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FinchBoard

Handhald ortholinear keyboard with tactile switches

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How many times, while setting up htpc for your TV or tinkering with your Raspberry Pi, do you wish you had a small keyboard handy? Or perhaps you find touch keyboards not convenient enough to use for serious typing on your phone or tablet?
The goal of this project is to develop a heandheld keyboard for thumb typing. With the power of qmk I believe this goal can be achieved!

Key features:

  • Optimized for handheld use
  • Clean ortholinear layout
  • Fully programmable
  • Utilizes both thumb keys and shoulder buttons
  • Pocketable
  • Cute
  • ? Wierless
  • ? Built-in trackpoint

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) - 98.07 kB - 07/16/2022 at 06:59

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JPEG Image - 857.19 kB - 07/12/2022 at 12:41

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Portable Network Graphics (PNG) - 24.47 kB - 07/10/2022 at 19:32

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thumb_layout.hex

test layout for keyboard

hex - 49.70 kB - 07/10/2022 at 11:14

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  • I assembled a prototype on a PCB from PCBWay

    Alex01/29/2024 at 11:40 0 comments

    It's been quite a while, but I have some updates to my project.

    All thanks to PCBWay who provided me with high quality PCBs for this project!

    I managed to put together a prototype keyboard that wasn't as bad as my first prototype.

    This time I used omron B3F-1052 switches which are much better than the ones I used in the previous attempt. And using the right PCB is much easier than running thin wires on a prototype board.

    I settled on a 5x5 key layout for each hand. Now it seems optimal to me. I'm thinking of adding the missing functios using layers.

    I continue to learn to type on this keyboard. I can say that it feels pretty good in the hands. I was afraid that the clicking of the switches would bother me, but so far this has not happened.

    I also want to work on the keyboard layout. The classic "qwerty" layout seems to me extremely not optimal for typing with two thumbs. I want to keep finger movements to a minimum and learn to touch-type on a new layout.

    After I soldered the switches to the board, I found out that they hold up well on their own, due to the fact that their legs spring themselves a little in the mounting holes. This openes the way for quick replacement of switches. This is all the more useful considering that branded switches, to my surprise, are quite expensive.

    I also have some ideas on how to 3dprint shoulder buttons. 

  • First result

    Alex07/12/2022 at 13:32 0 comments

    Finally, I create something that I can actually use to get a feel for the project.

    It looks like the cheap switches I used are garbage because they feel different. Some are clicky, others are mushy. There may be the problem with the caps or the case as well.

    I plan to learn how to touch type on this keyboard. Perhaps I should put marks on the caps.

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kelvinA wrote 10/05/2022 at 21:05 point

Has there been any additional progress in this project?

  Are you sure? yes | no

Alex wrote 10/15/2022 at 16:53 point

Unfortunately, no further progress has yet been made. But I plan to order a factory-made printed circuit board for the project.

  Are you sure? yes | no

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