Same i cant type in qualifications, i actually worked on designing some keyboards for large companies i cant tell you what ones due to contracts i had to sign
I really love that we live in a day and age where one can say, "I'm tired of working around my hobby PCB manufacturers limitations" and just switch to another one.
The best part? I learned everything I know about the actual physical aspects of electronics by watching a few snarky assholes use their techno-powers for evil and chaos. All you need is an internet connection and something that runs TH-cam. Gone are the days of spending a few hundred on a set of coding books just so you could program a cool maze generator on your Apple 2.
"Imagine you are someone who doesn't know anything about programming, like a web developer".... lmfao, spit my coffee out all of the monitor on that one. You're killing me with all these comments
@@rungeon83 100%. I've got 30 years in IT and moved from developing to design and architecture within the first year. 1 decade of design and 2 decades of enterprise architecture later, it still boggles my mind how drag and drop a lot of "developing" has become. It's almost "configuration" than developing. I rarely ever developed back in the day with an IDE even, almost always writing code in a text editor. When my daughter (6 yrs old at the time) made her first website I knew "coding" had been removed from web developing. There are very few of us hw/sw people around who have degrees in both computer science and computer engineering. Probably why I like this channel. Engineering both a HW solution AND SW solution and the integration between them, has always been one of my favorite things to do. Add in Artificial Intelligence and you have the frosting on the cake
@@Hangs4Fun And you walked up uphill both ways through 2 meters of snow to and from school, too, I presume. I've only got 25 years in IT, so I appreciate being able to do more with less. I also appreciate building HW for fun. But you keep gatekeeping, hoss.
Rather than "shamelessly" reassembling them, you could add a pair of magnets to the joining sides of your 3D print (or linking grooves to put them together like a zip) and make the headers into an elegant bridge plug, and make remerging into a bigger feature of the board rather than a mild accident that's easy to fix.
Is there a way to do that and not have some male header poking out of the side of the board? maybe a grooved keyway going along the whole height of the board would be a good way to make it look good, be functional and strong when together and protect the header?
@@mr.eggdog707 that's not a problem at all to be honest and even if it were, you could conduct the magnetic field lines away or make a shielding for it or find some other creative solutions
"Your cousin's dad is named Robert" took me longer to figure out than I'm willing to admit 😂 but the "ohhh" of realization was very satisfying. Dad level jokes here on full display.
Bruh, the jokes per minute are always packed so tightly, yet delivered so well. Happy to see the channel gaining traction more and more. Would use one of these, I think I had a chance to use a small pad with one of those lp switches and damn did they feel sexy. Low Profile should really be more mainstream with how smooth they can feel.
@@xenontesla122 I genuinely don’t know if anyone but him could keep track of them all without serious funding, and am VERY sure that he would intentionally not count a bunch of jokes.
I would absolutely love to have one. I would probably end up using it as a streamdeck-esque numpad thing, but I would definitely at least try it as a full keyboard.
Yeah I'm with you there, I like the design, nice degree of flexibility designed in, and those small throw proper mechanical switch I've been curious about for a while.. But probably just end up a small extra board to go alongside my trusty model M (having learnt to type on it and used it ever since its just so natural feeling), but at the very least is an interesting idea.
@@feyntmistral1110 they wouldn’t be considered we developers, there is no way you can get an actual job or make any decent web app with only html and css. Your statement is just inaccurate even children code web apps with js.
Also would love a video series on just the basics like "best soldering practices, how to choose a micro controller etc." As a newbie to the hackerspace, those are the most daunting thing to me getting started with these projects
@@ZackFreedman let us know how it goes! I've been noodling with using a microcontroller with enough pins to use one per switch, but they tend to get more expensive.
There are some aspects of keyboard firmware design that are not obvious, such as n-key rollover. I have noticed that a lot of keyboard manufacturers don't get it right, and the result is a lot of transposed characters when typing, especially when using modifier or shift keys.
This looks super fun. I've had a bunch of parts ready for my first split lowpro build for months now and I just couldn't decide on which specific layout I want. This one ticks more of the boxes I'm looking for than most. I'd love to give it a shot.
This project is absolutely amazing. As a (amateur) Pcb designer and a software engineer (almost, still 3 classes to go) I can say that you did a great job. Port expander are way better than the matrix system. Also, your jokes are the best. I was planning to replace my 15 years old keyboard, and considering building one (after watching your first video). Now I'm totally convinced. I love to build stuff, and off the shelf keyboard cost a fortune. Keep up the good work, you and your projects are awsome.
this is my first video i’ve seen from you, and holy hell, you seem like such an amazing person to talk to and i would enjoy talking keebs with you, i can help you make your keyboard sound exactly how you like regardless of the cherry switches or not, looking forward to updates on this board
This is amazing mate. I have been bummed out since you went to Twitch but kept it to myself. I tried watching the streams but due to work it has been impossible even though I did manage to get on a couple of times. I printed the Sick-68 (Uniqorn) for the wife out of Glow in the Dark Hatchbox PLA and all the keys are wired and ready to be soldered on the Teensy. I also printed out the Redox Handwire. The base was made out of Ziro Sparkle Red and the top out of Ziro Diamond Black. Now you come up with this! Why would you do this to me! Seriously though, I am so pumped just to see a new vid from you that you've made my whole day, week and year. All I do is work and have little spare time for my projects but thankfully that has helped my build a more than modest lab upstairs with a ridiculous amount of parts and components. This way, when I do have the time, I won't have to wait too long for items to come in while I work on other areas of my build. I love the new design! I don't like leaving things half finished so I'll finish the "Uniqorn" and then it's off to this. I've signed up. I'm drugged to the eyeballs in peanut M&M's. I have a work log that will make building the pyramids look like a smoke break but I'm in! Sorry for the long write up but I'm so pumped right now. I'm excited watching the new video. Seeing you and most of all, the new build which I cannot wait to get into! I wish you the best and thank you for all the great content. You've been my greatest inspiration.
