Reliable kb with vertical staggering

[pepijndevos]

I own a Truly Ergonomic, and I'm SO DONE WITH IT!
Last night, while playing a casual game of League of Legends, my Q stopped working altogether.
Even when bottoming out completely with hamer force.
I've had problems with double and missing keys forever, but this was the last straw.

I don't care about key switches, I'd user rubber dome, as long as they work 100% of the time.
My only other requirements are programmable layouts and vertical staggering.

What are my options?
The only other thing I know about is the ErgoDox.

[davkol]

ErgoDox (or any other DIY keyboard for that matter) is only as reliable as you make it.

The only other options are Kinesis Advantage and Maltron. Firmware of the current Kinesis Advantage has its issues, thus you'd better supply your own controller, but then we're back to the previous point. Maltron keyboards aren't programmable out of the box either yet.

Matrix keyboards obviously aren't vertically staggered (offset = 0), but many of them (Tipro, Access-IS) are made with focus on reliability, and you can customize the layout to a certain extent even without DIY. They're the most price-efficient as well.

[pepijndevos]

Wherein lies the risk of unreliability in DIY keyboards? I don't expect any trouble soldering and uploading firmware, if you mean that. Are there mechanical challenges?

I think those puddle keyboards are a bit to extreme for me.

Matrix might be acceptable, but these things you mentioned look like some industrial appliance. I'm having trouble locating the alphanumeric keys between all the bright red and blue rocket launching buttons. Maybe I should clarify that by reliable I don't meen that you can throw it at the wall and it keeps working. I just mean that it register key presses as I intend them.

[jacobolus]

Wherein lies the risk of unreliability in DIY keyboards? I don't expect any trouble soldering and uploading firmware, if you mean that. Are there mechanical challenges?

If you can solder, you can certainly handle any unreliable electrical parts on a fully DIY board (e.g. one you hand-wired; the possible corrections would be e.g. replacing broken switches or fixing bad solder joints).

The mechanical challenges depend on the materials/design you use for the mechanical parts. You’ll have different challenges using layered laser-cut acrylic vs. waterjet steel plates + spacers vs. a milled aluminum block etc.

[jacobolus]

The easier thing you could do (if you’re happy with the physical design) is just pull the controller out of the Truly Ergonomic and replace it with a Teensy 2.0 with hasu’s tmk_keyboard firmware on it.

[pepijndevos]

I'm not entirely convinced the problem is in the firmware only.
The switches feel really "rusty" sometimes, especially when pressed at an angle with a weak finger.
Unless those MX switches are just really crappy, I can only attribute this to their tall keycaps.
This would make a some sense, because tall caps would cause more sheer force, and I have the impressing that the top rows are less reliable too.

Though that's not related to my Q not responding half of the time.
Maybe I need to clean the switch as their troubleshooting suggests.

Has anyone replaced the controller in a TECK before?
Replacing a proprietary surface mount chip with another board is not my idea of easy.
Tracing connections, removing the chip without causing damage, carving out space for the Teensy, adding wires to 1mm pads, etc.

Is anyone selling kits for DIY boards like the ErgoDox?
I saw som derivatives and similar designs that I'd also be happy with.
But I'm not looking forward to sourcing all the parts.

I found a Massdrop that ended and this cute little board: http://atreus.technomancy.us

[Oobly]

The Atreus is a great option. You could probably PM technomancy to ask more details and how to get hold of one. Here's his thread on the board: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=54759.0

I think the layout is very well thought out. He may allow you to have a PCB and acrylic case made from his design. Then you just need to source the other parts (switches, diodes, controller) and get soldering. I realised you can actually order kits from that site you linked! That's the one I would get.

The great part about a DIY board is it's easy to fix and modify.

[davkol]

Modern Cherry MX switches often feel scratchy out of the box, esp. with light keycaps and without proper lubrication. However, they don't behave like switch in TECK most of the time on the vast majority of keyboards out there. Although, I wouldn't be too surprised, if Truly Ergonomic used Cherry's B-stock switches at the time, considering we're talking about an apparently shady business run from some basement HQ. /conspiracy

The easiest options (by far) are (a) order a custom dual-hand 3D Maltron, (b) try a Kinesis Advantage (some vendors have a 60-day free testing service), (c) play with some POS keypad(s) (see below), or (d) buy an ErgoDox from FalbaTech (optional assembly available, and you can supply own parts, e.g., from the classifieds—I definitely recommend that at least in case of switches). Except (c), none of these will *feel* very high quality, but you still get European warranty and pretty good customer support in one way or another.

Wherein lies the risk of unreliability in DIY keyboards? I don't expect any trouble soldering and uploading firmware, if you mean that. Are there mechanical challenges?

Soldering is only as good as you (or whoever does it for you) do it. Default ErgoDox connectors (TRRS, miniUSB) are generally considered rather fragile. Acrylic/PVC cases are no match for the metal cases out there, or even an ordinary stock QFR case; I avoid metal cases though, because I'm worried about shorting/frying something.

Matrix might be acceptable, but these things you mentioned look like some industrial appliance. I'm having trouble locating the alphanumeric keys between all the bright red and blue rocket launching buttons. Maybe I should clarify that by reliable I don't meen that you can throw it at the wall and it keeps working. I just mean that it register key presses as I intend them.

Ugh.

Yes, these are point-of-sale keypads. Therefore, they're made to be reliable in the first place. You can also program them, and obviously replace the keycaps. A couple of pictures of my former "ergo" keyboard should give you some better idea.

[jacobolus]

The switches feel really "rusty" sometimes, especially when pressed at an angle with a weak finger.
Unless those MX switches are just really crappy, I can only attribute this to their tall keycaps.

Nope, the scratchy feeling is just all modern MX switches. The ones from 20 years ago are much better.

[Oobly]

If you're willing to take the switches apart you can shave the mold lines on the sliders to make them wear in more quickly.