Custom mechanical keyboards | Hacker News Reader

Custom mechanical keyboards

scrapbox.io

63 pointsdiimdeep64 comments

Looks like this is just a scrape of /r/mechanicalkeyboards.

In fact, my custom board is there.

https://scrapbox.io/MECHKEYS/Mitosis_Anaphase:_full-custom_h...

I gotta give that sub props. They got me hooked. Went to a meetup for that sub in DC last year and it was really cool to see how friendly that community is and how creative they are.

eye twitching from OCD

Aargh, that bottom key! Just switch the high keycap with the low one on the other side!

There's a reason it's like that: the right side has arrow keys, so I made them all G20. The left side has page up/page down so I made them both SA R3.

I recently went through the trouble of getting a custom split layout mechanical keyboard machined. I have a write-up/buildlog here:

http://www.csun.io/2018/07/16/custom-mechanical-keyboard.htm...

Really cool. Why did you choose home on the right and end on the left?

Thanks! I think of it as moving my finger in the same direction as the cursor, which ended up feeling the most natural during typing.

I recently purchased a low-profile mechanical keyboard with low key travel (Havit tenkeyless) and it’s been amazing (I’ve always disliked how high profile and long key travel cherry switch keyboards have). The switches feel great but build quality on everything else seems lacking. I’m tempted to buy a half dozen of them in case they are discontinued. Does anyone know of other keyboards similar to this one? Thought it would be useful to ask here. Thanks.

It uses Kailh Choc low profile switches, and you can build your own board using them if you want, in any layout you want ranging from bog-standard to off-the-wall crazy.

Where can you get low-profile switches and keycaps from?

I'd love to make a custom low-profile ergo board.

https://novelkeys.xyz/products/kailh-low-profile-switches

https://novelkeys.xyz/products/novelkeys-x-kailh-low-profile...

Unfortunately there isn't that much selection in low profile caps, yet.

https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/keycaps/products/kailh-low...

Oh wow!! Thanks for that!

Note: I think you need a custom PCB, not just custom switches/keys.

You talking about the 87 key one? Its so awesome because it fits in my bag and I can travel with it.

As far as being discontinued, the low-profile switch is made by Kaihl and is still fairly new I think so I hope maybe more companies will start building keyboards with them.

Yes that’s it!

I bought a DareU Bluetooth keyboard with Kailh LP switches a while back - absolutely love it.

I've got this one too! The switches are still new so just wait for more boards using them to show up.

"Tesoro Gram XS" is another (more expensive) keyboard with low-profile mech switches, I haven't used it.

I love mechanical keyboards, and as a tinkerer the concept of making a custom one really appeals to me.

That said, the fact that the main page loads up dozens of multi-megabyte "thumbnail" icons is absolutely baffling.

This is really not out of the realm of a dedicated hobbyist.

The switches and keycaps can be ordered from quite a few vendors.

Also, custom circuitboards are no longer difficult to design or produce in small quantities (especially separate left/right boards).

Use a Teensy to wire it together as a USB HUD device.

3d print the case.

You mean USB HID, Human Interface Device.

Yes. Good catch.

Shameless plug for my own custom keyboard firmware project: https://github.com/dhowland/EasyAVR

Works with the Teensy

Thanks for linking this, I’m actually in the design phase of this project right now so the timing couldn’t be better. I’m going to try it some time this week.

So, I used to have a full-size keyboard with a built-in calculator as part of the numpad (had an LCD display above).

I would love to built an updated version.

I was just talking to a coworker about mechanical keyboards, and how it feels like a right of passage at this point to transcend into full techie. Like picking a side in Vim/Emacs. I'm thinking about getting one, /r/mechanicalkeyboards has a buying guide, I'm thinking about buying this budget one to see what its all about: https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Keyboard-68-Keys-Magicforc...

Neovim, obviously

Real programmers use Acme.

Real hackers use cat << EOF

“Ed is the standard text editor.”[1]

[1]: https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/ed-msg.html

MF68 is a great starter board. You won't be able to go back.

If you work in an open office or share a workspace your co-workers will hate you. No one wants to listen to machine gun fire while your neighbor types animated gifs into slack.

I own a mechanical keyboard, and I have the displeasure of working in an open office space. Two things:

1. The keyboard really isn't that loud. I've used this keyboard for well over a year, and have yet to have had any complaints about the noise; compared to other noise sources (any conversation, the jackhammers outside my office, occasional city noises), the keyboard is quieter. It's also the sort of "noise" in my opinion that is easy to tune out, as opposed to stuff with signal, like nearby conversations/meetings.

2. Hate towards such owners is misdirected. The problem is the open office layout, not the keyboard.

Now, I also have quieter switches (Cherry MX Browns, I think).

I'm not sure if that's true. Yes open offices are horrible. Even offices with cubicles (semi-open), or offices where the doors are open. I have several neighbors who built their own keyboards or bought mechanical ones and it drives me crazy. They are loud and distracting. But Ive never mentioned it to them. Why? It's a pointless disagreement in the workplace. One of those pick your battles scenarios, so even though you've had no complaints doesn't mean it's not an issue.

You can make a mechanical keyboards significantly quieter. Most of the noise isn't actually from the switches themselves but rather from the impact of the keys bottoming out into hard plastic. So a set or 2 of o-rings on the keys will really cut down on the noise.

