ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

Rules

Keep it ergo

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!?)

i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²

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

No Spam

No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.

No Buy/Sell/Trade

This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.

Some useful links

EMK wiki
Split keyboard compare tool
Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/

founded 1 year ago

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Where should I start? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/ergomechkeyboards

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hey! I saw posts from here on my feed, and have been sucked in. Beautiful keyboards!

But, I'm a bit overwhelmed with options. If I want to get started with an EMK, what would you suggest?

I am comfortable with general soldering (though haven't done surface-mount), so putting a kit together should be doable. I use a Dvorak keyboard layout, so would prefer a way to customize keycaps. But ... I would prefer a kit that comes with everything (or at least a checklist), and doesn't require me to figure out what components to order, to help ensure I have compatible parts.

Thanks for your suggestions!

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[–] apfel 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Depending on what region you're in, there's probably gonna be some folks selling cool ergomech kits. I'm personally in the EU, can recommend keeb.supply, Keycapsss, 42keebs, splitkb.com, Keygem.

I'm probably forgetting some, and these are only the EU-based ones. Maybe someone else could recommend vendors in other regions :)

[–] Risk 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Whew boy, what a rabbit hole chancing into this thread was for me.

Went to keeb.supply and then that fantastic word document on keyboard layouts and now I want to buy a soldering iron, hundreds of pounds of keyboard parts, and learn an entirely new layout.

[–] apfel 3 points 1 year ago

Aay very happy that linking that document in the intro to small keyboards helped someone :)

You can also easily try alternative layouts on your current keyboard via tools such as kmonad.

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

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm in Taiwan...so hopefully there is either cheaper shipping somewhere, or I can figure out the right Chinese for these and search...

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

I did find a vendor in HK. Close by with shipping covered. Looks like I may start there.

[–] apfel 2 points 1 year ago

Nice! Let us know what you end up with!