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
Where's the tilde and escape keys? Where's the numpad?
How do you game with this?
You use this: https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku for normal functions.
But I still bust out a 35-key left-half of a (more) traditional keyboard for gaming.
I haven't found either yet. Same for the numpad.
I don't.
It uses layers, so shift for example is F or J. You push and hold one or the other, then push the second letter that you want capitalized. It's weird and hurts my brain, but apparently it's really efficient if you suck it up and adapt.
keep it up my dude.
it took me awhile to adapt myself, currently running a 36key fifi, also split ortho. took me awhile with colemak and layers, but man the payout is sweet. gradual but sweet.
i can't imagine going back to a regular staggered 60% board now. my old ap2 board seems cluncky and awkward now after adapting to the 36key fifi.
Layers. Think of Shift key as turning on the CAPS layer, and Ctrl turning on the cut/copy/paste/save/new layer. Add more combos a layer keys, and every key ends up having 3-5 combinations that can replicate an entire keyboard.
That's a major pain in the ass to deal with, just to have something that looks different. I'll never understand you people.
Instead of two thumbs covering only one giant key (space), you give each thumb 2-3 keys. And 1-2 of those are to shift layers, so it becomes pretty natural once you get over a learning curve.
It’s for efficiency and ergonomics. Your fingers never need to move further than one key away. Your pinkies will thank you for not having to use all those keys.