Behind the scenes #179

Keyboard projects, MK Advent Calendar call for submissions, quick news, in the mailbox, meetups, vendors, discounts, deals stuff.

Hey, what's up everyone!

Welcome back for another weekly recap and behind-the-scenes write-up.

If you are new to kbd.news, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.

Some posts worth sharing

• I tested KBDcraft's brilliant Israfel kit, a 50% unibody split with an adjustable angle, made of LEGO. It's impressive and offers a huge bang for your buck. $63?! Feel free to check out my review, but honestly, just flock to the store, folks! I absolutely love this board, and I'm confident you will too.

MK Advent Calendar

Breaking news: Damn, I just realized I completely forgot about this year's MK Advent Calendar.

Not much time left, but if you'd like to contribute an article, here are the guidelines for authors, along with last year's edition for reference.

Feel free to contact me so I can reserve a slot for you. I mentioned this to a few people during the year, but honestly, I have no idea who they were anymore. :) If you're one of them, don't hesitate to reach out!

Back to the news…

• Designed by Abeer Vaishnav, the Qimera is a 54-key low-profile split keyboard.

• JCam shared the wireless split 2Pocket, his submission for the pocket keyboard design contest.

• A 58-key split keyboard with Choc V2s and encoders: Boost58 by Vacant0mens.

• Mikey Sklar is back with another chording keyboard: the NeoBoomerang uses off-the-shelf Adafruit hardware.

• Alexandre Plateau shared his low-profile split Floppy keyboard. Yep, in the form factor of a floppy disk.

• The ToadsTempest by tikinson is a cool pocket monoblock with acrylic keycaps – another runner-up in sporewoh's keyboard contest.

• A 34-key Bluetooth keyboard with self-encasing PCB: Fract by skarrmann.

• The 5x12 ortholinear Krtkus 62 is a low-profile keyboard open sourced by Jan Bláha.

• A 16-key meme macropad by ziddy: ZM Keyboard Cube.

KBDcraft Israfel Giveaway

Hey, thanks a lot for the kind words and participating in the giveaway. The Israfel kit, offered by KBDcraft's Boyu, goes to the USA. Congrats Ben!

I apologize for not being able to answer your mails, but I want you to know that I read all of them at the end of the day. I really appreciate all the feedback.

When asking for some nice words to enter the giveaway, I expected "keep up the good work", but there were some very elaborated submissions. At some point I considered to give away the Israfel on a merit basis, but I reverted to the random approach eventually.

Btw, it wasn't the greatest idea to have the applications sent to my email address. :) I hope I haven't missed anything important – I mean project/meetup etc. reports – in the sea of giveaway entries.

TIPS

• ZMK Studio has a stable release. Official announcement.

I'm delighted to announce that after many months of work, the ZMK Studio Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has reached General Availability (GA) status. I'm very excited with the feature set and foundation we've gotten into this first release, and equally excited for the upcoming work to add even more features – Pete Johanson.

• A keycap profile comparator by 3dkeycap.

• "8 buttons per foot" would sound odd if it were not crazymittens' ArcPedals project.

The feet spaceships have iterated! ArcPedals mk3 have arrived… […] The primary incentive for this build is 'holding keys down = pain', so I'm offloading those duties to my feet – crazymittens.

• HACKY is a pretty unique typing game by Napas Torteeka/Outrageous_Affect_69. Demo available on Stream.

Become an elite hacker in cyberpunk typing simulator. Infiltrate networks, steal data by typing simple commands. Navigate through pixel art cyberspace, unlocking new abilities as you go deeper. No coding skills needed. How far can you hack before the system catches you?

• typersguild.com is another app to practice typing while typing out books. Made by Mean_Establishment82.

Closed-source, WIP, etc.

• A handwired split by DannyInTheCockpit. Update with palm rests.

• Beekeeb designed a case for the open-source thorium.

• Compad V2 is a tablet-like cyberdeck build with a chorded keyboard (on the back).

• A handwired FRL NRL(?) ortho by salavatme.

• Crosses by timbetimbe.

• PikaVoid9 by Tenochticlack.

• Wings by lad1337. Another ultra-low split using Kailh PG1316s switches.

Keyboard art

• Keyboard Membrane Converse by Cory Infinite. Probably old but just came across it on Twitter.

• A custom layered acrylic keyboard by Qlavier, made for MeatCanyon.

• A Halloween themed Svalboard in the wild. Posted by CaptLynx.

• Al6ed0 with machined alu horns. Posted by Sterlingandcophoto.

