this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

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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

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Questions before getting a corne keyboard (self.ergomechkeyboards)
submitted 10 months ago by mobergmann to c/ergomechkeyboards
4 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I want to get a corne keyboard, but I have a few questions, before I dare to dig deeper into the topic.

  1. Can I use the keyboard wired and wireless? Meaning, when I plug in a cable, that it (turns of its wireless connection and) uses the cable connection?
  2. Can I also just use one site at a time, meaning that the other side is turned off/unplugged?
  3. Which version (corne-classic, corne-cherry or corne-chocolate) should I use when I want to use Gateron Hot-Swap Switches (not low-profile)?
  4. Do I have to pay attention when buying keycaps, e.g. to also get special sized caps?
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[–] orclev 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

  1. It depends. If you get one that uses a bluetooth capable MCU (like a nice!nano) then yes generally, although last I looked none of them supported QMK so you'll most likely be forced to use something like ZMK. That could have changed by now though, I know it was being worked out.

  2. Yes, but be aware that you should never plug/unplug the TRRS cable used to connect the two halves while they're powered on. Some Bluetooth models don't use a TRRS cable but instead have both halves connect wirelessly. Also I know sometimes the firmware can be setup to always expect the half that's plugged in to be the right or left half and plugging in the opposite side can sometimes do funky things to the keymap.

  3. classic or cherry I think. Definitely not chocolate, that's exclusively for chocolate switches, not cherry. Also switches aren't hotswap, the sockets are, so there's no such thing as a Gateron hot-swap switch, that's just a Gateron switch.

  4. usually no. If you get a chocolate switch board you need to be careful about the caps, but finding chocolate caps is already a royal PITA. Some exceptionally large or unusual cherry caps could cause problems but that would be true of any keyboard not just a corne. One thing to be aware of is you're going to want a ortholinear cap set, not the standard one as you'll want square modifier keys and things like enter/space that are normally rectangular.

[–] apfel 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Addendum to 1: While QMK is nice, I personally prefer ZMK and use it even on my wired boards. So just wanna say, "forced to use" sounds a bit harsh. ZMK is a great and very capable firmware, and it does certain things better than QMK.

[–] Hazel 4 points 9 months ago

I second this. I also prefer ZMK and use it on my wired boards whenever possible.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

I was curious about ZMK but now I already have everything set up exactly how I want it in QMK and I do not wanna pay the cost of switching lol. Maybe one day though