this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2023
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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!?)

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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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My Journey From Mechanical to Ergonomic Keyboards | New ErgoMech Open Sourced (Kaly42) + Video! (iili.io)
submitted 1 year ago by Dwctor to c/ergomechkeyboards
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hello everyone! I recently open sourced the Kaly42, a cheap split Ergonomic Mechanical Keyboard and, to celebrate the occasion, have decided to tell the story of how I went from a standard mechanical keyboard to the CSTC40 and eventually to designing and building a new keyboard! The files are available here and the video here! If any of that interests you, please check them out, it would mean a lot to me!

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

Nice planter pics in the repo!

Can you tell me about the keycaps you're using? They look "pointier" than the low profile choc keycaps I got from MK Ultra.

Also, how was your experience using Ergogen with Blackpill? When I played with it a while back it really only had built-in footprints for Pro Micro.

[–] Dwctor 2 points 1 year ago

I got those keycaps from aliexpress and the choice was purely based on "This is the cheapest I can find", but they are quite ok if you don't mind flat keycaps! I think about 0.2$ per keycap. (and you get free shipping after getting enough of them).

As for Ergogen, sadly I also didn't find any. I imported and used the footprint exclusively from the Kicad PCB stage onwards. It took a bit more of manual work but was quite worth it! Hope someone adds it and the RP controllers eventually, it would be great!

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

The more reachable thumb keys look very interesting! But I'm wondering that aren't there more keyboards like this? Are there any tradeoffs? I'm thinking of the Cantor, Piantor, Corne, etc.

I currently have a Cantor that I like very much. The inner thumb keys are somewhat annoying, but not complete deal breakers to me.

[–] Dwctor 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I would argue that the only trade-off is that my keyboard has no case or screws for tenting, I just use the bare PCB. In a future version I will add screws for a case and tenting though, then I would argue no trade-off when compared, for example, to the Cantor. (The Piantor has better microcontroller in the RP and the Corne just has amazing community support).

The thumb keys were only deal breakers because of my hands and condition at that time, I still think the Cantor is a good keyboard, but it's just not for me. (I also like the thumb keys closer together!)

Oh, and I didn't find any other keyboards like the Kaly. I did look for a while, but didn't find anything like it, so eventually just decided to make my own! (I was quite against doing a full design at the start, but warmed up to it by the end).

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

Very cool! I really like the ergonomics since carpal tunnel from long time use is a concern. The price point is also very welcoming.

Is there a version that could include the function keys as an additional top row? I understand the keys can be programmable, but having the f1-f12 keys on the top row would be preferable since I use them often.

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

There's many keebs similar to what you're describing! Check out for example the Lily58 or Sofle, available e.g. from splitkb.com.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the link! Down the rabbit hole I goooooo!

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

Those are indeed great suggestions! However I feel that there is a missing market for keyboards with that size that have strong columnar stagger. If you know of any, please do inform us!

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

Sofle v2 (not the rgb version) has a descent stagger of 1/2u.

[–] Dwctor 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I see, that is indeed much better! Although I do prefer stronger stagger (the Kaly is at aprox 0.9u IIRC). Thanks for the info!

[–] Dwctor 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sadly, to make a version like that, the cost (mostly of the switches and keycaps) would go up and you would need to add diodes to the build and config files. I don't wish to deal with that currently, so sadly that project has been put on hold. (see my reply to the other comment too!) However, the Kaly42 is indeed cheap, if you source the parts well it can come in at about 50$!

ps: Thanks for the kind words!