ErgoDox - Custom split ergo keyboard.

[hoggy]

Nice one, Dox!  My eyes started to follow the traces - it wasn't long before I got lost.

[dirge]

Can u buy me a PCB set please I can't wait for a final kit!

[ic07]

that's awesome, DOX!

[Netdewt]

Will the PCBs be available a la carte?

[ped]

Nom, I'm with dirge on this! Can I buy a PCB?

[Dox]

Wow, that's a good PCB, DOX!

I especially like the profusion of mounting holes. We sholud have no trouble with flex.

Are they one-sided PCB's with a lot of jumpers, or does the red denote traces on the second layer?

Thanks, these are 2 sided. The red traces are on the top layer of the PCB.

Nice one, Dox!  My eyes started to follow the traces - it wasn't long before I got lost.

Thanks, it's quite hard to follow from the picture, especially with the ground planes.

Can u buy me a PCB set please I can't wait for a final kit!

FYI, the prototype PCBs cost me ~300$ for 2 sets. Prices will be much lower with bigger quantity but I ordered the minimum qty just to test everything.

that's awesome, DOX!

Thanks! Your firmware highly facilitate the tracing. I don't know if I have followed your intended matrix as I went for the simplest way to trace it with the assigned pins. There will probably be some remapping needed in the firmware. No big deal.

Will the PCBs be available a la carte?

Yes, when everything will be ready and tested!

Nom, I'm with dirge on this! Can I buy a PCB?

I don't think a lot of people would want to pay 150$ for a set of PCB that are not even tested yet.

I should receive them next monday. Can't wait!

[litster]

Looking good, DOX!  Good to see all the diode placement options.  I just recently soldered SMD diodes to my KMAC.  It wasn't hard at all.  Just need steady hands.

[Netdewt]

Yes, when everything will be ready and tested!

That might interest me.

[Dox]

Looking good, DOX!  Good to see all the diode placement options.  I just recently soldered SMD diodes to my KMAC.  It wasn't hard at all.  Just need steady hands.

Thanks lister! I decided to put the SMD as it wasn't much more work and it's good to have options. I'll probably go for the trough hole ones on the first prototype as I have a few hundreds of them but I may try the SMD on the final or the second prototype PCB.

[litster]

SMD diodes are a lot more expensive than through-hole diodes.  And Mouser is cheaper than digikey.  I ordered extra last time.  because I it was only a couple more dollars  to reach the next level of discount.

Hehe, send me a set of PCBs and I can test for SMD diodes placement.    I will pay for it, if you have extra.

[OrangeJewce]

Great stuff Dox! Keep up the amazing work!
Might even  have to bump my order up!

Cheers,

[sordna]

Nice to see pcb-mount switches with pins and diodes supported! Those are the kinds of switches kinesis sells.

[litster]

Kinesis sells individual switches?

[ped]

Kinesis sells individual switches?

I think they sell the keywells and packs of 25 switches or something along those lines, but you have to email them about it as it's not listed anywhere.

[dirge]

Dox I'm loving this, get pics of those boards the moment they arrive!  And I'm sure the boards would have been a bit cheaper if we'd thrown money at you for prototypes

[ped]

Dox I'm loving this, get pics of those boards the moment they arrive!  And I'm sure the boards would have been a bit cheaper if we'd thrown money at you for prototypes

Makes sense though, if he overlooked something and it needs manual fixing then you'd think "Damn, paid all that money for something 'broken'". With that said, I'd have paid for one at that price. But yeah, exciting!

[sordna]

Kinesis sells individual switches?

They sell reds in 15 packs for sure (I got 2 such packs already), for larger quantities it will probably have to be a special order, but they're accomodating.
All their switches are the style for their Kinesis Advantage (with pins for pcb mount, and with built-in diodes), so it would be MX1A-L1DW for their reds, and  MX1A-G1DW for their browns.

Boy is the Cherry Wiki handy
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Cherry+switches+and+boards

[litster]

sordna, do you know how much they charge for the switches?

[Dox]

Teaser...
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51346[/ATTACH]

[mkawa]

fascinating!! i don't think i'd be in for the casing, as I can never manage to type properly on split boards, but the boards are too intriguing to not build one up

[dorkvader]

Are those plated through-holes?

