Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Floppy keyboard
Alexandre Plateau shared his low-profile split Floppy keyboard.
Published November 13, 2024
Would you like to contribute to this year's MK Advent Calendar? Here are the guidelines for authors, along with last year's edition for reference.
The Floppy keyboard, designed by Alexandre Plateau aka SuperFola, is a 90x94 mm hotswap 34-key split, in the footprint of a floppy disk.
For retro hardware enthusiasts like myself, it's sized like a 3½-inch floppy disk – not the larger 5¼-inch, or the even cooler (but less practical for a keyboard) 8-inch disk.
A few weeks ago, I was feeling like making a new (split) keyboard, since I hadn’t assembled one for nearly a year now. […] This time, my crazy idea was to fit a split keyboard in the footprint of a floppy disk. 90mm x 94mm. One per hand, because I’m not crazy! – Alexandre.
Alexandre, who is also the designer of the Arkenswoop, decided to feature RJ9 connectors instead of TRRS, enhancing the retro feel.
Specs
- 34 keys (5x3+2)
- Choc V1, hotswap
- Pro Micro footprint
- below 10cm x 10cm (90mm x 94mm to be exact, cheap to order)
- RJ11 4P4C connectors
Featuring RJ9 connectors instead of TRRS also helps to avoid the potential TRRS shorting when you unplug the cable while under power.
Resources
- https://github.com/SuperFola/floppy
- build guide with more photos
Published on Wed 13th Nov 2024. Featured in KBD #179.
Related
Torn v2.1
Richard Titmuss's Torn is a split keyboard with through-hole components.
Fifi: a 3x5 split
Fifi is a 3x5 split by LooksCouldKale with open source plate and PCB.
TDPHSK keyboard
The open-source TDPHSK by ianliu88 is 3D printed and hotswappable.
Buran-Ortho
A monoblock split keyboard with orthoish halves: Buran by ScatteredDrifter.
Sentinel
ProtieusKeeb's monoblock Sentinel, inspired by Le Chiffre, comes with an interchangeable trackball unit.