• gwydd65: Thermally modified wooden keyboard, whatever it means. A GB by the way.

Weekly Diderot effect

• Soft and plush handcrafted punch needle Studio Ghibli (and Pokemon) keyboard rugs by ZestiZena. These are wrist rests, not keebmats I guess. (Pro tip: Wait for the Black Friday coupon if you consider purchasing one. Details below.)

• Simple but great keyboard stands with cork padding, by mar_mech. Or some 3D printed ones here.

In the mailbox

Fox65

Chosfox sent me a white Fox65. Damn, it's not only gorgeous but also full of clever ideas. I haven't built it yet, but can't wait to do a thorough test. Review hopefully later this week.

Retro Videotons

It's been a long time since I bought anything retro – until this week. Last time, I planned to show you my acquisitions once all three arrived, but one never materialized, so I ended up forgetting to share the photos.

Anyway, I just picked up yet another Videoton keyboard:

Ugh. We have some real shitty weather here these days, no chance to take proper photos without some studio lighting.

It's a VDN-52500 keyboard I guess, just a different layout compared to my terminal.

Donations

• No new donors this time.
• As always, many thanks to my awesome regular supporters and everyone who helped this project thus far.

For all the donation options check out the donation page!

Meetup database

Recently added

• 9th Swiss MK Meetup, December 8, Zürich, Switzerland

The meetup season is probably over. Updated the Hawaii one's poster, and missed the Vienna meetup (added after the event).

As always, this meetup database serves as both a calendar and an archive, so feel free to send me upcoming events or even ones from the recent past to make this collection as comprehensive as possible.

Deals

I was asked to share some deals with you:

• Hexgears

"Black Friday approaching, I’m thrilled to share that the Immersion A3 keyboard [review] will be available for just $99.99—its lowest price ever—as part of our Black Friday Sale, running from November 21 to December 2, 2024. Additionally, we’re offering up to 50% off on other popular mechanical keyboards in our lineup" – Doris.

• ZestiZena: We're actually having a Black Friday Sale from November 22nd (PT) to December 2nd (PT). […] feel free to mention the code "BFCM" for a special Black Friday discount.

Developments

Switch database:

• Filter by tags, search, order by A-Z or popularity. Implemented but not set to public yet.
• Significant script improvements aimed at fully automating the tracking of price changes and stock status, and also the way new offers are added.

---

That's all for today. Thanks for checking by. As always: Keep learning and building!

Until next time,
Tamás

KBDcraft Israfel review

I tested KBDcraft's brilliant Israfel, a 50% unibody split with an adjustable angle, made of LEGO. It's impressive and offers a huge bang for your buck. Flock to the store, folks!

Hot on the heels of the Lilith & Lilin write-up, here's a review of another KBDcraft keyboard: the 50% unibody split Israfel. This impressive LEGO-compatible model features a hinge mechanism for an adjustable angle and comes equipped with Kailh's rightfully popular full-POM low-profile switches.

UPDATE: After a few days, two columns stopped working. The PCB is being replaced.

As you may know, there's a giveaway happening! You still have a chance to win the Israfel kit, generously offered by KBDcraft's Boyu. Just check out my recent editorial for the rules and details. I've extended the deadline until Monday. The Israfel kit goes to Ben, congrats!

While sticking to facts and remaining objective are important cornerstones of these articles, I must admit upfront that I’m blown away by the Israfel. It offers a true split experience without the need for soldering and delivers an unexpectedly excellent typing feel – all at an unbeatable price of just $62.

TLDR; After entering the split scene with the minimalist Lilin macropad, KBDcraft has introduced the Israfel – a 50% angled monoblock split design. This full kit is easy to assemble and offers a fantastic experience for first-time split users, while its customizability makes it equally appealing to seasoned split enthusiasts. Features include hotswap sockets, gasket mounting, Vial compatibility, built-in tenting, and an adjustable angle. No soldering, no screws – just a guide reminiscent of a LEGO instruction booklet. Even the typing experience stands out, with the all-POM Kailhs clearly outperforming every low-profile Choc V1 I've ever tried.

I've never written this before, but if you're looking for your first split keyboard, the only logical step is to head to kbdcraft.store and place your order immediately. This will spare you from reading this rather long write-up, but you might as well go ahead if you don't believe me – yet. ;)

Disclaimer

After the Lilin review, I mentioned to Boyu how it's a cool first split project but not quite suitable as a standalone split alternative – especially for work – due to its few keys and fixed 2U footprints. In his reply, he attached a photo of the upcoming Israfel. :)

The ergo-split sector is certainly a rabbit hole, not only for consumers but also for hardware creators. We've had so much fun on this path and have rapidly developed our second split model. It’s no longer just a gimmick but a daily-able allrounder, called #7 Israfel – Boyu.

