Joined Because of the ErgoDox - Hello!

[jeklynhyde]

Previous to finding out about the ErgoDox, I probably wouldn't be called a keyboard enthusiast. But once I found out about the ErgoDox, there was no turning back. Without any prior knowledge of soldering, I threw caution, and a bunch of my hard-earned money, to the wind and bought a kit. I just finished building it the other day, and I figured it was a good time to use my new keyboard to say hello to the community! If you'd like to see more information (and a bunch of other random stuff), you can wander to my profile and check out my website.

Cheers! and I'm happy to be joining the community

[AKmalamute]

You're not the first to show up because of the Ergodox ... Anandtech's review of the massdrop kit brought me here, though I eventually (nearly a year later) assembled all the parts myself from disparate sources for approximately the cost of their kit ... but my case is stainless steel, so there's that.

Welcome to wallethack. Say goodbye to your budget.

[jeklynhyde]

I forgot to mention, upon completion of the kit, everything works like a charm, but the "num" key LED is constantly illuminated. I did a search to see if any others have had the same issue, and one suggests that the LED's leads may be connected to the wrong joint, but that doesn't seem to be the case for me.

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

Another Ergo Dox convert )

If you don't get responses here, feel free to create a thread probably in the keyboards section to ask for help - lots of people here have built Ergo Doxes and can probably advise you.

[Hundrakia]

Welcome! Im torn between diy ergo and regular ergo. Ahh the possibility

[Harrowed]

Welcome! Ergodox is a great starting board and on top of that a great end game board! Enjoy your stay!

[rowdy]

Welcome! Ergodox is a great starting board and on top of that a great end game board! Enjoy your stay!

I haven't heard many people refer to the ErgoDox as a "starting board" )

[Harrowed]

Welcome! Ergodox is a great starting board and on top of that a great end game board! Enjoy your stay!

I haven't heard many people refer to the ErgoDox as a "starting board" )

But as you can see we get lots of new members who start their journey to mechs through getting Ergodox from Massdrop I think I had owned my first mechanical keyboard only about 3 months when I already had ordered Ergodox. Why to waste time to middle game boards when you can move straigth to the top 

[rowdy]

Welcome! Ergodox is a great starting board and on top of that a great end game board! Enjoy your stay!

I haven't heard many people refer to the ErgoDox as a "starting board" )

But as you can see we get lots of new members who start their journey to mechs through getting Ergodox from Massdrop I think I had owned my first mechanical keyboard only about 3 months when I already had ordered Ergodox. Why to waste time to middle game boards when you can move straigth to the top 

That's all right, I already have an HHKB thank you

[jeklynhyde]

XD this is my first mechanical keyboard as well. Coming from a Logitec rubber dome. I think I might have used buckling spring keys back in grade school, but other than that I think this is my first foray into mechanical switches.

[redpandasocks]

Has it been difficult going from keyboard to ergo for typing?  Or is there little transition period?  I like the form factor but I've never done any soldering myself as well or dealt with the innards of things.  I don't count building a computer just because it's kinda plug tab a in slot b.

[jeklynhyde]

I've built a couple computers myself as well... I had never soldered anything before doing this project, so I bought an AM/FM Radio Kit and practiced with that until I felt comfortable soldering. I think I did rather well considering... Other than the practice, I think the thing that helped the most was using very thin gauge solder (.40mm /  .015"). Check out the soldering tutorials from EEVblog on youtube, they were also very helpful.
Going from a regular keyboard in qwerty layout to a qwerty layout on the ErgoDox has made the transition a little easier (as opposed to switching to a new layout completely), although the keycaps that I got don't have markings on them, so I have to rely on my memory of the different keys in relation to one another. I'm actually kind of surprised at how well my hands know the qwerty layout. I still make lots of mistakes, but so far I feel like I'm adjusting well and getting better each time I use the board. I'll better be able to judge once I get back up to regular typing speed.

[jeklynhyde]

The transition going from staggered to matrix layout is probably what is causing the biggest part of my stumbling block; the keys not being labeled makes it more difficult. Still, it isn't causing too great a challenge.

[mbrown559]

Welcome to geekhack!  I started my mechanical keyboard addiction about 4 months ago and have purchased 3 boards since.  I love each of my mechanical boards but have been debating whether or not the switch to an ErgoDox is beneficial.

I'm really debating between an ErgoDox or waiting for the http://matias.ca/ergopro/pc/

What made you finally decide on the ErgoDox?

