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Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

jogmekeebs.com

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Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#71

I have "XXL" size hands (some fingers push against tips of most XL gloves I try) and I find the Glove80 very comfortable fwiw https://www.moergo.com Switched from Kinesis Advantage after 15 years. Love the Pro Red config that's available out of box without expensive customization.

How long have you been using the glove80? I'm a smaller handed KA2 user but have been eyeing up switching to a glove80. Any complaints or trouble switching?

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#72
post #69
post #66

I like it, but like every other keyboard that I’ve ever seen the modifier keys are in the wrong spot. As John Napier shows in his masterwork Hands , the hand is created such that the thumb easily and precisely works in opposition to the fingers. The thumb shouldn’t be working alone, it should always be in concert with the fingers. Furthermore, since there are four natural positions for the thumb, there should be four…

What do you think of the thumb keys on the Pinky4 keyboard by tamanishi? https://github.com/tamanishi/Pinky4 Even the leftmost one is about as far over as Alt on a typical keyboard.

Looks promising!

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#73
post #12

Have you tried or were inspired by The Voyager? My friend has a Moonlander and we were discussing that the Voyager might be the ideal for the setup we were looking for. https://www.zsa.io/voyager

I haven't tried and wasn't aware of the Voyager at the time I started this project. Looking at it now, I think I would come to the same issue of the switches being too close to each other. My first split was a corne (I have a feeling that many people started with a corne here) and then I wanted a draculad[0], but it wasn't available for almost a year. These two keyboards had given the most of the inspiration for the…

I own a voyager and you are correct, the switches are too close so I frequently press things by accident.

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#75
post #8
post #3

Interesting, I have found the standard key spacing too far apart, I cannot fathom it being too close for some. I guess hand size variance is bigger than I think. Could you explain what you did to achieve "diodeless" design and how do you prevent masking?

> Could you explain what you did to achieve "diodeless" design and how do you prevent masking? I was not precise with the "diodeless" definition - the keys are directly connected to the processor pins without using a matrix. (Therefore there are no side effects of the matrix design - ghosting, masking, key rollover. The key presses are more precise and for me they seem more responsive - less latency, but unfortunatel…

The default debounce algorithm in QMK also introduces a minimum of 5ms delay, and the default usb polling rate another 10ms.

To mitigate the debounce algorithm delay, you can put "DEBOUNCE_TYPE = asym_eager_defer_pk" in your rules.mk file.

What this does:

asym: use different debounce algorithm for key-down and key-up events.

eager: the key-down is registered instantly at the first signal, instead of waiting 5ms for debounce

defer: registering key-up will wait for the debounce delay, this will make sure you won't get multiple key-downs registered before a proper key-up

pk: per key debounce timer, uses the most resource but you have plenty on your rp2040. although I don't completely understand how this works, this is supposed to be the fastest.

To increase the polling rate, this can be defined in config.h:

#define USB_POLLING_INTERVAL_MS 2

It's in ms, so 2 is 500hz, 1 is 1000hz, IMO the latter is overkill.

Together, you save a minimum of 6ms, maximum of 14ms of delay, which is orders of magnitude more than you save by not scanning the matrix.

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#76
post #75
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Could you explain what you did to achieve "diodeless" design and how do you prevent masking? I was not precise with the "diodeless" definition - the keys are directly connected to the processor pins without using a matrix. (Therefore there are no side effects of the matrix design - ghosting, masking, key rollover. The key presses are more precise and for me they seem more responsive - less latency, but unfortunatel…

The default debounce algorithm in QMK also introduces a minimum of 5ms delay, and the default usb polling rate another 10ms. To mitigate the debounce algorithm delay, you can put "DEBOUNCE_TYPE = asym_eager_defer_pk" in your rules.mk file. What this does: asym: use different debounce algorithm for key-down and key-up events. eager: the key-down is registered instantly at the first signal, instead of waiting 5ms for d…

Thanks, I will try this! Do you use this setup?

