Yesterday I finally finished building my new keyboard

Is it a kit you assembled or did you make the pcb too? That would be cool.

@electrineer I have to admit that I did not design the pcb, the this guy did: https://github.com/hsgw/plaid

But I soldered everything on the pcb, which was a blast.

Cool stuff! Although the grid layout of the keys must feel very weird for muscle memory 🤣

@plusgut that's cool too!

@endor they indeed felt weird in the beginning, but now it is actually more comfortable. It is more like the natural finger movement anyway, it is ergonomicly better to move straight, instead of a weird angle.

I really dig the look of this one, and I'd try it, but already have two on the way. Maybe if someone makes a split 75%-ish version, I'd be in.

@kamen it is not a full 75% though. But there is the "quefrency" which can be up to 65%.

@plusgut Yeah, I'd try something like these. One of the boards I have on the way is a 60%, Boardwalk layout with the idea for me to see 1) how I like ortho and 2) how well I can manage without an F row. A big plus I see that with an ortho you can have a 3*3 num block anywhere (perfect on boards without columnar stagger, maybe not as much with more drastic columnar stagger). Do you use that? If so, how well does it work?

@kamen I don't need numbers often, therefore the priority to have block of numbers at one spot is not important to me.
I rather use the space at my homerow for all kinds of braces and cursor movement.
A block of numbers would block that for me. I have the numbers at the top row where qwerty is at the base layer.

I try to optimise to have less finger movement, depending on which keys I use often.

@plusgut What is that type of keyboard called? Where it is split into two parts. I have seen them a couple of times before, but I'm having a hard time assessing whether its a benefit or added challenge of having it like that.

Thanks in advance :)

@Thommelutten they are usually called "split keyboards".
It feels really nice for you to have two separate pieces, the arms finally are straight and are not in this weird angled position.
But there is a big downside to it too, since it is two pieces each piece only has half the weight. Which can be very annoying because they are more flimsy and move at the desk.
I sadly couldn't get used to it, even though that they really feel very nice.

@plusgut Thank you for the information - Are there any brands you can recommend?

@plusgut There are aluminium cases for several split boards - it might help.

@Thommelutten I can't recommend any brands which sell prebuild keyboards, I don't like any of those.
If you are into split keyboards, than I would recommend keeb.io
He is selling the finished pcb's with all the stuff already soldered on, you only need to solder some Switches on there and you are good to go.
If you like it a little more experimental and weird the keyboards from gboards.ca are great too, but the documentation how to build them is a little lacking.
I got my pcb from keycapsss.com which is also an amazing store, who sells open source pcb's.
@kamen yes it helps a little, but sadly not enough for me.

Nice board bro

Nice board. I wonder about the amount of decibel you produce while you type though.

@karma thanks
@bad-practice it's actually not that bad, sure they are definetly louder than a membrane keyboard. But the switches I use are not clicky, just tactile. And they are known for their quitness https://zealpc.net/collections/...

As far as I know, there are no mechanical tactile switches which are more silent than these.

Nice board! Aqua zilents are great switches. Got anymore builds on the way? I'm thinking about picking up a 45% soon.

@plusgut U4s are more quiet, they are just stems so you need to put them in another switch. Shockingly, I have heard putting them in OEM outemu browns is good.

@jbrandona119 thanks! I dont have a concrete plan for the next one just yet. I have some retro looking keycaps coming soon though. https://drop.com/buy/94707
So the next board will be something a little more retro looking. 45% is a great form factor, good for you ;)

@logo4poop I have suprisingly never heart about these, that sounds very interestingly tough. thanks for the tip.

@plusgut You can only get them through some redditor (u/hbheroinbob) lol

That does the lazer/coronavirus key do? I mean the second key in the bottom row.

*What

@Lensflare in my current firmware it doesnt do anything. I'm thinking of putting super+alt+l on that key, for locking my screen. I'm not sure yet though, do you have suggestions?

Dude this is amazing, wish I would know anything about setting up boards like that!

@AleCx04 its actually not hard at all, you just need some patience.

Dope. How much $€£ spent there?

@rodrigograca31 the pieces total were around 250€. Without shipping and customs.

Beauty !!

I would really love to make my own mechanical keyboard, full size, Color+white led backlight and with Bluetooth. I can’t stand cables on my desk.

@dsteiner what's stopping you?

@plusgut Money, Time, knowledge

@freddyjohn Well, it's the device we all use daily. Do you think a carpenter doesn't care about his tools and just uses anything?

@freddyjohn habe you ever used a proper keyboard?

Maybe because you’re not used to either. A proper keyboard is a huge improvement over a cheap one.

@freddyjohn you are trolling, right? I certainly can't use 10 fingers on a touch keyboard, without looking at it.
I'm not saying that you can't get the same job done without a proper keyboard, but a common keyboard won't support you getting stuff done well.

@freddyjohn in all the keyboards that you've used, you have never seen any differences, on how well you are able to type on it?

@freddyjohn if you are able to see that difference, than I'm also sure that you can imagine that there are even better keyboards then the ones you've used so far.
A good keyboard has a good feedback for the user, when a switch activated. The keycaps are guiding my fingers to the right position on the homerow. Good keycaps have some grip and tell my by feel where the middle of the key is. A good keyboard needs to have a good weight, so that it is not flopping around on the desk.

@freddyjohn freudian misread.

@freddyjohn be honest, you want it that way

@freddyjohn no, it has to do with your parents.

@freddyjohn there you have it, that's were your trauma comes from. But you can break the cycle, get a decent keyboard for yourself.

It's look Like Avengers Team😂

@mrnobuddy umm okay, I didn't see that. But I take it as a compliment, I guess? Thanks.

Oh I've been wanting to build a keyboard so badly since I discovered the Zilents a couple of months ago! gotta wait a bit now as the pandemic hit my income :/ but better late then never I guess
Also I really like the top bit of the pcb with that glass, gives it a futuristic vibe