Nice to see you get more into custom boards. I remember seeing your Ghost S1 video years ago. Really great progression. Video production/quality is A+ as usual
There’s always room for another split keyboard 😁 I really like the layout of this build and will probably build it myself, or use it as inspiration for a custom build (trackpoint built-in is my endgame goal).
I also would like to have trackpoint/joystick, but right now I have redox keyboard in the making. I slightly changed it. Redox already has 70. Do you know if it is possible to add trackpoint to it? I use Pro Micro ATmeaa32U4 clone.
@@EIGAtech You can mix in some more technical videos like "How to make a trackball device from scratch" to have more time for trying the new builds and to wear some pressure off of yourself. We don't want you to be stressed ybout yt :)
Really cool video. I'm just learning about split mechanical keyboards myself and it's awesome to see what the community can build. I'm going with something wired and with more keys for my first split - likely an Iris from keebio. But projects like this get me excited about potential future projects if I end up sticking with the new format and layout and decide to get more involved in the build process in the future.
All it's missing is few tiny multimedia/programmable keys and a small metal trackball in the upper right corner (the kind that was on mobile phones) that could be operated with a ring or index finger of the right hand without its palm leaving the desk.
EDSF is always superior to WASD. Always has been (1994). Even the great Gabe Newell of Valve has touted countlessly in interviews that he too rebinds everything to EDSF.
Or you can make a dedicated gaming layer that shifts whole left side of the QWERTY to the right, so you can achieve the comfort of EDSF without rebinding at all and get along with what the video game industry prefers as default. Another advantage is that you can use your pinky row for keys such as Tab, Shift, Ctrl with zero hand movement now. Therefore your thumb should be less busy comparing to the layout shown in the video. I saw that approach has been made with Wellum QMK layout.
@@Ege_EHonestly yea. If you were going to make a gaming layer anyway, why not just go with the standard movement, makes it easier in the long run. I did just this with my Ferris Sweep where DXCV got changed to WASD in my gaming layer.
@@Ege_E I personally prefer rebinding in-game, because if the game has any kind of in-game chat or I want to switch quickly to doing something else on my computer, I don't want to have to think about switching in and out of a gaming layer. It's probably not that big of a hassle and would just take some getting used to, but rebinding all the controls isn't ever that much of a pain in the ass to me so I don't mind.
New subscriber... loving the videos so far. For the gaming layer, you should move the movement keys down. It is much easier to reach up than it is down. I'd try using DXCV as your forward, left, down, right keys.
Yeah DXCV is something I should try. I may just make a new gaming layer that has WASD remapped to DXCV (and similar for other keys), simply because some games don't play nice with remapping keys.
For a gaming layer, I would recommend moving the keys in your layout to align with your keybinds in game, rather than changing your keybinds to align with your existing layout. By that I mean, instead of changing your game keybinds to be ESDF, change the layer to have WASD where the ESDF keys are in the default layer. Then you change to the gaming layer and as far as the game knows, you are using WASD, but from your perspective, you're using the more comfortable keys
I just finished sourcing all parts to make the keyboard, will post a link for the end result when it's done. this design has both staggered column and angled column, love it. I sort of wish there was one exra key on the 5th column, but who knows, maybe I can manage to cram my 4-layer activation keys to the thumb cluster :D
Nice! Please do. I am with you on that extra key on the 5th column, but I got used to it. I'm still using the TOTEM daily. Which switches did you go with?
I like the screw tray real cool design and amazing work this keyboard is on my list just don't have the time right now, for sure will be building one in the future.
Lego keyboard is the perfect sound descriptor. lol its nearly identical to the sound effect that plays when you're constructing something in a Lego game
Great video! I already ordered all the parts for it so I can build one of my own! Going to be the first keyboard I build so it will be a journey for sure but the low profile nature of it is just too good! :) Just a question; I see others mentioning that you had a comment about the dongle, I can’t seem to find it though, any info you could give on it? A longer battery life and being able to navigate the BIOS seems attractive! :)
There is gh link in video description. It should contain more details. Though I haven´t tried it yet myself. Details from author would be nice of course. :)
This came out surprisingly well in PLA. Not as pretty obviously, but everything fit together without any modification. Really like the layout, currently my daily driver.
