Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Vanguard Keyboard Outsider
DreaM117er's Vanguard Keyboard Outsider is a modular ortholinear board, supporting various trackpads and encoders.
Published May 14, 2026
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The Vanguard Keyboard Outsider, released by DreaM117er, is a modular ortholinear board supporting both QMK/Vial and ZMK, plus various trackpads and encoders.
The "Vanguard Series" is a branch point I personally developed based on the Explorer Keyboard Blank architecture. This is because, in the design of Blank, I "modularized" the keyboard's MCU area, allowing its trackpad and ProMicro MCU module to be completely reused in subsequent works – DreaM117er.
Features
- 40-49 keys (10-12x4 ortho with many layout variations)
- MX or Choc switches (also GLP with some PCB variants), soldered
- break-off two-column part (4x10 vs 4x12)
- Pro Micro footprint (ATMega32U4, RP2040, nRF52840)
- trackpad support (TPS43, TM040040) – QMK only
- encoder support (EC-11, EC-12)
Resources
Published on Thu 14th May 2026. Featured in KBD #211 (source).
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