Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm on year 5 or 6 with a self built ErgoDox. it's really tough to imagine going back to anything else full time. I ended up building another to keep at home. Not sure how much it's changed, but I was able to build both of mine <= $200 each.
How do you build one? I'm handy with a soldering iron (and even designing my own PCBs), but I'd still want to not spend more time on it than I have to (e.g. if there is firmware I can just use).
If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
231–240 of 373 posts
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
I once had an IBM keyboard with two very long rows of function keys (I think they were labeled PF1, PF2, etc...) above the numbers. There must have been 30 of them. The keyboard was a beast. Weighed as much as a Fiat and the fat cable terminated in something that looked like a Centronics connector. Then one day the computer was replaced by a Wang terminal with a svelte, modern keyboard and it felt like the future was…
This one? https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/40L5A
That one is also USB. The one I used was at least a decade before USB existed.
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you build one? I'm handy with a soldering iron (and even designing my own PCBs), but I'd still want to not spend more time on it than I have to (e.g. if there is firmware I can just use).
The QMK firmware is pretty simple to get up and running. The wiring is pretty simple too, you have your rows and columns, and then connect each to an input on the microcontroller, and then configure your row/column/key layout in QMK.
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. My life has turned around completely because of three things: 1. Ergodox EZ Split Island Keyboard 2. Dvorak keyboard layout 3. Taking a Rust programming job Now I look forward to Mondays.
Writing Rust in Dvorak on an EZ Ergo for a living is next-level techno-paradise to many a nerd. Kudos for that! Also, if by any chance you feel like sharing details about how, and in which order you made these transitions; things you wish you knew before trying... please don't hesitate :)
The worst part was having to relearn keyboard shortcuts, so I don't know if I'd recommend it to an emacs or vim user.
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#235Are mechanical keyboards that much "better" (I know this is subjective) than normal laptop keyboards (I have a macbook pro). I'm considering buying one but they are quite expensive...
1) I'm typing this on a laptop now and don't feel the urge to throw up or whatever people say
2) I also have a wireless CherryMX keyboard that I keep in my backpack with me, I enjoy them that much.
There are a couple of reasons that I think other people enjoy mechanical keyboards. First, there's the aesthetic aspect. There are so many options for key caps and bodies and all kinds of other things that can make keyboards genuinely beautiful and a joy to see everyday. Second, many people find satisfaction in the sound and feel of mechanical keys (including myself).
For me it's ergonomics. I'm a pianist and organist as well as a programmer/software engineer/sysadmin/someone who spends a lot of time typing. AS such, I've gain RSI, most notibly tendonitis in my wrist and the finger tendons in my forearms. Before I got a mechanical keyboard, this bothered me a lot more at the keyboard than the piano or organ, because part of classical training is the ergonomics of (piano/organ) keyboard playing. Here's what a neutral posture should be:
> When sitting, your shoulders should be relaxed, your elbows at exactly 90 degrees, a straight plane from the crook of your elbows to the first nuckle (top of the hand flat and level). With your fingers curved down and relaxed, they should be at the bottom of a key press.
Two things to note: First, your wrists are hovering. There's no wrist rest.
Second (and super important) that a bottom of a key press is not the same as bottoming out the key. It's the point at which a key will make a note. A VERY important that you try not to bottom out the key or type "through" the keybed, as this is an impact on your joints and slows you down (as well as stopping motion and other things that important to piano playing but not for typing). This generally is not possible on rubber dome or scissor switches, as bottoming out is the signal. On mechanical keyboards (or at least the types that I use, like MX Blues and the Model M I have at home), however, the \click\ is the keypress, so I don't have to bottom out. Instead I just feel la bunch of springs and a light but definitely actionable feedback.
I will also point out that I have not spent a huge amount of money on mechs. My daily driver at work is a $30 Red Dragon K552[0], which is pretty cheap and has served me well for about 8 months now. I'll also point out that I've heard no noise complaints (and I made sure to ask around after a week) in my open office environment, mostly due to not bottoming out (and because one of my neighbors is a very heavy typer and is much louder, along with the Model M two cubicles over).
You can definitely go much deeper into ergonomics with split keyboards and tilts and all kinds of things, but this works for me.
TL;DR I applied my knowledge of piano playing to typing to alleviate my reoccurring tendonitis and a mechanical keyboard helps with that immensely.
[0]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016MAK38U/ref=ppx_od_dt_b...
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
Alas, it is presently unobtainium. I guess I need to consider building my own split keyboard using Cherry ML switches.
This is similar and in stock, if you’re okay assembling it. They have great build documentation. https://keeb.io/collections/keyboard-pcbs/products/quefrency...
Thanks for this. I'm getting closer to what I'm looking for.
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#237I'm currently held back from going into the mechanical keyboard world because I'm hooked on the thinkpad trackpoint stick and mouse buttons below the spacebar - I've got a thinkpad and two usb keyboards with the dot and mouse buttons, and I use them on every computer I touch. Are there mechanical keyboards with built in mouse functionality?
The Unicomp EnduraPro is a Model M with a trackpoint. Unicomp bought the design, and IIRC the molds, for the Model M from IBM and/or Lenovo when they got rid of them. https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
> - you can afford the lower productivity (e.g: you are not a freelancer that needs a regular output) Why lower productivity? The person who created it thinks it will lower RSI therefor increase productivity.
Is RSI even that normal? I have never heard anyone talk about it in real life, only in these threads does it seem like everyone has it.
More recently, when I started working from home more frequently, my wrist issues reappeared. My desk at home is higher than my desk at the office.
So I can completely understand a tweak to wrist position making dramatic changes to RSI or CTS.
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#239Around 2 years ago now, I took the plunge and bought myself an Ergodox EZ split island keyboard. Quite franky, it is the biggest quantum leap in the ergonomic experience of interacting with a computer I have seen since learning Vim. It is comfortable, effortless and fast. If you spend any significant time interacting with computers it is a complete no brainer to invest in optimising the IO channel between your brain…
I'll be honest, I bought an Ergodox EZ a year or so ago and have consistently struggled to get comfortable using it. I have set up quite a few useful macros for programs I use daily like tmux as well as making it more vim-friendly (after many interations) and yet I still find it a serious chore to get past the fact that the keys feel un-naturally placed. Eventually I just give up and switch back to my laptop keyboard…
Re: If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is similar and in stock, if you’re okay assembling it. They have great build documentation. https://keeb.io/collections/keyboard-pcbs/products/quefrency...
The build looks reasonably straightforward. I suspect I wouldn't be able to use low-profile switches with this, but I'll fully admit I'm not well versed in keyboard assembly. Thanks for this. I'm getting closer to what I'm looking for.
I'm comfortable designing and assembling PCBs but don't really have time to debug a brand-new design, so I've ordered a low-profile Lily58 kit. The Lily58 is most of what I want and has open source PCB, schematic and case. If it doesn't work for me, I'm expecting to modify it to something more like Quefrency.