[alaricljs]

You have to jump through hoops to not get plated holes when you use kicad.

[WhiteRice]

Are those plated through-holes?

I love it when you talk nerdy

[OrangeJewce]

So exciting Dox! Do you plan on posting pictures of you putting it all together?

Cheers,

[sordna]

sordna, do you know how much they charge for the switches?

Yes, a 15-pack of reds (MX1A-L1DW) goes for $15. So it's a dollar a switch. Kinesis part number for the 15-pack is KC009REP, they mainly sell these packs to people that are converting their Advantage keyboards to the LF version (you would buy a pair of red keywells for $90 I believe, and a 15-pack to swap the thumbswitches). However I bought 2 packs (30 switches for $30) without buying any keywells. They should be able to do a better price for larger quantity of switches, we should ask them how much they would charge for maybe a 90-pack.

[litster]

yeah, I want these switches for ergo DOX as well as a custom keyboard I will be building that uses PCB mount switches with built in diodes.  But $1 each is too expensive.

[Dox]

Pictures!
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51436[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51437[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51434[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51435[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51432[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51433[/ATTACH]
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51438[/ATTACH]

One small problem. I have installed the diodes the same way I have done for the DoxKB but the scanning in inverted in IC07 firmware so nothing registers for the moment. I tested with a jumper and everything seem to work fine otherwise. I'll try to invert the scanning in the firmware as the diodes are a PITA to desolder in the small plated

The TRRS cable works like a charm! A HDMI cable would have been way too bulky.

[tadbitnerdy]

Interested!  Amazing work!

[REVENGE]

Pictures!
(Attachment Link) 51436[/ATTACH] (Attachment Link) 51437[/ATTACH] (Attachment Link) 51434[/ATTACH] (Attachment Link) 51435[/ATTACH] (Attachment Link) 51432[/ATTACH] (Attachment Link) 51433[/ATTACH]
(Attachment Link) 51438[/ATTACH]

One small problem. I have installed the diodes the same way I have done for the DoxKB but the scanning in inverted in IC07 firmware so nothing registers for the moment. I tested with a jumper and everything seem to work fine otherwise. I'll try to invert the scanning in the firmware as the diodes are a PITA to desolder in the small plated

The TRRS cable works like a charm! A HDMI cable would have been way too bulky.

http://youtu.be/p6RM6YE3EMI?t=25s

[dorkvader]

Does it have no soldermask?

Wow, that picture of it loaded up with switches, with the LED's on looks amazing! I want to convert it to ascii-art, type it up on the typewriter (I have no printer at the moment) and put it on the wall!

Now that you have the switches on a board, what do you think about the key placement? How does it feel?

[sordna]

So cool! Oh, can you please make sure the firmware is such that cherry switches with built-in diodes work? That's what should dictate the orientation...

[Dox]

Does it have no soldermask?

Wow, that picture of it loaded up with switches, with the LED's on looks amazing! I want to convert it to ascii-art, type it up on the typewriter (I have no printer at the moment) and put it on the wall!

Now that you have the switches on a board, what do you think about the key placement? How does it feel?

No soldermask as it's a "prototype". The final version will have a soldermask.
I haven't played much with it yet but I think the key placement is pretty much spot on from my first impressions.

So cool! Oh, can you please make sure the firmware is such that cherry switches with built-in diodes work? That's what should dictate the orientation...

The way I placed the diodes on the PCB is the same orientation as the built-in diodes. So the firmware should be revised to follow this.

Edit:
[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 51456[/ATTACH]

[ic07]

The way I placed the diodes on the PCB is the same orientation as the built-in diodes. So the firmware should be revised to follow this.

Oh grr, it should.  I'll do that then.  Might not be able to get to it for a few days though.  Sorry to be busy now that things are getting so exciting, lol.  I'll make time as soon as I can!

So what we want (since the MCP23018 is open drain) is to have the columns hi-Z (off) / drive low (on), and the rows input with pull-up?

[dirge]

This feels so close now!

[hoggy]

Dox, I don't know anything about electronics, but I noticed the right hand side has a diode per switch, but the left side hasn't...  I'm curious - could you tell me why, please?

PS - looks really sweet!

[REVENGE]

One minor gripe: I would've preferred the Teensy to be on the left side. That way, I could run just the left half for gaming. :evil:

But nonetheless, that is just hot s***.