dude. I've been driving a lili58 and a corne for a little over a year. I am all in on the ortho / split keyboards. I like your design enough that I would totally ditch both my current use builds for it.
Zack, I don't even care about keyboards that much, or really electronics at large (Mechanical engineer for a reason), but I love your videos just for the entertainment value alone. You are my new favorite channel.
Columnar stagger would like to have a word with you about ergonomics. It's low key vastly better than a grid layout especially with tenting and angling the halves
At least the matrix/grid layout is much better than the slanted layout. Columnar stagger might be the ideal, but at the cost of making the circuit traces much harder to make and likely consuming more space in footprint.
I love how he made shure that we all get to do the keyboard acording to OUR needs, and (even more important) OUR posibilities. This guy is our friendly neighborhood Nerd tech man an i love him
This is awesome. Perfectly illustrates the sort of homebrew-ethos that made me fall in love with the custom keyboard community. Thanks for the great content
Yeah, i’d like to give it a solid try. I am a programmer currently working with a Razer Cynosa, I was planning on upgrading to the ErgoDocs MoonLander this year. I think I could put it through it’s paces as I work in Linux, play in Windows, and I’m soon to get a M1 Mac Pro.
I want (and applied for) one of these. Basically everything I was designing for myself! Though I would like to say as a web dev, I also code in Rust which makes me doubly insufferable.
@@underscorenul Love it, been meaning to really try to get to grips with Rust myself, seems like a very good idea, but just not found enough reason to yet.
As much as I'd love to alpha test, I'm a networker by day, and 3d printer/painter by night. Good luck with the tests and I can't wait for the full release!
Would definately love to be an alpha tester. My main keyboard just suffered an unfortunate fate so it would be the perfect forced excuse to force an alpha test board into the role of my main for a while.
I am so mesmerized. It combines so many hobbies and passions: programming, mech keyboards, circuitry, 3D printing, qmk, and more. I would really be interested in building this and would like a low profile mech keeb like this. I have a submitted handwired keyboard for qmk, so I'm interested if the firmware you are using supports layers.
As a business owner, this keyboard would be immensely powerful when a customer comes to me with a common question, I need those macro buttons 🤪 Need this in my life 💪 excellent work!
You are humorous and extremely informative at the same time , i am getting in building my first split low profile keyboard and this video was information packed. I learnt so many amazing things and concepts i cant thank you enough for what you have shared via a video. Keep rolling out your journey on building mechanical keyboards. Subbed.
What a perfect day for this to come out. I’ve been looking into a split keyboard for my desk, but am generally not a fan of most of em. This would be a perfect project to do. Count me in!
I built my first custom keyboard this summer (based off Jan Lunge's wSplit) and I've got to say, it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread but for my first handsoldered project with more than a hundred joints I'm really happy with it and god, I would have never guessed but a split keyboard is _so_ much more comfortable, I feel cramped going back to regular ones by now xD But honestly, if you've ever thought "wow, custom keyboards sure are pricey", you can get a lot done with $30 and access to a 3D printer. I love the circuitPy route, but would like to toss in a good word for Vial, which is based on qmk but has live-editable layouts so you don't have to reflash all the time (tho to be fair, since I've settled on a layout that works for me I've basically not touched it)
oh that looks like all sorts of fun, can't wait to see later revisions. I recently swapped to a Moonlander Mark 1 Split keyboard, never going back to slabs.
I am so glad I stumbled on this channel. I have been working on Python scripts for a full RPi to do cool stuff with custom keyboards (I wanted to be limited as little by the actual HW). Besides this being an amazing concept worthy attention it also uses MicroPython amd some of those features can be added later. I think keyboards should be as personal as knifes, screwdrivers and any other tool you use for years without replacing it. Anything from basic typo corrections to command snippets for daily analysts.
Hey Zach, love it. If you make a full size one that's magnetically snappable/unsnappable into 3 pieces (where you can optionally leave the numpad at home) and has a backlight (no individual RGB crap necessary) you will death star the entire keyboard market. I'm super impressed and love that you're doing what you love and excelling at it.
This was actually one of my original ideas, but my proof-of-concept magnetic board came apart too easily and attracted iron filings. Of course, nothing stops you from making your own custom enclosure...
You should make this magnet connect with small neodymium magnets for quick assembly/ disasembly so i can decide quickly whether i want it separate or not
Freaking hell Zack, that is great! Now you inspired me to finally release my keeb I finished like... god, 6 months ago and did just not upload to github. Welp, no better time than today!
