I only need to start the w and everything lines up in my url bar for me to 'down arrow, enter' my way to wikipedia. I only go to three sites anyway, right?
What looks like left sided mods of esc, tab, shift are in fact q, a, z. Esc is q and w together, tab is a and s, shift is if I hold down Z.
Why would I choose to do this? To get me to use my pinkies more for normal typing. On a 40% (which is my normal keyboard) I use only the three larger fingers, which is a bad habit if speed is your aim.
DIY board. I designed a no-stabs matrix-only PCB (the Pi Pico MCU has to serve as the "daughterboard"). It's FRL 1800 and is one of my personal favorites, though I've since replaced the black spacebars with a couple of BOW keys that reflect the hold-tap mapping I set up; I've also changed it from KMK to ZMK.
Anyway, PCB orders usually have a minimum order of 5 pieces, so I snapped the numpad off of one and laser-cut a case of sorts, really just plates and spacers, and got "half-height" switches. My laser can sort of half-assedly dye-sub cheap PBT blanks, so I did a Timex Sinclair design. Later, I added feet, a 3D printed replacement one-piece spacer with a sidewall, and a MagSafe ring so it could be the keyboard for a Chrometab I converted to Debian.
IIRC, there is one single bodge wire in there from where I did compromise the matrix, but I cannot stress how simplistic this PCB design was. It is holes for switches, holes for diodes, holes to string it over to the microcontroller dev board, and traces connecting them all. My second one is slightly more ambitious, allowing a couple of layout choices, Alps or MX, and has a designated spot to solder a specific MCU. That one requires two bodge wires because I screwed up the traces a little. If I do a third, I will know to make sure every trace is assigned to a "subnet" before I tell KiCAD to clean things up.
Seeing this board again inspired me to revisit my own custom. I really love how even with 14 columns it remains symmetric without using too many odd-sized keycaps (not against using a few blanks for the mods). And the arrow keys! This is the layout I've settled on for my own use: https://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/68b440125bd9755baf0fcb5faf19ed61
If it turns out OK I might have to get a case milled.
Very cool!! I think your bottom row may ultimately prove slightly more user friendly than mine, though I certainly got used to it. The ortholinear number row has proven to be a non-issue for me, though I have the "advantage" of not truly touch typing, and my hand-eye coordination therefore doesn't have too much trouble with losing that 0.5u stagger.
I have plenty of combo and macro space on the complied hex for this board, so I can just shove those into there and :!unix_command rm -rf -no-preserve-root /
31 Comments
jdr@lemmy.ml · 39 pts · 159d
Yes! I never liked typing the letters in the left column, now it's not possible!
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 159d
I just copy and paste them from Wikipedia
Bubs@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 159d
Where do you copy the A from to get to Wikipedia?
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 159d
From here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A?wprov=sfla1
Bubs@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 159d
Ahh, but that still needs you to type an A... 3 actually. What's your real source of A's huh???
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 159d
I have it bookmarked for q, a, z on my toolbar. Just had to suffer googles autocorrect once to get the wikipedia page
NannerBanner@literature.cafe · 2 pts · 157d
I only need to start the w and everything lines up in my url bar for me to 'down arrow, enter' my way to wikipedia. I only go to three sites anyway, right?
i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk · 17 pts · 159d
Who needs Q, Z and, erm, A, anyway? Nobody!
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 159d
How did you even type those characters?!
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 159d
What looks like left sided mods of esc, tab, shift are in fact q, a, z. Esc is q and w together, tab is a and s, shift is if I hold down Z.
Why would I choose to do this? To get me to use my pinkies more for normal typing. On a 40% (which is my normal keyboard) I use only the three larger fingers, which is a bad habit if speed is your aim.
human@slrpnk.net · 8 pts · 159d
This keyboard has no time for questions.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 159d
It’s a good thing it has dual spacebars, or else this board would be seriously flawed.
CsXGF8uzUAOh6fqV@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 159d
Indeed, multiple spacebars is what really makes these types of boards work. I like having four of them personally.
wjrii@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 159d
You rang?
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 159d
While a 1u spacebar may sit on the council we will not grant it the rank of master
wjrii@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 158d
Then it's a good thing the gang of four there are all 1.25u!
Which is not to say your decision is anything other than ourageous and unfair. We'll see what the Supreme Chancellor thinks.
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 158d
Not the younglings!
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 158d
This is sexy. I need details.
wjrii@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 158d
DIY board. I designed a no-stabs matrix-only PCB (the Pi Pico MCU has to serve as the "daughterboard"). It's FRL 1800 and is one of my personal favorites, though I've since replaced the black spacebars with a couple of BOW keys that reflect the hold-tap mapping I set up; I've also changed it from KMK to ZMK.
Anyway, PCB orders usually have a minimum order of 5 pieces, so I snapped the numpad off of one and laser-cut a case of sorts, really just plates and spacers, and got "half-height" switches. My laser can sort of half-assedly dye-sub cheap PBT blanks, so I did a Timex Sinclair design. Later, I added feet, a 3D printed replacement one-piece spacer with a sidewall, and a MagSafe ring so it could be the keyboard for a Chrometab I converted to Debian.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 158d
You “snapped the numpad off” and the rest of the board kept working?! I wish to subscribe to your blog.
wjrii@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 157d
I mean, it helped that I knew the designer, LOL.
IIRC, there is one single bodge wire in there from where I did compromise the matrix, but I cannot stress how simplistic this PCB design was. It is holes for switches, holes for diodes, holes to string it over to the microcontroller dev board, and traces connecting them all. My second one is slightly more ambitious, allowing a couple of layout choices, Alps or MX, and has a designated spot to solder a specific MCU. That one requires two bodge wires because I screwed up the traces a little. If I do a third, I will know to make sure every trace is assigned to a "subnet" before I tell KiCAD to clean things up.
arviceblot@midwest.social · 3 pts · 158d
Seeing this board again inspired me to revisit my own custom. I really love how even with 14 columns it remains symmetric without using too many odd-sized keycaps (not against using a few blanks for the mods). And the arrow keys! This is the layout I've settled on for my own use: https://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/68b440125bd9755baf0fcb5faf19ed61
If it turns out OK I might have to get a case milled.
wjrii@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 158d
Very cool!! I think your bottom row may ultimately prove slightly more user friendly than mine, though I certainly got used to it. The ortholinear number row has proven to be a non-issue for me, though I have the "advantage" of not truly touch typing, and my hand-eye coordination therefore doesn't have too much trouble with losing that 0.5u stagger.
arviceblot@midwest.social · 3 pts · 158d
Yeah I never developed the muscle memory for the num row so it shouldn’t be a problem
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 159d
Its for academic purposes, makes double spacing easier
Michal@programming.dev · 1 pts · 157d
Especially if you're Python programmer
mech@feddit.org · 12 pts · 159d
↑↑↓↓←→←→B...shit
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 159d
Congrats you've unlocked extra hard mode, we removed the backspace and delete keys from all layers
pirateKaiser@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 158d
Vim users: i have 73 ways to delete text and those aren't even my favourite ones.
tankplanker@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 157d
I have plenty of combo and macro space on the complied hex for this board, so I can just shove those into there and :!unix_command rm -rf -no-preserve-root /
Bazell@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 157d
Cute.