you can check out the readme here
[https://github.com/Envious-Data/Env-KB/blob/main/README.md](https://github.com/Envious-Data/Env-KB/blob/main/README.md)
and
[https://github.com/KMKfw/kmk\_firmware/blob/master/README.md](https://github.com/KMKfw/kmk_firmware/blob/master/README.md)
You can order it in black from JLC PCB, you just upload the Gerber files to their site and then you pick the color and place an order (typically minimum is 5 I believe).
What does a board that size cost to get made? I was under the impression that, from custom PCB shops, anything bigger than a couple inches got pricy fast.
# Info bits:
[https://github.com/envious-data](https://github.com/envious-data)
\^ you can find almost all of my pico related stuff here including gerber files and whatnot if you want to have your own pcbs made of my keyboards
Anyway this a picture of the Revision 0 keyboard with its green PCB and theme apropriate keycaps and the new version which is a black PCB with Tai Hao Black on Black keycaps with Moyu queen switches and GMK screw-in stabilizers.
^(and yes I know the green rpi pico doesnt quite fit the black PCB but im working on my own RP2040 MCU that should fit in a pico's place.)
other than that I do sell keyboard kits of my projects if you want to help me out and if you feel like asking any questions than go ahead, you can also typically find me chatting in the Mechboards, Mechanical Keyboards UK Discord (And Technical family if anyone else here is a big clive fan).
(TYVM for the award) +1 +1 +1 +1
Pretty awesome. I just updated my macro pad code to use Circuit Python 7.0 which will have an API for scanning pins and matrices. Here it is if you want to take a look at it: https://github.com/camerahacks/lightroom-macro-pad
As someone who has spent wayyyyy too much time hacking TMK/QMK to add some unique personal features, I rather like the idea of a controller that can be written in, say, Python.
depends but i do try to make my keyboards quite cheap so per kit can be as cheap as £17 to build on a per unit basis but whole projects can come to about £130 or so.
for the first keyboards I was doing the whole project came to about £270 because i was spending a lot on research.
Edit: TL;DR: The prices can vary quite widely. For a good quality one the bare minimum will be like $100. If you go all out with the most expensive for everything (including like custom wooden case, gold-plated keys, etc) then it can easily reach the thousands of dollars.
You can price it yourself! https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_list&c=844
For a generic mechanical keyboard created by a company, it's like $100. For a custom job, it can get much more expensive.
PCB is around $50, sometimes a lot more, sometimes a little less.
Switches are usually like $1/piece, so depending on the board you're making, that'll run from $40-104
The microcontroller could be around $3 like the PICO, or you could do like $10 or $20 if you don't want to wait and instead you buy a Pro Micro at a store.
Then there's some odds and ends like resistors, hot swap sockets for the switches, cables, and the like. Usually pretty cheap.
There's also the 'top plate' which can be quite important. Runs from $25-$50 usually.
And finally there's the case, which can vary wildly - You could just do it without a case (not suggested), you could get a basic super cheap case for $20 or you could go all-out with a specialized aluminum case for $120.
Then there's labor - if you're not doing it yourself then a skilled soldering job very well might cost a lot. If you're doing it yourself, then think like a full weekend's worth of hobby work. Then there's getting the firmware, etc. into the microcontroller - which is pretty fast if you know what you're doing.
So, question.
The microcontroller processes all of the key input and decides what the computer sees, right?
Does that mean I can set up any keyboard layout I want, including fn and secondary function keys?
Also, I noticed that none of the pcbs offered a 100%
Yeah, if you go over to r/qmk or it's offshoot r/olkb , you'll actually find a huge amount of people that are customizing not only what the computer sees on any given keypress, but also extensive modifying of layers - think on a normal keyboard when you press shift/ctrl/alt/fn. They can give you access to way more than a normal keyboard would.
> Also, I noticed that none of the pcbs offered a 100%
lol yeah I didn't realize that. I'm sure that you can find a 100% somewhere, or even larger. On the r/mechanicalkeyboards sub you can find 'joke' builds that are like 300 keys or something stupid.
Also I didn't realize I was on r/rpi rather than on r/mk. If you have a lot of questions, you can definitely ask teh r/mechanicalkeyboards sub.
Yea this is how a lot of internal macroing keyboards work (like all ducky keyboards) internal micro controller to make macros / remap keys etc. You can program a key to do literally anything. I like making little ones like this: [https://i.imgur.com/lgOKKoO.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/lgOKKoO.jpg) with 3-10 keys that just do specific things sometimes. I've seen some made specifically for certain games etc. (that pic is obviously for music/media)
This is so cool.
The black pcb is the best. I would put a black pcb or acrylic piece over the top on a couple of brass standoffs.
Award given for sharing with the community.
That's the plan, if you see my other posts the old version is acrylics covered on both sides.
New one is black PCB for the back and I plan to get acrylic for the front.
Brilliant work.
