Keyboard Builders' Digest
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Issue 72 / Week 14 / 2022

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.

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Contents

Editorial

Behind the Scenes of Issue 72

April 1st keyboard projects, new wave of supporters, a new acquisition from the besieged Kyiv, March stats, etc.

Hello friends,

I'm still Tamas Dovenyi, this time with Issue #72 of my DIY keyboard focused newsletter and blog dubbed the Keyboard Builders' Digest. If you are new to this, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, you can subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.

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First and foremost, thank you all who supported this project in the recent days. The Mailchimp fee I wrote about last week is covered for this month. More on this later.

Quick news

Holidays and annual customs are probably cool and funny for most people but they are quite stressful when you edit a magazine. :D E.g. I had a hard time to keep track of all the posts on 40s day in February and April Fools' Day wasn't any better either…

This time I desperately tried not to fall prey to the otherwise great April 1st jokes, "keyboard projects" like the toaster keyboard with the removable crumb tray, the Fluke multimeter keyboard, the 0% keyboard, switches from Cherry and caps from GMK with bar stem, the grassy caps by HyperX or ThereminGoat's Ultraclearine switch review.

I don't feature meme boards so at least I don't have to care if the Base Kit keyboard and the SKL (skill) Shiftkeyless layout or the RAMA planter – "the perfect keyboard companion" – are real projects or not… :D

Support

Last week, I asked for your help to cover a newly introduced cost due to hitting the 2,000 subscriber cap of Mailchimp's free plan.

There were enough readers (11) who kindly supported the cause and the fee for the first paid month is now covered. Thank you!

Unfortunately, most donations were one-time payments so next month I'll have to beg for money again. :)

New supporters who set up regular donations: Richard Sutherland, Fabian Suceveanu and Alexey Alekhin. Thank you guys!

And here are all the new one-time donors: Jay Kreibich, Christian Lo, Matthew Brennan, Richard Dawe, Robert Reiser, Nicolas Tremblay, Simon Tjemsland, Simon Brélivet.

New acquisitions

To my wife's great delight [sarcasm] I kept adding new boards to my vintage collection.

Bought another Videoton terminal, the next model after the one I introduced earlier. Just got a call from the carrier that it arrives in half an hour. I hope it will survive shipping. Honestly, I'd have no idea how to pack it up properly if I was the seller.

And I also purchased two less interesting boards but from a way more interesting place: straight from the besieged Kyiv. The seller told me shipping works and shipping fees are even cheaper than pre-war. I'll try to write more on this operation once the boards arrive. Or if they arrive at all.

Anyways, I see this purchase as part of my support for the Ukrainian cause so no problem if the boards never arrive or if I get scammed. :D

March stats

As usual, I summarized last month's visitor statistics and updated the about page for those interested.

60,000 unique visitors means a 20% month/month increase. (Partially, that's the result of 28 vs 31 days in February/March which should result in a 10% increase alone.)

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That's all folks. Feel free to ask and comment in this issue's r/mk thread, and as always: keep learning and building.

Cheers, Tamás


Projects

Viosuo

Wojciech Baranowski's Viosuo is an arm-strapped keyboard for standing work.

Viosulo – pronounced like "wiosło", the Polish word for "oar" – is a 3D-printed arm-strapped keyboard designed by Wojciech Baranowski.

I chose this name because an early prototype looked a lot like an oar and was as uncomfortable as it sounds – Wojciech.

The design files are open-source, however, the keyboard has been adjusted to the author's hand and probably wouldn't serve well anyone else.

Github repo: https://github.com/Baranowski/Viosuo

Video demonstration:

The design had to be fully usable while walking, since Wojciech likes to pace back-and-forth while thinking.

Another design goal was that, even though it's strapped to the arms, it should not hinder basic manual tasks that a programmer might need to perform during his work. E.g. preparing and drinking coffee.

The Viosuo offers all the keys, including modifiers, for normal writing and programming, and the typing speed should not suffer too much either.


Klavyl

Klavyl is a handwired split keyboard by thebgfan, generated by Klavgen, the author's other project.

