This project looks nicer than most first efforts. Some random tips for anyone who wants to do something similar, with reservations for that it has been awhile: 1. Get a through hole supported usb connector instead of a pure smd one, since the latter likes to fall off. 2. I would avoid routing under the switches for durability, this might just be superstition though. 3. You can route the x and y of the matrix on diffe…
I wanted to make 12v instant failover UPS. No idea how can i make DC to DC UPS with easily available items I've 12v 0.5amp requirement @6watt. I need this appliance to be running for 5-6 hours when power has failed. Does anyone know of the community where I can ask such question?
Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
81–90 of 136 posts
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#82[deleted]
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#83What is it like typing on a keyboard that's just a grid? Every keyboard I've used has had each row be shifted slightly which seems to make touch typing easier.
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#84Has anyone seen keyboards with non-traditional touch surfaces? Such as trackpad keycaps? Backstory: My fingers slide smoothly across my ThinkPad laptop keyboard, so I was playing with optical hand tracking (with a surface mirror to better track touch) to make the entire keyboard (and surrounding laptop) into a multitouch surface. There were occlusion and jitter issues, even with fingernail markers, and I set it aside…
Previous thread on trackpoints:
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know but do whatever is riskier and costlier first.
Shouldn't it be riskier & cheaper first? That way if you fuck up you haven't wasted your expensive components.
Generally, riskier and more expensive are shared properties, you want to do those first since then you save the grunt work if you mess it up as well as you have more space to work with it.
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#86What is it like typing on a keyboard that's just a grid? Every keyboard I've used has had each row be shifted slightly which seems to make touch typing easier.
that's a legacy from typewriters, they had to shift the rows to stop the metal pieces that push characters to collide with each other.
But I've never tried typing in a grid. I'm also curious.
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#87What is it like typing on a keyboard that's just a grid? Every keyboard I've used has had each row be shifted slightly which seems to make touch typing easier.
I really like it, it takes a little getting used to though. Some people claim all kinds ergonomic benefits or negatives with orthos but I haven’t noticed a difference.
I used a Planck as my daily driver for about 6 months before finally getting around to building an Ergo.
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#88The keycaps can't be easily DIYed right?
Yeah, you can 3D print key-caps reasonably easily. Sorry, I can't remember the exact 3D model, but there's a free Cherry MX switch model around somewhere that surprisingly has the entire interior mechanism modeled. You can pull out the key mesh and tweak it a little bit to meet your needs, then it prints really well and fits nicely on Cherry (or Gateron) switches. There's also a handful of pre-created 3D printable keycaps on Thingiverse, however when I last looked into it I wasn't very happy with them.
Although, I must admit, whilst I've had all my components (including RGB LEDs and transparent Gateron switches) for what must be over a year now, I still haven't gotten around to finishing the project!
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#89So much effort just to type on Cherry browns. Without the stiffness of a plate mount even.
Re: Making My Own USB Keyboard from Scratch
#90This project looks nicer than most first efforts. Some random tips for anyone who wants to do something similar, with reservations for that it has been awhile: 1. Get a through hole supported usb connector instead of a pure smd one, since the latter likes to fall off. 2. I would avoid routing under the switches for durability, this might just be superstition though. 3. You can route the x and y of the matrix on diffe…
Small and robust switches don't exist in nature it seems.
Been doing a design proposal for a yet another ultrathin laptop, this time with "pro gaming" spin.
One of client requirements was "be it the end of the world, but switches must be mechanical."
That sounded like an easy task... , but we ended up spending a week on the switch and having them custom made by a watch parts factory.
It is remarkably difficult to design a purely mechanical mechanism for making a "snapping action" that will be small and moderately wear resistant.
We almost thought of "screw that, lets make the mechanism electrostatically actuated," but finally made a parallelogram mechanism with just enough set of spring loading there, and there