Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Black Pearl
A fancy 3D-printed 20% ergo split with trackball: Black Pearl by Christian Czepluch.
Published March 18, 2026
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Christian Czepluch (aka Czeppi) shared his Black Pearl keyboard, a handwired ergo split with integrated trackball and roller encoder, featuring slightly modified KLP Lamé keycaps.
It is a minimalistic, high ergonomic keyboard with only 22 keys (source and hardware are open) – Czeppi.
The layout resembles that of chording steno keyboards, but the Black Pearl still produces characters rather than whole words.
For reduced finger movement, each finger was assigned two keys. Pressing both keys simultaneously simulates a middle row, making it possible to achieve the author’s QWERTZ layout.
Features
- 22 keys
- Choc v1 switches, hotswap
- Raspberry Pi Pico controller
- trackball (PMW3389 sensor, steel BTUs)
- roller encoder (EVQWGD001)
- custom firmware (Circuit Python based)
Resources
Published on Wed 18th Mar 2026. Featured in KBD #208.
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