I'm kinda interested. I especially like the idea of no key conflicts. I'm a bit unsure about the vertically stacked keys though, I'm used to offset rows. Wide space-bar, Wide Enter key, or 2 row tall Enter key would also be nice, though I'm not sure how wide buttons would be possible with 3D printed parts. Overall I guess I'd like a bit more customizability on the location and shape of the keys.
As someone who is in the Keyboard community whom loves split keyboards, oleds, and ortholinear, I love love love this project! I love how you are challenging the meta by not accepting what is commonly done! I would love to try out the alpha, but I know that I will not enjoy the Kailh Chocs (I have tried them out myself). Something about the flat keycaps is not comfortable for me. I shall keep watching and wait patiently for the MX version :D Best of luck man!
Hey Zack, you have a crazy good channel! I love all your projects. And, your smart ass attitude as well lol. I appreciate the knowledge man! I just started getting into this stuff like learning Python, (for now, being that it is the easiest) 3D printing, microcontrollers, Single Board Computers, etc etc. Your videos inspire me even more! Again, thanx for the knowledge and honesty 🫡✌🏼
11:09 look there’s a real easy fix for this problem. We just have to go back in time and change current and voltage conventions to be positive in the direction of electron flow and we’re golden.
I would really love to alpha test this. I have to wrtie a lot of formulas on a laptop and the advanced efficency of being able to type all those special characters on an extra keyboard would be a godsend. Also really impressed by your turnaround time of these projects, I can't even get a simple MosFet to behave correctly
Buttons clicked, Great Project, shame your not considering a full sized 104+ key module/expansion too.. even so its probably gonna jump to the top of the queue for projects i want to emulate will be following this with anticipation, Thanks..
I've not quite gone this deep into making a board, but you have my attention. I'm end up using it as a split macropad myself as ortho isn't my flavor, but I could have some good fun with it. I'd need a longer AUX cable, but having it on each side of my desk for various uses would be interesting. I'd have to have the case printed online though, but I'm so game for it. Maybe a resin version could be fun.
The problem with Choc switches is not the feel or functionality, but the sound. In the recent years MX style switches have gone to insane new heights. Switches like The Boba U4T, Tecsee Zakus, Kineticlabs Hippos have their own sound profile and own very custom feels. There is just so much more there due to the lack of patent on the design. Also, wrist rests are great for dealing with the height problem. All the other features of this keyboard are neat though. I like that it can be split in two should you want it, and I love the screens/buttons on the right side.
Changing the center hole on the choc footprint to 1.7mm and optionally using the same footprint as the Ferris holds the switches well enough they can't be put on the board crooked (the keys are often held in so well they won't fall out even if they aren't soldered)
I understood very little of the technical verbiage. I was still so fascinated with the process. I love making ideas come to life. I hope I can make something of this scale one day. Thanks for the videos!
Nice project, just signed up for the alpha test and will definitely check out the github stuff as soon as I get home tonight. My first keyboard was an original IBM (I think Model F 122) from an old terminal that I got in '81 or so, not for a PC but for a home built 6502 system. When I bought my first PC shortly after, I bought a Cherry keyboard and that is the one that started my keyboard addiction. I kept buying all kinds of weird keyboards. My last buy was a Streamdeck but I hated this one as soon as I used it in the first week. The mechanical click that I get from the streamdeck does not match the key "press" and I have to press way harder on the keys than what I would like. Then I decided to make my own and based on your big-wheel video deck I built a jog shuttle with some macro buttons for Davinci Resolve. I guess it is now getting time to build my own custom keyboard 😃
Since your last couple of keyboard videos I have been super interested in starting a keyboard project. You had me convinced to try making an ortholinear split keyboard. I don't follow your streams so had no idea this was coming. This is basically what I wanted and some. I would love to have a keyboard like this at work, if for not other reason than to break anyone who tries to use it. They already trip all over my track ball.
So I'm not any way shape or form able to do this or even tell you how to do this (and frankly I'm not totally sure if can work or not), but I'd love to see a version 2.0 in which you use neodymium magnets to keep together the 2 halves. This should have the added benefit that the magnets can conduct the signal between the two halves so when you attach them together you don't need the pin headers.
I really appreciate the clean IO expander. Awesome video and thanks for all the documentation. I feel like few people document keyboard projects to the point where other people can actually do it too, which I feel is the exact point of documenting projects online. Thanks Zack! Great video
I have a QMK split keyboard with gateron yellows keys for the normally long pressed keys, and browns for everything else, and other than my thinkpad keyboard is the only thing I use. Love the simple approach with drag and drop files to make it work. Would love to test and give a lot of feedback to it!
Hope it's not too late to sign up for the Alpha, but I would LOVE a chance to test the "Aux Cable" type and length for a project I'm working on. Such a great IDEA! thank you for this!
i personally dont see any issue with the chocs but the two keyboards i daily drive dont cause any issue for my wrists, one of them has a massive built in palmrest like the deck of an old thinkpad and the other i just rest my arms on the edge of my desk to keep my wrists straight when i'm typing so i personally dont have any issue with the mx switch format
So i absolutely love the keyboard and when it's done I would love to get one. However I use a number pad a ton and because of my work and hobbies, I perpetually live in cad. . Any Ideas? Like buy 2 and have one as a rage deck for a number pad? Use a display key to swap keybinds on the board so one half becomes a numberpad? Buy a normal numberpad? Fantastic job, this looks like an amazing project.