As a personal modification of the Redox keyboard, Klavyl is a Klavgen-based, handwired, hotswappable split keyboard with 7x4 keys plus three thumb keys per half.

It's columnarly staggered, 3D-printed, and comes with a palm rest.

Github repo: https://github.com/klavgen/klavyl

Highly composable: small changes to the layout only require printing a top plate since the switch holders can be moved and the wrapped wires can be unwrapped to allow keys to be spaced further apart.

The author's Klavgen tool helps to parametrically generate the STLs, including the case, plate and switch holders.

These switch holders make positioning the diodes and hotswap sockets easier, and the row and column wires are wrapped around them too:

Pic:


Fissure

Steven's Fissure is a 40-key BLE split featuring his steno engine.

This design isn't really new, Steven built this board mid-July last year, so it's been almost 9 months now.

The Fissure is fully BLE, and of follows the author's tradition on using the embedded steno engine.

Github repo: https://github.com/crides/fissure

  • Switches: Choc v1, 15g gchoc on fingers, 12g Red Pro on thumbs and pinkies
  • Spacing: Choc v1 minimum spacing (15x18mm, lower on some columns)
  • Keycaps: SQDG with SLA resin (on craftcloud) and 4 resin DCJS
  • Controller: nRF52840 with the holyiot 18010 module
  • Display (not shown): the old SSD1306 128x32 OLED

Btw, steven4012 maintains a page for all the past versions if you are interested not just in the end product but also the progress.


Grin layout

On policium's Grin Type-R and Grin RC designs – featuring the unique Grin layout.

To be honest, I was quite confused about the Grin layout spotting it for the first time when policium ran a small group buy of the Grin Type-R last November. I have to confess I wasn't sure if this curvy Alice-like layout is serious or a meme board so I deferred featuring it until I completely forget about it.

Now that new tweets started to emerge with regards of the Grin RC, a low profile iteration with a similar layout, I reached out to policium for some info and he was kind enough to summarize not just the characteristics of the layout itself but also the whole story behind it.

In the following, let's hear how he came up with the Grin in his own words:

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I work as a system engineer in Japan and started mechanical keyboards as a hobby in the winter of 2019.

I am a perfectionist, so I designed a keyboard with a unique layout from the beginning. I named it "Melty".

Pic: Melty, policium's first design

Melty, policium's first design

This is my first keyboard but I did not use a microcontroller board, I reflow soldered a QFN ATmega32u4. In hindsight, I want to convince my past self to stop because the project was extremely difficult. It took me a year to make it but it is beautiful, isn't it? ;)

Melty is an unsplit column staggered keyboard. Although split keyboards were more common in Japan, I thought an integrated keyboard would be ergonomic enough if the arms were angled. I also felt that splitting the keyboard would interfere with concentration.

I think this keyboard is a success. The key pitch seems a little wide, but it was usable enough.

Next, I designed a 60% wireless keyboard for the nRF52, but let's leave that aside for now.

I designed the following keyboard with Kailh Choc V1 switches to deal with the wider pitch of the Melty.

Pic: The original GRIN – at least by name.

The original GRIN – at least by name.

This is the original GRIN, although it has a different layout compared to what is known as Grin layout these days. I had the Alice layout in mind from that time, and it is GRIN because I associated Alice with the Cheshire Cat.

I am a poor typist, so I type with various fingers without a fixed position. So it was important that the G and H keys were not too far apart.

The keyboard was beautiful and sounded great for its low profile, but it was a failure. The narrow pitch did not suit me. The idea of attaching a 3D printed bumper case came to me at this time.

Pic:

I felt the need to make my layout resemble a regular row staggered rather than column staggered. It was last summer that I got that breakthrough.

From there, it was quick. Two months later, the keyboard was ready.

Pic: GRIN Type-R

GRIN Type-R

This is the GRIN Type-R. Type-R means row staggered. People call this the GRIN layout. I am particular about no sharp curves and maintaining a 0.75in pitch even when curving. GRIN Type-R is curved, but its width is exactly the same as a regular keyboard.

