open source, files on Codeberg
this was a big learning experience, first time doing a proper PCB instead of using yet another Pro Micro equivalent – this would not have been possible without Noah Kiser’s tutorials on Youtube, all the work that went into QMK and Vial, and the ease of JLC’s assembly service (no way I was ever going to solder an RP2040)
shocked and giddy with how easy the whole process was – plugged in the fresh PCB and it went straight into bootloader mode – uploaded the *.uf2 and it worked first time!
- symmetric split-ergo style layout (6 × 3 + 3)
- katana stagger
- personally find this works really nicely and keeps the feel of an ortho or columnar board
- fits into Minivan case (12.75u × 4u)
- attempt to use as many existing mounting holes as possible (6/7)
- main issue was maintaining symmetric layout with two mounting points in bottom row
- personally find the resulting odd gap to be uncomfortable
- if I do an update, I would remove the awkward spacing and slide the whole bottom row to the left a smidge (resulting in an uncomfortably-asymmetric symmetric layout)
- learning to use JLC’s PCB assembly instead of a Pro Micro equivalent
- providing a proper Vial firmware
This is absolutely ridiculous and I LOVE it
I doubt I’d use it, but damn I love the ingenuity, and Katana makes a lot of sense for monoblocks.
Cool design. I am a right thumb spacebar person so it would work out really well. Still, if I was going to get creative with the carriage return, I would have made it a 1/4 size key placed between the letters ‘E’ and ‘S’ for that extra bit of challenge.
Awesome! Thank you for sharing. I want to to try and use PCB assembly for the next version of my keyboard. I’ll bookmark this post for information and inspiration.
Are the up and down arrows reversed like the Enter and Alt?
keycaps on the whole bottom row have been flipped – just find the (normal) bottom edge digs into my thumb too much if they’re in their correct position
