Loving the new design with the thumb cluster hinge. Cannot WAIT for this to be available for purchase - especially now that I'm suffering from "tennis elbow" (both arms /sigh) from using a "normal" tenkeyless keyboard.
You were one of the people on a list in my head concerned about size & angle, and thus one of the reasons I started working on an adjustable cluster
Wow! Okay I've just signed up to GH to praise the 70% ergo design. Congratulations man!
As someone who followed TypeMatrix -> TrulyErgonomic -> ErgoDox path recently, 70% ergo seems like a dream.
1. It gives me back 12 sweet keys that can be mapped for F-keys. This is one thing I hate most on ErgoDox. F-keys on another layer kills the conveniency of F-keys, especially for programmers.
2. One piece design. I've found two piece design of ErgoDox to be a curse as well as a blessing. It makes me constantly tweak and reposition the thing. I'm absolutely okay with the fixed angle of TrulyErgonomic, any angle larger than 0 is okay for me. And also one piece design means LAP TIME!
3. Bluetooth. Obvious.
I'd love a thinkpad style trackpoint there in the middle but let's not get carried away Kudos to you.
Have you considered incorporating a IBM red dot pointing sitck kind of thing into the keyboard? It would be certainly most welcomed!
Some updated design notes which will cover some of this stuff:
*** Casing & Electronics ***With the move to molded plastic more likely, this may actually free up more space in my cases below the key clusters. This in turn should hopefully free up enough space for a couple of things:
1) The extra space should hopefully allow me to move the control electronics for the clusters from the top/sides of the boards to separate modules underneath. This would allow me to reduce the size of the existing case designs, AND provide a possible case option that would allow the existing designs to have an additional row added to them for use as function keys. With the additional space at the edges, any unused rows on the matrix can be potentially broken out for use by you enterprising modders.
2) More space also means that the USB & 3.5mm connection jacks would no longer be required to be a part of the main cluster, allowing users to choose which USB type they want (MicroB or MiniB), and how many 3.5mm connection points are available. This reduces cost on the base model.
3) I had made a bit of a mistake earlier with the selection of the I/O expander I was planning to use for reading keypresses. Instead of using a PCA9555, I'll be using a PCA9675. The great thing is, the pins are basically identical, so there are only slight modifications required of the existing design for the new addressing. The new expanders allow for up to
64 devices on a single bus. Now, in practical use, this will be reduced to 16, as addresses need to be left available for LED control as well as the device configuration switches.
4) Tested a plate with the arrow clusters in a position similar to the TECK. I like it. There will be a version of the main cluster keys available with it if I choose not to include it as part of the base model.
Going forward, this means a huge step in flexibility/modibility. Instead of each cluster design having a dedicated section for the control electronics, they will be an add on. This adds very little to the existing cost, and reduces the cost of future changes to your boards. It also reduces the size of the cluster PCBs, and thus the size of the units themselves.
Each controller board will consist of:
* 1x PCA9675 (8x8 Board - 64 Keys) or PCA9670(4x4 Board - 16 Keys) - This is the I/O expander that will be reading keypresses.
* 1x PCA9670 - This additional expander will act as a set of configurable dip switches (using shunts to stay cheap), telling the main CPU unit what kind of set up it is, whether it has a backlight, etc. I'm also considering using it purely as an address system, potentially setting aside a block of addresses, with the remaining open to custom user set up. A config file on the microSD card would instruct the CPU unit on how to handle each device.
* 1x PCA9685 - LED Controller, handling control of the individual LEDs on each key. I may offer a version without this section populated for those not interested in a backlight, again reducing cost.
This also changes things like the RGB indicator lights that were added. This was an add-on that added additional cost to the base unit, but with the new design not only will you be able to decide whether you need it, but potentially where it might mount in the casing as well.
I know all of this sounds complicated, especially to those of you who just want a damn keyboard. Fear not, for all of this will come pre configured in the kits & finished boards, and exists solely for flexibility & customization for those who wish to do so. Believe it or not, this all also helps to reduce costs, and increase the number of options for key layout and the like for the initial launch.
And yes, I'm still looking into adding a nub mouse controller