Issue 173 / Week 34 / 2024
This is a hand-picked selection of last week's content from a keyboard enthusiast's perspective. Posts that may teach you something, make you think and contribute to the common knowledge of the DIY builder community.
There are 8+18 entries in this issue:
Editorial
Behind the scenes #173
Keyboard projects, quick news, in the mailbox, meetups, new vendors and discount codes!
Review
Hexgears Immersion A3 review
The Immersion A3 by Hexgears is a brand new wireless low-profile TKL gamer keyboard with color display and a classy brushed aluminum top plate.
GravaStar Mercury K1 Pro review
GravaStar is launching the breathtaking Mercury K1 Pro and other members of their new family of wireless gaming keyboards – with recurring sci-fi motifs, great typing experience, and a lot more!
Projects
‘Ākohekohe
A nice low-pro Hummingbird-like monoblock split by Reeve: ‘Ākohekohe.
Explorer Keyboard Blank
A hotswap ortho with trackpad: Explorer Keyboard by DreaM117er.
Doro56
A 56-key split keyboard that uses normal mods: Doro56 by Gehennakid.
NostrumX
A 32-key ergo split keyboard using Seeed Xiao BLE: NostrumX by Bennytrouser.
crowkb_38
CrackerRobot's crowkb_38 is a low-pro ergo split with splay and a lower-positioned thumb cluster.
Quick news
Stanislav Markin came up with a new approach to fix Home Row Mods.
Keyboarddweebs' Alex introduced an improved Japanese duplex matrix, adding pull-up resistors to the columns. Testing environment: QMK and RP2040.
Easy and cheap DIY PBT dye-sub keycap legends – a post by SorcererSypha.
Steimo is a modular physical layout concept for ortho arrangements with offset halves: with various external and internal components.
Lilin – a 20% split macropad by KBDCraft. Yep, Kickstarter, but I do think that BoyU is trustworthy enough to mention this project. In addition, review units are being sent out, so this is an existing product, not a vaporware.
A 69-key split by penkia with magnetic closure.
@mikekoma from twitter: SSSM.NarrowCorsa REV.E v7b.
A keyboard case for the Basketweave, shared by Keen.
MexPayneDive20's Dactyl Orca features a levered thumb (fin) button that uses a standard mouse microswitch.
A handwired board by wjrii, with custom DIY legends, done by laser.
Kunsteak announced his Trinity, three nice boards but without design files – Bar, End45, Flight.
Bin50 build by haunterloo92.
The pinnacle of cuteness: UnicornCat artisans by ACkeys.
Dragon Gate Teapot keycaps by Asian Joy Co.
Pizza macropad by @ataruno_key.
"Animated" keycaps by Anki Studio's telybelly.
Senko60 by SilvaKb.
Twin "双生" split keyboard by rain2. Tai Chi, mortise and tenon joints, and cats.
Ashkeebs, splitkb.com, MoErgo Glove80, ZSA Technology Labs, Aiksplace, @keebio, Upgrade Keyboards, Cyboard, Jason Hazel, Jacob Mikesell, Sean Grady, kiyejoco, @kaleid1990, KEEBD, littlemer-the-second, ghsear.ch, u/motfalcon, Bob Cotton, Ergohaven, FFKeebs, @therick0996, Timo, Joel Simpson, Christian Mladenov, Schnoor Typography, Daniel Nikolov, u/eighty58five, Caleb Rand, Skyler Thuss, TALPKEYBOARD, James McCleese, Benjamin Bell, Brendan P., Yuan Liu, Ben M, zzeneg, Spencer Dabell, Anatolii Smolianinov, Penk Chen, Matthias Goffette, Clacky, Vitali Haravy, Stefan S., Hating TheFruit, Alex Miller, Trey Causey, khor.store, Davidjohn Gerena, Mario S., Dylan Ingham, Gordon Diggs, Cloyce, Shnobble, Raphael Stanzani, Duncan B., HubertTheMad, s_p_l_o_d_e, anonymous, Kevin B.
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