deskthority

I've been busy at work, so I've not managed to order the V2 PCBs, which might be a good thing...

While checking on the price of the ProMicro on eBay I came to the realization that PJRC sells the Teensy CPU for a similar amount, so I've decided to jump V2 over to an embedded CPU rather than a CPU ...

I've been playing with my V2 layout, and have come to the conclusion that it's good enough! The PCB allows a ProMicro to be mounted on the rear in the same way as before, but a second PCB without the CPU can be linked for a TwoHand layout. Also I've included two I2C connectors to allow daisy ...

I'm just about to pull the trigger on a SMD rework station to help build my future keyboards. I may even pause V2 and add the option to go bare metal... The Pro Micro is a bit of a mess when it comes to wide I/O ports - you have lots of single pin ports.

Why do you need a rework station? Unless ...

If anyone likes adventure, I can send PCBs and help people with the assembly and programming. You will need a dedicated MCU programmer, though, because these chips do not have bootloaders which is probably their biggest drawback.

Congratulations on your progress. I'd love to give your version a ...

kile wrote:Look what Santa just brought!

Looking good!

I'm excited to see how the wireless system works out. I decided against wireless, and LEDs for V2 of my design. I'm thinking of a V3 with embedded CPU as it would give me an excuse to buy a reflow oven

Mohitgarg's case has arrived! Very nice work. I'm looking forward to building it using my last V1 PCB.

Work on the V2 is coming along well, but as with anything PCB related I do my track OCD has kicked in. I'm also changing the I2C and PS/2 connectors from through hole to surface mount as this will ...

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much going on Irish eBay in the range of $10. I've got a load of old laptops under my bed so I've tried (and failed) to extract some from them. I'll try again later!

Being able to use existing firmware unlocks Hasu's TMK - sounds like a great plan. TMK can ...

Wow, nice! I'm interested in these PS/2 touchpads - are there more available?

I'm also happy that you swapped the Teensy for a Pro Micro - I've got one of the €3 eBay clones around, and while it's not as easy as a Teensy the change in cost is pretty significant.

When do you think you'll order the ...

I've been working away on the V2 PCB for my OneHand/TwoHand keyboard. The functions provided by the PCB are:

Reverse mount ProMicro CPU module - $5 from eBay.
5x4 Matrix keyboard with options for 2x keys (as before), option to use 1.5x keys for three keys on bottom row.
Connection to allow ...

Thanks! Looking forward to finally building this little guy.

I would also recommend DSA, very versatile for such projects, you can even order the numpad and two more DSA frm their inventory two save costs from pimpmykeyboard.com (Another SP site).

I keep going between blank and alpha keys. In ...

I've currently dropped the LEDs from the design - I'll see what pins I have spare to see if I can add one or more back at the end... With the various modifier combinations the need to select latched layer modes has been significantly reduced.

Does anyone know if blank 1.5x DSA caps are able to be ...

I had one Teensy which I used up for something else, I do have a couple of Pro Micro's, any solution?
I need to order a Teensy without the headers to make a OneHand with your case (still waiting for USPS). I'll order two and send one to you.

I'll also look at the pinout for the micro but I don't ...

Using a couple of short wires, I just fixed up my hardware problems without having to desolder the switches. My only remaining issue is the switch attached to (the dreaded LED) pin D6. Try as I might, I couldn't clean the pin and break the connection while everything else was still intact.

Any ...

Mohitgarg's OneHand case is very smart indeed! I received and built mine a few days ago, but the sun's missing in action over Edinburgh again, so this is the best shot I can post:

IMG_0521.jpg
He sent me everything required to construct it: brass standoffs, bolts and even the Allen key! The ...

Tracking shows it is forwarded to a different address. I'll PM you the tracking number.
Thanks. I'm really looking forward to trying it out.

Update: It was shipped to my old work address. Hopefully they are forwarding it to my new one. I'll contact them to make sure. I'm really looking forward to ...

Peter did you get the case yet?
Not yet unfortunately. I'm looking forward to it. I have one last bare PCB, although I need to order some switches and caps.

I was working on the software over the weekend to make a common code for both the two versions, which should make the OneHand unit more ...

Legends or blanks? A somewhat multidimensional question with this keyboard…
I'm going to try DSA caps with legends on the TwoHand design to mark the main function. Eventually blank caps, or the secondary function would be better...

Having decided to keep my shape as the V1, I'm now thinking of ...

Mono Legend sets FTW !

Trackpoint modules are hard to find, especially when you want new parts. The most approaching things are the little thumb joysticks and you can find some with analog feature with a central clicky switch, as in Dual Shock controllers (maybe useful to wire it to the left/right ...

Instead of a touchpad, have you considered a trackpoint? It would be easy to have a trackpoint in each module of the TwoHand, just outside the reach of the index finger. It would then free up your hands to be as far apart as you wanted (or rather: as far as cables/arms can stretch).

Also, if you ...

Well I'm about to kick off my V2 design phase and here's what I'm thinking of:

OneHand
Design pretty much like today, but using a matrix approach rather than the individual pins used on V1.
Switching from Teensy 2.0 to ProMicro ($5 from eBay) - I'm very happy with the Teensy but I'd like to ...

Hi Kile,

I like what you're doing... I've been looking into 3D printing a case for my OneHand and TwoHand designs.

At present I'm focusing more on the TwoHand design as I find I can use it easier for typing bulk text. I've been mounting the PCB on a plexiglass base with simple standoffs at the ...

Hmmm... Do you mean adding another USB port which would power the LEDs and the controller? Or using the existing USB plug? Either would mean you have to remove the CR1632 battery when you plug in the USB or else the battery might go boom! Also, I don't like regulators for this because all have a ...

This is the last sanity check before I send the gerbers to the PCB fab.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!
Hi kile,

Nice work! The only suggestion I'd make would be to drop a 3.3V regulator powered by true USB connector which would allow the board to be powered from a USB battery pack. Some ...

Hi kile, no problem with hijacking the thread. Post away!

Love the design idea. I'm considering moving the outside columns down on the V2 design to line up with the center column to keep my thumb and little finger more centered on the home keys. The current layout is still pretty good for my hand ...

I was looking at the same module. The main issue is the 3.3V power and the use of SPI for communication which would require a modification to the schematic.

I've been busy with work, and also playing with a couple of new dev boards from Xmos and Freescale. I have been using the TwoHand keyboard at ...

Hi Kile,

Unfortunately I use a commercial PCB package called EasyPC which I doubt can provide output (other than Gerber or DXF) which can be used with KiCad. I can provide the schematic, but it's simply each switch with one pin to 0V and the other to a CPU input pin... which would need to be ...

I have finally finished a first draft of the OneHand assembly guide which can be downloaded from this link - http://www.creativephotoeffects.com/pje/OneHand_Assembly_Guide.pdf . It shows the basic order in which the keyboard is put together.

I've also mounted both of my newly assembled OneHand's ...

I threw out most of my OneHand code and created standard keyboard code. I can now type two handed, using the thumb keys to select layers... I now need to look at optimized layouts.

I have a little bit of tweaking to do on the thumb space code, and optimizing the function layers. I need to be able ...

Things are taking a little longer than expected...

The second keyboard sends I2C messages to the main unit using the following binary encoding:

R R R K K K K K - where R is the row number 1..4, and K are the individual switches.

If one row changes then only one byte is sent to the main unit, and ...

Thanks for all the input. I'll try it this afternoon when I get back to the project. First task is a more reliable link - I used a random collection of 0.1in components which are not designed to be together, including the ribbon cable from an old Grayhill encoder...

I'm going to create a simple ...