I know there have been curvy layouts in the past, but I think this is truly unique.

I tested the keycap clearance with a friend who has a lot of keycaps. As a result, I was able to tilt it a maximum of 12.5 degrees while maintaining pitch. The left and right sides are not tilted so that typing with the pinky or ring finger is not uncomfortable. This is something I have valued since the Melty.

Pic:

I think this layout is a great success. From the moment I started using it, I was able to type faster than with any other keyboard.

I wanted to sell a few to share this typing experience (booth.pm).

I started offering GBs in November and was able to ship in December. 60 sets have been sold. I think the use of Raspberry PI Pico was the reason for the success. GRIN Type-R uses PRK Firmware as standard. Being able to rewrite the firmware of the keyboard using only a notepad is an irreplaceable experience.

GB was for Japan but some North American and European geeks joined in. The procedures are complicated and I am preparing a site for global purchases (grin-keebs-intl.stores.jp).

I am preparing to sell GRIN Type-R.

Now I am developing GRIN RC with Kailh Choc V1 switches as the next challenge.

Pic: GRIN RC

GRIN RC

It has a wider pitch than the original and a steeper curve than the Type-R. The keyboard is easy to use for its low profile.

A friend of mine is developing and selling a GRIN clone keyboard, a keyboard that can be used in 60% universal cases.

I welcome this, I think the GRIN layout is beautiful and easy to use and I hope it will be the next Alice layout. Because I always want to see something exciting!

-policium


Fusion

Fusion is steven4012's foldable travel board – with all the source files.

Beside his Fissure v3.2, fellow Redditor steven4012 has been daily driving the Fusion – another fully BLE board with an embedded steno engine.

Fusion is basically a small, foldable, compact steno-capable board for on the go. It has magnets on the end of the board to keep it closed, and also Hall effect sensors to shut off the power (a SOT23 package right of the top hinge).

This travel board, meant to be folded via 3D-printed hinges for easy packing for traveling/going to classes, uses minimum spacing with Choc mini (PG1232) switches and also a Cirque touchpad we've seen on various Chunky iterations of tenstaana.

The pouch to hold it is shown on the side:

Pic: Fissure (t), Fusion (b) and the pouch (l).

Fissure (t), Fusion (b) and the pouch (l).

The full thickness when closed (bumpon head to bumpon head) is 23mm (so probably even thinner than some MX boards).

I basically put this in my (fairly large) pocket for going to class, or just use it with my phone when I have a desk to use – u/steven4012.

  • Switches: Choc mini (pg1232) with 15g choc springs, trimmed on pinky and thumb keys
  • Spacing: choc mini minimum spacing (13.5x18mm, lower on some columns)
  • Keycaps: SQDG with SLS nylon (on craftcloud) and 2 resin (possibly) DCJS
  • Controller: nRF52840 with the holyiot 18010 module
  • Display: SHARP memory display 144x168
  • Trackpad: 23mm Cirque trackpad.

According to Steven, he doesn't actually use the trackpad often "cuz I'm a mouse user still".

And the caps are supposed to have a flat top so that the pressure when closed is eased.

Github repo: https://github.com/crides/fusion


Tools

Handwired hotswap generator

Klavgen, a handwired hotswap generator by thebgfan is open-sourced.

This one is still work in progress, but thebgfan is building Klavgen, an open-source handwired hotstwap keyboard generator.

Written in Python and running on top of CadQuery, Klaven produces keyboards and makes handwiring easy and organized via switch holders.

The author is looking for beta testers to try different layouts and ensure 3D printing works well on other printers so don't hesitate to reach out to him.

Github repo with the code, instructions and a few examples of auto-generated keyboards is available at:

https://github.com/klavgen/klavgen

For what Klavgen currently does, including the STLs produced, check out the author's Klavyl keyboard which uses all of its features.


Neutrone - manufacturer database

Neutrone.com is a free tool developed by lore045 providing a searchable list of manufacturers.

Lorenzo aka lore045, the guy behind the Custom mechanical keyboard infographic and other projects within the custom keyboards community, published a new project called Neutrone.com.