"If you try to nail every single problem in one shot, your project is never going to move forward." - I really need to remember that. I've been trying to make my own split, where each half is usable on its own, where both the interconnect and the PC connection use USB-C and have the ports be interchangeable, and do it the right way/without using hacks. I've been trying to do it in one go and I've been at it for the past 2 years (mostly because I don't know how to do the USB-C thing) and haven't built a single prototype yet.
Oh my god, I love it! I’d love the bottom row to be ortholinear as well and to split the board one column to the left, but apart from that, it’s pretty much perfect! Also, thank you so much for splitting the bottom plate this way to make it easier to print and assemble, that’s a big one.
You will be a millionaire if you sell this as a diy kit. Seriously, start a Kickstarter and see how much people want this. I Guarantee you will hit your goal.
I filled out the form at the link and just wanted to add a quick note here to say that I'd be a great tester because I am interested in this type of project but have no real experience in building and programming a keyboard. I'd be able to provide good feedback on how easy/difficult this is for an amateur electronics enthusiasts and beginner keyboard hobbyist.
I would be super interested in testing the board as a gaming board. I have been looking at getting a jj4x4 as a main keyboard for gaming to free up desk space. Being able to use the second half to control transitions and effects on stream would also be super helpful.
idea for the switchability of it: set a couple magnets on the inside edge between the two sides (in it's split ergo style) and use them to connect the 2 parts together, hotswap standard and ergo just like that. simple but effective!
This project still has a ways to go, but if you're interested in alpha testing, please sign up here! forms.gle/1NZyLnt1roZXHf4b9
The qualifications section doesn't have a field I can type in. I don't know if that's a problem on my end or yours.
Same i cant type in qualifications, i actually worked on designing some keyboards for large companies i cant tell you what ones due to contracts i had to sign
@@cockatieltime2259 It's supposed to be a section header. I just cut it, it's more confusing than helpful
So could I get a third keyboard so I can have a numberpad?
Might be a stupid question: how does being an alpha tester work exactly?
“People that don’t know how to code, like web developers” hahahahahahaha
Never felt so personally attacked. It's completely true but also deeply insulting lmao
Trueeee
Holy crap. It's been a long time since I've seen you, Barnacles. You helped ignite my personal interest in coding projects.
I humm... I don't get it.
Are we talking backend or frontend here?
Got em😂
I really love that we live in a day and age where one can say, "I'm tired of working around my hobby PCB manufacturers limitations" and just switch to another one.
That's only true for who lives in North America/Europe.
Pop gang
I really love in a time and place that i can just move to a new hobby pcb maker
The best part? I learned everything I know about the actual physical aspects of electronics by watching a few snarky assholes use their techno-powers for evil and chaos. All you need is an internet connection and something that runs TH-cam. Gone are the days of spending a few hundred on a set of coding books just so you could program a cool maze generator on your Apple 2.
@@gustavrsh And only true for those who can afford their pricing ...
"Imagine you are someone who doesn't know anything about programming, like a web developer".... lmfao, spit my coffee out all of the monitor on that one. You're killing me with all these comments
My best joke of the video 😂 it's funny because it's true :)
@@rungeon83 100%. I've got 30 years in IT and moved from developing to design and architecture within the first year. 1 decade of design and 2 decades of enterprise architecture later, it still boggles my mind how drag and drop a lot of "developing" has become. It's almost "configuration" than developing.
I rarely ever developed back in the day with an IDE even, almost always writing code in a text editor. When my daughter (6 yrs old at the time) made her first website I knew "coding" had been removed from web developing.
There are very few of us hw/sw people around who have degrees in both computer science and computer engineering. Probably why I like this channel. Engineering both a HW solution AND SW solution and the integration between them, has always been one of my favorite things to do. Add in Artificial Intelligence and you have the frosting on the cake
@@Hangs4Fun And you walked up uphill both ways through 2 meters of snow to and from school, too, I presume.
I've only got 25 years in IT, so I appreciate being able to do more with less. I also appreciate building HW for fun. But you keep gatekeeping, hoss.
@@phrebh oh Lord, that sounded JUST like something my grandpa would tell me about when he was younger... Shoot me now, lol 😆
I felt personally called out by the joke... and I fucking loved it! :'D
Rather than "shamelessly" reassembling them, you could add a pair of magnets to the joining sides of your 3D print (or linking grooves to put them together like a zip) and make the headers into an elegant bridge plug, and make remerging into a bigger feature of the board rather than a mild accident that's easy to fix.
This! This is a brilliant idea. I hope Zack adds it to the next revision.
That is exactly what I was thinking.
I don’t know that much about keyboards, but isn’t there something to be said about electromagnetism
Is there a way to do that and not have some male header poking out of the side of the board? maybe a grooved keyway going along the whole height of the board would be a good way to make it look good, be functional and strong when together and protect the header?
@@mr.eggdog707 that's not a problem at all to be honest and even if it were, you could conduct the magnetic field lines away or make a shielding for it or find some other creative solutions
"Your cousin's dad is named Robert" took me longer to figure out than I'm willing to admit 😂 but the "ohhh" of realization was very satisfying. Dad level jokes here on full display.
