ErgoDox - Custom split ergo keyboard.

[kurplop]

Is it  possible to desolder the mini usb on the teensy and use ribbon cable to attach it to the right hand pcb?

How about joining the  two halves with a soldered at both ends ribbon cables. Asking cause my trrs connectors might take some time coming.

I was wondering the same thing since I will be permanently attaching the halves together.

Also, Is the I/O expander necessary to avoid having a dozen wire cable bridging the halves. If not, can  the rows just be bridged straight across the split?

[sordna]

I just meant that the cathodes are oriented towards the left on one hand's PCB vs. oriented towards the right on the other hand's PCB. Some people have caused a problem when they soldered the diodes on both hands all pointed in the same direction, which caused one hand to not work.

That is also the case when you use switches with integrated diodes as I did ... they all point to the same direction, but the firmware (if you compile it yourself) has a setting to make both sides of the keyboard work.

See below file, lines 33-50
https://github.com/benblazak/ergodox-firmware/blob/partial-rewrite/firmware/keyboard/ergodox/options.h

[ic07]

Are media keys working yet?
 

Only in rev-1 (and only 3 of them, implemented by judascleric - see the notes near the top of the readme).  And school is starting soon, so media keys in rev-2 will likely be quite some time...  But you can watch the repo if you want

Is it  possible to desolder the mini usb on the teensy and use ribbon cable to attach it to the right hand pcb?

How about joining the  two halves with a soldered at both ends ribbon cables. Asking cause my trrs connectors might take some time coming.

I was wondering the same thing since I will be permanently attaching the halves together.

Also, Is the I/O expander necessary to avoid having a dozen wire cable bridging the halves. If not, can  the rows just be bridged straight across the split?

I can't think of any reason why desoldering the Mini USB on the Teensy and using a little ribbon cable would't work.  Electrically, it seems like it'd be about the same as what we're already doing.  I considered doing that for the last one I built, but ended up not needing to.

Joining the two halves with a permanent (soldered in) 4-conductor cable should work just as well also.

About the I/O expander - if you bridged the rows straight from board to board, and did away with I2C (which would free up 2 pins), I'm pretty sure you would have *exactly* enough free pins on the Teensy to deal with the left hand columns, which you would have to bring over in a 7 conductor cable of some sort.  That sort of change would also necessitate changes in the scanning function.  Or, alternately, at that point it probably wouldn't be too difficult to use hasu's firmware - like everyone I know of who's done away with I2C (on their ErgoDox inspired boards) has, lol

[kurplop]

I can't think of any reason why desoldering the Mini USB on the Teensy and using a little ribbon cable would't work.  Electrically, it seems like it'd be about the same as what we're already doing.  I considered doing that for the last one I built, but ended up not needing to.

Joining the two halves with a permanent (soldered in) 4-conductor cable should work just as well also.

About the I/O expander - if you bridged the rows straight from board to board, and did away with I2C (which would free up 2 pins), I'm pretty sure you would have *exactly* enough free pins on the Teensy to deal with the left hand columns, which you would have to bring over in a 7 conductor cable of some sort.  That sort of change would also necessitate changes in the scanning function.  Or, alternately, at that point it probably wouldn't be too difficult to use hasu's firmware - like everyone I know of who's done away with I2C (on their ErgoDox inspired boards) has, lol

icO7, we continue to be indebted to you for your persistence in fielding, what I'm sure to you are, our elementary questions. Thanks.

It sounds like removing the I/O expander would clean up some unnecessary components but would require additional programming. It sounds like something above my pay grade.
Would you agree, given my lack of programming understanding, that I would be better to just stick with a proven thing?

[OldDataHands]

It sounds like removing the I/O expander would clean up some unnecessary components but would require additional programming. It sounds like something above my pay grade.
Would you agree, given my lack of programming understanding, that I would be better to just stick with a proven thing?

Learning to program by starting with firmware would be a steep climb. You clearly have the patience and attention to detail required, but would have to pay some dues before you would see success. You might be better served by asking for some help if changes are required, or wiring your switch matrix like the hasu firmware expects so as to avoid changes other than key maps.