I think those are Chicago Steno caps, not DES (listed on the same GH page, just a different profile)--am I wrong? If you do another LP board in the future, I'd be curious to hear what you thought of Asymplex's pocelain Chicago Steno caps, vs. the 3D printed ones. I also wonder if the switches on a LP might feel nicer if they were lubed. You could always try something like Lowprokb's Sunset Tactile Choc switches for something that comes prelubed. Just starting to try to get into the sub-40% keyboards myself. I'm working on learning the Miryoku layout with Colemak-DH, which is a big learning curve. Enjoyed the video--keep it up. 😊
Thanks! They are indeed Chicago Steno keycaps. We printed DES ones as well for my MX switches keyboards and I got stuck on that naming. Some great suggestions there by the way, I am probably getting some Sunsets soon and going to give them a shot.
Huge props on the aesthetics of your videos! It might "just" look like a clean desk, but I'm guessing it takes quite a bit of effort to get these videos looking as good as they do! Also, funny to hear you talk about touch typing, it gets abundantly clear who touch types and who doesn't when they try my keyboard at work, which is a split curved. How do you like the keycaps, are they worth the effort?
Thank you! It's definitely messier in real life and a lot of setup work, but it gets a bit easier with each new video as I figure out my process. The DES / Chicago Steno keycaps are great, I really like them for both MX and Choc switches and I would for sure use them in future builds. Depending on where you print them and in what material, they can end up being cheaper than something like an MT3 profile set, or rarer profiles like KAT.
Can you provide more resources on how to do the dongle setup? Ive basically been using my zmk boards with the master side always plugged in because windows bluetooth is terrible. This is an absolute game changer
the documentation for multi peripheral support is not ready yet, but if you take a look at the two config repos linked in the description of this video, and compare them, you should be able to get an idea of what needs to be added to a shield, in order to enable the feature.
@voidkb awesome, thank you! Ive had 0 issues with bluetooth on linux and mac but windows is actually so bad. Unfortunately i have to work in a windows house and this seems like the perfect solution. In an ideal world, microsoft would just fix their shit...
I know you've gotten this question several times, and in fact I feel like I may have been one of them (though I can't find it), but that dongle seems like a game changer for any nRF52840-based KB. Do you have any more information about how that would be implemented on a different board, ie the corne? Maybe contact with GEIST for some clarification? Idk looking it up does not give enough info on this, and I feel it's sorely needed.
If you had to learn to type all over again, from scratch, would you learn on a standard keyboard first or would you you jump right in to a split minimalist keyboard like this? Have you ever looked at alternative layouts to the standard qwerty layout? would you learn an alternative as a beginner? Thanks for the excellent keyboard content.
Love the video! I've been enjoying my osprette, and sweep, and considering one of these. Any chance you could share some more information about the dongle and how one can use those? I wasn't able to find any information. EDIT: found the comment with your response.
I absolutely love your aesthetics, same with the charybdis video. Also have a totem PCB laying around here in addition to the Charybdis. Two questions, what do you create your keymap visualization with? And is there an STL file for that screw tray? I would recommend other switches personally, I found the pinks way too light. But you can improve the Choc V1 with lubing and floss between the „stem“ and the top housing.
Thank you! The keymap graphics are custom made designs in Figma. Tray thing: www.printables.com/model/171383-less-thin-hexagon-parts-tray Which switches would you recommend? Someone on the reddit thread mentioned the Sunsets but they don't sound like much of an improvement to me.
@@EIGAtech thanks so much :) sunsets actually are the go to tactile switch for Choc, also what I plan to use on my Totem. Alternatively, I would like to try some robins, I know more as soon I got a switch tester.
Awesome video, watched it over and over xD. This might be a silly question but is there any sort of battery power safe mode? Like does it go to sleep or do you have to turn it off every time you finish using it? I have already got mine but i feel like it’s quite annoying having to turn it off every time I’m done with it, the on and off switch being tiny doesn’t help either. Thanks!
Thank you! There is a deep sleep feature in ZMK. I've played with it when I was still using my Corne wireless, it was mildly annoying as it took a second or so to wake up after pressing a key, but having displays made that more bearable since I could see it waking up. I don't use it on the TOTEM as battery life is absolutely insane. In fact, there's a new update that should make the battery life even MORE insane but I haven't gotten around to testing it.
