this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

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Hi all,

I have an idea in my head, but I’m a cable short, and looking for suggestions.

24-key split-ortho (2 keys per finger, where you press both top and bottom keys simultaneously to get the home row key), with per-key RGB and OLED display on the left side. But…

I’d like to run this off a single BlackPill controller on the left hand side, and use a CAT6 cable to bridge the two sides.

CAT6 has 4 twisted pairs, so 8 cables. If I run a 4x3 matrix then that’s 7 cables. Plus another for the VCC for the RGB. But then no more for the DIN/DOUT for RGB. GND should be fine as I can earth the right hand side separately, but I’m missing a cable if I want RGB.

Are there any suggestions on how I might be able to get around my challenge?

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[–] luckybipedal 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There are keyboard matrices that can accommodate more keys with fewer pins. E.g. https://kbd.news/Square-or-round-robin-matrix-1400.html. This one can do 12 keys with 4 pins. But needs some careful component choices to avoid ghosting.

[–] nydas 1 points 1 year ago

Oh, that’s awesome. Thank you!

[–] nydas 1 points 1 year ago

I’ve taken a look, and it seems that this might be exactly what I was looking for. Frees three cables up for the RGB.