[jeklynhyde]

I found out about it from an article on HairySun though I can't remember what brought me there. I saw the layout and it caught my attention instantly so I started doing some research.
I really liked the split design - being able to place the boards at any angle and at any distance from the each other, it allows for so many options for any number of different comfort zones and variations. I very much like the idea of being able to sit in a big comfy chair with a keyboard on each armrest and just typing up a storm..... even though I am in the middle of a standing desk venture (my monitors, keyboard, and mouse all propped up to the appropriate height with cardboard boxes), still, it's fun to fancy.
Next, I found the idea of thumb key clusters to be very appealing. Finally my thumbs can do more than just hitting the spacebar (or alt on occasion)!
I figure the small size (and the split design) of the keyboard will also help my gaming skills. Previously I would often neglect anything on the top number row greater than 5 because my right hand would often hit the wrong key in pursuit of a bind or macro and I found myself using my left hand for the job. The separation will allow my right hand to find the keys with greater ease and maybe actually make use of them now. I expect that having access to more keys in a more compact space (via layers) will make things a bit easier as well.
I also took a liking to the fact that is a DIY kit. I was up for the challenge and wanted to learn something new in the process.
The board being fully programmable and completely open source was a huge plus as well.

tldr: I was looking for a cool new side project.

[dorkvader]

Did you go for through hole diodes, or did you try hour hand at SMD? Ergodox was my first SMD experience, but I'm much better now.

Ergodox is a great KB to learn how to DIY with: I'm glad it turned out well for you. Not sure about that LED, it's usually there to signal what layer you're on. Have you tried reflashing the firmware?

also, If you post good pictures of your soldering, I might be able to rule out a hardware thing.

Edit:

I also took a liking to the fact that is a DIY kit. I was up for the challenge and wanted to learn something new in the process.

Welcome home brother! DIY and GH go hand in hand, and that attitude is the best here! Let's put the "hack" back in "Geekhack"

[jeklynhyde]

The kit I got did not come with the through-hole diodes (as a guess, I think Massdrop no longer includes them because of the issues they can cause with the layering), so I obviously went with the surface mounts. A hot air station for the SMDs probably would have been easier, but I did alright with the chisel-tip soldering iron.
I have not tried reflashing, but I will now. I'll see about taking a couple pictures.

[jeklynhyde]

I'm using the qwerty layout: "20121220--qwerty-kinesis-mod" as instructed by the Massdrop instructions. I reloaded the firmware.eep (LED turns off), then replaced it with the firmware.hex, (all three LEDs light up initially, then turn off, except the top one (LEDa). Realized something handy in this process, the case screws can be used to poke the teensy push button through the hole in the top plate.

Here's a picture of the LED solder joints:
http://img.randomblank.com/projects/ergodox/LED_solder_joints.jpg

And one of the LED resistor solder joints:
http://img.randomblank.com/projects/ergodox/LED_resistor_solder_joints.jpg

[redpandasocks]

The transition going from staggered to matrix layout is probably what is causing the biggest part of my stumbling block; the keys not being labeled makes it more difficult. Still, it isn't causing too great a challenge.

Good to know for future reference.  I like the split design but I'm not sure that this is the right time for me to take the plunge.  Thanks for the view point though.

[jeklynhyde]

I may have figured out where to look next with the numlock issue. I was using another keyboard plugged in at the same time and accidentally hit the capslock on it and saw the second LED key light up on my ErgoDox (why didn't I think of this before?!) I tested both the numlock and the capslock then using the other keyboard and the LEDs lit up and turned off correctly, so I must assume that it has to do with the layout not actually being bound, and so I perceive an issue. I'll have to test later.

I also realized that one of the mistakes I make the most often is hitting backspace when I mean to hit space. Apparently my left thumb was my dominant "jump" digit.

[jeklynhyde]

I know this thread is super dead, but if anyone else has the problem of the numlock key apparently not working, I realized it was because the layout provided in the assembly instructions, "20121220--qwerty-kinesis-mod.zip," was either incorrectly labeled in the firmware--layout.html file, or it just wasn't coded correctly... whatever the reason, if you instead try using the Massdrop configurator, you can load up a default QWERTY layout, tweak it to your pleasing or leave it as it is, then download the .hex file and update your keyboard with the new layout. This fixed my problem and now the numlock (and the reassigned capslock) both work correctly, LEDs and all.
Now to figure out how to make the volume up/down keys work .
Thanks everyone for the help earlier

[rowdy]

Thanks for the update - it's always nice to find out what the solutions are, even if the question is long forgotten

Plus this is now archived in various search engines for posterity!

[slickmamba]

I know this thread is super dead, but if anyone else has the problem of the numlock key apparently not working, I realized it was because the layout provided in the assembly instructions, "20121220--qwerty-kinesis-mod.zip," was either incorrectly labeled in the firmware--layout.html file, or it just wasn't coded correctly... whatever the reason, if you instead try using the Massdrop configurator, you can load up a default QWERTY layout, tweak it to your pleasing or leave it as it is, then download the .hex file and update your keyboard with the new layout. This fixed my problem and now the numlock (and the reassigned capslock) both work correctly, LEDs and all.
Now to figure out how to make the volume up/down keys work .
Thanks everyone for the help earlier

Great guy, coming back to solve the problem for future searchers!