[thadood]

I found some 62/38 solder last night and got to work. I put in about an hour and a half of work and got both sides of SMD's done, the resistors on the right and the IO expander on the left. My soldering job looks pretty gnarly on the first hand of SMD's (I blame not using a finer tip on the iron), but I think I got solid connections on everything! I miss doing this stuff.

[MOZ]

Thanks ic07.

Got the edox done. Now to test.

[tp4tissue]

Are media keys working yet?
 

Only in rev-1 (and only 3 of them, implemented by judascleric - see the notes near the top of the readme).  And school is starting soon, so media keys in rev-2 will likely be quite some time...  But you can watch the repo if you want

Is it  possible to desolder the mini usb on the teensy and use ribbon cable to attach it to the right hand pcb?

How about joining the  two halves with a soldered at both ends ribbon cables. Asking cause my trrs connectors might take some time coming.

I was wondering the same thing since I will be permanently attaching the halves together.

Also, Is the I/O expander necessary to avoid having a dozen wire cable bridging the halves. If not, can  the rows just be bridged straight across the split?

I can't think of any reason why desoldering the Mini USB on the Teensy and using a little ribbon cable would't work.  Electrically, it seems like it'd be about the same as what we're already doing.  I considered doing that for the last one I built, but ended up not needing to.

Joining the two halves with a permanent (soldered in) 4-conductor cable should work just as well also.

About the I/O expander - if you bridged the rows straight from board to board, and did away with I2C (which would free up 2 pins), I'm pretty sure you would have *exactly* enough free pins on the Teensy to deal with the left hand columns, which you would have to bring over in a 7 conductor cable of some sort.  That sort of change would also necessitate changes in the scanning function.  Or, alternately, at that point it probably wouldn't be too difficult to use hasu's firmware - like everyone I know of who's done away with I2C (on their ErgoDox inspired boards) has, lol

GHAaaaaaaaa, very greatful that the media keys are being worked on..  OMG why couldn't it be the volumn keys.. hurrrrrrr.....

Aight.. cool.. i got mad patience..

Thanks for all the hard work.

[ic07]

icO7, we continue to be indebted to you for your persistence in fielding, what I'm sure to you are, our elementary questions. Thanks.

It sounds like removing the I/O expander would clean up some unnecessary components but would require additional programming. It sounds like something above my pay grade.
Would you agree, given my lack of programming understanding, that I would be better to just stick with a proven thing?

Haha, you give me far too much credit.  But np

I agree with OldDataHands - I'm sure you could do it, but I'm not sure it'd be worth the time it'd take you, if you haven't messed with code before.  Is there some reason you would especially want to do away with the I/O expander?  Or just, it would feel cleaner not to have things in there that aren't really necessary for your setup?

Just in case you'd like to see, here's the file where most of the changes would be, if you rewired to eliminate the MCP23018 and kept to my firmware.  Alternately, if you could rewire things to be compatible with a Phantom, it should be possible to use Hasu's without much modification.

GHAaaaaaaaa, very greatful that the media keys are being worked on..  OMG why couldn't it be the volumn keys.. hurrrrrrr.....

Aight.. cool.. i got mad patience..

Thanks for all the hard work.

Lol .  For volume keys, have you tried the standard keycode ones in the default QWERTY layout (rev-1 or rev-2, or in the "media keys" sub-menu of the massdrop configurator)?  They should work on Macs, dunno about Windows and Linux machines.

[Glod]

they dont work on PC, i have been wanting damn volume controls and pause/play on my ergodox for some time now.

[ic07]

they dont work on PC, i have been wanting damn volume controls and pause/play on my ergodox for some time now.

Oh, thanks, I didn't know.  Sorry about that :/

[kurplop]

OldDataHands & ic07-  Thanks for the recommendations. Actually I'm not sure I could ever figure it out. I agree that I'm better sticking to what I know. I'm already stretched too thin, just too many things I want to learn and do. I just didn't want a lot of unnecessary parts if they could easily be avoided. Actually, I think pride got the best of me. I've been having nightmares about all of you programers huddled over one of my hack-jobs, giggling and whispering,  "Look, kurplop thinks that he's one of us".