Ugh, I still don`t get it :(
Bob's your uncle. Holy cow this took me way too long
@@raddaks2039 i dont live in british so idk what bobs your uncle means
@@p6v665 It's kind of like saying, "voilà" and implies that "quick as a snap" your job is done.
Bruh, the jokes per minute are always packed so tightly, yet delivered so well. Happy to see the channel gaining traction more and more.
Would use one of these, I think I had a chance to use a small pad with one of those lp switches and damn did they feel sexy. Low Profile should really be more mainstream with how smooth they can feel.
A jokes per minute counter should be added to it as a feature XD
Yeah I have to actually watch these videos at closer to normal speed just to digest it all haha.
@@xenontesla122 I genuinely don’t know if anyone but him could keep track of them all without serious funding, and am VERY sure that he would intentionally not count a bunch of jokes.
@@JB-fh1bb shut up then
@@Omega-mr1jg ? I don't know what convo you're in
I would absolutely love to have one. I would probably end up using it as a streamdeck-esque numpad thing, but I would definitely at least try it as a full keyboard.
Feel free to sign up for the alpha at forms.gle/1NZyLnt1roZXHf4b9
Yeah I'm with you there, I like the design, nice degree of flexibility designed in, and those small throw proper mechanical switch I've been curious about for a while.. But probably just end up a small extra board to go alongside my trusty model M (having learnt to type on it and used it ever since its just so natural feeling), but at the very least is an interesting idea.
🙋♂️ - love the compliant pcb OLED display buttons.
I love that design so much!
Are they not going to be pretty heavy on actuation force though?
here are the mike and the ketioz together the slang smugglers
"Imagine you are someone that doesn't know anything about programming, like web developer"
Damn that shit hurts
But accurate, often times. Few web developers are actually developers, and only know how to write HTML and CSS.
And right after that we see CircuitPython in a "product" :D
@@feyntmistral1110 they wouldn’t be considered we developers, there is no way you can get an actual job or make any decent web app with only html and css. Your statement is just inaccurate even children code web apps with js.
@@vablo7198 LMFAO.. If thats not ironic, Im either very concerned for you, or you have the most advanced CSS the world has yet to c.
when you and your sibling are supposed to be asleep th-cam.com/video/RXqP7l3TXHA/w-d-xo.html
This is peak youtube content. Love it. From beginning to end the chaos, the learning, the all of it
Indeed. More educational than actual school.
Also would love a video series on just the basics like "best soldering practices, how to choose a micro controller etc."
As a newbie to the hackerspace, those are the most daunting thing to me getting started with these projects
The DroneBot Workshop channel might be helpful to you. m.th-cam.com/users/Dronebotworkshop1
13:42 He totally missed an opportunity to spell mirage with a y so it said "My Key" on the other half.
and it would be my rage not mirage
"ZACK FREEDMAN OF proudly MI KEY
ONE HALF IS A THREE HALVES A CYBER"
Perfect, I'll buy your entire stock
"Zack Freedman of proudly mi key one half is a three halves a cyber" I dig this new style of rap
I find it hard to believe that you invented the keyboard
Awesome keyboard! I like the use of io expanders. I'm going to have to look into circuit python now. Thanks!
It's a pleasure to use, but many operations are slow. I may need to rewrite this in C++ to get the performance we need for consistent clacking.
@@ZackFreedman let us know how it goes! I've been noodling with using a microcontroller with enough pins to use one per switch, but they tend to get more expensive.
There are some aspects of keyboard firmware design that are not obvious, such as n-key rollover. I have noticed that a lot of keyboard manufacturers don't get it right, and the result is a lot of transposed characters when typing, especially when using modifier or shift keys.
@@filker0 Right? “N-key” is suuuuch a diluted marketing term.
@@ZackFreedman or maybe use the even cooler rustlang 😎
"Your thing on your head" is the core reason im still watching
The thought you put into this made the engineer within me very happy. Great inspiration
9:09 "That's like hammering a nail with the deathstar"
I love this line lol
This looks super fun. I've had a bunch of parts ready for my first split lowpro build for months now and I just couldn't decide on which specific layout I want. This one ticks more of the boxes I'm looking for than most. I'd love to give it a shot.
This project is absolutely amazing. As a (amateur) Pcb designer and a software engineer (almost, still 3 classes to go) I can say that you did a great job. Port expander are way better than the matrix system. Also, your jokes are the best.
I was planning to replace my 15 years old keyboard, and considering building one (after watching your first video). Now I'm totally convinced.
I love to build stuff, and off the shelf keyboard cost a fortune.
Keep up the good work, you and your projects are awsome.
Absolutely amazing. That’s some top level design right there. Would love to alpha test it. Down with the mk hegemony!
The alpha-test signup list is right here! forms.gle/1NZyLnt1roZXHf4b9
this is my first video i’ve seen from you, and holy hell, you seem like such an amazing person to talk to and i would enjoy talking keebs with you, i can help you make your keyboard sound exactly how you like regardless of the cherry switches or not, looking forward to updates on this board
I love how inclusive you are to the vast cyborg community.
