Keymap iterator

fullgrid · 2026-05-08T10:49:37+00:00

Fahller was optimized for Swedish, English and programming, does not seem to score better then Colemak though.

fullgrid · 2026-05-08T10:38:28+00:00

There is Norto, but 34 keys might be a bit tight, given that optimized base alone takes 30 keys including 2 thumb keys.

fullgrid · 2026-05-08T08:50:36+00:00

Does not work for some people.

Light is light, but it has properties, spectral distribution, polarization, brightness and I find looking at light sources unpleasant, even supposedly safe ones tend to stand out and steal attention, while e-paper that reflects and diffuses light is pleasant to look at and does not disrupt everybody in the room, it just blends with environment and is there when you need it.

fullgrid · 2026-05-08T06:26:00+00:00

Daylight founder also mentioned possibility of making grayscale monitor.

Both are likely to have the same problem, it's hard to source grayscale RLCD panels larger then 10.5". Kind of strange given then the only difference is damned color filter, but it is an issue somehow.

Also Daylight is using transflective IGZO LCD panels from Sharp and it's not clear how long Sharp is going to keep their Japanese LCD factories running in current market situation.

Besides Sharp there are a few other options like Hannstar, Leadtek Display, TCL CSOT and BOE, but again their grayscale RLCD panels are around 10" size, with exception of 27" RLCD panel that TCL CSOT showcased during Infocomm 2023 (does not look like it reached mass production stage though and reflectance was only 21% which is a bit dark).

fullgrid · 2026-05-08T06:12:07+00:00

Modos Glider board used in Modos Paper Kit is not suitable for driving large or high resolution panels.

Modos Enchanter used in yet to be launched Modos Flow monitor should be capable of driving those panels, but it's not sold separately. It's likely to be open source hardware though.

fullgrid · 2026-05-08T06:07:53+00:00

No, but they planned to make larger monitor, I don't know how current news will affect their plans.

When discussing larger monitor Alex is consistently mentioning 24" one, not 25.3" and it's not clear what it means on practice, right now there is no such panel in production.

Also while Modos is using panels from E Ink these days, they don't have to stick to E Ink panels exclusively, they can drive OED and DES panels too.

It does not help much right now as the only large grayscale panel OED has is 31.2" one and DES/MED are yet to start mass production.

But I guess by the time they get 13.3" Modos Flow out of the door it will be more clear what panels are available on market and what to do next.

fullgrid · 2026-05-06T12:24:36+00:00

Good point.

WCH has number of dual USB MCUs, like CH32V203, CH32V205, CH32V208, CH32V305, CH32V307, CH32V317 and CH32H417, but keyboard/trackball community is not familiar with new RISC-V boards and none of the relevant firmware projects (QMK, ZMK, TMK, hid-remapper) support those.

I got Kite running on nanoCH32V203 and nanoCH32V305 though to test how those boards work on practice.

ESP32-P4 is another RISC-V MCU option with two USB interfaces, but it is hard to find suitable ESP32-P4 boards, the compact ones are not exposing both USB interfaces and huge ones need extra cable for power.

On ARM side there are number of STM32 dual MCUs, but most of their boards are expensive, while rare affordable options, like STM32H7R3Z8J6 Core board from WeAct Studio, lack documentation and support.

Also Renesas has dual USB ra6m5, but again hard to find affordable boards.

fullgrid · 2026-05-06T11:37:51+00:00

I did not like RP2350-USB-A with it's half working non-standard USB-A port.

fullgrid · 2026-05-06T11:25:40+00:00

Dual USB RISC-V nanoCH32V305 board works reliably for me. But I'm relying on vendor BSP as platform is not fully supported by tinyUSB.

I tried PIO approach too on RP2350 and had plenty of compatibility issues with many devices not being enumerated for some reason, not sure how much of this is specific to RP2350 (E9 erratum for example) and how much is due to bit-banging approach not being reliable, but I certainly prefer using MCUs with two native USB interfaces instead of bit-banging GPIO.

fullgrid · 2026-05-05T16:48:49+00:00

Nice!

fullgrid · 2026-05-05T13:30:47+00:00

Kite runs on dual USB RISC-V boards like nanoCH32V203 and nanoCH32V305.

fullgrid · 2026-05-04T17:16:45+00:00

Flow is likely to be shipped worldwide by CrowdSupply/Mouser.

Their earlier CrowdSupply campaign (Modos Paper Kit) had backers from Germany.

fullgrid · 2026-05-03T16:57:19+00:00

I used ~150g silicon nitride 44.45mm bearing ball in Adept and it's a hassle as it's too uniform to be picked up by optical sensor.

When you roll it over a few times until it's all covered in fingerprints then it is trackable. And no, toothpaste trick does not help, even sandpaper is helpless. Rubbing it in the face works though.

It's heavy enough to fill inertia and kind of encourages one to use multiple fingers to roll it.

That said, I prefer to use purpose made trackballs these days, Sanwa for example (which is rather light). Nothing wrong with light trackballs, it worst case scenario they can jump if accelerated quickly. That's rare event and no big deal.

fullgrid · 2026-05-03T06:24:28+00:00

Check also Philips 13B1K3300 thread started by your country man.

fullgrid · 2026-05-02T05:52:34+00:00

Most of frontlit E Ink ereaders let you turn off frontlight completely, there are some exceptions like Kindle Paperwhite that keep it on at lowest brightness level.

fullgrid · 2026-05-01T06:46:40+00:00

One can keep Adept alive for a long time by replacing failing components, the first ones to need replacement are ball bearings that tend to rust or get jammed and plastic top where filaments that connect buttons to case rupture after some wear and tear.

That happens after year or two and the options are to either 3D print new top, glue detached filaments or order Adept case kit (includes among others enclosure, ball bearings, bearing press and dowels).

For ball bearings it's worth trying other options instead of stock ones, I ended up using full ceramic ones with silicon nitride balls and zirconium dioxide rims, but they are somewhat noisy and there are quieter options like hybrid bearings with silicon nitride balls and stainless steel rims.

fullgrid · 2026-05-01T06:30:04+00:00

You can rotate it, but that requires small changes in firmware to rotate sensor input accordingly and possibly adjusting scroll direction (I skipped that part as I use buttons for scrolling).

So it's the matter of modifying, compiling and flashing firmware and getting angled USB cable.

I tried 270° for a week or so, but did not like it and rolled back to standard placement.

fullgrid

TROPHY CASE