Shortly after, a review unit was sent to me by KBDcraft. As always, I'm not paid to write this review, but receiving a free sample can still introduce various biases – both positive and negative in my experience. So, take everything I write with a grain of salt.

Israfel specs

• layout: 50% ortho(ish), 56 keys
• hotswap
• colors: white and black (more colors in the pipeline)
• switch: N2 (factory lubed full-POM Kailh low-pros, linear or tactile)
• Poron gasket mounting
• FR4 plate
• freely adjustable angle, 7 fixed positions
• 5 degrees tenting
• brick platform
• plate-mounted stabilizers
• completely screw-free build
• QMK/Vial
• per-key RGB backlight
• weight: 360g

Unboxing & Contents

The Israfel arrived in the familiar cardboard box. As already told last time, the packaging design has improved a lot since my first Adam. This latest version, featuring a photo/render of the fully built product for the first time I guess, is not only visually appealing and pleasant to the touch, but also highly informative, with detailed specs on the back.

The full bundle with switches and caps includes quite a few items.

The actual LEGO-compatible bricks for the case, the Core56 system with the PCBs and plates, Kailh low-pro switches and stabilizers, keycaps, a combined keycap puller and switch remover tool, a nice yellow cable, bumpons/gaskets, instructions(*), and the must-have gift brick figurine (or figurines depending on the value of your order).

First impressions while browsing the parts? The cable is a bit thicker or maybe just more rigid than the previous curled red ones. And I love the case of the keycaps!

The switches coming with my review unit were the white, linear N2s. The final bundle also includes instructions, of course, though they were still being printed when my package was shipped. Regardless, these instructions are regularly updated and improved, so downloading them from kbdcraft.store has become second nature to me.

Variants

Currently, the Israfel is available in white with linear switches. A black variant with tactile switches is available for pre-order, and more color options are on the way

Layout

The Israfel features a 50% orthoish layout with a fixed bottom row and 2U Enter key. This design is the result of Boyu aiming for a layout which could bridge the gap between users of traditional horizontally staggered keyboards and the preferences of split aficionados.

Anyway, you get 56 keys, number row, and dedicated arrows keys (if you want them). The bottom row should also feel familiar to most people, though it offers the great potential of a split spacebar – something new users of splits in general will hopefully discover soon.

The two halves aren't perfectly symmetric; I prefer the right half with more 1U keys, except for the 2U Enter, which can't be split into two 1U keys. However, I often forget that I'm viewing any new keyboard through the eyes of a longtime split user and keymap wizard. So, this layout is probably more approachable for normies.

As you can see in the photos, I started with the default layout, which caters to newcomers. I rearranged both the logical layout and the caps later to match more common split layouts.

Building the Israfel

The instructions are clear and straightforward. Everything went smoothly, no tricky parts at all.

Well, except for the fact that there are four upside-down switches on the right side. Be sure to keep an eye on the orientation.

I love the Israfel case, which is an improvement not only over the original Adam case but also over the recently reviewed, sleeker Lilith casing.

What else? I really loved the 'embedded' cable idea of the Lilin, with LEGO bricks surrounding the wires – both for the USB and internal connections. Very clever. However, there's no embedded cable design this time.

PCB

The PCB, or 'Core' as KBDcraft calls it along with the plate, is typically a component shared across multiple KBDcraft models. As of now, I'm not aware of any model other than the Israfel that uses the Core56. That said, these Cores are designed to be modular and can be purchased separately. However, I don’t see the Core56 available for sale at the moment.

The PCB is hotswap and features per-key RGB. The boards come with plate-mounted stabilizers, also made by Kailh. I must say, these low-profile stabs are much easier to install than their standard counterparts.

Plate

The plates are white FR4. Combined with the tented gasket mounting, they offer a nice flex, more in the middle, obviously.

Sound dampening

The gaskets are made of poron, the feet are rubber, and there's also an optional sound pad system for improved sound quality. While the sound and feel, as well as the overall typing experience can't really be compared to that of an aluminum keyboard or the walnut MU01, I'd say it's exceptional for a plastic split.