[REVENGE]

I quibble with your use of the word quip.

QC'd.

[ped]

Don't know if it's possible to fit the two options in the PCB, but if yes, could you allow for the 2x thumb keys be mountable POS style as an alternative?

[Nakkor]

One minor gripe: I would've preferred the Teensy to be on the left side. That way, I could run just the left half for gaming. :evil:

But nonetheless, that is just hot s***.

I agree with both statements.

[Dox]

Oh grr, it should. I'll do that then. Might not be able to get to it for a few days though. Sorry to be busy now that things are getting so exciting, lol. I'll make time as soon as I can!

So what we want (since the MCP23018 is open drain) is to have the columns hi-Z (off) / drive low (on), and the rows input with pull-up?

No problems, I'll wait for your revised firmware. Yes, we want the rows input with pull-up. Thanks again for doing this!

Dox, I don't know anything about electronics, but I noticed the right hand side has a diode per switch, but the left side hasn't... I'm curious - could you tell me why, please?

PS - looks really sweet!

There are diodes on both side for every switches. The left side diodes are just hidden behind the switches in the picture.

One minor gripe: I would've preferred the Teensy to be on the left side. That way, I could run just the left half for gaming. :evil:

But nonetheless, that is just hot s***.

The good thing is that you can move the halves as you wish. Just place the right hand away and place the left hand beside your mouse.

Don't know if it's possible to fit the two options in the PCB, but if yes, could you allow for the 2x thumb keys be mountable POS style as an alternative?

I don't know why you would want to do this. 2 switches for 1 key = double the activation force. Not something that I would want. And the keys that fits that placement are standard keys with centered stems and standard stabilizers.

[ped]

I don't know why you would want to do this. 2 switches for 1 key = double the activation force. Not something that I would want. And the keys that fits that placement are standard keys with centered stems and standard stabilizers.

Because it would allow for choosing to divide the keys into two 1x keys if desired. Never mind though, just a thought.

[Dox]

ic07, could you add me (doxkb) as a collaborator on the project on github, I will update the layout and matrix file.

Because it would allow for choosing to divide the keys into two 1x keys if desired. Never mind though, just a thought.

Yeah, It could be possible, I'll see what I can do but the case/plate will only support the 2 unit keys.

[ped]

Yeah, It could be possible, I'll see what I can do but the case/plate will only support the 2 unit keys.

Awesome, thanks!

[Dox]

This is the updated matrix.

Code: [Select]

# Documentation : Keyboard Matrix

## Matrix [row##column] assignments


* row and column numbers are in hex
* coordinates without brackets are unused
* left and right hands are mostly the same except that `row += 6` for the left


    .......           rows x columns = positions;  assigned,  unassigned .......
    ....... per hand:    6 x 7       = 42;         38,        4          .......
    .......    total:   12 x 7       = 84;         76,        8          .......
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    [B6][B5][B4][B3][B2][B1][B0]                [50][51][52][53][54][55][56]
    [A6][A5][A4][A3][A2][A1][A0]                [40][41][42][43][44][45][46]
    [96][95][94][93][92][91] 90                  30 [31][32][33][34][35][36]
    [86][85][84][83][82][81][80]                [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
    [76][75][74][73][72] 71  70                  10  11 [12][13][14][15][16]
                          [64]     66      06     [04]
                          [63]    [60]    [00]    [03]
                          [65][62][61]    [01][02][05]


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Copyright &copy; 2012 Ben Blazak <benblazak.dev@gmail.com>  
Released under The MIT License (MIT) (see &quot;license.md&quot;)  
Project located at <https://github.com/benblazak/ergodox-firmware>


[REVENGE]

◕ ‿ ◕

[Jim66]

Very excited about his.

Great work Dox + everyone else that's been involved so far!

[OrangeJewce]

This really does feel like it's on the cusp! However we haven't seen anything on the case yet, so I would expect at least another month before final touches are made. Excellent, excellent work Dox!

Cheers,

[dirge]

Cardboard case

[didjamatic]

Depending on final product I will take 1-3 of them.  Can't commit 100% until I know the final product and price.  Looks like a great keyboard.

[merijn]

If I can afford it as a student, I will buy one. It looks awesome, and I'd love to have one. Keep up the good work!