ErgoMechKeyboards

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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/

founded 2 years ago

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First build - 1 key is not working (self.ergomechkeyboards)

submitted 2 years ago by ErgoCoder to c/ergomechkeyboards

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hey there,

I have been in the process of building my first custom keyboard (Ferris sweep), I have just finished flashing my to halves, and wanted to test it out, and it turns out that one of the keys doesn’t work. My guess is a poorly soldered joint.

My question for you are, what are my options for troubleshooting this problem, and finding the source of it? (I’m guessing that it could both be from the micro controller, and the key it self)

Thank you for reading, and this great community

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[–] Skree 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

With a multimeter there are tons of things to check!

You can put it into OHM mode and test diode direction, the traces, and finally the switch itself!

[–] ErgoCoder 1 points 2 years ago

Thanks, I’ll have a go at the multimeter

[–] Kimcha87 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Try to narrow down where the problem is.

First use tweezers to connect the two switch pads together and see if it outputs the key.

This way you can test that the PCB works.

If that works, try the same with the contacts inside the hotswap socket.

If that works, try switching the hotswap socket.

I don’t think the sweep has diodes. But if it does, check if the direction is correct.

[–] ErgoCoder 1 points 2 years ago

Thanks. I didn’t install hot-swap sockets, but I’ll try you other suggestions.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Normally Ive had bad switches you could pop it open and make sure something isnt wrong or if it's easy enough swap it with a spare

[–] ErgoCoder 1 points 2 years ago

I hadn’t really thought about the possibility of the switch being the problem, I might check that out if nothing else fixes it. Thank you

[–] RustedSwitch 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Did you install hot swap sockets?

I recently built a board and smushed the pins on one switch while I was hurriedly installing them. All was fine once I pulled it out and straightened the pins.

[–] ErgoCoder 2 points 2 years ago

I didn’t install hot swap sockets no, that’s why I expect that I maybe have made a cold connection or something when soldering the switch. Thanks for the advise though