Missing Numpad

[2ndRoad805]

Hi all, I am new to the addiction and I have a question regarding keyboard layout. I noticed that the most common options for layouts are full size, TKL, and 60%. While I am waiting for My Pok3r in the mail... I am wanting to plan a board that includes the numpad but I don’t really regularly use the page up/down area set nor the “F” keys. I’m capable of soldering the switches but programming is a little intimidating and I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew.

Are there any boards with 60% + just the numpad? I don’t really want the numpad in the middle of the board like I’ve seen, although it may be a project down the road (still curious about the ergonomics of that design).

Should I just have a separate numpad altogether? Something off to the side I would only bring out for calculating. All suggestions are welcome, but please keep in mind I am a beginner. I would really like to see an example for the board with 60% + numpad that I could possibly follow.


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[BlindAssassin111]

Something like this may be what you are looking for(still has the function row but compact) https://kono.store/products/kira-mechanical-keyboard. This layout is called a 96 key.

Otherwise you will be looking at customs, a couple that are coming up that I designed are the TKC M011Y and the TKC CandyBar, both of which are similar to what you listed, but different still. Just suggestions if the 96 key layout isn't what you would want.

[ErgoMacros]

You might try googling (images) for:
  96% 2018 site:geekhack.org
or
  numpad 2018 site:geekhack.org

and see if there's anything there of interest. There's been a few with the numpad on the left, recently.

[2ndRoad805]

That TKC Candybar is amazing and near perfect! Just wish it had the vertical enter and a wider right shift. But it makes complete sense not to require the top #row. Still, I think I would miss punctuation marks.


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[BlindAssassin111]

Also something that is basically exactly what you were asking for: https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3923

[2ndRoad805]

That’s it! How did I not see that on google? Oh man, I’m not digging the proportions. Messing up the feng shui. The function row brought it into balance. The golden rectangle. I wanted minimalistic but that numpad is useful for crunching numbers quickly.

I saw this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/5ph124/crazy_idea_a_compact_layout_with_numpad_fits/?st=JOAURT0O&sh=43bd4a77

But wondered if anything could be done to bring the alphas back down and throw the punctuation back to row 1. I don’t need the arrows cause they’re included in the numpad and don’t mind sacrificing the size of the shift while hopefully still being a little larger than 1u.

I don’t think I understand the layout of the pcb underneath to grasp if that’s plausible.


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[2ndRoad805]

Ok, I think this may work better on a 65%:

https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/keyboards/primekb/prime_r/readme.md

But it’s looking like I’m delving into playing with code. This makes me wary because if he doesn’t update this, does that potentially render the keyboard useless?


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[suicidal_orange]

Don't be scared of the code, qmk is not going anywhere and the developers are members here.  Even if qmk does does disappear that PCB uses the standard ATMega32u4 controller chip (as do most other DIY options) so with some help you could make another firmware work for it if someone hasn't already...

As to that board in particular it fits your requirements nicely but just be aware that not every set of keycaps will cover it and you'll land up buying a lot of keys you won't use.

[2ndRoad805]

Yea I think I was just realizing that today. And sets like MT3 and SA sculpted are going to be even less forgiving. Think I might just start with a custom numpad project to see if I can do it on a smaller scale. Thanks for your encouraging words.


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