ErgoMechKeyboards
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/
view the rest of the comments
Thanks, I’ll get that sorted later tonight.
Are you wanting to build one or just being helpful for those that might want to make one?
I have a few spare PCBs of the posted iteration, if you’re based in Australia I’m happy to send some on. Though I’d recommend waiting for the 1.0 release.
I'm considering building one. I'm not in Australia and think I'll wait for 1.0, but thanks for offering! I haven't soldered anything in a couple decades. Do you think it's still possible for me to do this when a guide is made?
Yes. It’s fairly straight forward and there are test points to check everything is soldered properly as you go.
There is one exception, the backlight has some very small surface mount parts, the SMD resistors in particular are quite fiddly.
My current thinking is to sell pre-soldered kits with all the surface mount parts done (LEDs withstanding). This way people only need to solder the controller sockets and encoders to get a functioning keyboard.
I will of course keep all of the design files freely available. If you order your own PCBs from JLCPCB you will need to order a batch of 5 so you’ll have some practice boards 😊
I’m still working on a cost effective way to solve the pre-soldering of LEDs. I’ve looked into reverse mountable LEDs, but I’ve yet to find something that meets the required criteria (price, color, efficiency and availability).