@@EIGAtech oooo that sounds interesting! I’ve been trying to leave it on but I couldn’t figure how to check the battery level reliably, it would show sometimes on Linux. Do you tend to just leave it on or turn it off? I’ll definitely look into the features and update, thanks for the heads up!
great build with awesome attention to details and helpful advices! liked and subscribed! could you please describe how do you use the dongle and why it helps to use the battery more efficiently?
i like this one but i struggled to find a battery of similar size in my are (SEA) so I might go for a slightly different build. Still it looks really nice and simple.
y dont you try the klor with gateron low profile switches, they come with factory lube and u have a few options, also infinetly better keycap support(if u go with the ks-33)
In this keyboard build, eventhough the two sides are essentially identical to each other, what is the need for printing out similar PCB again in a mirrored configuration? Can I just use a replica of the once side pcb for building the enitire keyboard?
hi, first of all amazing video. where to buy the pcb?is this something can be build by ourselves. it would be really helpful. do you have a video on how to build it ?
Hey, I finally built a keyboard. Well sort of... How do you pair the dongle with peripherals? I am going crazy because of it. Also was it also so hard for you to solder reset button and battery pads on XIAO SEED to the PCB?
The one you see the most in the video is regular black resin, but we've also printed "imagine black". Personally I'd just go with the regular black one, which is more of a dark grey.
What software are you using to show/animate the key presses and the different layers? I understand you use ZMK - is there any easy solution to customize, like oryx for zsa for example you know of?
Hey! The animation is custom made. For customization I’ve used keymap-editor by Nick Coutsos, you need to link your own github repo to it but it works very well. github.com/nickcoutsos/keymap-editor
Hi! I've got two questions, first, is there a way to build a Seeeduino Xiao BLE charybdis? Does it have enough pins? Also, is there a way to add a trackpoint to it?
the nfc pads would have to be used, but a 5 column charybdis nano should be doable. at least in theory. a skeletyl/tbk mini (5/6 col without a trackball) would work with xiaos for sure.
@@voidkb awesome! I can’t use trackballs on my thumb because of a RSI, I would love to be able to use xiaos and trackpoint. I will probably try a handwired of somekind next month, anyway you could help me out which pins I could use for the trackpoint?
So.. if I use the XIAO nRF5284 with the dongle (only wifi) would be possible to use pins RX and TX (D6 and D7) to add more switches? Amazing video, by tha way. Helped me a lot!
While looking around for a Seeed Xiao nrf52840 i came across something called an "IO expander for Xiao". Maybe this works? Not sure if it's work for all models and if that will actually give you pins to hook up switches. I'm still a n00b with hardware stuff.
@@AlphaSphere Hi! This would be interesting. I'm kinda newbie too but was able to use the tx/rx pins as switches and also the 3 IMU pins and the 2 NFE antenna pins. =)
Depends on the game. If you need SHIFT you could remap it to the extra key instead of ESC and put that somewhere else. Or just remap whatever SHIFT is assigned to in the game (e.g. running) to something like Z instead.
Hi my friend, i'm tryng to do a dongle to a corne, i tried to copy and adapt your firmware, but have a lot of issues, do you have any suggestion for me?
Hey! There is a link in the github repo to the keycap STLs we used. For the Corne we printed DES_r2 and DES_r3 (two times the amount r3 of these as they are also used for row 1). Don't forget about DES_thumb_corne_high for the thumb buttons and maybe print some homing keys as well, there's a few options to choose from.
Not on the TOTEM but other ergo split keyboards that support displays can show the current layer number or name. It's a nice to have but by no means something I can't live without.
yes, there are multiple versions that share the same footprint, but with different microcontrollers. for wireless builds you need the xiao nrf52840, while for wired builds the xiao rp2040
@@voidkb i figured it out in the end but i also came across a guid mentioning that 2 nrf52840 sense are needed. A non sense version should work too right? I don't see why the extra sense features are needed.
@@AlphaSphere yes, that would be correct. the basic nrf52840 xiao is what we used too. the entire BOM is listed somewhere in the totem github repo, the link is in the description of this video.
I would just charge both halves every now and then, like once a month or so. Before with the Charybdis I would just charge the left half once a week. Having a display like I do on my Corne wireless sure is nice though...
@@EIGAtech Thanks for the answer and your videos. Can you please clear me how you solved the wobble of the MJF keycaps, as the stem hole is too lose? Do you have any wobble by Black Resin print?
@@cl1rs No issues at all with tolerances, but we might've just been lucky. If anything, they were very tight fitting on my Oil Kings. Only issue we've had was interference with VOID's Cherry MX Black Hyperglide switches. We printed the files from this fork, which has tol 0 for the stems: github.com/sporkus/PseudoMakeMeKeyCapProfiles