"go watch a michaelk reeves video"
I would but the dude's playing minecraft again
Can't wait for the bugs to be ironed out. Looks like an amazing project. Would love to help test if I wasn't a complete noob with this stuff
Got to start somewhere
This is amazing mate. I have been bummed out since you went to Twitch but kept it to myself. I tried watching the streams but due to work it has been impossible even though I did manage to get on a couple of times.
I printed the Sick-68 (Uniqorn) for the wife out of Glow in the Dark Hatchbox PLA and all the keys are wired and ready to be soldered on the Teensy.
I also printed out the Redox Handwire. The base was made out of Ziro Sparkle Red and the top out of Ziro Diamond Black. Now you come up with this! Why would you do this to me!
Seriously though, I am so pumped just to see a new vid from you that you've made my whole day, week and year. All I do is work and have little spare time for my projects but thankfully that has helped my build a more than modest lab upstairs with a ridiculous amount of parts and components. This way, when I do have the time, I won't have to wait too long for items to come in while I work on other areas of my build.
I love the new design! I don't like leaving things half finished so I'll finish the "Uniqorn" and then it's off to this. I've signed up. I'm drugged to the eyeballs in peanut M&M's. I have a work log that will make building the pyramids look like a smoke break but I'm in!
Sorry for the long write up but I'm so pumped right now. I'm excited watching the new video. Seeing you and most of all, the new build which I cannot wait to get into!
I wish you the best and thank you for all the great content. You've been my greatest inspiration.
Thumbs up for the web developer gag alone :)
dude. I've been driving a lili58 and a corne for a little over a year. I am all in on the ortho / split keyboards. I like your design enough that I would totally ditch both my current use builds for it.
This is amazing; I've been planning to DIY a split keyboard for ages and this looks so cool. I would love to get my hands on this sooner or later ♥
Zack, I don't even care about keyboards that much, or really electronics at large (Mechanical engineer for a reason), but I love your videos just for the entertainment value alone. You are my new favorite channel.
Columnar stagger would like to have a word with you about ergonomics. It's low key vastly better than a grid layout especially with tenting and angling the halves
At least the matrix/grid layout is much better than the slanted layout.
Columnar stagger might be the ideal, but at the cost of making the circuit traces much harder to make and likely consuming more space in footprint.
I love how he made shure that we all get to do the keyboard acording to OUR needs, and (even more important) OUR posibilities. This guy is our friendly neighborhood Nerd tech man an i love him
This is awesome. Perfectly illustrates the sort of homebrew-ethos that made me fall in love with the custom keyboard community. Thanks for the great content
Yeah, i’d like to give it a solid try. I am a programmer currently working with a Razer Cynosa, I was planning on upgrading to the ErgoDocs MoonLander this year. I think I could put it through it’s paces as I work in Linux, play in Windows, and I’m soon to get a M1 Mac Pro.
I want (and applied for) one of these. Basically everything I was designing for myself! Though I would like to say as a web dev, I also code in Rust which makes me doubly insufferable.
Ew yuck gross. Might as well add lua and Java ;)
@@voxexsulis9022 Hey Lua is a perfectly useful embedded language. ;)
At least I don’t use FORTH anymore.
@@underscorenul Love it, been meaning to really try to get to grips with Rust myself, seems like a very good idea, but just not found enough reason to yet.
As much as I'd love to alpha test, I'm a networker by day, and 3d printer/painter by night. Good luck with the tests and I can't wait for the full release!
Would definately love to be an alpha tester. My main keyboard just suffered an unfortunate fate so it would be the perfect forced excuse to force an alpha test board into the role of my main for a while.
I am so mesmerized. It combines so many hobbies and passions: programming, mech keyboards, circuitry, 3D printing, qmk, and more. I would really be interested in building this and would like a low profile mech keeb like this.
I have a submitted handwired keyboard for qmk, so I'm interested if the firmware you are using supports layers.
As a business owner, this keyboard would be immensely powerful when a customer comes to me with a common question, I need those macro buttons 🤪 Need this in my life 💪 excellent work!
You are humorous and extremely informative at the same time , i am getting in building my first split low profile keyboard and this video was information packed. I learnt so many amazing things and concepts i cant thank you enough for what you have shared via a video. Keep rolling out your journey on building mechanical keyboards. Subbed.
What a perfect day for this to come out. I’ve been looking into a split keyboard for my desk, but am generally not a fan of most of em. This would be a perfect project to do. Count me in!
The comedy here is gold, Congrats on making a channel that combines a keyboard niche to people who might actually watch, Love the channel!
I built my first custom keyboard this summer (based off Jan Lunge's wSplit) and I've got to say, it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread but for my first handsoldered project with more than a hundred joints I'm really happy with it and god, I would have never guessed but a split keyboard is _so_ much more comfortable, I feel cramped going back to regular ones by now xD But honestly, if you've ever thought "wow, custom keyboards sure are pricey", you can get a lot done with $30 and access to a 3D printer.
I love the circuitPy route, but would like to toss in a good word for Vial, which is based on qmk but has live-editable layouts so you don't have to reflash all the time (tho to be fair, since I've settled on a layout that works for me I've basically not touched it)
i would love to test this, you just addressed a good hand of my beefs on DIY custom keyboards and im so excited with the result.
