Behind the Scenes of Issue 49

New vendor map with sneak peek. Vendor database update with new discount codes. Olympia SM2. Is this a typewriter collection now? Issue 48 follow-up.

Vendor database update

Some new shops (7), new discount codes and a new interface.

I'm not sure about which are the new discount codes, I forgot to take notes, but there are 32 shops with coupon codes now. I guess Zeal PC and StayWires/Koi Cables must be the new ones added last week.

Some developments: shop cake day indication. Probably not the most useful function but another incentive for vendors to provide more data. Shops providing date of founding are highlighted on their anniversaries.

Also, I made some changes in the way shop team info is displayed (if detailed/multiline).

What's more interesting though: there is an upcoming vendor map I'm going to publish in the near future. It needs some final touches but it's almost finished. Members can find the link to the map below and can check it before making it public.

Vendor map preparations

So this will be another interface for the same dataset but with an extra function: answering some question the database is not capable of atm. Like "Any shops in my neighborhood?" or "Is there a keyboard shop in the Middle East?".

[…]

Behind the Scenes of Issue 50

Upcoming giveaway, vendor map disaster with takeaways, bong cat guest appearance, new discount codes, experiences of mailing 340 keyboard vendors.

Giveaway

KBD.news will turn one on 20th November so I started to organize a little giveaway.

3DKeebs, Mechbox, pkkeyboards and Rectangles.store already offered prizes and I'm in a talk with Coffeekeys and Khor.

The giveaway page is WIP, [for BMC members only]

I will set up an online form for people to apply – to prevent flooding the newsletter subscriptions.

Stay tuned!

I will end my weekly posts on r/mk

At least in the quite elaborated form I've presented them for the past year. Sorry folks, but bots and even mods kept deleting my posts without any notice so I had enough. The time I spent with creating and posting these weekly summaries will come in handy for picking up other forgotten side-projects like the split database and the logical layout design series.

Vendor map disaster & takeaways

I worked so hard on this keyboard store map, had high hopes, but I'm not sure if I should cry or laugh now. Because the announcement of the keyboard store map was a complete disaster. I can't really imagine a worse introduction than what happened on Thursday. :D

I prepared everything, checked all the entries in my quite long todo list and published this new interface in its best shape and at the right time. But then…

[…]

Modular 3D ergo

A modular mini 3D keyboard by ikeji.

To minimize finger movement the author decided to use 16 mm key spacing instead of the standard 19.05 mm.

Another main goal of the project was a design without any supports:

One problem of 3D printed keyboard is it needs many “support” which consumes many filaments, and it’s difficult to remove. I want to print my keyboard without any “support”. Less filament means higher printing speeds and unblock opportunity to have multiple iterations – ikeji.

Project page with details and more photos here.

A 3D-printed, handwired build

Jibril-sama built his own 3D-printed, handwired keyboard with exposed diode array.

We don't see resin printed keyboards very often, nor handwired ones with nicely grouped exposed diodes.

This photolog demonstrates why. :D

As masochistic as this may look, handwired projects are still great for prototyping and they deserve to be regularly featured here on KBD.news.

[…]the worst part is not soldering the diodes themselves. It's because I have to use enameled wires to be able to cram everything under there. The worst part was soldering those wires to the switch legs. I swear those wires are solderphobic. It just won't stick to the wire. And because it's hard to see if you actually burned through the coating or not, I had to check the connection with multimeter after every wire.

Harkonnen

A low profile Atreus62 variant by tahnok42 with Kailh Choc V2 and plate files.

A variant of the Atreus62, that's been stretched to accommodate a feather. Another way to think about this is as a very large feather wing – tahnok42.

Plate files available in this Git repo: https://github.com/tahnok/harkonnen

SeveredDuck36

The SeveredDuck36, a 36-key split keyboard inspired by the Kyria and Arch-36, is now released by CyanDuck17.

Features

• 36-key layout with Kyria stagger
• Individually controllable rotary and roller encoders
• MX and Choc V1 hotswap supported
• Large vertical OLEDs
• Basic tenting support
• Reversible design

GitHub repo: https://github.com/JW2586/SeveredDuck36

Enki42: slim ergo keyboard

Enki42 is a slim ergo split keyboard by aroum2 with Choc spacing.

Inspired by predecessors and projects like the Corne, KeySeeBee, Crkbd choc magnetic case and Jian, Enki42 is a 42-key low-profile split with magnetic case (7x2 mm magnets).

Features:

• 42 keys (Kailh Choc v1)
• Per switch RGB
• Serial / i2c
• Choc spacing
• minimum thickness (without case 13 mm, with case 1.1 mm more)
• RGB LED footprints and switches have minimal clearance (stick well without soldering)
• Compatible with Corne via controller pins

Enki is the Sumerian god of water. These symbols are painted on the back of the board, the other half says "42" in Sumerian – aroum2.

GitHub repo: pending

Red Herring

The Red Herring by dj_edit is a split ergo 75% board similar to an Alice, but with columnar staggering.

Inspired by board like Boardrun Bizarre, Adelheid, Discipline & Mysterium, Mercutio, and Basketweave, this split ergo 75% prototype called Red Herring comes with a columnarly staggered layout.

The PCB features all through-hole components with the diodes laid out in a herringbone pattern that follows the contour of the top row keys. The designer left a lot of room around the rotary encoder, so it can fit a 48mm diameter knob. And finally, front and center is a 64x128 OLED display.