[ic07]

Hahaha, you're going to make me sad kurplop!  The work of yours that I've seen has all been beautiful.  And I have a good bit of respect for people who make things that actually exist

If it's any consolation, it goes both ways... my Dad had to explain to me the other day why you used 4 different grits of sandpaper on your aluminum case, and wet sanded.  I apparently don't know very much about sanding, lol.

[kurplop]

Thanks. My sleep won't be haunted tonight.

[MOZ]

Loving the mutual respect.

[thifi]

Hey folks ! First time poster here

Just wanted to confirm if it is is possible to open the switches on the massdrop case without desoldering ?
This feature will be very useful for future mods I'll probably be doing (ergo-clears, lubing, etc).

Also, I'd like to thank all of the contributors for this awesome project.
Will definitely help with my RSI issues

[longweight]

So pissed that the Dolch ErgoDox kit didn't happen.

[MOZ]

Hey folks ! First time poster here

Just wanted to confirm if it is is possible to open the switches on the massdrop case without desoldering ?
This feature will be very useful for future mods I'll probably be doing (ergo-clears, lubing, etc).

Also, I'd like to thank all of the contributors for this awesome project.
Will definitely help with my RSI issues

Yes, you can, atleast on the acrylic case.

Got mine done today, made a couple of changes, mainly swapped the LED and resistor position and thus had to use SMD resistance.

This is way NICER than I thought.

[sordna]

Hey folks ! First time poster here

Just wanted to confirm if it is is possible to open the switches on the massdrop case without desoldering ?
This feature will be very useful for future mods I'll probably be doing (ergo-clears, lubing, etc).

Yup, you can remove the tops, except for the 3 keys that have the LEDs, which is no big deal :-)

[Larken]

Hey folks ! First time poster here

Just wanted to confirm if it is is possible to open the switches on the massdrop case without desoldering ?
This feature will be very useful for future mods I'll probably be doing (ergo-clears, lubing, etc).

Yup, you can remove the tops, except for the 3 keys that have the LEDs, which is no big deal :-)

Can be done if you modify the switch tops before you solder the leds in.

WFD's video on modifying the switch tops.

For those without a dremel tool, pretty much any sharp knife will do. I did mine with a xacto knife.

[thifi]

Hey folks ! First time poster here

Just wanted to confirm if it is is possible to open the switches on the massdrop case without desoldering ?
This feature will be very useful for future mods I'll probably be doing (ergo-clears, lubing, etc).

Yup, you can remove the tops, except for the 3 keys that have the LEDs, which is no big deal :-)

Can be done if you modify the switch tops before you solder the leds in.

WFD's video on modifying the switch tops.

For those without a dremel tool, pretty much any sharp knife will do. I did mine with a xacto knife.

Glad to hear that !

I'll definitely try out the the xacto knife method.
Can't wait for my ergodox to arrive

[thadood]

Got mine working this morning =) only key that didn't function was the default space key. Took a look at the smd on the back and realized I left off soldering on one side. Soldered it down and bam! Can't wait to actually sit down and use it later - busy weekend!

[Findecanor]

I'll definitely try out the the xacto knife method.

Be careful when cutting plastic! If you have a small serrated blade or a file, I suggest that you use that instead.

I once cut plastic with a hobby knife, slipped and cut open a two-inch long gash in my left hand. I was lucky and only just missed the nerves and major blood vessels. Before this, I used to think that "a project that does not draw blood is not a real project", but now I have learned to be more careful.

[Findecanor]

I was wondering the same thing since I will be permanently attaching the halves together.

If the only reason would to be able to reach the Reset button on the Teensy, so that you can upgrade the firmware... then you could instead just add your own Reset button. Connect the button to close a circuit between the RST and GND pins on the Teensy. That is all the existing button does, according to the schematic.

[daerid]

Why not just drill a tiny whole in the top plate so you can use a paper clip to hit the firmware button?

[kurplop]

After the initial configuration, I don't think it's necessary to ever push the reset button again if you assign it to a key stroke. Am I mistaken?

[MOZ]

After the initial configuration, I don't think it's necessary to ever push the reset button again if you assign it to a key stroke. Am I mistaken?

That is correct

[daerid]

After the initial configuration, I don't think it's necessary to ever push the reset button again if you assign it to a key stroke. Am I mistaken?