4:05 is the best Zack Freedman joke I've heard. Keep 'em coming.
oh that looks like all sorts of fun, can't wait to see later revisions. I recently swapped to a Moonlander Mark 1 Split keyboard, never going back to slabs.
genuinely one of my favorite channels, can't wait to see it all come together
Dude this is so sick. Love it. Love the video. You're just so likeable...seriously I enjoy all your videos. Keep it augmented my dude!
I am so glad I stumbled on this channel. I have been working on Python scripts for a full RPi to do cool stuff with custom keyboards (I wanted to be limited as little by the actual HW). Besides this being an amazing concept worthy attention it also uses MicroPython amd some of those features can be added later. I think keyboards should be as personal as knifes, screwdrivers and any other tool you use for years without replacing it. Anything from basic typo corrections to command snippets for daily analysts.
Hey Zach, love it. If you make a full size one that's magnetically snappable/unsnappable into 3 pieces (where you can optionally leave the numpad at home) and has a backlight (no individual RGB crap necessary) you will death star the entire keyboard market.
I'm super impressed and love that you're doing what you love and excelling at it.
This was actually one of my original ideas, but my proof-of-concept magnetic board came apart too easily and attracted iron filings. Of course, nothing stops you from making your own custom enclosure...
You should make this magnet connect with small neodymium magnets for quick assembly/ disasembly so i can decide quickly whether i want it separate or not
Freaking hell Zack, that is great!
Now you inspired me to finally release my keeb I finished like... god, 6 months ago and did just not upload to github.
Welp, no better time than today!
I'm kinda interested. I especially like the idea of no key conflicts.
I'm a bit unsure about the vertically stacked keys though, I'm used to offset rows.
Wide space-bar, Wide Enter key, or 2 row tall Enter key would also be nice, though I'm not sure how wide buttons would be possible with 3D printed parts.
Overall I guess I'd like a bit more customizability on the location and shape of the keys.
As someone who is in the Keyboard community whom loves split keyboards, oleds, and ortholinear, I love love love this project! I love how you are challenging the meta by not accepting what is commonly done! I would love to try out the alpha, but I know that I will not enjoy the Kailh Chocs (I have tried them out myself). Something about the flat keycaps is not comfortable for me. I shall keep watching and wait patiently for the MX version :D Best of luck man!
thanks for scratching my project itch, it helps me avoid starting things I won't finish
Hey Zack, you have a crazy good channel! I love all your projects. And, your smart ass attitude as well lol. I appreciate the knowledge man! I just started getting into this stuff like learning Python, (for now, being that it is the easiest) 3D printing, microcontrollers, Single Board Computers, etc etc. Your videos inspire me even more!
Again, thanx for the knowledge and honesty 🫡✌🏼
11:09 look there’s a real easy fix for this problem. We just have to go back in time and change current and voltage conventions to be positive in the direction of electron flow and we’re golden.
I would really love to alpha test this. I have to wrtie a lot of formulas on a laptop and the advanced efficency of being able to type all those special characters on an extra keyboard would be a godsend.
Also really impressed by your turnaround time of these projects, I can't even get a simple MosFet to behave correctly
Buttons clicked, Great Project, shame your not considering a full sized 104+ key module/expansion too.. even so its probably gonna jump to the top of the queue for projects i want to emulate will be following this with anticipation, Thanks..
I've not quite gone this deep into making a board, but you have my attention. I'm end up using it as a split macropad myself as ortho isn't my flavor, but I could have some good fun with it. I'd need a longer AUX cable, but having it on each side of my desk for various uses would be interesting. I'd have to have the case printed online though, but I'm so game for it. Maybe a resin version could be fun.
Ok, im getting into this one. Never soldered or touched a circuit board or screws this small but you inspired me to just go for it.. wish me luck.
This is awesome! I was thinking of picking up a pre-built optical keyboard. But now I really wanna go back to the idea idea of making a keyboard.
no RGB?!!
I can't be productive without RGB
"And your cousin's dad is named Robert" is a phrase that's going into my vocabulary permanently now
"your cousin's dad is named Robert" - OMG!!! LMFAO!!!! That was GOOD!! It took a second, but not really a fully second... LOVE IT!
The problem with Choc switches is not the feel or functionality, but the sound. In the recent years MX style switches have gone to insane new heights. Switches like The Boba U4T, Tecsee Zakus, Kineticlabs Hippos have their own sound profile and own very custom feels. There is just so much more there due to the lack of patent on the design. Also, wrist rests are great for dealing with the height problem.
All the other features of this keyboard are neat though. I like that it can be split in two should you want it, and I love the screens/buttons on the right side.
Changing the center hole on the choc footprint to 1.7mm and optionally using the same footprint as the Ferris holds the switches well enough they can't be put on the board crooked (the keys are often held in so well they won't fall out even if they aren't soldered)
LP Switches are the future, absolutely love my G915. SO happy seeing them spread to DIY.
I understood very little of the technical verbiage. I was still so fascinated with the process. I love making ideas come to life. I hope I can make something of this scale one day. Thanks for the videos!
what a wonderful thing!
Thanks for taking the time to create, make, dicument, and share :)
Nice project, just signed up for the alpha test and will definitely check out the github stuff as soon as I get home tonight.
My first keyboard was an original IBM (I think Model F 122) from an old terminal that I got in '81 or so, not for a PC but for a home built 6502 system. When I bought my first PC shortly after, I bought a Cherry keyboard and that is the one that started my keyboard addiction. I kept buying all kinds of weird keyboards.
