Creating a HHKB _with_ arrow keys by using the Japanese Version of HHKB?

[mlangner001]

I love my HHKB (and I am by now used to some of the layout quirks) but as almost everybody I wish that I had dedicated arrow keys....
Looking at the Japanese Version of the HHKB... well: there they are!
= Does anybody know if the DIP switches on the Japanese version allow to turn this into an American keyboard?
= Has anybody ever tried doing that? (For relatively little money you can buy replacement keycaps on Amazon.... would that fix the small space bar?)

[OfTheWild]

you could look into the Hasu controller. Then you could assign the keys whatever you want.

[kasakka]

I doubt you can make the spacebar larger. You probably would not be able to get stabilizers in there. I also like the layout if it was not for the small spacebar.

[davkol]

Why not get PLUM 84 instead? It won't feel the same (even with replacement domes), but it's ANSI with arrows and can be remapped quite a bit.

[TacticalCoder]

would that fix the small space bar?)

The small spacebar doesn't need to be fixed: it's the greatest feature of the HHKB Pro JP.  I'm using an HHKB Pro JP even though I don't speak japanese whatsoever: this makes the keys at the left and right of the space bar easier to reach with your thumbs.  It's also make for more modifiers.  So instead of a regular keyboard's ctrl+alt+shift/meta I've got ctr+alt+shift/meta+hyper+super... With Topre switches.

There are, IMHO, superior custom physical layouts out there made by some here (like split keyboard with tiny spacebars and easy to reach modifiers) but... They don't have Topre switches.  So it's HHKB Pro JP for me.

As the arrows key cluster: I rarely use it, I've got mod+{i,j,k,l} to "move the cursor".
 

[TacticalCoder]

you could look into the Hasu controller. Then you could assign the keys whatever you want.

Is the Hasu controller compatible with the HHKB Pro JP?  Back then I canceled my order here because I thought it wasn't compatible with the HHKB Pro JP.

[SpAmRaY]

you could look into the Hasu controller. Then you could assign the keys whatever you want.

Is the Hasu controller compatible with the HHKB Pro JP?  Back then I canceled my order here because I thought it wasn't compatible with the HHKB Pro JP.

Hasu makes one for the JP you can find more info here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=71517.0

[_rubik]

So Im actually in the process of doing something similar. I have plans lined for the Hasu controller, JTK/Novatouch sliders, and have already done my 55g RF87u domes (MUCH more responsive feel). It does work quite well, but you will certainly have a few misc keys that you'll need to adopt. I would honestly try giving the JIS layout a shot. Having the colon and semi-colon on separate keys is actually quite nice when you get accustomed to it.