Hello, everyone!
sorry for the long titleBefore we begin, I will ask you these questions:
- do you like HHKB layout?
actually, HHKB-like, Ctrl at home row instead of Capslock
- do you want a more detailed bottom row?
- do you use your left thumb to smash on spacebar?
if your answer is "Yes" then I think this PCB is for you.
(actually, the 3rd one is optional).
After exploring the mechanical keyboard world, keyboards come with all kind of switches, layouts,... finally I found the layout that would be the "best" for me.
But I cannot have my PCB made alone (some say it's too costly), so I decided to make this IC thread.
I have 3 layouts:- Layout A:
- Layout B:
- Layout AB:
I think these layouts will use their own PCB so we can't do all at once.
Please tell me what you think about them.
you may ask:+ why HHKB?some of you may know about the Ctrl at Capslock position (at home row), I tried this and I can't go back.
I also found out that if Capslock at position of Ctrl, sometimes I will accidentally press it while pressing Ctrl + Shift (with the pinky finger)
though I'm not in favor of the Backspace right on top of Enter, sometimes I press Enter instead of Backspace, maybe I'm not that used to it (I don't have a HHKB)
+ why Home, End, Page Up,... everything is on the left side, are you a lefty?I'm not, though I'm trying to use two hands equally.
Also when you're playing game, your right hand will operate the mouse, yeah?
+ there are two arrow clusters?Yes, another thing related to gaming: the cluster on the left is to move/pan the camera, you don't want to move your left hand to the arrows on the
right, right? your right hand is with the mouse.
+ if there are enough interests, you're planning to open a group buy... with 15 posts account?well, no, of course not, I will find a... vendor (should I use this word?) to open a group buy instead.
even if people were to decide to trust me, I'm not confident I can organize a group buy.
+ your right shift... 
yes, I feel that the current right shift is not that useful, you will have to move your hand away from the home keys.
I do have a prototype board with shift at that position, though it's not as effective as I thought, my right thumb is useless
+ there are numpad keys?yes, I figured that someone would want to use them, for input numbers or use "key strokes" (ex. in Window: Alt + Num 0174 = ®)
though I put the numpad 5 at the same position as "J" key, but it's not as effective as I thought, maybe these numpad keys need to be printed
+ what is "flip" key?It should "flip" layer of ESC key:
- off: ESC, ` ~ (I think you will want dedicated ESC when gaming)
- on: ` ~, ESC (for typing, you will want dedicated ` ~, right?)
and Fn + Flip: flip layer of "numpad keys" (this should be Fn + Shift + / on layout B & AB)
- off: r t y u i, - + 7 8 9
- on: - + 7 8 9, r t y u i
Suggestion & questionIf you have any suggestions or questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Also, I need a name for this PCB, maybe something with "Hack" in it?
Thank you for reading,
Tom.