My last buy was a Streamdeck but I hated this one as soon as I used it in the first week. The mechanical click that I get from the streamdeck does not match the key "press" and I have to press way harder on the keys than what I would like. Then I decided to make my own and based on your big-wheel video deck I built a jog shuttle with some macro buttons for Davinci Resolve.
I guess it is now getting time to build my own custom keyboard 😃
Since your last couple of keyboard videos I have been super interested in starting a keyboard project. You had me convinced to try making an ortholinear split keyboard. I don't follow your streams so had no idea this was coming. This is basically what I wanted and some. I would love to have a keyboard like this at work, if for not other reason than to break anyone who tries to use it. They already trip all over my track ball.
This has been the best keyboard project I have sees so far. best vertical integration, and big thumbs up for ditching old tech.
So I'm not any way shape or form able to do this or even tell you how to do this (and frankly I'm not totally sure if can work or not), but I'd love to see a version 2.0 in which you use neodymium magnets to keep together the 2 halves.
This should have the added benefit that the magnets can conduct the signal between the two halves so when you attach them together you don't need the pin headers.
I really appreciate the clean IO expander. Awesome video and thanks for all the documentation. I feel like few people document keyboard projects to the point where other people can actually do it too, which I feel is the exact point of documenting projects online. Thanks Zack! Great video
First three minutes, I've agreed with everything you've said. Chocs are great. Way nicer form factor
Love it! Now get a laser etcher and start making some custom keycaps! Also add a rotary encoder! And underglow! ALL THE THINGS!
Some people "build their own custom mechanical keyboard" this dude programmed his own firmware in a language I've never heard of... incredible...
Amazing keeb! can't wait to see it as a cyberdeck. As a ergodox infinity owner, i appreciate the ease of use immensely!
I have a QMK split keyboard with gateron yellows keys for the normally long pressed keys, and browns for everything else, and other than my thinkpad keyboard is the only thing I use.
Love the simple approach with drag and drop files to make it work.
Would love to test and give a lot of feedback to it!
Zach this is so great. I love how your jokes just flow throughout the technical bits. Also this keyboard is amazing!
Hope it's not too late to sign up for the Alpha, but I would LOVE a chance to test the "Aux Cable" type and length for a project I'm working on. Such a great IDEA! thank you for this!
I mean, Hammering a singular nail with the death star sounds pretty fun :)
i personally dont see any issue with the chocs but the two keyboards i daily drive dont cause any issue for my wrists, one of them has a massive built in palmrest like the deck of an old thinkpad and the other i just rest my arms on the edge of my desk to keep my wrists straight when i'm typing so i personally dont have any issue with the mx switch format
So i absolutely love the keyboard and when it's done I would love to get one. However I use a number pad a ton and because of my work and hobbies, I perpetually live in cad. . Any Ideas? Like buy 2 and have one as a rage deck for a number pad? Use a display key to swap keybinds on the board so one half becomes a numberpad? Buy a normal numberpad? Fantastic job, this looks like an amazing project.
"Budget time and Cash for two iterations of your board"
Haha, yes, only two....
*looks around the room sweating in PCB Revision 9*
Zack! You are a mad bugger, but jebus you thunk about a lot of thinkings in this board! Kicking mech keys into 2021…
Seriously nice work mate!
ngl, the wobbly shaped connector for the display was very smart. Very cool project!
"If you try to nail every single problem in one shot, your project is never going to move forward." - I really need to remember that. I've been trying to make my own split, where each half is usable on its own, where both the interconnect and the PC connection use USB-C and have the ports be interchangeable, and do it the right way/without using hacks.
I've been trying to do it in one go and I've been at it for the past 2 years (mostly because I don't know how to do the USB-C thing) and haven't built a single prototype yet.
as somebody who has never touched a mechanical keyboard i found this disproportionately entertaining
Finally someone who has noticed the power of the mighty seeeduino XIAO!
It's so good I prefer to wait a month for it than get something else available near me.
Oh my god, I love it! I’d love the bottom row to be ortholinear as well and to split the board one column to the left, but apart from that, it’s pretty much perfect!
Also, thank you so much for splitting the bottom plate this way to make it easier to print and assemble, that’s a big one.
You will be a millionaire if you sell this as a diy kit. Seriously, start a Kickstarter and see how much people want this. I Guarantee you will hit your goal.
RP2040/CircuitPython FTW! Nice work, Zack
I filled out the form at the link and just wanted to add a quick note here to say that I'd be a great tester because I am interested in this type of project but have no real experience in building and programming a keyboard. I'd be able to provide good feedback on how easy/difficult this is for an amateur electronics enthusiasts and beginner keyboard hobbyist.
I would be super interested in testing the board as a gaming board. I have been looking at getting a jj4x4 as a main keyboard for gaming to free up desk space. Being able to use the second half to control transitions and effects on stream would also be super helpful.
Hammering a nail with the Death Star is a good way to say something's completely overkill, I'll keep it in mind.
idea for the switchability of it: set a couple magnets on the inside edge between the two sides (in it's split ergo style) and use them to connect the 2 parts together, hotswap standard and ergo just like that. simple but effective!