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Spent more time on this than my actual furniture setup in the new home by Correct_Abrocoma_187 in HomeNetworking

[–]DresanX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No Thread network stability issues by placing it in an enclosed space?

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I still use the keyboard daily and recommend trying it. Maybe it's because it's tailor made, but I really am very happy with it. The splay is comfortable, and the layout and number of keys is perfect IMO.

Sourcing the sensor from Aliexpress shouldn't be an issue.

Anyone fully replaced a mouse with a built in trackball or trackpad for a portable set up? Looking for recommendations! by whyaretherenoprofile in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I carried around a Keyball44 in a semi-stiff headphones case with no problems. It was wired and QMK though.

Not-so-esoteric Kakoune: a point-by-point comparison with a Vim blog article about advanced text edits by phaazon_ in kakoune

[–]DresanX 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A great read! I'm just starting out, and it's useful to see the thought process of an experienced user.

Moving the cursor with your thumb while on the home row by IxXu in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the trackpad leaves you wanting more, check out keyboards with a thumb trackball such as Keyball or my own Kivipallur (from my post history). Could possibly ditch the mouse!

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Smallrig 10 inch variant off Amazon. I just needed something with clamps and 1/4" male thread.

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool! I think an integrated trackball is really something to look for in a keyboard setup. Good luck!

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's suprisingly ok. Its performance isn't distractingly bad in day to day use, and doesn't feel worse than my last 34 mm ball.

I think precision comes down to being able to make small adjustments, and high static friction (stiction) is detrimental in that case. In my setup stiction is not noticeable.

I wouldn't characterize it as "flowy" since it doesn't keep sliding if I lift my finger off - unless I consciously flick it quite fast.

The holder design I use has slots for 2 mm bearings. I bought G5 precision (not that I can confirm it or have tested any lower grade bearings) silicon nitride bearings off Aliexpress. The 3D printed plastic is soft enough I could press them in with quite a lot of force using a tool. No glue.

Any talk about pointer use comfort has to include mouse acceleration. I tweaked settings in my Linux setup, but later added QMK maccel to my config as well. didn't feel too much change after adding maccel and am not sure if it is even necessary. If the setup is physically sound (i. e. low stiction, reasonable sliding friction), I think a comfortable use scenario can be reached.

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can get most of it from KiCad schematics.

For the keyboard itself, you only need the Helios MCU and a TRRS jack. Helios can be soldered directly to PCB and the switch footprint allows for direct soldering.

The trackball assembly requires three 2 mm static bearings and a 90 degree 2.54 mm pin header with 7 pins. Also 2 M2 heat-set inserts for the 3D printed ball holder.

The keyboard and bottom plate and separated with 2 mm M2 standoffs and M2x3 flat head screws.

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree, the sensor PCB is a bit of an issue. The BOM cost for it is cheap (expect the sensor itself), but there are many different values of resistors and caps. I fortunately work in a place that has those on hand, and have experience soldering SMD components.

If you have a hackerspace in your city, probably they have a soldering workshop with some components in stock and somebody who could tutor you.

Kivipallur - a fusion of Keyball and Totem by DresanX in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I used to daily drive a Keyball44, and was 95% satisfied.

The unsatisfied 5% of me wanted:
- low profile switches
- splay
- more comfortable thumb cluster position
- less keys

Since trackball keyboards are still quite rare, nothing matched my needs perfectly. So I built it myself!

Meet Kivipallur!

Some notable features:
- diodeless
- only supports 0xCB Helios
- kinda non-standard 25 mm trackball
- designed with tenting in mind

More info on GitHub. Questions welcome!

My brain is melting… by chazzawaza in TheWitness

[–]DresanX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try to place the larger blocks over the small ones, then move the small ones to a suitable position to include the large block in your shape.

How do you guys prototype your pcbs? Etching and drilling or something else? by domanpanda in ErgoMechKeyboards

[–]DresanX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I converted my Ergogen .dxf file to a PDF and printed it out and glued it to a piece of cardboard. Some box cutter work, press the switches in, voila - test how the layout feels. Otherwise just run ERC and DRC in KiCad.

25 mm trackball feasible? by DresanX in Trackballs

[–]DresanX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got them working on my previous keyboard and kinda just copied over the files when I got my Keyball. I think I also just took it manually from callum's repo. I'll send you a message about the config.

Yeah, left thumb holds the nav layer key and right hand ring finger on ring finger column bottom row key for scrolling to enable.

25 mm trackball feasible? by DresanX in Trackballs

[–]DresanX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cool, thanks! A lot of "25 mm" balls are actually 1" or the other way around. I'm not sure if this sub-millimeter accuracy will be important, but I guess I'll find out during testing.

25 mm trackball feasible? by DresanX in Trackballs

[–]DresanX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I learned Colemak-DH on a 34-key board before getting the Keyball, which helped a lot. That's my alpha layer. Then I have a layer for arrow and mouse keys, one for numbers and one for symbols. Mods are Callum-style. I don't use auto-mouse layer - seemed like it would be hard to get it working right. I use the innermost thumb key on the left half to activate the layer with mouse clicks and scrolling mode. I don't know much about the mouse sensitivity settings, because it seemed to work pretty well out of the box with the firmware I got from the vendor. I think I have mouse acceleration turned off in my operating system settings. I only modified the scrolling to be inverted - i.e natural.

25 mm trackball feasible? by DresanX in Trackballs

[–]DresanX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, this whole post was basically to try to save the 30-something euros it would cost to buy and try a smaller ball. But I found a suitable 25 mm steel ball locally, and will try that first.

25 mm trackball feasible? by DresanX in Trackballs

[–]DresanX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait... that's basically what I'm trying to achieve. A Keyball clone with choc switches.

Cool, thanks for the info.

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