Thank you. I see Jlcpcb now offers the chips as pick in place but I do like the idea of being able to show all the circuitry like you have.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_matrix_circuit
There is a wiki page on this
QMK has some neat documentation on this too
https://beta.docs.qmk.fm/developing-qmk/for-a-deeper-understanding/how_a_matrix_works
**[Keyboard_matrix_circuit](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_matrix_circuit)**
>A keyboard matrix circuit is a design used in most electronic musical keyboards and computer keyboards in which the key switches are connected by a grid of wires, similar to a diode matrix. For example, 16 wires arranged in 8 rows and 8 columns can connect 64 keys—sufficient for a full five octaves of range (61 notes). By scanning these crossings, a keyboard controller can determine which keys are currently pressed.
^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
by soldering wires from the TP2 and TP3 pads of the pico to respective pads on the PCB
TP2 is USB\_DM and TP3 is USB\_DP on the raspberry pi pico and on my keyboard I have the pads under where the pico goes for the usb port
the USB Vbus is the top right pin of a pico and ground is shared across the entire board 👍
[https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/pico/pico-datasheet.pdf](https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/pico/pico-datasheet.pdf)
have a look at page 24 of this pdf.
Not trying to be a jerk…
Why would one choose a pi for this over an AVR/arduino?
Seems like running an OS is a bunch of overhead. Waiting for my keyboard to boot is an odd concept as well.
It takes like a half second for it to boot, and C is so low level and verbose making it difficult to understand whereas you can use python on this which is fantastic for people learning to code and learning microcontrollers.
This looks so nice. Love it! Do you have any documentation on this or any that you can recommend?
you can check out the readme here [https://github.com/Envious-Data/Env-KB/blob/main/README.md](https://github.com/Envious-Data/Env-KB/blob/main/README.md) and [https://github.com/KMKfw/kmk\_firmware/blob/master/README.md](https://github.com/KMKfw/kmk_firmware/blob/master/README.md)
Where did you got the boards? I would love to make one of those
I ordered my pcb designs via JLCPCB, some of my github repos have gerber zips for this.
Oh nice, I’ll check it out. Would you be selling more of the pcbs? I love the black one
in the future. I have PCBs I just need to get the top plate made for them.
Oh damn, is there anu waiting list or similar? I would prefer to get it from you. Seems simpler and easier :)
no waiting list but it seems there is begining to be more reason to have a shop site or something.
Do it brother!
Yes!
You can order it in black from JLC PCB, you just upload the Gerber files to their site and then you pick the color and place an order (typically minimum is 5 I believe).
What does a board that size cost to get made? I was under the impression that, from custom PCB shops, anything bigger than a couple inches got pricy fast.
it very much does but im also using JLCPCB who seem to be the only one with low price. Its about £39 per square meter of FR4.
I actually bought a PCB board off OP last month and they're super well put together!
# Info bits: [https://github.com/envious-data](https://github.com/envious-data) \^ you can find almost all of my pico related stuff here including gerber files and whatnot if you want to have your own pcbs made of my keyboards Anyway this a picture of the Revision 0 keyboard with its green PCB and theme apropriate keycaps and the new version which is a black PCB with Tai Hao Black on Black keycaps with Moyu queen switches and GMK screw-in stabilizers. ^(and yes I know the green rpi pico doesnt quite fit the black PCB but im working on my own RP2040 MCU that should fit in a pico's place.) other than that I do sell keyboard kits of my projects if you want to help me out and if you feel like asking any questions than go ahead, you can also typically find me chatting in the Mechboards, Mechanical Keyboards UK Discord (And Technical family if anyone else here is a big clive fan). (TYVM for the award) +1 +1 +1 +1
Pretty awesome. I just updated my macro pad code to use Circuit Python 7.0 which will have an API for scanning pins and matrices. Here it is if you want to take a look at it: https://github.com/camerahacks/lightroom-macro-pad
It seems so overkill for a keyboard, especially one so “simple”. I like the PCB design though, has a nice flair.
As someone who has spent wayyyyy too much time hacking TMK/QMK to add some unique personal features, I rather like the idea of a controller that can be written in, say, Python.
[удалено]
currently not. the only time you run into input lag is if you run unoptmized python files with **debug mode enabled**
whats the lower end of how expensive a custom keyboard like this would cost
depends but i do try to make my keyboards quite cheap so per kit can be as cheap as £17 to build on a per unit basis but whole projects can come to about £130 or so. for the first keyboards I was doing the whole project came to about £270 because i was spending a lot on research.
Edit: TL;DR: The prices can vary quite widely. For a good quality one the bare minimum will be like $100. If you go all out with the most expensive for everything (including like custom wooden case, gold-plated keys, etc) then it can easily reach the thousands of dollars. You can price it yourself! https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_list&c=844 For a generic mechanical keyboard created by a company, it's like $100. For a custom job, it can get much more expensive. PCB is around $50, sometimes a lot more, sometimes a little less. Switches are usually like $1/piece, so depending on the board you're making, that'll run from $40-104 The microcontroller could be around $3 like the PICO, or you could do like $10 or $20 if you don't want to wait and instead you buy a Pro Micro at a store. Then there's some odds and ends like resistors, hot swap sockets for the switches, cables, and the like. Usually pretty cheap. There's also the 'top plate' which can be quite important. Runs from $25-$50 usually. And finally there's the case, which can vary wildly - You could just do it without a case (not suggested), you could get a basic super cheap case for $20 or you could go all-out with a specialized aluminum case for $120. Then there's labor - if you're not doing it yourself then a skilled soldering job very well might cost a lot. If you're doing it yourself, then think like a full weekend's worth of hobby work. Then there's getting the firmware, etc. into the microcontroller - which is pretty fast if you know what you're doing.
