60% Board with nav cluster instead of right shift?

[phoible]

I keep wanting to buy a 60% board, but the thing that keeps holding me back is the lack of a nav cluster on the standard 60% layout. All of my keyboards are currently TKL (with the exception of my Unicomp), and I've realized that I never use any of the keys from the insert/del cluster. I do use the function keys, but I think I could deal with them being a key combination, and so long as Shift+Escape would print a ~, that would be fine too.

So the only thing really keeping me with an 87-key layout is the arrow keys. I know that there's the Whitefox, but that won't fit into a standard 60% case, and it requires a custom keyset to deal with the strange sized right shift (unless you are willing to deal with the version with the weird nav cluster). There's also the FC660x, but that's even worse in terms of support for custom keysets (weird right shift plus weird spacebar).

I realized that I never use the right shift or option key. I guess my typing form is suboptimal since I have to move my left hand a bit to type a capital A or Z, but since I touch type at about 65 wpm, I'm not too worried about that.

It seems like the solution might be to build a 60% board that ditches the right option and shift keys, and puts a standard nav cluster in its place. This would fit in a standard 60% case, and would work with pretty much any TKL keyset. Plus the arrow cluster is set off a bit from the rest of the keys, since it only needs to be 3u wide and you have 3.75u of space.

Has anyone tried anything like this in the past?

[heedpantsnow]

Poker X uses an arrow lock (Fn+Space) that lights up the lower right mods and shift and turns them into arrows. I use it often for culling photos and spreadsheets. You can leave it on as long as you want, and obviously continue to type with the rest of the board and use the left side mods as usual.

[MiTo]

That's a very interesting point and I also would like to read more reports about that, thanks for the input heed.

Is the Poker X still available anywhere? For Gateron fans the GH60 sounds like a viable option too, due to it's programing capabilities.

[Melvang]

Iirc, the KBT Race had an arrow cluster that used a split right shift with a standard inverted T arrow cluster just with slightly larger caps.  I think all caps were standard sizes for a split right shift anyway.  I could be wrong here as well.

[phoible]

It looks like the Vortex Pure Pro used a 1u right shift and managed to cram in a full nav cluster.

However, it used a bunch of nonstandard keys to get there, and it's no longer available.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=633

[phoible]

Here's what I'm talking about.

[Melvang]

Could try this.  Just a standard ANSI 60% but with a split right shift.  Key sizes aren't single unit, but all standard sizes.  Shift would be up, and the other arrows would be self explanatory.

[suicidal_orange]

I've recently finished a GH60 build and have it set up like this where FN and right are both big enough to use either pinky or ring finger - I was surprised how quickly I got used to it (minutes, not days)



Just noticed I didn't swap Esc in on this but you get the idea...