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Hi everyone, looking for an 1800 layout with an extra F-row

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Iaotle:
Hey guys, I'm looking for something resembling an 1800 or 96% layout but with an extra F-row, and preferably numpad on the left side. I also prefer the grid layout (perhaps even with ortholinear skew), but it seems that most 1800 layouts have the default skewed rows. I've made a little mockup of what I want, and was wondering if there is anything that I can get that resembles this without going the full custom route. Any suggestions welcome!

Rhienfo:
Welcome to Geekhack :)

I saw the layout and I think you would have to go the custom route, ortho in general is way too niche and combined with a layout like this there definitely isn't anything similar.

wjrii:

--- Quote from: Iaotle on Wed, 03 July 2024, 19:51:49 ---Hey guys, I'm looking for something resembling an 1800 or 96% layout but with an extra F-row, and preferably numpad on the left side. I also prefer the grid layout (perhaps even with ortholinear skew), but it seems that most 1800 layouts have the default skewed rows. I've made a little mockup of what I want, and was wondering if there is anything that I can get that resembles this without going the full custom route. Any suggestions welcome!

--- End quote ---

I agree with Rhienfo.  The number of options has exploded in recent years, but an ortholinear southpaw battleship will be a bit of a tall order.  :-)  The only thing I can think of is a large Point of Sale board like the Tipro KMX 128 or its clone the Cherry RC128BM. They will be VERY ortho though, LOL.  You could set them up to match the basic criteria, but not to match your layout, and while they seem perfectly programmable, I have no personal idea how easy it would be.

THIS was somebody's DIY build, and it's not southpaw but might have some ideas for you.  My own most recent hand-wired build was a no-stabilizers southpaw 1800-ish, and until very late in the "design cycle" (LOL) it was going to include F13-F24.  Overall though, the ortho folks don't tend to prefer large boards, generally topping out at a 15x5 grid, and the 1800 crowd is generally happy with traditional row stagger.

If your aesthetic needs are flexible (see my junkboard above), and you have (or are willing to build) soldering skills, making a full custom is surprisingly cost-effective in many areas, even more so if you have access to a 3D printer and/or laser cutter.  I did some earlier builds based off of aluminum plates I designed in KLE, moved to 2D CAD with Swill's plate generator, and had cut by Xometry.  Sides can be cut as well for a true sandwich case (the DIY aesthetic is not as in vogue anymore, but there are still commercially available versions), or you can save on material by getting a little creative and designing a twig case to put smaller pieces of material between the screws and maybe even nest them so they interlock to form a solid sidewall (or you can 3D print something). If you plan it right, they will only increase the size of your cutting order slightly.

The other thing to consider when you start playing in this space is keycaps.  If you need accurate legends and/or to use a "sculpted" profile like Cherry or SA or OEM, it starts to get very challenging and expensive.  the flat-aligned tops of XDA and DSA are your friends here, and even then there are things to keep in mind.  For instance, the only 3u wide keys I know of are spacebars, so they might not have the feel you would like on your Enter key.  I hope you don't mind, and you certainly have no obligations to use or even consider it, but I took the liberty of tweaking your layout a bit to match available keycaps, though even then not every set has 2u Shift and you're looking at repurposing some other 2u key or turning a spare numpad Enter sideways.  If you're comfortable with ISO style layouts, consider making your main Enter key vertical and it will fit perfectly if unsculpted, with a 2u "plus" being an option if you need to go sculpted.  Depending on your typing skills, blanks might be an option, or maybe blank modifiers combined with a regular set of alphas.

Iaotle:
I guess ortholinear is not super important, as I'm alright with grid... Out of curiosity, why did you decide against the additional F-row on your last build?

Thank you so much for the advice and the modified layout! I'll definitely do a few design passes and look at my options for building one. I've contacted a local keyboard shop and am also discussing with them, but I'm no aesthetics freak, I'm fine with blank caps, I'm more about that functionality :)

wjrii:

--- Quote from: Iaotle on Sat, 06 July 2024, 05:59:56 ---I guess ortholinear is not super important, as I'm alright with grid... Out of curiosity, why did you decide against the additional F-row on your last build?

Thank you so much for the advice and the modified layout! I'll definitely do a few design passes and look at my options for building one. I've contacted a local keyboard shop and am also discussing with them, but I'm no aesthetics freak, I'm fine with blank caps, I'm more about that functionality :)

--- End quote ---

I was using ortholinear and grid more or less interchangeably, but yeah, a lot of them are simple grids of 1u keys.  There is at least one layout that simply makes the main typing block of alphanumeric keys ortholinear, then lets the standard modifiers sit where they will.  IMO that tends to look better with a low profile "floating keycaps" design (think the linked board, Drop boards or various steel plate gamer boards) where the plate has a fairly nice finish, but it's a definitely one way to keep your keycap needs simple if physical footprint is not a huge concern, and not to presume, but in your case it likely isn't, LOL.  That said, you could plan around commonly available keycaps to shave a little bit off that Keebio layout though, particularly on the left.  I treat KLE like my personal Tetris, LOL.  Something like THIS would have very few keycap kitting issues.

For my build, I was initially planning to make it completely laser-cut, pedal to the metal, 124 keys or something, just a vast expanse of painted Masonite hardboard (I made a little numpad that way that came out well).  Ultimately, though, I wasn't sure how much I would like the southpaw configuration, so I wanted to keep it cheap, even by my low standards.  I reworked it to fit a set of keycaps I already had (e.g. lack of an Enter column on the numpad), and threw together some sidewalls that printed quickly and easily but hid the layers of hardboard.  In retrospect, I hate the way Cherry profile feels with zero degree incline, so saving vertical space by cramming the microcontroller into the top right ended up being an unnecessary compromise, better suited to builds with unsculpted keycaps.  If I were to go back, I'd probably rethink some things, but the next half-baked project is already on its way from China.  :D

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