Unless you accidentally load a layout that doesn't have a bootloader key assigned to it (not fun)

[thadood]

I'm typing on mine right now! It's strange at first, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

[kurplop]

Give it time.  Some took to it right away but I felt awkward for weeks using it. Now I'm typing faster and more comfortably than I ever did on a conventional board.

[thadood]

My most common typos are with c's, b's, and n's. I'm starting to get a feel for the difference, though. Your fingers are so used to stretching a certain way. The other one that's hard to get used to is, well, using my left thumb and everything that goes with it, lol.

MX clears feel amazing. I'm rarely bottoming out and they're super quiet because of it. There's a bit of that plastic-y scratch feeling, similar to browns when you first get them. I'm sure they'll break in in no time. If they don't, a little bit of mkawa's lube should do the trick!

[sordna]

After the initial configuration, I don't think it's necessary to ever push the reset button again if you assign it to a key stroke. Am I mistaken?

Unless you accidentally load a layout that doesn't have a bootloader key assigned to it (not fun)

+1

What I did is drill a little hole in the top plate, so I can easily push the button with a paperclip.

[MOZ]

After the initial configuration, I don't think it's necessary to ever push the reset button again if you assign it to a key stroke. Am I mistaken?

Unless you accidentally load a layout that doesn't have a bootloader key assigned to it (not fun)

+1

What I did is drill a little hole in the top plate, so I can easily push the button with a paperclip.

The hole is present for those using litster's case.

[ic07]

Not on the massdrop top plates. From their site, it looks like some of their prototypes had a hole there, but it's not on any of the production cases I've seen.

[MOZ]

Not on the massdrop top plates. From their site, it looks like some of their prototypes had a hole there, but it's not on any of the production cases I've seen.

Must be using a different design as opposed to the one on ergodox.org by litster

[MOZ]

Though I'd share my ErgoDox build:

Mostly done, a couple of things left here and there

Covers on:



Covers off:



I decided to swap the position of the resistors and the LEDs since, the keys were not going to be programmed Caps/Num/Scroll Lock, and thus having LED in that position didn't make sense. Since there wasn't enough space for the resistors in place of LED (Which would have gone through the switch), I decided to just use some SMD resistors.



Side profile, I made these feet to adjust the vertical angle of the ErgoDox to make it even more comfortable. Got various sized discs and different sized hex bolts and then balanced it out according to my comfort level. You can see that on each hand, I am missing one bumpon on one feet, the ebay dealer only sent two sets of 4 instead of 3  :




On the todo list (In order of priority):
- Add the missing bumper to one feet on each side (Priority, should be done in next couple of days as soon as Ebay dealer ships it)
- Braided USB cable, awaiting order of USB and mini-USB ends (Shipped, yet to receive)
- Swap out the 2x keys for taller SA profile keycaps, (Shipped, yet to receive)
- Change the switch top covers to clear switch top covers (Still waiting for them to be shipped)
- Add a chainmaille armor style sleeving to both the cables (Planning phase)

[Soarer]

About the I/O expander - if you bridged the rows straight from board to board, and did away with I2C (which would free up 2 pins), I'm pretty sure you would have *exactly* enough free pins on the Teensy to deal with the left hand columns, which you would have to bring over in a 7 conductor cable of some sort.  That sort of change would also necessitate changes in the scanning function.  Or, alternately, at that point it probably wouldn't be too difficult to use hasu's firmware - like everyone I know of who's done away with I2C (on their ErgoDox inspired boards) has, lol

Yeah, as long as the diodes are oriented correctly (as in, reversed on one hand) what you'd have then is a straightforward 6 x 14 matrix.

You could use the I2C pins on the Teensy, so only 5 more needed - which still leaves the one in the middle and the one that's used by the onboard LED.

Bridging the two halves would need a 13 or 14 wire cable: 6 rows, 7 columns, and ground (optional, maybe). Finding one that isn't bulky might be tricky... I've got some nice 15-way cable that I've had stashed for 20 odd years waiting to be useful!