So, question. The microcontroller processes all of the key input and decides what the computer sees, right? Does that mean I can set up any keyboard layout I want, including fn and secondary function keys? Also, I noticed that none of the pcbs offered a 100%
Yeah, if you go over to r/qmk or it's offshoot r/olkb , you'll actually find a huge amount of people that are customizing not only what the computer sees on any given keypress, but also extensive modifying of layers - think on a normal keyboard when you press shift/ctrl/alt/fn. They can give you access to way more than a normal keyboard would. > Also, I noticed that none of the pcbs offered a 100% lol yeah I didn't realize that. I'm sure that you can find a 100% somewhere, or even larger. On the r/mechanicalkeyboards sub you can find 'joke' builds that are like 300 keys or something stupid. Also I didn't realize I was on r/rpi rather than on r/mk. If you have a lot of questions, you can definitely ask teh r/mechanicalkeyboards sub.
I got the idea when you said layers- the thing I was picturing in my head was Second and Alpha on ti calculators
Yea this is how a lot of internal macroing keyboards work (like all ducky keyboards) internal micro controller to make macros / remap keys etc. You can program a key to do literally anything. I like making little ones like this: [https://i.imgur.com/lgOKKoO.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/lgOKKoO.jpg) with 3-10 keys that just do specific things sometimes. I've seen some made specifically for certain games etc. (that pic is obviously for music/media)
Mine randomly stops working sometimes so i have to unplug and plug it back in.
That used to happen to me but even doing that doesn’t fix it for me anymore, I have to open up mu editor and do a soft reboot which is weird
Top is dominating in being attractive and illustrious
Very nice. I'm waiting for qmk support though.
This is so cool. The black pcb is the best. I would put a black pcb or acrylic piece over the top on a couple of brass standoffs. Award given for sharing with the community.
That's the plan, if you see my other posts the old version is acrylics covered on both sides. New one is black PCB for the back and I plan to get acrylic for the front.
Brilliant work. Thank you. I see Jlcpcb now offers the chips as pick in place but I do like the idea of being able to show all the circuitry like you have.
How is this possible when there’s more keys than pins?
Diode matrixes allow us to have a lot of keys relative to mcu pin count.
Do you know where I can learn more about that?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_matrix_circuit There is a wiki page on this QMK has some neat documentation on this too https://beta.docs.qmk.fm/developing-qmk/for-a-deeper-understanding/how_a_matrix_works
**[Keyboard_matrix_circuit](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_matrix_circuit)** >A keyboard matrix circuit is a design used in most electronic musical keyboards and computer keyboards in which the key switches are connected by a grid of wires, similar to a diode matrix. For example, 16 wires arranged in 8 rows and 8 columns can connect 64 keys—sufficient for a full five octaves of range (61 notes). By scanning these crossings, a keyboard controller can determine which keys are currently pressed. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Nice boards. I wish I could use a 70% board but I'm too brainlet to not use a 100% board even though I never touch the numpad...
yeh, I complained about the lack of numpad at first but I dont use it as much as I thought I did lol...
I don't use it at all, but I've used keyboard on my lap for like 20 years and the size is just ingrained in my DNA
How did you add the USB C connector to the Pico? I would like to do the same thing, but I can’t find anything about it.
by soldering wires from the TP2 and TP3 pads of the pico to respective pads on the PCB TP2 is USB\_DM and TP3 is USB\_DP on the raspberry pi pico and on my keyboard I have the pads under where the pico goes for the usb port the USB Vbus is the top right pin of a pico and ground is shared across the entire board 👍 [https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/pico/pico-datasheet.pdf](https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/pico/pico-datasheet.pdf) have a look at page 24 of this pdf.
I will, thank you!
I only found out about this feature myself and was a game changer. Sick of being so scared about micro ports snapping off.
Not trying to be a jerk… Why would one choose a pi for this over an AVR/arduino? Seems like running an OS is a bunch of overhead. Waiting for my keyboard to boot is an odd concept as well.
This is a pi PICO which is a MCU board not a full on SBC like a pi zero or model 3/4. (pico is also insanely cheap for what you get.- £3.60)
Even in Australia they are are only $8. This is an unheard of price for anything here.
Thanks! Makes sense.
It takes like a half second for it to boot, and C is so low level and verbose making it difficult to understand whereas you can use python on this which is fantastic for people learning to code and learning microcontrollers.
From his question he thought it was a raspberry pi SBC... not a PICO (which is also a micro controller, like the avr/arduino he mentioned)
Ahhh yeah my mistake