A large part of the impressive sound and feel comes from the switches. Boyu adapted the structure based on his experience with the low-profile Kailhs:

The exceptional sound and mechanical performance of these switches make additional filling materials unnecessary. They produce minimal rattle and actually sound better without a plate foam. Based on this, we decided to drop the plate foam in Israfel – Boyu.

Switches

Speaking of switches, the PCB is hotswappable, so you can use any switches you prefer. However, the full kit comes with these very nice ones called "N2" by KBDcraft. They are Kailh's popular full-POM low-profile switches, available in white (N2 Depth Charge) or black (N2 Land Mine), linear and tactile, respectively.

I received the white linears, which feel fantastic, especially for something in the low-profile genre. No wonder these models are among Kailh's best-selling switches these days. At least, if my suspicion is correct, and the N2 Depth Charge is a rebranded Kailh Choc V2 White Rain, and the N2 Land Mine equals the Kailh Choc V2 Black Cloud.

N2 Depth Charge specs

• Kailh Choc V2 (MX stem)
• white color
• linear
• 50gf operating force
• POM stem and housing
• pre-travel: 1.2mm
• total travel: 2.8mm
• pre-lubed

N2 Land Mine specs

• Kailh Choc V2 (MX stem)
• black color
• tactile
• 45gf operating force
• 50gf tactile force
• POM stem and housing
• pre-travel: 1.6mm
• total travel: 2.8mm
• pre-lubed

If you decide to go with a barebone kit (if available), feel free to check out the recent best-seller lists of community-favorite switches, or the switch database.

Keycaps

The Israfel comes with nice low-pro keycaps, doubleshot by the way. They look very familiar from somewhere, but I can't figure out where from.

The uniform, cylindrical caps are ideal to rearrange them across rows to mirror your logical layout. Except for the F/J caps if you want your home key markers (three dots in this case) in the correct position.

It seems you get a full set, with a fullsize spacebar, F-keys, numpad, etc. Here is the box with the leftovers:

I also tested a new 4-key cap puller by Kemove, so put the KBDcraft "DSS" keycaps on the Israfel.

The board was surprisingly usable, but the original keycaps are better for work. These stylish dot caps are fine for macropads though.

RGB

Lots of effects and colors. Plenty of bleed too, which is fine in this case I guess. I wonder how all this would look with transparent LEGO pieces.

Ball joints

The orange LEGO pieces in some of the photos are ball joints. In the Lilin build there were purely for aesthetics, allowing you to "easily and flexibly connect external decorative or functional parts" – e.g. the accompanying figures. In the Israfel, these ball joints serve a very practical function: they allow you to fix the angle of the two halves.

You can adjust the two halves as you wish, of course, up to above 90 degrees. However, to fix them in place, you have seven – eight with the basic non-angled ortho – options through these connecting pieces. Grab some more LEGO and you can come up with even more alternatives.

Ergonomics

While the board's target audience is likely more casual typers and users of traditional keyboards with classic layouts, given that the Israfel is an angled monoblock split, we should compare it to other ergo split alternatives and their features.

Firstly, the Israfel checks many important boxes: built-in tenting to mitigate forearm pronation, an adjustable angle to alleviate ulnar deviation, and a relatively low profile, so wrist extension shouldn't be an issue either. (There's a separately sold wrist rest.) Coming from a Glove80 and Ergohaven Planeta as my daily drivers, I felt right at home with the Israfel's form factor and layout – at least after adjusting it to my preferred slant angle.

Extremist ergoheads might long for a keywell, columnar staggering, adjustable tenting, and separable halves, but that would be a whole different project.

• A keywell is probably impossible with standard lego pieces.
• A true split with separable halves could open up your chest, but the adjustable angle already offers a great remedy for your wrists.
• Columnar staggering is tricky too, but in fact, a 1U offset on the pinkies is nearly perfect for me. Thanks to the easily updateable firmware, setting up all the pinky keys as if they were one row lower is pretty straightforward. (The larger keys in the bottom row of the left half interfere with this approach.)

Adjustable tenting and negative typing angle? I personally don't find these features critical, but with some creativity and a few extra extra Lego pieces you can work wonders. ;)

The weakest point of the Israfel, at least for more seasoned split users, is probably its fixed bottom row, thus the mere 2 thumb keys. You could potentially use one more adjacent key on the right for this purpose, but the left one is already too far away.

Portability

The Israfel is quite portable. For one, its 50% layout is already quite compact. That said, many small true split keyboards can be a real pain to carry around with all the loose pieces, cables, halves, etc.

