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Saturn

Joshua Chung's Saturn is a pretty sick monoblock split PCB with chunky hotswap controllers via DB25 parallel connectors.

KBD.news
Published January 8, 2024
Creators! Feel free to tip me off about your keyboard related projects to bring them to 150K readers.

I love stumbling upon (and am also quite accustomed to) unexpected components and chunky connectors on a keyboard, but Joshua Chungs's (aka joshyeram) Saturn still came as a surprise.

If the name rings a bell, Joshua handwired the angled unibody Flynn, however, the Saturn comes with a PCB and a more classic horizontal staggering. Its most remarkable feature is the hot-swappable controller part though.

With this keyboard, I wanted to experiment with the possibility of hot-swappable keyboards. In the current state of using machine sockets and pins, no one dares to hot-swap. And I wanted to fix that and come up with a universal microcontroller daughter board that you can simply swap around.

Pic: Pioneer and Voyager daughterboards

Pioneer and Voyager daughterboards

The PCB has two snap-off parts for two daughterboards:

  • the more simple Pioneer (Pro Micro compatible controller and reset switch)
  • the more complex Voyager (controller, battery, OLED/nice!view, reset and power switches)

Pic: Saturn PCB with snap-off parts

Saturn PCB with snap-off parts

Specs

  • 41 keys (3x6 and 3 or 2 thumb keys per half)
  • MX or Choc, soldered
  • hot-swappable controller via DB25 connector
  • Pioneer or Voyager daughterboards
  • exposed components

And a great build video with some more tips and ideas:

For many more exotic connectors see e.g. the Wave with Mini DIN 4, Pinsl's with 4P4C, ErgoTravelXT with XT60, Split Fire with VGA, ScottoErgo and Wizergo with GX16/aviator connectors, Theseus75 with LEMO, and also this vintage aviation keyboard with the mother of all connectors.

Resources

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Published on Mon 8th Jan 2024. Featured in KBD #150 (source).

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