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

• Keyboard projects, quick news, in the mailbox, meetups, new vendors and discount codes!

• 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 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!

• A nice low-pro Hummingbird-like monoblock split by Reeve: ‘Ākohekohe.
• A hotswap ortho with trackpad: Explorer Keyboard by DreaM117er. (source)
• A 56-key split keyboard that uses normal mods: Doro56 by Gehennakid. (source)
• A 32-key ergo split keyboard using Seeed Xiao BLE: NostrumX by Bennytrouser. (source)
• CrackerRobot's crowkb_38 is a low-pro ergo split with splay and a lower-positioned thumb cluster.
• 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.

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