But the Israfel is practically an adjustable unibody split, so it's very rigid in its fixed state. Given its relatively small footprint, light weight, and overall dimensions, along with the simple yet clever fixing mechanism, transporting it in your backpack is definitely possible.

Software

This board is Vial compatible. Yay! I headed to vial.rocks, and the Israfel was recognized perfectly, without the need to upload any layout JSON.

Making basic changes to the keymap (e.g. swapping alphas) as well as reproducing my personal logical layout including SpaceFN – minus four thumb keys ;) – went easily.

The build instructions come with some tips on this topic, but the point is: you can set up this keyboard according to your needs, languages used, workflow, etc.

Conclusion

The KBDcraft Israfel, a LEGO-compatible 50% adjustable-angle split keyboard, is an excellent entry point for newcomers to enter the split scene and experience tenting, adjustable angle, an orthoish arrangement of keys, etc. All this without having to solder or even dealing with any screws, let alone managing Github repos and PCB orders. "Building" the Israfel was really like putting together a LEGO set. The typing experience is on par with many boards in higher price ranges. Actually, the all-POM low-pro Kailhs are great, this is by far the best out-of-the-box experience from KBDcraft so far. To sum up: the hotswap PCB with per-key RGB, Vial compatibility, versatile brick structure, optional sound dampening, etc. make the Israfel highly customizable – not just as a first split. Given the unbeatable price, I'm confident that many split enthusiast will give it a try. You won't be disappointed!

Pros

• clever split design & LEGO-compatibility
• ergo features
• the all-POM Kailh switches feel great

Cons

• lack of multiple layout alternatives (fixed bottom row and 2U Enter)

Availability

The Israfel is available as a full kit for $63. Yep, you read that right. Use the KBDNEWS coupon code to claim this price with a 5% discount. (The code works for all KBDcraft products by the way, be sure to check out the Lilith and Lilin as well.)

• Israfel kit at kbdcraft.com, $65 $62

Qimera

Designed by Abeer Vaishnav, the Qimera is a 54-key low-profile split keyboard.

Abeer Vaishnav aka Qbeer shared his Qimera, a 54-key wireless split featuring low-pro Choc switches and nice!nanos.

Hi all, I'm new here, but I'm proud to showcase my recent build of Qimera (pronounced as Chimera, but with a Q!). Spent a lot of time designing this to look as aesthetic and "techy" as possible – Qbeer.

Specs

• 54 keys (6x4+3)
• low-profile, Choc, hotswap
• wireless via nice!nano
• ZMK firmware

The magsafe mount attached to the laser-cut acrylic case can be used for tenting and clamping the board onto a chair for comfort. The author also built a "Bento box" style travel case for making it compact and easy to travel with.

Resources

• https://github.com/AbeerVaishnav13/Qimera-keyboard

2Pocket

JCam shared the wireless split 2Pocket, his submission for the pocket keyboard design contest.

The 2Pocket is a 36 + 2 keyboard with hotswap Choc v1 switches, running wirelessly with KMK/ZMK. Designed by ParksDevelopment aka JCam599, this was a submission to Chris Lo's pocket keyboard desing contest.

I entered the Pocket keyboard contest put on by sporewoh a couple months back with the 2Pocket. Its ended up getting a runner up spot which I was pretty happy about and thought I would share – JCam599.

The theme of the contest was keyboards that fit in your pocket so the author threw in a barebones pedometer as well for counting steps while it is in your pocket.

The two halves magnetically connect for transport.

Specs

• 36 + 2 keys (5x3+3, plus 2 6mm push buttons)
• hotswap Choc
• Xiao NRF52840 controller
• wireless
• ADXL345 pedometer for step counting
• KMK/ZMK

Resources

• https://github.com/ParksDevelopment/2Pocket
• more photos

Boost58

A 58-key split keyboard with Choc V2s and encoders: Boost58 by Vacant0mens.

Vacant0mens shared his Boost58, a split keyboard with Choc V2 switches and encoders.

This layout was given this name because its shape looks similar to the boost arrows in racetrack video games – Vacant0mens.

Specs

• 58 keys (6x4+5)
• hotswap Choc
• Pro Micro footprint
• reversible PCB
• two-way UART communication between the halves
• per-key RGB, plus underglow
• rotary encoder

Resources

• https://github.com/Vacant0mens/boost58_kb

NeoBoomerang

Mikey Sklar is back with another chording keyboard: the NeoBoomerang uses off-the-shelf Adafruit hardware.

