This is so pretty. I’ve been playing with a used Ergodox and this is so close to what I feel like I’d build if I made my own from scratch. The main difference is that each half is a 6x5 grid instead of 7x5, and me being fine with a wired keyboard.
Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
171–180 of 259 posts
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#172OP, congrats on the product and effort. _NOTHING_ beats prototyping and building. For other split-mechanical keyboards check out: ZSA Voyager Moergo Glove 80
I have the voyager and I'm really very happy with it. No wrist pain when I'm typing a lot. https://imgur.com/pklEZSh Ambients Silent Choc Switches (20g Linear), keycaps from worklouder (Pure)
Gorgeous! How do the worklouder pures compare to the stock keycaps?
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#173I always wanted Apple to make a split keyboard. Then I realized I could just buy two Magic Keyboards and use them at the same time -- typing on the left half of the left one, and the right half of the right one. After all, the proper ergonomic position is for your forearms to be parallel (not angled inward), which means the keyboard halves you're using should be approximately shoulder-width apart, so there's tons of…
I don't know the price of a magic keyboard off the top of my head but I'm inclined to think that you could get a really good premium split keyboard for the price of buying 2 magic keyboards.
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#174I’m currently using the kinesis advantage. It’s a great keyboard but I’ve been hoping to find a wireless split keyboard for a while. This one looks great.
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#175I love this.
Totally have been here done that. While my aesthetics are a bit different than yours, the core idea is very similar. I just imagined if Nuphy and Planck would have a twin and come up with this. I was on a budget so I basically said fuck it to the thickness and just kept the size small. Everything was FDM and I even had a 3d printable pcb-not-so-pcb if you can’t wait at all. This runs zmk for full wireless experience, uses an nrf controller and have a battery life of over a month. I even had custom keycap with stickers on it so I can lookup rarely used keys.
PS. The only cons or why I am not running this for everything is that you kind of need 2 hand to do certain things like pause the music or adjusting volume.
Photo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZwvTO3jMyY0JBKoYrA88sJk-7SX...
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#176I once did a ton of research and settled on an ergonomic split keyboard. I ended up using it for a while but never fully got used to it enough to actually type well with it. In fact, it screwed up my typing and now I make more mistakes than I used to years later. I regret it so much. I don't understand split keyboards.
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#177I always wanted Apple to make a split keyboard. Then I realized I could just buy two Magic Keyboards and use them at the same time -- typing on the left half of the left one, and the right half of the right one. After all, the proper ergonomic position is for your forearms to be parallel (not angled inward), which means the keyboard halves you're using should be approximately shoulder-width apart, so there's tons of…
I don't know the price of a magic keyboard off the top of my head but I'm inclined to think that you could get a really good premium split keyboard for the price of buying 2 magic keyboards.
It's the opposite.
Magic keyboards are $100 new. Or $30-40 on eBay used.
Split keyboards are more. They're niche so they're more expensive.
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#178I have one word: Woow!
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#179Awesome! Looks like it accompanied an apple trackpad, super sleek. I'm also using nice!nanos in my projects, and they're great little devices. At this point I'd love there to be a good alternative using a dongle, though... I have a desktop PC that I want to use them with, and since they can't connect via Bluetooth at boot time, I always have to connect them to select a boot option and unlock my ZFS drive. Having an a…
People make their own dongles using another nice!nano or something more compact like the Xiao BLE
Re: Show HN: Bayleaf – Building a low-profile wireless split keyboard
#180I feel the large spaces in the middle could instead be for a trackpad. One side only of course, the other would have keys up to the edge. I often long for the convenience of the inbuilt mac trackpad when I'm using an external bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. Unfortunately the edges and the location of the trackpad charging port make it not ideal.