Problems with xwhatsit controller

[Shifty]

Hey all, I got a model F AT a while back and couldn't get it working, so I ended up ordering an xwhatsit from orihalcon. It works, and I like the capsense software, but there are a couple of issues.

1 - key presses are re-sent when changing layers. Say I have a function key, that sets the keyboard to layer 1 while it is held, and this layer has alternate key functions. If I press say, function + A, if I release the function key before I release the A key, a new keypress will be sent when the keyboard returns to the base layer, and a letter A will be added to my text when I just wanted to input the alternate function.

Is this some kind of fault or do all xwhatsits do this? Is there any fix? It seems like highly undesirable behaviour.

2 - it seems like the only way to have one key send multiple key presses (for example, a modifier and a keypress) is to use macros. The issue is that a second macro cannot be initiated while the key for a previous one is still down. This is a minor issue, but I have Fn + , and Fn + . to output { and } , which requires sending shift + [ or ] . I press these a lot when coding, but if I press the second before releasing the first, it does not register. Again, a minor issue, but annoying, and a problem that I do not have on my other programmable keyboard.

Please let me know if you guys have these issues or if there are any workarounds.

[Findecanor]

Hey, the thread title on its own makes it appear as if you would have a dispute with the person xwhatsit.

[Shifty]

haha, true, fixed

[vvp]

I do not use xwhatisit controller but I think it is the intended behavior.

My firmware behaves the same way as for as point 1 and differently as for as point 2 (no need to release Fn before pressing another macro triggering key). But the original firmware I branched from had the behaviour the same as you described in your point 2.

I'm not sure whether I would want to change the behaviour described in point 1. It would be interesting to know what people prefer.

[Muirium]

As far as I understand the description, both of those are intended behaviors. By me, and every keyboard with layers that I’ve ever used.

Not sure about the definition of #2 however. Do you really mean: Fn hold + comma hold + period press = { and not your desired {} ? You really want the latter? Let go of the previous damn key! Or make a macro to type them both if you are habitually rolling them. Or braces autocomplete in your text editor…

I’m not usually one to make excuses for a workaround. But forcing the keyboard to disambiguate an ambiguous situation is not elegant. Better to make the state clear.

[Shifty]

Strange, my other keyboard is a FC660C with hasu's replacement controller, which does not display either of these behaviours. I understand that #2 is pretty minor, and perhaps just a random result of the technical implementation, but #1 makes no sense to me, how would that ever be useful behaviour? I use function layers pretty heavily for navigation etc, this issue is making it really hard to use this keyboard for work as I keep inserting random letters everywhere.

[vvp]

You may want to save one key press and release if you actually intended to press the key outside of a layer which you already pressed in the layer. It just looks like you did not optimize your layouts for this scenario. It is similar to you wanting to save one key press/release in the case of your point 2.

Your point 1 is about a compromise between being able to press/release keys in wrong order contra to an option of saving a key press/release in some special situations. Obviously you favour the tolerance of miss-ordering. It looks reasonable to me as well. I just never had this key press/release miss-ordering issue which would include layer shifts. It happens to me sometimes for normal alphanumeric typing (I can see that in the macros I recorded). But it does not matter there since the layer shifts are not involved. Therefore I do not mind it personally.

[anmq91]

May I ask where you bought the replacement controller from Xwhatsit? I'm trying to find one to restore my model F AT and I cant find anything on Orihalcon's online shop. Not sure where to look to find it!

[Muirium]

I've got a spare one.