After his one-handed BUBBY, which won the grand prize in sporewoh's pocket design keyboard contest, Mikey Sklar shared another chording device: The NeoBoomerang features Adafruit hardware.

I've made another one handed chording keyboard that emulates a 60% keyboard layout. This one my girlfriend named. She saw it and asked why it looked like a boomerang so NeoBoomerang is what I'm going with – Mikey.

The NeoBoomerang is made from a few off-the-shelf I2C devices. Dual Adafruit 1x4 NeoKeys, a KB2040 controller, plus an encoder breakout board for scrolling.

No special libraries were used, just straight CircuitPython code. The most difficult part of developing the firmware was figuring out how to watch for key releases and use multiple timers to get clean chord reads.

The device is used as a USB-C connected keyboard (no battery or wireless). The minimal "case" provides enough infrastructure to tie things together.

This is a super easy build for beginners looking to get into chording or looking to have a macropad on steroids. FYI, there is less than $50 in parts involved, and only one NeoKey jumper pad requires soldering.

Resources

• https://github.com/mikeysklar/NeoBoomerang

Floppy keyboard

Alexandre Plateau shared his low-profile split Floppy keyboard.

The Floppy keyboard, designed by Alexandre Plateau aka SuperFola, is a 90x94 mm hotswap 34-key split, in the footprint of a floppy disk.

For retro hardware enthusiasts like myself, it's sized like a 3½-inch floppy disk – not the larger 5¼-inch, or the even cooler (but less practical for a keyboard) 8-inch disk.

A few weeks ago, I was feeling like making a new (split) keyboard, since I hadn’t assembled one for nearly a year now. […] This time, my crazy idea was to fit a split keyboard in the footprint of a floppy disk. 90mm x 94mm. One per hand, because I’m not crazy! – Alexandre.

Alexandre, who is also the designer of the Arkenswoop, decided to feature RJ9 connectors instead of TRRS, enhancing the retro feel.

Specs

• 34 keys (5x3+2)
• Choc V1, hotswap
• Pro Micro footprint
• below 10cm x 10cm (90mm x 94mm to be exact, cheap to order)
• RJ11 4P4C connectors

Featuring RJ9 connectors instead of TRRS also helps to avoid the potential TRRS shorting when you unplug the cable while under power.

Resources

• https://github.com/SuperFola/floppy
• build guide with more photos

ToadsTempest

The ToadsTempest by tikinson is a pocket monoblock, another runner-up in sporewoh's keyboard contest.

Tikinson's ToadsTempest is probably my favorite entry to sporewoh's pocket keyboard design contest, and not just because crediting kbd.news in the repo. ;) This small 42-keys ergo keyboard project is full of great ideas: featuring acrylic keycaps, reversible half-PCBs while being a unibody split, powered by a CH552T microcontroller, running FAK, etc.

I want to be savage, I like Jiraiya a lot, I want to participate in a challenge. This project is in intersection of those three ideas – tikinson.

Specs

• 42 keys (6x3+3)
• BZCN TSC003B0810A tactile switches
• CH552T MCU
• FAK firmware

Resources

• https://github.com/tikinson/ToadsTempest

Fract keyboard

A 34-key Bluetooth keyboard with self-encasing PCB: Fract by skarrmann.

Steven Karrmann aka skarrmann shared the Fract, this ortho keyboard with low-pro Chocs, Choc spacing, and self-encasing PCB a la his Horizon.

I wanted a simple wireless keyboard that could fit in my pocket, and Fract is the result – skarrmann.

Fract uses a second copy of the main PCB as a bottom plate, with cutouts for the components so it screws down perfectly flush. A top plate PCB covers the battery and the dev board, and provides cutouts for the reset button and power switch.

Specs

• 34 keys
• Choc V1, Choc spacing (18mm x 17mm)
• Pro Micro footprint (nice!nano or Supermini rRF52840)
• ZMK

Resources

• https://github.com/skarrmann/fract
• Horizon Board Producer KiCad plugin

ZM Keyboard Cube

A 16-key meme macropad by ziddy: ZM Keyboard Cube.

Before his credit card sized macropad, Alex Zidros aka Ziddy Makes also shared a programmable 16-key "biblically accurate" keyboard cube.

I'm never making another one, it's horrible to use – Alex.

A 3D-printed base contains a main board with the controller, connected via PH2.0 5P ribbon cables to 4 sisterboards (with 4 keys each).

Specs

• 16 keys
• MX, hotswap
• Pro Micro footprint

Resources

• https://github.com/ziddymakes/ZM-Keyboard-Cube-16-Key