Hell yeah! I'm typing on a corne rn that I only built because I was confident from watching videos from you. Really excited to see you pushing the boundries like this.
The 3d printed gasket mount looks really nice, you could design the plate with reduced thicknesses where the switches have their small hooks (how people do on dactyl boards) then they click in even with your foam pads without making the plate more flexible (if you print the entire plate with less thickness)
It is super nice to type on. The plate does have offset thickness but the foams just added too much for them to click in. If building without, it would be fine but with it would need to be offset a bit more.
Turned out great. Did you end up adding any hot glue to the switches or the stiff copper wire took care of it for you? Also, a general hand wired board question: What do you do when a switch goes bad?
It's kinda like an optical illusion: by dressing the outer columns up as Tab and Caps, one sees a keyboard that's missing _letters_ instead of the (typical) omission of "special" keys. I'm kinda "into" keyboard layouts, so I figured symbols were hidden behind a toggle-able layer or set of multi-key combos. It's less normal for layouts to bump letters from the base layer. Turns out, the keys on the outer columns are just deceptively labeled; Eg. the left-most column keys are (top to bottom) QAZ -- just like normal Colemak or Qwerty. The labels aren't _totally_ out of place -- he eg. holds Z to use it as shift -- but they're definitely deceptive. I think it's a really interesting set of decisions, and appreciate the compact and aesthetic result of emphasizing the functional aspects of outer-column keys through their labels and form-factors. As I said in my hook, this creates the illusion of the keyboard that's more minimal than it really is (which is still pretty minimal, by reasonable standards :p).
TAB - Q CAPS - A SHIFT - Z FUNC - O Rest of the keys are on layers. So for example, holding the right CMD key will get my symbols, arrows, media keys, etc. Holding the right OPT key will give me numbers on home row.
I'm new to the ultra ultra custom all diy keyboard scene but I'm really loving your content so far! Would you mind telling me something about that keyboard layout? It doesnt seem to follow any common layouts and is missing some rather fundamental keys like the Q A and Z nah? how do you map those keyboards to still kinda use them functionally with just so few keys Thanks in advance :)
The layout itself is "Colemak" which is an alternative to QWERTY, it's more comfortable and efficient to use. As for the missing keys, they're there, but they are just different for looks. Tab is Q, Caps is A, Shift is Z, and Func is O. The rest are on layers, so for example if I hold the right OPT key I'll get numbers on home row. Holding the right CMD key will give me symbols, arrows, media keys, etc. Space functions as both spacebar on tap and holding will give you command or control depending on if Windows or Mac.
@@joe_scotto Oh I see now! Interesting choice haha Really cool build tho! I gotta say you absolutely inspired me to just go the next step from modding existing keyboards to designing, soldering and programming my entirely own keyboard. Keep up the amazing work!
i have a question is there a big difference between a atmega32u4 and the RP2040 you used? i have a atmega32u4 from a previous build and im not sure if i can use it.
RP2040 just gives you more options, it has more GPIO typically along with more flash storage for keymap features. That said, the 32U4 is more than fine for most builds and has been the standard up until a year or two ago. You’ll likely not run into any memory issues unless you try running complex images on displays.
Have you considered putting the "gaskets" in place of feet? I'm pretty sure the effect would be almost identical, in terms of typing feel. Foam and rubber are notorious for being failure points in vintage keyboards. The evergrowing trend of putting them inside the keyboards is kinda ironic.
I could use some thinner foam for the bottom feel which might isolate it even more. That’s a concern of mine for sure but I think more likely is the super weak adhesive on the Poron will require it to be replaced sooner.
@@joe_scotto yeah you could. But my point is, there isn't much sense in making a keyboard flexible (thus, more vulnerable to foam degradation). You don't introduce per-key damping. And per-keyboard damping can be achieved with soft feet that are easier to replace than the gasket, long-term.
Putting foam as just the feet wouldn't give the gasket sound of feel, it would just add to it. By putting foam around the plate to suspend it, the sound and feel gets dampened.
@@joe_scotto That's interesting. I can imagine, the bottoming out vibrations don't travel to the case as much. Still, it is a rather hard concept to grasp w/o trying. Much like mech keyboards themselves.
@@joe_scotto If you press super hard on the edge keys they compress more indeed, but 99% of gasket mounted keyboards only have their gaskets front and back for a reason, consistency of the alpha keys
@@General_Mills_ I mean, this isn't a standard gasket mounted board... it's handwired. That said, it feels extremely consistent to type on and use, omitting the left/right gasket would make it feel bad as I found in testing.