Neutrone is a free tool that helps you to launch a product by providing a list of manufacturers, artisans and makers with tons of expertise and "human size" MOQ (minimum order quantity).

The idea was born in early 2022 when Lorenzo got frustrated by the fact that it took him too long to find a manufacturer capable of producing a small batch of aluminium cases for his custom mechanical keyboard project, with reasonable MOQ, lead time & cost.

While the project is not exclusively about keyboard manufacturing, and all the categories like Skin care or Furniture may confuse some visitors, it has potential.

Although neutrone.com is more like a framework rather than a finished tool at the moment, and the database contains only a handful of manufacturers, people can add or suggest new entries, and you can set different parameters to refine your search and find your ideal maker by category, region, materials, and so on.

This initiative has two scopes:

  • Give local makers and digital artisans the chance to showcase their services (3D printing, CNC machining, laser etching, etc.) and get potential new customers from the community.
  • Give keyboard enthusiast the chance to develop their own keyboard design by collaborating with local makers (overcoming air/sea freight issues from destinations that are too far away).

E.g. browsing through the list of European PCB manufacturers I learned that they are not just expensive but even getting an estimated price may be also really painful… Of course that's not the fault of the tool.

To make it really usable though: use it, test it, share it, and contribute!


Cherry row identifier

Hekekee designed a 3D-printable tool for identifying Cherry keycaps' row.

This tool helps identifying the row of Cherry profile keycaps.

Eyeballing the keycap profile is really annoying. Therefore, I went and did this tool to help you identify the correct row – Hekekee.

The tool is available for download here:

https://www.printables.com/model/161422-cherry-profile-keycap-row-identifier


Tips & Tricks

Kyria case with trackpad

aphillippe shared the STLs for his tented Kyria case sporting a trackpad holder.

This is a case designed by aphillippe for Thomas Baart's popular split keyboard, the Kyria.

STLs: https://social.thangs.com/m/58186

Specs

  • Tenting support using M5 bolts plus an additional 10-35 degrees with optional risers.
  • Supports low-profile keycaps (lowered section in front of thumb keys), which the official case struggles with.
  • Optional trackpad mount (removes access to one thumb key and visibility to the OLED).

Extras

  • raked keycaps for thumb keys
  • knob for rotary encoder

Printing

I printed using matt black PLA with a 0.6mm nozzle and 0.4mm layer height. I've only included files for the right side. If you want the left side, just mirror the files in your slicer.

Track pad used: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VBLLDXR

Keyboard kit from https://www.splitkb.com


FDM-printable Chicago Steno

Pseudoku's Chicago Steno keycaps optimized for FDM-printing by levpopov.

When levpopov wanted to use CS caps for one of his flat keyboard projects (unpublished), he spent a bit of time tuning it for FDM printing.

These high-res caps generated using pseudoku's https://github.com/pseudoku/PseudoMakeMeKeyCapProfiles are mostly stock, with the exception of a new extra tall convex cap variant which can be handy for corner keys (Y,N,T,B) - the elevation makes these much easier to reach without hitting adjacent keys.

Grab Lev's STLs with print instructions here:

https://www.printables.com/model/158865-chicago-steno-low-profile-ergo-keycaps

Compared to the author's LPX keycaps, Chicago steno provides a similar feeling but with a different footprint.

CS is great for flat Choc-spaced boards like Ferris Sweep where key spacing is driven by the switch footprint.

For 3D keywells (like dactyls) you want a minimal footprint to allow for aggressive curvatures, which is why I made LPX – levpopov.

You can think of LPX as Chicago Steno designed for 3D keywells.


Keyboard Spotting

StenoWord

The StenoWord is a Japanese chorded keyboard for professionals doing subtitles for live broadcasts.

@riv_mk posted some keyboard photos on Twitter the other day, and one of them in particular caught my eye: the StenoWord SX-1.

It's a quite elusive Japanese board, the one you haven't even know existed but consider a real Holy Grail from now on.

I tried to do my best to dig up some info on this model but I'm fairly sure its rarity and the lack of content, combined with the language barrier, resulted in some misunderstandings on my part. Japanese readers are welcome to elucidate me.

