Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Nomad keyboard
Andreas Tacke shared his Nomad, a 7x5 keys low-profile split with per-key RGB.
Published September 19, 2024
The Nomad is a 7×5 keys column-staggered split keyboard designed and shared by Andreas Tacke aka fiendie. It is based largely on the Sofle Choc by Brian Low and uses low-profile Choc v1 switches with hotswap sockets, plus features per-key RGB lighting via SK6812 Mini-E LEDs.
I'm a long-time user of both the ErgoDox EZ and the ZSA Moonlander the latter of which I still use as my daily driver. After I took the Moonlander with me on a few work trips I found the form factor a bit awkward at times. […] I would describe myself as an ambitious hobbyist when it comes to PCB design but the first prototypes turned out pretty OK and so the Nomad was born – fiendie.
The Nomad takes its design cues from keyboards like the aforementioned Sofle or a Corne Choc but with a physical key layout you would find on something like an Erogdash, although the column stagger is largely based on the Moonlander.
Compared to the Sofle Choc, the nomad offers an additional thumb cluster key, an additional modifier key in the 5th row and a 7th inner column with 3 keys each. To make the keyboard more compact, there's no option for a rotary encoder.
Specs
- 68 keys, low-pro Choc, hotswap
- reversible PCB
- per-key RGB (SK6812 Mini-E)
- display
Resources
Published on Thu 19th Sep 2024. Featured in KBD #175 (source).
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