Firmware recommendation for total newbie

[Ro-76]

I have read this forum and watched numerous videos on the topic of building a custom keyboard, but can't seem to find a simple answer to my problem.

I have built a small custom keypad of 16 keys to control shortcuts on a radiology workstation. I've wired it all up as a matrix of 4 columns and 4 rows wired to a 8 pins on a teensy 2.0 with diodes etc. I've got the teensy communicating properly over usb to teensyduino.

I'm running into a challenge with the firmware build. I don't need any fancy bells or whistles, I just need to program my 16 keys with simple keystrokes like function keys and letters. I may stretch to having 2 keys that do ctrl+c and ctrl+x at most.

Could anyone please suggest a starting point or firmware to begin with. Most firmwares that I have looked at seem much more feature-rich and hence more complicated for a newbie like me.

Many thanks!

[Tactile]

I can't find a drop-in solution for you but have a look here to get started.

[xack]

I can't find a drop-in solution for you but have a look here to get started.

was about to post the same:
KeypadTutorial
But thats only one part. What you also want is send the key as a keypress to the computer.
For this you also need this:
Keyboard.print()
If you want to do key combos you might also need Keyboard.press() and Keyboard.release()

That should get you started

[nevin]

was just playing with this for a project another forum member is working on... try this
    (disclaimer.... i've never used the firmware from this site yet, but it's a web configurator for qmk, give it a shot)

go here: https://kbfirmware.com/

dump you layout into the "paste here" spot

Code: [Select]

[{a:7},"","","",""],
["","","",""],
["","","",""],
["","","",""]
- import
- go through the tabs & set it up how you have it wired & what you want the keys to be in the tabs below the layout (ATmega32U4 for teensy 2.0)
- macros (key combinations) also available on there.
    - macro tab, pick a number, record macro, stop recording
    - keymap tab, select a key, configure click "KC_SPC", fn tab, click "M()", then select macro number you just recorded
- when all done, go to compile tab & generate the hex file, upload to teensy with teensy loader

all web based, no coding necessary.

your layout from keyboard layout editor

[Ro-76]

was just playing with this for a project another forum member is working on... try this
    (disclaimer.... i've never used the firmware from this site yet, but it's a web configurator for qmk, give it a shot)

go here: https://kbfirmware.com/

dump you layout into the "paste here" spot

Code: [Select]

[{a:7},"","","",""],
["","","",""],
["","","",""],
["","","",""]
- import
- go through the tabs & set it up how you have it wired & what you want the keys to be in the tabs below the layout (ATmega32U4 for teensy 2.0)
- macros (key combinations) also available on there.
    - macro tab, pick a number, record macro, stop recording
    - keymap tab, select a key, configure click "KC_SPC", fn tab, click "M()", then select macro number you just recorded
- when all done, go to compile tab & generate the hex file, upload to teensy with teensy loader

all web based, no coding necessary.

your layout from keyboard layout editor

Thanks for all the help. This worked really well. I'm now up and running. The only thing I can't perfect is combinations like CTRL+C etc, but I'll keep trying.

Thanks again for all the great advice.

[nevin]

quick screen grab vid/how-to https://cl.ly/4e15d80bb60c
make sure you set macro key on default layer if you're only using one layer