So the StenoWord, a family of keyboards rather than a single model, was (is?) a dedicated tool for Japanese steno captioners, especially professionals who do shorthand subtitles for live broadcasts.

Pic:

I managed to find a rather old and expired classified listing where the seller explains how he/she attended a training school to become such a steno captioner 20 years ago.

Using a dedicated keyboard, experts captioners can "enter more than 300 characters per minute". That's pretty similar to other Western steno systems, e.g. the Plover intro refers to "over 200 words per minute" as real-time speed.

So basically the StenoWord keyboard was for stenography, just like ones used in the US in legal proceedings, during court reporting, but also live captioning.

In many parts of the world, especially with heavily agglutinating languages, stenography done by steno keyboards is practically unknown and non-existent. It wouldn't make any sense in my native Hungarian either (with hundreds of thousands of different word forms).

Real-time captioning or captioning per se isn't a thing either in many parts of the world.

However, the Japanese language seems to fit this purpose and as of my understanding captions are everywhere there.

So before broadcasters started captioning their programs using speech recognition technologies, all the subtitles were done manually.

Below is a short video featuring StenoWord keyboards in action and ladies real-time captioning everything from horse racing commentary to an interview with a crying man – both topics pretty hard to do properly with sound recognition I would guess. And these women can take a rest only during commercials. It must be a pretty though job.

There were several contemporary steno and other chorded projects featured in KBD.news earlier: Korea Steno's Smart CAS Plus, Velotype Pro, the Uni or this heavily modded Gigi – and many other projects.

Designing and building a steno board is a relatively easy and cheap project nowadays: there is Plover, an open-source steno engine, QMK supports stenography too, and the small number of keys makes building such a keyboard very affordable.

However, this wasn't the case earlier: steno hardware and software was proprietary, cost a fortune, and that's exactly why the Open Steno Project and Plover were brought to existence.

The situation was probably similar in Japan: according to the seller mentioned above, a used StenoWord cost more than 100,000 yen ($800+) at the time.

This keyboard was not on sale, and I asked my teacher for a second-hand keyboard that I could use at the academy and he sold me one for home practice. It cost more than 100,000 yen at that time.

However, purchasing this specific one proved to be quite lucrative for the seller since after two decades is was sold for 246,000 yen after 125 bids – that's more than $2,200 USD (2021)!

Pic:

Now a few words about the layout. Custom DIY steno boards are usually small and cute. But not the StenoWord!

While there are just ten keys for the alphas/numbers, the layout sports dedicated F-keys, a modifier row, full arrow and navigation cluster as well as a numpad – so the overall form factor is not much smaller than that of a standard keyboard.

As far as I know, there's no space character between words in Japanese and although the spacebar is on the right thumb key, it's probably on a secondary layer and the home thumb keys are mostly for changing logical layers.

That's all I could figure out with my limited knowledge of Japanese so native speakers are welcome to post their comments below the related Twitter post.


Severance terminal

On the awesome-looking Lumon Industries terminal and keyboard, a custom prop from Severance with cool vintage vibe.

I resisted this topic when seeing posts popping up on r/mk about the keyboard and terminal in Apple TV's sci-fi thriller Severance.

Until I learned from an entry on the Adafruit blog that this terminal is actually a unique prop designed for the show.

The "Lumon Industries" terminals are based on the Data General Dasher D2 or D3 terminals (circa 1977/1979), but, according to production designer Jeremy Hindle and set decorator Andrew Baseman, "any single brand of computer would be too identifiable for viewers".

“We brought in every imaginable desktop we could think of. […] We made a computer that, if it ever came out in the real world and the engineers described what they were doing, no one would believe them. It’s a cathode-ray tube, but it’s a touchscreen. It has a trackball. We recognize some aspects of it, and some not at all.”

Pic:

As the author of this piece on Vulture puts it: "the contradictory qualities are supposed to be baffling but also a bit amusing".

As a collector of vintage terminals what I see is a real beauty which I want to put my hands on immediately. :D

Baseman added: "It doesn’t look like an adult high-tech computer. It looks like a toy.”