The issue is possibly having to cut the acrylic to make a path for the wires - I haven't checked yet how much room there is between PCB and plate - only just got my kit

[thadood]

Though I'd share my ErgoDox build:

Mostly done, a couple of things left here and there

Covers on:

Show Image

Show Image

Covers off:

Show Image

Show Image

I decided to swap the position of the resistors and the LEDs since, the keys were not going to be programmed Caps/Num/Scroll Lock, and thus having LED in that position didn't make sense. Since there wasn't enough space for the resistors in place of LED (Which would have gone through the switch), I decided to just use some SMD resistors.

Show Image

Show Image

Side profile, I made these feet to adjust the vertical angle of the ErgoDox to make it even more comfortable. Got various sized discs and different sized hex bolts and then balanced it out according to my comfort level. You can see that on each hand, I am missing one bumpon on one feet, the ebay dealer only sent two sets of 4 instead of 3  :

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

On the todo list (In order of priority):
- Add the missing bumper to one feet on each side (Priority, should be done in next couple of days as soon as Ebay dealer ships it)
- Braided USB cable, awaiting order of USB and mini-USB ends (Shipped, yet to receive)
- Swap out the 2x keys for taller SA profile keycaps, (Shipped, yet to receive)
- Change the switch top covers to clear switch top covers (Still waiting for them to be shipped)
- Add a chainmaille armor style sleeving to both the cables (Planning phase)

I'd like to see your config - I'm contemplating switching num6 to the left hand instead of using the inside row as esc/l2 buttons. I'm still experimenting, for sure!

[MOZ]

I'm still experimenting, for sure!

This. However I can see myself getting faster at this than I ever could on staggered and also this is way more comfortable. Legends in the picture I posted don't mean anything at the moment, as I am still experimenting. One thing I have decided is not to use more than two-three layers. It gets impractical.

However, since I do game a variety of games, I like how I could set different layer configs for different games.

[Lawngahnome]

Mod edit: NUKED

[gropingmantis]

Mine arrived and I've assembled it all, flashed the stock .eep and .hex.

But when I plug it in i get "asdfggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg"
Unplugging the left side and the right works fine. The soldering seems ok.

The only thing I can see is the jumper pads on the other side from the controller...do these need to be connected?

[Thimplum]

Show Image

In that pic the caps look SUPER rough.

[thadood]

Show Image

In that pic the caps look SUPER rough.

Shrug! They're dsa pbt from gb3 and they feel great =)

[MOZ]

Mine arrived and I've assembled it all, flashed the stock .eep and .hex.

But when I plug it in i get "asdfggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg"
Unplugging the left side and the right works fine. The soldering seems ok.

The only thing I can see is the jumper pads on the other side from the controller...do these need to be connected?

Jumpers have to be soldered on both sides, the left and the right, to see which, face the PCB up and see the jumpers enclosed in white printing.

[gropingmantis]

Mine arrived and I've assembled it all, flashed the stock .eep and .hex.

But when I plug it in i get "asdfggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg"
Unplugging the left side and the right works fine. The soldering seems ok.

The only thing I can see is the jumper pads on the other side from the controller...do these need to be connected?

Jumpers have to be soldered on both sides, the left and the right, to see which, face the PCB up and see the jumpers enclosed in white printing.

Ah no not the ones by the trrs ports. There are two sets of pads. One next to the capacitor and the other on the underside by the "0" of "Teensy 2.0". The massdrop instructions dont mention them but the one by the capacitor is soldered in the pictures.

Also plugging it in seems to reset my xorg keyboard settings.

[Soarer]

You mean Step 4.1 ?

I think both pairs of pads need to be bridged on the left hand PCB to connect up the capacitor, one on top and one on the bottom of the PCB. Note - I haven't built mine yet, hopefully someone who has will confirm!

That capacitor is unlikely to cause the problem though - maybe you have a short between two pins on the expander chip, since it seems like a whole row is constantly pressed...?

[gropingmantis]

Thats the one.

I've had it under the magnifier and cant see any shorts. I will triple check though.

[Thimplum]

Show Image

In that pic the caps look SUPER rough.

Shrug! They're dsa pbt from gb3 and they feel great =)

Oh that's fine!

I wasn't saying that they were bad, as I've never used them, but that's a nice high detail photo. I can see every little bump on the caps.

[thadood]

Gogo iPhone 5 with HDR enabled =)

[MOZ]

You only need to short them on the left hand side and only on the top.