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Full Size Ortho, Left Hand Numpad Keyboard. Come discuss ideas with me!

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ThatNerdPrime:
This project is in the very early design stages. I want to mostly finalize the ideal layout before getting into PCB and case designs, so this thread is mainly directed towards layout ideas. Constructive criticism and adding to the wishlist are welcome!

Quick note on the pictures: the first one is the layout concept, and the second is an overlay with a 65 percent keyboard (like Tofu65) for size reference. I've had many people think this thing is bigger than it really is, so I added that for context.

If you have the time, please take my quick survey so that I can get a feel for what people like and why :)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_PxKJRueJMgPMYC7CEI4YvmbJNS0qHp7UfMrcYO5P6k/edit

Here is the philosophy behind the concept:

1. Left Hand Numpad
    - A lot of people today are big gamers as well as content creators and productivity users. For gaming, space on the right of the keyboard is paramount, but for productivity a full size keyboard is super useful. Relocating Numpad to left hand side frees up a lot of space but doesn't compromise on function.

2. Ortholinear
    - Ortho makes sense to me. It keeps the familiar form factor of a traditional keyboard but gets rid of the stagger which is a relic from the days of typewriters, and doesn't really make sense anymore. It also has the added benefit of being more compact without reducing key size or spacing due to the smaller modifier keys.

3.  Full size
     - Lots of buttons :). Layers are useful and I do use some for less used functions but for my use case (and that of others that I know) layers can be a lot to remember and so more keys tend to be preferable. The issue with more keys has always been size of the board IMO, so hopefully the previous points address this concern.

A few other points:

People have suggested in other forums that I should make this compatible with multiple ortho variant layouts (i.e. allow for 1u or 2u keys in various locations). I think this is a reasonable goal.

Some have suggested including rotary encoders as well. I like the idea, but just need to consider where they might go.

I've been thinking about adding some kind of thumb cluster, but I think that this might ultimately be too messy of a solution. If you think otherwise I'm all ears.

I want this to be something that incorporates as many suggestions from others as possible, so if you have an idea, speak up! If enough people want something like this, I will consider doing larger production runs, so hopefully this thing can be widely available instead of being limited to one or two group buys. Who knows? Let me know what you think!



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nevin:
- left & right numberpad secions support both numpad layout as well as all 1u, so they can choose left or right for numberpad layout. should be more popular than lefty only.
- 2u spacebars also support 2x 1u's as well. i like a 2u spacebar but i only have one on the right side, left side is all 1u for an extra modifier closer to the center of the board
- encoder support it top left & right corners?
- thumb clusters.....skip it. i'm not fond of them unless on tiny split boards. otherwise thumb clusters make the stretch for shortcuts farther. though i am all for moving modifiers closer to the center in the bottom row

if you go with 14 columns in the alpha block you can pretty much replicate standard staggered qwerty with only moving one or two keys. plus you keep a "normal" number row.

here's an example of what i was thinking about, with your layout
- if you go to 14 columns for alpha and loose one of the numpad sections, would make it more compact
- supporting numpad on either side, with minimal multiple footprints. though you do loose the separation between alpha & number to do this.


and a size comparison


though your layout would be a good compact board with options for lots of macros

ThatNerdPrime:
Very interesting ideas.

I do want to allow people to support left or right hand numpad and multiple layouts. It's clear that people want flexibility and options here.

I am on the fence about removing the separations between the sections, however. I very much like having tactile reference for certain key locations (i.e. being able to feel for the edge of the keyboard to locate esc, tab, Backspace, etc. especially when they're all the same size key. Idk maybe I need to add that option to the survey and see what more people think about the difference between the two options.

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nevin:
was just spitballing..... even with two numpad secions, it's still... what... about two columns shorter than a full size.
my version of your layout is about the size of a TKL...

another thing you could do would be to add an extra column to my version, that could either be used or act as a spacer. if used, would be that many more macro keys.....

oh, and here's the KLE link for what i did, use as you like.
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/be348065a68d5537186b150213d93432

ThatNerdPrime:
Thanks for the link :)

You're right, your version is quite compact without really losing much. I may experiment with it some. More compact might be better for certain audiences.

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