[…] this is just a prototype I'm doing for fun, but I am working on a rev 2. The case design will be improved functionally and aesthetically, and the next PCB will support a full 2.25u left shift. I'm also considering moving the caps lock LED up to the top instead of under the key, and also move the knob slightly over to make it look less crowded – dj_edit.

Resources

• https://github.com/dcpedit/redherring
• More photos

Open-sourced flexible PCBs

Fmcraft published his flexible Dactyl Manuform PCBs.

The BastardKB's Dactyl Manuform Flexible PCBs go open-source:

• Plates: https://github.com/Bastardkb/PCB_plate_DM
• Thumbs: https://github.com/Bastardkb/PCB_Thumbs_DM

[…] you shouldn't order that in flex. Normal PCB with .6mm thickness is more than enough. .8mm will also work but you will struggle a bit more during installation – Fmcraft.

If you want to modify the design files, the Kicad sources are included. If you just want to order the PCBs, check out the Release section which contain the gerber files.

Imitating various layouts

Imitating various ergo keyboard layouts with Zebra. Posted by key-yack.

While polishing the Zebra prototyping board, key-yack tried to recreate some of the popular ergo layouts.

The Zebra, this magnetic prototyping framework, was featured in KBD #42, check the original post for PCB and other resources.

Back to this week's developments, here is a gallery with all the layouts tested:https://imgur.com/a/3LcMOm2

I cannot help but admit - even though most of the boards are the same old staggered columns + thumb cluster of some curvature, some of you are putting them together in ways that makes me wonder if your hands have the same kind of joints as mine – key-yack. :)

Fujitsu Micro-8

Akabander plans to recreate a Fujitsu Micro-8 keyboard.

OK, this photo (source) is not able to faithfully represent the sheer awesomeness of the Fujitsu Micro-8 or FM-8.

I'm grateful Akabander called my attention to this particular model.

My first PC when I was a kid was a Fujitsu Micro-8. I chose it myself, for reasons, but the lack of popular software meant I had to teach myself BASIC to play any games. A few of my programs had some small popularity in Singapore in the early 1980s, but the audience was tragically tiny. Anyway, ancient history aside, I thought it might be fun to build a mech keeb with some of the look of the old FM-8 keyboard – Akabander.

Keyboard of a Soviet ICBM silo

The mechanical launch button of a Soviet ICBM silo over 100 feet below the surface. Posted by MaximumBasis9326.

Although I still remember the Russian alphabet after about 30 years of learning it, there's no way I can confirm this is really the interface of an ICBM silo, nor the claim "It would have fired enough SS-18 Satan MIRV warheads at the US to take out the East Coast".

Anyway, the layout is interesting from a strictly professional point of view. Hearing some anecdotes of the Soviet soldiers, putting a double-keylock mechanism on this thing would have been a pretty good idea. I hope they are hidden behind those funny little doors.

Btw, I grew up in the last years of the Soviet occupation and just 5 kms from a nearby base of the Red Army and under constantly patrolling MiG-21s.

As a kid, we had no fear of the sonic blasts, they were simply parts of our life. And I can't remember seeing the soldiers at all, they had to be a fairly closed enclave.

TRS-80 Model 4

The TRS-80 Model 4 is the last Z80-based home computer family by Radio Shack, sold from April 1983 through late 1991. Posted by Tomegajones.

Tandy Corporation introduced the TRS-80 Model 4 in April 1983 as the successor to the TRS-80 Model III. The Model 4 has a faster Z80A 4 MHz CPU,[5] larger video display of 80 columns by 24 rows, bigger keyboard, and can be upgraded to 128KB of RAM (source).

According to an archive 80 micro magazine issue, a diskless Model 4 with 16KB RAM cost $999; with 64KB RAM and one single-sided 180K disk drive it cost $1699; with 64KB RAM and two drives it cost $1999.

More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_4

A heavyweight fullsize with handle

Filco's 4.4kg heavyweight fullsize with steel top plate and handle.

Although I'm not really interested in prebuilts, this FILCO Majestouch 2 (brought to my attention by voodoo6k) with its impressive weight, brushed steel top plate, heavy-duty adjustable foot and dedicated handle is the exact kind of prebuilt I like as a source of inspiration.

We all know how embarrassing a lightweight keyboard can be. Accidentally tossing your keyboard around on your desk is definitely not an issue with this beast weighting 4.385kg.

The already hefty case built of 1.2mm thick bent steel is covered by a 2 mm thick extra plate serving as a wrist/palm rest. With these parameters, this one beats even my Reuters trading keyboard – which is already much more heavy than needed.

To carry around such a keyboard a dedicated handle is probably a must.

Check more photos here.

Medley of crazy ideas

Big-ass enter with embedded touchpad, artisan OLED covers, prototyping with rails, LED indicator light using a BIC ballpoint tube.

These are some links with crazy inspirational ideas without much content.

Big-ass enter with embedded touchpad: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/qb6idw/simulationidea_backwardsl_return_with_embedded/

Artisan OLED covers: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/qcitxw/so_my_oled_screens_died_and_nothing_got_them/

LED indicator light using a BIC ballpoint tube: https://www.reddit.com/r/olkb/comments/qaprpx/bush_fix_led_indicator_light_on_xd75_with_an/

Prototyping with rails: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/qaxlw9/wip_kyfle_the_flexible_split_with_options/

Sliders look cool (but why?): https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/qc8del/sliders_are_fun/

A macro keypad on Kickstarter by Jeremy Cook with GPIO pins broken out, "including I2C pins for virtually unlimited control of external devices": https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/291892408/jc-pro-macro-2-mechanical-keypad