Pic:

This is often asked so I put two links here: MT3 Dasher keycaps and SA Dasher & Dancer keyset on Drop.

UPDATE

u/gza-genius posted some photos with the title:

My buddy made the keyboards in Apple TV’s “Severence”

Inspiration

Carved case 2

A gorgeous wooden keyboard case by Breakwood with meticulously carved and gold plated solid copper insets.

Hey, what's going on in Vietnam?

After Thịnh Trần's hand-engraved Adelais case, here is a similarly breathtaking piece of art – with gold plated copper/brass reliefs.

This masterpiece, a 60% keyboard case, was created by Breakwood from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Four sides of the case are carved from solid copper which are 24k gold plated on the surface, protected by effect paint and nano coating.

Pic:

I have friends who accept to wait for more than 2 years so that I can comfortably craft and create perfect products – Breakwooden1.

More photos: https://imgur.com/a/RC0corS

This case was part of a group buy 2 years ago. According to Breakwook, after opening the GB, Covit broke out, "causing us to delay delivery for a long time".

Bronze details are cleverly embedded in the precious wooden box, the contrast of gold and the natural color of the wood creates the perfect highlight for this piece.

TiPY one-handed keyboard

TiPY Keyboard's weird one-handed contraption is actually flippable.

TiPY Keyboard is an Austrian company with a surprising one-handed keyboard design.

Founder Matthaeus Drory had been working on this concept for four years before starting production in 2021.

TiPY combines all the functions of a conventional keyboard in a new concept for humans and their computers – TiPY Keyboard.

We've seen one-handed keyboards before: both DIY projects (e.g. Onehand, Mist, Trochee) and actual products like the one-handed Maltron. However, TiPY is unique in one sense at least: it's flippable.

Flipping the TiPY reveals there are actually two different keyboards built into a single product: by removing the palm-rest and attaching it upside-down you can change between a right-handed and left-handed layout.

(Speaking of flippable keyboards, there is the crazy Monterey MK-9500, but that one reveals something totally different on flip. :))

I'm pretty sure this is not the most cost-efficient approach. Not many users will change the layout so one half is probably totally unnecessary. However, this is a rubberdome keyboard so at least switches are not wasted.

I'm not sure what to say about the layout. To cram everything onto one side, the designers came up with a fan-shaped physical layout resulting in a 6x5 grid in the middle for the alphas. For someone with a penchant for logical layout optimization this seems to be a real disaster.

Pic:

We usually aim for 1u distances and try to minimize finger movement, row changes and especially hurdles (skipping the middle row). And here? While the less frequent consonants are located on the bottom row, this layout still forces the user to hurdle a lot – which is not only one of the slowest and least comfortable things while typing but also the number one reason to lose your homing position (increasing the number of typing errors).

All in all, the TiPY showcases an interesting concept but I can't really imagine any real-life situation this layout would come in handy – unless of course you lack one hand and refuse to get familiar with the concept of logical layers.

Otherwise I'd be tempted to smash some modelling clay on my desk to fix the TiPY on it's edge. That would result in a still weird but at least two-handed experience resembling a split with 90 degree tenting angle.


That was Issue #72. Thanks for stopping by.

This issue was made possible by the donations of:
splitkb.com, MoErgo Glove80, u/chad3814, Aiksplace, @keebio, @kaleid1990, ghsear.ch, cdc, Bob Cotton, Timo, kiyejoco, Sean Grady, FFKeebs, Richard Sutherland, Jay Kreibich, @therick0996, Lorenzo Castellana, Matthew Brennan, Christian Lo, Joel Simpson, Nuno Leitano, Spencer Blackwood, KEEBD, Shane Celis, Richard Dawe, Robert Reiser, Nicolas Tremblay, Simon Tjemsland, Davidjohn Gerena, Yuan Liu, Alexey Alekhin, Fabian Suceveanu, Fabian Suceveanu, Simon Brélivet

Your support is crucial to help this project to survive.

Discussion over at r/mk!
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