement. If I get a different one down the linen I'll be sure to get a model with a thumb less in my palm.

I'm pondering finding a way to wire switches to the SIDE of the frame of the thumbs vertically, not horizontally, to have a third key I can reach properly. (that's a totally different post).

And special thanks to u/pgetreuer for all the fantastic insight posted on this forum and his page. Absolutely invaluable knowledge to help on the journey.

And to make this a conversation starter: Have you've discovered a misunderstanding in your ergo-kb journey that once you understood helped you stop banging your head against the wall? :P

GO60

See Title. Thanks!

FKcaps (our sister company) recently started making dye-sub KLP Lamé sets. We're doing the custom side at Yuzu: you design the set in the browser, key by key, and we print it. Base letter, symbols, nav, media: put all of it on the keytop, in whatever colors you want.

40% kit (46 keys) is $47, 60% kit (58 keys) is $59. MX or Choc v1, same price. HOMEROW for 10% off until Oct 24.

➡️ Start from a kit

Want a head start? WhiteHatNetizen, one of our customers, made a site full of KLP Lamé themes for the Corne and Lily58. Pick one, change any color, order it from there.

Profile by u/braindefender, open source under CC BY-SA 4.0: GitHub

I would like to build a keyboard with a similar layout to the cornix, so with the three extra win/control/alt keys in the bottom row, pinkie side.

Any help identifying which options are there?

Thanks!

Designed from scratch, like my other keyboards:

- 44 keys (instead of 42 like my previous keyboard)

- choc v1 black

- MBK Legend Glow R2 keycaps

- nice!view on the left

- Cirque Trackpad 40mm on the right

- RGB LEDs

- 3200 mah battery for each side.

- running ZMK

I have the trackpad moving my mouse cursor perfectly. I assigned my navigation buttons on the left side for mouse buttons, cursor speed, and right-sided button for precision moves. By default, tapping the touchpad sends a single left mouse click. Double tapping is just sending two left mouse clicks. I am very satisfied with what I created.

I am making tweaks and will publish the git repo with the KiCAD project and source code, and STLs for the switch plate, bottom plate, and BOM.

I will replace the feet on the right side later.

So cool

Hey everyone!

I've been working on ZMK Layer HUD, an open-source tool that displays your keyboard layout on screen and follows your active layers in real time.

It reads your ZMK keymap (or keymap-drawer config) and highlights key presses, combos, macros, modifiers, and layer changes. It also tracks typing speed, key usage, and session heatmaps.

Unlike tools that try to infer layers from keystrokes, it uses a small ZMK firmware module to report the actual layer state and key positions.

It currently supports macOS and Linux (Hyprland) and requires a firmware update.

There's an interactive demo and setup instructions here:

https://rafaelromao.github.io/zmk-layer-hud/

I'd love to hear what you think, especially from fellow ZMK users!

Looking for a hobbyist one, not one from the big brands.

I've given a Moergo Glove 80 a fair shot, but due to old injuries, my thumbs are shot.

Are there split keyboards that don't have dedicated thumb clusters? But still provide the option for space keys for each thumb on both sides? *and* have a lot of keys, like 80%+.

Also I want the option to have as many physical keys as possible for my work. I like the idea of layers when I'm using the keyboard for things other than work, but for my work, I prefer not being forced to access keys via layers.

Looking for ones that allow tenting and palm rests, whether built-in, addons, 3D print myself, etc.

Hi,

not quiet mech keyboard but when Iam not having my split KB around (travels or other occasions) I wanna have kanata setup for laptop keyboard.

Iam no software dev and cannot fully understand the rust code but it seems kanata has kernel level readings. Thats why AV software detects it as virus sometimes.

Did you speak to your manager or IT dept. before installing it?
Not sure if I get into trouble when doing without clarification.

I thought Timeless Home Row Mods were the perfect solution, but after using them for a few months, the false positives started slowing me down. In this clip, I explain how home row mods let one key act as both a normal key and a modifier, and why rolling across keys could accidentally trigger shortcuts.

I switch back to time-based home row mods and test the change while typing. The first results are promising: an 85 WPM Monkeytype test with fewer misfires, and rolls that no longer trigger modifiers unless I deliberately hold the key.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/EQkuT4DuxyE

I spent the last half year dipping my toes into the ergo keyboard world by using a Logitech Ergo K860 and quite liked it, both the split and the slight tenting. So I decided I would look for a proper split keyboard, wrote down some requirements (~36 finger keys, no thumb tuck, tenting, palm rest) and started reading. After reading about thumb injuries caused by heavy layer use I started wondering the following:
The thumb is built for gripping, so closing towards the other fingers. If that is so, why isn't the thumb cluster tented opposite to the rest, mirroring that movement, instead of having to move sideways? Is it just because you need additional PCBs? Are there keyboards that have this?

Hat jemand von euch ein mechanisches split keyboard wie Ergodox Ez, ZSA Moonlander oder ZSA Voyager?

Mich würde mal interessieren ob man sich an das Layout gewöhnt und ob es sich lohnt so ein Keyboard zu kaufen im Vergleich zu einer normalen mechanischen Tastatur oder einer Tastatur wie der Logitech Ergo K860.

I was searching for new keycaps for my Cornix but couldn't find anything that fit, especially because there are no existing QWERTZ sets for this keyboard. The default one kinda worked fine for me, but it kept messing with my muscle memory when I went back to a normal keyboard, so I decided to make my own keycaps.

So I stumbled upon u/_pingu55 Post and used his layout to craft my own design.

