Keyboard Builders' Digest / Editorial
Behind the scenes #155
Keyboard projects, quick news, in the mailbox, meetups, new vendors and discount codes!
Published February 16, 2024
Hey, what's up everyone!
I was too busy this week but don't want to waste time and also would like to get back to Friday posts. That said, this post may be incomplete, I'll update it with more info, send out the newsletter, etc. tomorrow.
---
Welcome back for another weekly recap and behind-the-scenes write-up.
If you are new to kbd.news, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.
Posts I thought are worth sharing
- My thoughts about the Velvet 2, a small 40% prebuilt split by Ergohaven – with hotswap switches and keywell.
- I'm a bit late with these Ergohaven reviews. By the time I get to the Velvet, the K:03 is already being released (review later).
- DDC is a new cylindrical keycap profile for Choc switches – designed by LowproKB.
- The Cardinal is a wireless low-pro split by Painterman, supporting a roller encoder and 5-way switch.
- Keyboarddweeb's Alex Miller shared the source files of the Octoplus Trio, a 11-key one-handed keyboard.
- Peacock is a big standalone QMK trackpad shared by George Norton.
- AWKB by wj-zhe is a 36-key split keyboard with trackball, driven by a Xiao RP2040.
- A Crkbd laptop dock by a8ksh4 designed for his Steam Deck.
- A 3D printable enclosure for the Adafruit Macropad PCB – designed by Kronocide, inspired by the Nuphy Halo 96 keyboard.
- ThumbsUp! v9 by ak66666 – with an extra thumb key (optional).
- "Fullsize ortho split" anyone? FOSK by Sparky5869 aims improving ergonomics by splitting the layout and moving the number pad to the center.
- Hotswap encoder? VGN VXE 75 knob module – with a special socket though.
- Our Estonian friends made it to the national TV. Thanks Aericho!.
Keyboard art
- Jadepug is back with another graphic: Planck Island. (Philip's write-up about the project.)
- A one-off custom komorebi board with some interesting details:
- Cat:( is "a fun 60% keeb based on our love for cats" – by CtrlFrek:
- This heart-shaped macropad by Qlavier is just a prototype/idea/Valentines creation and no electronics are inside:
Hmmm
I'm glad you like kbd.news, but grabbing the whole site.. and messing up your code while attempting it? :D
That's what I can think of seeing somebody opening the very same page 250,000 times… You can always surprise me.
Donations
- Another long-time supporter has gone because of personal finances. Maintaining kbd.news takes a lot of time, help me if you can!
- Like TALPKEYBOARD did! Thanks Yousuke!
- As always, thanks to my awesome regular supporters and everyone who helped this project thus far.
For all the donation options check out the donation page!
In the mailbox
Before going on CNY holiday, the kind ladies at Aihey Studio sent me this Universe keycap set. The stencil style fonts may target a specific user group and may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like the concept with all the celestial bodies and stardust reference. Excellent compatibility thanks to the sheer size of the set: 142 keys, Alice-ready with convex spacebars, 2xB, 3x CapsLock, etc.
Will try these out in an upcoming review for sure…
…but not in the Lynx CAT review, because this beast sports mouse switches. :D
It will probably take some time to get accustomed to this input device, but when I'm done I'll get back with a review from a coder/writer's perspective – originally it was designed for 3D modeling, but I went with the "typewriter" configuration, with a mouse in the right half.
First impressions? Very carefully packed, the CAT looks jaw-dropping, and I was afraid of the mouse switches for no reason.
OK, I couldn't wait for a new review and put the Aihey caps on the Weikav Alice:
Meetup database
Some upcoming and recently added events in the meetup database:
Upcoming meetups
- Keebuary, Tallinn, February 17, Tallinn, Estonia
- Tiny Little Tech Shop Meetup, February 17, Jacksonville, FL, US
Recently added
- Mechanicon 2024, June 22, Frankfurt, Germany
As always, this meetup database is both a calendar and an archive so feel free to send me upcoming events or even ones from the recent past to make this collection as comprehensive as possible.
Vendors & Discounts
You can now use the KBDNEWS discount code in 137 shops! New shops and updates to the database of keyboard vendors this week:
- Keygem (Germany) offered you a 5% discount on in-stock products (code: KBDNEWS).
- KeyboardCo (UK) offered you a discount too (5%)
- KeyTok added.
- I ended up adding Apos too. While their main focus is audio, they offer more keyboards/caps/deskmats than many keyboard shops.
I continue checking who's alive and kicking, finished shops with names starting with K this week.
Some vendors marked as closed in this round of attempt to make the list up to date: Keebord.nz, KeebSource, Keebz.net, Kenik/Acropolis Studio, Keyboard Lube, Keycables, KeyPlus, KeyPop, Keys.my, Kimdi Keys, Kwertiekeys, Kyo Industries. :(
Developments
- I rolled out a small tweak in the background: Earlier, shop links were displayed according their performance. For more relevant suggestions, the weights are now adjusted based on the shop's location in relation to the visitor's country. That means seeing stores closer to you, or at least in the same region/continent, should be more likely.
I thought this makes sense, and then exchange an email with an Australian vendor telling me most of his customers live in the US.
---
That's all for today. Thanks for checking by. As always: Keep learning and building!
Until next time,
Tamás
Published on Fri 16th Feb 2024. Featured in KBD #155.
Related
Behind the Scenes of Issue 68
Refugee crisis, visit at the border, donation options, February stats, new acquisitions, one more extreme keyboard connector.
Quick weekly BTS #2023/27
Quick news with Al Di Meola. New era, new emotions. Compaq in the mailbox. Logical layout design feat. Mario. Shops & discounts.
Behind the Scenes of Issue 54
Major split database update on the way, developments, giveaway follow-up, on the UNO Mini & Adafruit KB2040 controllers, Issue #53 follow-up, Movember.
Behind the Scenes of Issue 60
Quick news, KBD Time Machine, Benjamin Renner and his keyboard designs, typing with your thoughts, December stats updated, etc.
Behind the Scenes of Issue 27
First-hand experience of bad ergonomics, personal favorites, evaluating kbd.news performance, new supporters (and their management).