When I get around to constructing my next custom. I'm going to use non-clicky switches with a thick acrylic plate and of course a set of o-rings. In theory, it should be very office acceptable.

This is just a toxic non-constructive myth about mecanical keyboards.

Not all switches are like Model F's [1].

I have an ErgoDox Infinity with a switch called Matias Quiet Click (MQC). And nobody in the open space has ever complained about it.

1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F291BxffYIA

That's an argument against open offices and other such setups. Mechanical keyboards are much more ergonomic and can prevent or reduce RSI from typing. I'm can't type on anything else because of my RSI. They can be understanding or they can go fuck themselves. At this point I couldn't give a fuck. My health is simply more important.

> it feels like a right of passage at this point to transcend into full techie

I own an ErgoDox (which is featured in several of the photos, though I own the EZ, which is a pre-assembled version; most of the ErgoDox's seem to be the DIY variant), but I own it because my wrists were starting to hurt after I started using Apple/MBP keyboards.

(I've also used a Kinesis Freestyle with the metal vertical structs, and that was satisfying too. I value the ErgoDox's customizability and FOSS firmware more.)

*rite of passage (sorry)

As an ergonomic nut I have to recommend the kinesis edge gaming keyboard. Most mech keyboards are just fancy design plus mech keys.

The kinesis lets you find the best horizontal distance apart and change their tilt from center.

It's not that attractive, but it's great from an ergonomic perspective.

Personally I don't find anything with a staggered layout ergonomic. It's better than standard though. I've gone totally ortholinear now. Ergodox at home and Truly Ergonomic at work.

This got my hopes up about something I was just talking about a few days ago [0]. However, this does not seem to be custom bespoke keyboards, but rather DIY keyboards. It also seems to be limited to mechanical key switches with the bulky key caps. I'm not too interested in building my own keyboard, but I do see the appeal. Some of these are truly works of art.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17563058

I own both a kinesis freestyle 3 keyboard (split and wireless) and the Microsoft ergo sculpt keyboard.

The ability to combine the ergonomics of both would be great.

I wonder if fancy split keyboards are actually getting popular, or if all split keyboard owners are posting pics on the internet.

The board is less expensive to fabricate because it is physically smaller.

Manufactured or pre-made split keyboards aren't cheap. However if you're making your own the costs aren't all that different. So it's easier to ignore the cost and effort if you're making a split keyboard. Also by definition, you're talking about someone willing to go down the less beaten paths.

I would love for split keyboard to become more mainstream. They're far superior to the traditional key layout. But if the sample set is customs, it's probably selection bias.

Now if there was only a place that sold custom keycaps. Actual keycaps, not stickers.

I'd love to have my Open-Apple and Closed-Apple back.

Or a comma to replace my F19, which is currently mapped to comma.

Or maybe a pair of proper "Meta"-labeled keys again.

Or replace Function-Control-Option with Meta-Super-Hyper like those old Symbolics keyboards.

There's http://www.wasdkeyboards.com and http://www.maxkeyboard.com/ that both do custom printing on (unfortunately cheap-feeling) ABS keycaps.

If you can deal with not having instant gratification, Massdrop [0] has group buys of custom keycap sets, which are designed by members of the community.

[0] https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-admgc-sa-green-scree...

Nice! My mechanical keyboard wishlist item is for an ortholinear keyboard that has a full set of rows including number keys and function keys, so that I can play Starcraft 2 on it. :)

Are there any custom keyboards which allow creating Unix layout? Especially with Escape in second from top row, and Backspace in third from top?

Pretty much all of them are fully programmable. So you can swap Caps Lock with Ctrl, move Esc to the grave key, and put backspace on the backslash key. If you want to customize the actual size and position of the keys, then that is harder to find.

Most maybe, but nowhere near all. The two I have offer only limited customization through a set of DIP switches.

This page shows mostly full-custom keyboards, which you have to compile the firmware for yourself. Naturally, that affords ample customization.

Yes, I want backspace to remain larger than other buttons. So putting it on backslash key doesn't sound like a good idea.

I've been thinking about doing this for a while. And I LOVE the fact that the whole first page is mostly egonomic/split.

what would be really cool is a bloomberg mech keyboard with the green and blue keys. but i think the pcb is proprietary.

How does one go about building a custom mechanical keyboard? Are there any good resources to get started? I've long fantasized about building a standard-layout keyboard with a couple of extra unobtrusive shift/modifier keys.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/ would be a good start

Get yourself a switch tester [0], find a layout you like (or handwire your own [1]), and compile your own firmware [2]. The r/mk wiki has a great page [3] for starting to build your own.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/KBDfans-Mechanical-keyboard-Tester-sw...

[1] https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87689.0

[2] https://qmk.fm/

[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/customkeyb...

Massdrop [0] have a lot of kits going up every so often, and it's one of the better places to get some of the very custom stuff.

[0]: https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops

Build your layout with keyboard-layout-editor, paste the raw data into builder.swillkb.com, order plates from Lasergist or export files for a different service, buy switches of your choice (I recommend Kailh Box switches), hand wire them up to a Teensy or Pro Micro, set up QMK for your matrix and layout, and program it.

This is the beginning of an (incomplete as of now) series on doing so, and should be a good starting point: https://matt3o.com/book/

I have some links on Github:

https://github.com/melling/ErgonomicNotes/blob/master/keyboa...

There’s a small section for “Build Your Own”

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