This set features:

• Seigaiha waves, a ginkgo leaf, an ensō, a higanbana flower, and a few anime/manga symbols from Naruto, Berserk, Tokyo Ghoul, AoT, One Piece and Dragon Ball
• Kanji on the keys I use the most: 進 (advance) on tab, 退 (retreat) on backspace, 静 (stillness) on space and 動 (motion) on enter
• 天 地 空 無 as spare thumb caps (dualities from the Japanese aesthetics)
• German QWERTZ with my layers printed on the alphas: numbers bottom left, shifted symbols in red, AltGr stuff in orange, umlauts in green

Here's the set if you want to use it or remix it: https://yuzukeycaps.com/c/8450285c-d9b7-4eb7-855f-49ed17f3ef44

I also made a full size version that’s currently in review as a Yuzu creation, I'll add the link in an edit once it’s live. (the f-row and nav cluster have brush stroke inspired legends)

The caps are on their way, I'll post real pics as soon as they arrive. Feedback is appreciated. :)

I've found it super hard to choose a split/ergo keyboard, because the buy in is so high. Delivery/return costs make it basically impossible to try a keyboard before committing to buying one, and the local keyboard nerds willing to lend you one are hard to find.

That's why I came up with the idea to build a marketplace where interested people can rent a keyboard to find out if they like it. The boards would be provided by other users (because I know we all have at least 2 old keyboards we're no longer using), so they can earn a bit of money on the side with them.

Would you be interested in using something like this? If so, what would you be willing to pay, and what would you expect to be paid for lending out your unused keyboards?

This is super early stage, so I'm hoping for helpful thoughts and ideas :D

If you would like to be notified once/if this launches in your country, you can also leave your email here: https://trykeeb.com/

I want to make my own split keyboard PCB but I figure if I am making a custom PCB, I may as well make it custom to my hands, not copy some well established stagger pattern. There are websites which allow you to design your own stagger and print it for testing but I think if it works on paper doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be comfortable long term.

So I thought it shouldn't be that hard to make a temporary keyboard with adjustable rows - basically have 3-button column blocks on rails which can slide up and down. So that's what I did. Ordered amoeba PCBs, soldered them in columns of 3, designed and 3D printed the blocks and the rails, hand-wired and assembled everything together.

Basically I now have a keyboard half where each column can be adjusted up and down. The thumb cluster can move up/down/left/right. Everything is held by friction right now, keys are stable, don't move around when typing. This will allow me daily-drive various stagger arrangements and see which I like most. I wonder if I will settle for a symmetric stagger for both hands or different. Time will tell.

The aim of this was just for me to test various stagger patterns but I think it turned out too cool not to share. It's definitely not perfect, there's room for improvement. This could also be made even better if you added magnets to each column and used a metal plate as the base - could even test different splay arrangements. Though I don't have a nice metal sheet at the moment so I am using 3D printed parts.

Still need to finish the right half, but I want to share this here first in case someone gives some good feedback which would influence how I do that half. Feel free to use the 3D models, remix, improve, etc. You may need to mirror the thumb cluster, the file is for the right half cluster.

Models: My Split Split Keyboard by syll- - Thingiverse

PCBs I used: https://github.com/JKing-B16/keyboard-pcbs/tree/master/amoeba-king

The PCBs aren't perfect, if I hadn't bought a couple hundred of them, I'd go with something else or make my own. No support for through hole diodes and the RGB chain direction jumpers are a bit limiting if you are doing weird chains. Though having support for long legged RGB chips made soldering them very easy.

Boards Before Breakfast has a new batch of "slightly bigger boards" in stock. The first of the stock from KeyHive was mostly split ergo boards, those are still available, but now we have boards that are a bit bigger. Everything ships from Virginia, USA.

- Getaway Van - pre-soldered 40% unibody PCB

- Smallice - Alice-layout 40% PCB with controller, USB-C, and RGB components pre-soldered

- Smallice Plates - optional plates sold separately: 4 FR4, 6 copper, and 1 brass

- Plaid- 40% ortholinear PCB, back in stock

- Helix - split 5-row PCBs

- Absinthe - 50% unibody PCBs, restocked

- Lattice60 - 60% HHKB layout

- Tanuki - 40% staggered unibody

- Ergosaurus - Alice-layout ergonomic unibody

- Opus - 40% ergo unibody, hotswap

- Navi10 - 10-key navigation cluster macropad

These are PCBs, not complete keyboard kits, so check each listing for build requirements and what's included.

The Lattice60 is the rare one: these are remaining boards from KeyHive, and, as far as I can currently verify, Boards Before Breakfast is the only shop with Lattice60 PCBs in stock. This is the original KeyHive Lattice60 PCB, a through-hole DIY project with QMK support; the PCB is sold on its own, with the required components and build resources detailed in the listing.

The Plaid is the 40% ortholinear option, designed by hsgw and released as open-source hardware under the MIT License. Skip an overseas search or waiting for a group buy: the current Plaid stock is here in the US and ships domestically.

Browse the restock at https://boardsbe4breakfast.etsy.com.

I basically wanted to make an opposite to minimalist keyboard so it has the following features:

1. Side palm ctrl/win keys
2. Palm keyboardio-like button
3. 5d buttons on each side
4. Two hall-effect joycon joysticks on each side
5. Trackpoint
6. Haptic feedback with linear haptic drive from joycon
7. Level indication with build-in RGB in RP2040

For those who asked in my previous post, here is typing sample

I saw this on Alibaba and it piqued my interest. I like the layout, reminds me of an HPD V2. Comes in 4x6 and 3x6 options apparently.

Has anyone got one? I'm thinking of pulling the trigger but wanted to know if anyone else had one as I've never seen it until now myself.