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#77
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's only from that horrible hand position that I can imagine "keys in a straight line" being an improvement. As long as you type comfortably, you're doing fine. But if you want to wrap your mind around it, that starts with grokking that not only do most touch typists type Z with the pinky, and so on in, that is how it's taught as well. So if it's what you do already, ortho just straightens that out. Most ortho kee…

It wasn't until I started seeing ortho keyboards that I realized anyone had ever been taught this, and I still can't figure out why. This placement was normal when I learned to type, and it matches much more closely the shape my hands naturally make if I bring them together in front of me: http://www.onehandkeyboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Z_...

So you got me thinking about what I actually do, and several rounds of typing "sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow" while trying to simultaneously notice what my fingers are doing, and do what I would do naturally†, I realized that on a standard keyboard, I type z and x with the ring finger, and c with the middle. I also type q with the ring finger, fairly consistently.

But on the ortho split, I do the obvious thing and type them in the "approved fashion". I used to have a bad habit of cross-typing y, which the split has mostly cured me of, since it's plain impossible. But for the word type, I absolutely do, since it's right next door.

The main point I was trying to make is that optimal tying on a staggered keyboard doesn't have much bearing on optimal typing on an ortho board to begin with. But you've given me some insight into a related puzzle, which is that I've noticed that some people take to ortho splits almost immediately, and other people find them very hard to use at first, the latter frequently just give up.

For me it was easy, except for the cross y thing: I was typing at close to my original speed in about four hours. But I type with a loose relationship between fingers and keys to begin with, my natural 'home row' on a standard keyboard is asdv nkl; for instance, and there are a small handful of keys which I'll hit with one of two fingers depending on what sequence I happen to be typing. I suspect that people who are rigorous about the layout in your link have an especially hard time with ortho keyboards.

I also simply don't see the point in ortho boards which aren't split. If you can't align your fingers with the columns, it seems like a strictly worse layout. But some people love it.

And for me, the point isn't really the ortho, it's the split. It's just vastly more comfortable to place my hands on either side of my torso, and the ortholinear part is just a natural consequence of that placement in a "may as well" sort of way. The tilt is what makes columns natural, without that it's at least a wash, and I would say worse.

[†] which is an absurd and unnatural thing to do, like trying to pay close attention to what your knees are doing while you walk down the street.

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#78
post #76
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The default debounce algorithm in QMK also introduces a minimum of 5ms delay, and the default usb polling rate another 10ms. To mitigate the debounce algorithm delay, you can put "DEBOUNCE_TYPE = asym_eager_defer_pk" in your rules.mk file. What this does: asym: use different debounce algorithm for key-down and key-up events. eager: the key-down is registered instantly at the first signal, instead of waiting 5ms for d…

Thanks, I will try this! Do you use this setup?

Yes, on all my keyboards. No double presses so far. On the keyboard I use for gaming, I actually use 1000Hz polling just to get that sweet placebo effect.

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#79

I find it interesting that there was a time when everyone seemed to get overboard with thumb keys and that now things seem to settle at two per hand.

Interesting to me you say this, as my main criticism of most ergo / split keyboards is they don't have enough keys on the thumb. I started with a Maltron [1] with 8 keys on the thumb and that seems a good arrangement to me. [1]: https://www.maltron.com/store/p11/Maltron_L89_dual_hand_full...

Interesting to see a Maltron user in the wild! What made to buy one, and what's your take on them? (say, compared to Kinesis Advantage?)

Re: Show HN: I made a split keyboard for large palms

#80
post #71

I have "XXL" size hands (some fingers push against tips of most XL gloves I try) and I find the Glove80 very comfortable fwiw https://www.moergo.com Switched from Kinesis Advantage after 15 years. Love the Pro Red config that's available out of box without expensive customization.

How long have you been using the glove80? I'm a smaller handed KA2 user but have been eyeing up switching to a glove80. Any complaints or trouble switching?

I think about a year now. I would like even lighter switches than Pro Red but they're much better than the default Kinesis ones that make my hands hurt. I find personally the lighter switches are more important than avoiding bottoming out, but that is controversial. It took me a couple weeks to regain my typing speed, not a huge learning curve like it was switching to KA in the first place. The travel case is also useful but quite large. It's more fragile feeling than Kinesis products, but not as bad as many 3d-printed DIY keyboards. The fragile feeling comes from its lightness which is also an asset.
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