Keyboard Builders' Digest
Save 5% at MonacoKeys (EU)! Code: KBDNEWS
Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects

Kivipallur

Kivipallur is an ergo split keyboard with a 25 mm thumb trackball – designed by dr3san.

KBD.news
Published February 6, 2025
150,000 readers. 54 supporters. Help keep kbd.news free - like BeaverKeys, barraGOUDA, and Derek Tam.

DresanX aka dr3san shared this low-profile ergo split inspired by the Keyball44: Kivipallur – with a 25 mm thumb trackball.

I used to daily drive a Keyball44, and was 95% satisfied. The unsatisfied 5% of me wanted: low profile switches, splay, more comfortable thumb cluster position, less keys. Since trackball keyboards are still quite rare, nothing matched my needs perfectly. So I built it myself! – DresanX.

"Kivipallur" means something like "little stone ball" in Estonian I guess.

Features

  • 38 keys (6x3+2-ish)
  • hotswap Choc v1 switches
  • 0xCB Helios controllers
  • diodeless
  • 25mm trackball (PMW3360 breakout)
  • QMK

Resources

Do you like this post? Share, donate, subscribe, tip me off!

Published on Thu 6th Feb 2025. Featured in KBD #186 (source).


Related

TB3S trackball

A small DIY trackball device, based around an Elite-Pi controller and a PMW3360 sensor: TB3S by Wimads.

LeBallz

LeBallz is a Le Chiffre variant by Protieusz – with a 25mm trackball and an optional EC11 encoder.

Kolossus

A sub-40% monoblock split with trackball and encoder: Kolossus by Protieusz.

Charybdis Nano

Quentin's Charybdis family is extending with the Nano – with open-source case files.

Levels

A wireless split with dual trackballs: Levels by Vincent Franco.

×
top