A handwired keyboard inspired on Helix Keyboard and on Xah Lee's No Chord Keyboard. It uses the Arduino Micro (not Pro Micro), all 24 I/O pins are used. The firmware is programmed with the (QMK Framework)[https://docs.qmk.fm/].
The keyboard has the following modes: the Standard mode and the Programmer mode.
In the Standard mode, the keyboard works just as expected. Currently, it is programmed with the Dvorak layout.
In the Programmer mode the keys on the numeric row are replaced with symbols, reducing the need of using the Shift modifier.
In addition, there is the Numpad layer, that can be momentarily activated.
Bill of materials:
- 1x Acrylic case;
- 1x Arduino Micro or compatible;
- 92x Cherry MX switches, or compatibe;
- 92x diodes;
- 1x 0.91" Oled display module (128x32 px);
- 8x M3 screws (the legnth depends on the tickness of the case);
- 4x M3 screws (the length depends on the height of the foot);
- 2x M3 8mm screws (for the oled window);
- 14x M3 nuts;
- Silicone or rubber feet;
- wires, soldering tin, soldering iron.
This project requires the Arduino Micro or compatible for the controller board. This is different from the "Pro Micro", which is widely used by the keyboard making community, and very available in the market. The "Arduino Micro" makes all 24 I/O ports of the ATMega32u4 available, while the "Pro Micro" makes just 18 of them available. Since this keyboards uses all the 24 I/O ports, the "Arduino Micro" (or compatible) should be used.
The default acrylic case is composed of the following parts:
- oled window - 1x 3mm (transparent);
- switch plate - 1x 3mm;
- spacer - 4x 3mm (or 2x 6mm);
- bottom plate - 1x 3mm;
- foot - 1x 3mm.
If you make the spacers with total height of 12mm, you have plenty of space to do the wiring inside. And since the keyboard is quite wide, it won't look very thick.
The foot is optional, and it can be attached to the bottom plate. Since it is made of layers, it is possible to raise or lower the feet by adding or removing them. Be warry of the m3 screws for the feet, you should also account the thickness of the bottom plate.
The odd connections at the middle of the keyboard also should have similar diode connections, the dioeds should be between the switch pin and the row, with the marked end (cathode) pointing to the row line.
In the media directory there is a PDF file with these diagrams, so you can use it if you find it handy.
Currently the firmware is not available in the QMK repository.
To flash the firmware, copy the contents of the src directory of this repo
to ~/qmk_firmwarke/keyboards/handwired/tarkus. Then compile running:
qmk compile -kb handwired/tarkus -km default
And flash it running:
qmk compile -kb handwired/tarkus -km default
Then QMK tool will request for resetting the controller. You can do that by pushing the button on the controller board.