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Split keyboards and how to build them

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Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#201

Post by ashkankiani »

dsissitka wrote: post #192
secure wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My https://github.com/kinx-project/kint project is a replacement keyboard controller for the Kinesis Advantage keyboards, which allows you to use QMK :)

Nice, thank you! :)

Yeah this is what I was going to say. There are a few projects which allow one to swap out the firmware for a custom one on Advantage Kinesis keyboards. There's one with a teensy, one with a custom controller. It's not exactly trivial to do, but I think it is the ultimate if you want to go that route. The hardware design of the Kinesis is top tier, but the software is a bit weak.

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#202

Post by [deleted] »

teamonkey wrote: post #162
pabloarteel wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around that topic of ergonomic tools, I've been wanting to try a vertical mouse. As a designer, my right hand is over the mouse a lot of the time. I have a chronic pain on my right wirst, although, I not certain of the cause. Anyone her has experience with this?

A vertical mouse, combined with a wrist and elbow brace helped me immensely, where a trackpad or thumb-ball made my RSI much worse. Even just a cheap one is an improvement, but the more vertical the tilt, the better. The one I use now is the one that's rebranded by half a dozen suppliers on Amazon. The thing that's hard to remember with a vertical mouse (and mice in general) is that you're supposed to move your arm,…

[deleted]

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#204

Post by sethammons »

Symbiote wrote: post #166

This repository was abandoned for a while, so I remixed/forked it into a gallery view with filters. It can be easier to get an overview, or search for something specific (e.g. only a traditional "Microsoft Ergonomic" layout). https://aposymbiont.github.io/split-keyboards/ There's also http://xahlee.info/kbd/diy_keyboards_index.html which has reviews.

Missing the cloud9 split ergo

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#205

Post by learnvella »

badlucklottery wrote: post #153
surfsvammel wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the same board and I am generally happy with it. There is one warning I’d like to make though; I have fairly small hands and I feel that my hands have to reach more using this keyboard than with other split keyboards I’ve used. It’s purely anecdotal though, because I have done some measuring and cannot actually find that there is any significant difference in distance between keys compared to my old keyboard.…

> I have fairly small hands and I feel that my hands have to reach more using this keyboard than with other split keyboards I’ve used The Moonlander has a lot of key rows for a "flat" keyboard so there's going to be some reaching if you use them all. I have relatively large/long hands and coming from a Kinesis Advantage (which has a similar number of rows) it was a lot of reaching for the top and bottom rows, especia…

imo a large keyboard is good to start with as most people will be used to having a large standard keyboard. what i've done is, using qmk, slowly updated my keyboard to make less and less use of keys that i wouldn't have on a 3x5 dactyl. it allows me to make my changes slowly but still develop the habits to get away from the number row and what not all while finding what works well for me

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#206

Post by baylessj »

flor1s wrote: post #76
fpgaminer wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read a blog post on Coding Horror back in the mid 2000s about the importance of a good chair. It really opened my eyes and convinced me that, regardless of the cost, an ergonomic working environment is worth every penny. So fast forward about two decades ... and I finally bought my first ergonomic chair... It's stunning how stubborn we can be, even when we know for certain that something is good for us. I don't eve…

For buying ergonomic chairs on a budget, you should check out used office supply stores. You can often save hundreds of dollars for a good quality chair.

Seconded, bought a used Steelcase for only about $100 at the beginning of the pandemic. It has been worth every penny with working from home.

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#207

Post by LockAndLol »

adamcstephens wrote: post #200
LockAndLol wrote: post #174

As a software developer, I'm pretty lost when it comes to circuits, soldering, etc. I can mix and match parts for my PC and not fuck up, but building hardware from scratch is something totally new to me. Are there any European stores that sell the kits or parts to build these keyboards? I've had pretty bad experiences buying stuff from outside the EU. If something is faulty, broken, etc., you're pretty much SOL, whil…

https://splitkb.com/ Is in NL and the owner is very accessible. I hung out in their discord for a while during my research phase and leaned a lot.

Thank you! Checking it out.

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#208

Post by LockAndLol »

Symbiote wrote: post #177
LockAndLol wrote: post #174

As a software developer, I'm pretty lost when it comes to circuits, soldering, etc. I can mix and match parts for my PC and not fuck up, but building hardware from scratch is something totally new to me. Are there any European stores that sell the kits or parts to build these keyboards? I've had pretty bad experiences buying stuff from outside the EU. If something is faulty, broken, etc., you're pretty much SOL, whil…

https://keycapsss.com/ (Germany) https://falba.tech/ (Poland) https://candykeys.com/ (Germany) https://mykeyboard.eu/ (Belgium)

Good list, thank you. Having a look at them.

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#209

Post by Pet_Ant »

lelag wrote: post #142
bigjimmyk3 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a 20+ year dvorak user, but if I was starting over again I'd probably go colemak.

I have also been a dvorak user for about 20 years and happy with it. One of the reason I choose to use standard dvorak over other layouts was that it was available natively (even back then) on every single OS which to my knowledge is still not the case with Colemak (not natively supported in Windows). If I have to use a computer for more than a few minutes, I know I can easily switch it to Dvorak without having to in…

> I know I can easily switch it to Dvorak without having to install some drivers

This was the deciding factor. I have even developed my own keyboard layouts for assignments using genetic programming and I have a pet project using a chorded keyboard, but I wanted to have something relatively standard and well known and likely to be supported by keycap manufacturers. I'm sure there are better layouts, but Dvorak being a well-known standard trumps most of them.

PS- just got notification that my Moonlander Mk1 shipped today!

Re: Split keyboards and how to build them

#210

Post by mech422 »

the_gipsy wrote: post #123
betwixthewires wrote: post #45

I'm curious why none of these split designs ever feature a trackball on the right half integrated into the board somehow. There are plenty of FOSS trackball designs, it seems like it would just make sense, especially for ergonomic designs, to have a trackball set up where you don't have to move your hand over to move a cursor. Also I don't understand why they're always missing function keys.

https://atulloh.github.io/oddball/

Dang - this is nice!

Thanks - I hadn't seen it before!

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