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@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
33 <span class="stats-unit">cm</span> 33 <span class="stats-unit">cm</span>
34 &nbsp 34 &nbsp
35 <span class="stats-number"> 35 <span class="stats-number">
36 4.7 36 4.8
37 </span> 37 </span>
38 <span class="stats-unit">min</span> 38 <span class="stats-unit">min</span>
39 </div> 39 </div>
@@ -42,29 +42,46 @@
42 Lotus58 42 Lotus58
43 </h1> 43 </h1>
44 <div class="post-text"> 44 <div class="post-text">
45 <p>Earlier this month, I decided that I would laugh at Indian customs in the face by building a split-ergo mechanical keyboard from scratch rather than purchasing a Moonlander.</p> 45 <p>Earlier this month, I decided that I would laugh at Indian customs in
46the face by building a split-ergo mechanical keyboard from scratch
47rather than purchasing a Moonlander.</p>
46<figure> 48<figure>
47<img src="https://u.peppe.rs/i8k.jpg" alt="The finished product" /><figcaption aria-hidden="true">The finished product</figcaption> 49<img src="https://u.peppe.rs/i8k.jpg" alt="The finished product" />
50<figcaption aria-hidden="true">The finished product</figcaption>
48</figure> 51</figure>
49<h2 id="sourcing-the-parts">Sourcing the parts</h2> 52<h2 id="sourcing-the-parts">Sourcing the parts</h2>
50<p>If you, like me, live in India, you might find this section useful. My approach to finding parts:</p> 53<p>If you, like me, live in India, you might find this section useful.
54My approach to finding parts:</p>
51<ul> 55<ul>
52<li>Check reputed, local online stores</li> 56<li>Check reputed, local online stores</li>
53<li>Check physical hardware stores</li> 57<li>Check physical hardware stores</li>
54<li>Import the part</li> 58<li>Import the part</li>
55</ul> 59</ul>
56<h3 id="pcbs">PCBs</h3> 60<h3 id="pcbs">PCBs</h3>
57<p>This was by far the hardest component to procure. Fabrication services have certain <em>capabilities</em>. Capabilities are the limitations of a fabrication service. For example, a service may be capable of drilling holes no smaller than 0.3mm in diameter. Most sites have a verification process to check if their capabilities meet your design’s requirements. I tried a few local PCB fabrication services:</p> 61<p>This was by far the hardest component to procure. Fabrication
62services have certain <em>capabilities</em>. Capabilities are the
63limitations of a fabrication service. For example, a service may be
64capable of drilling holes no smaller than 0.3mm in diameter. Most sites
65have a verification process to check if their capabilities meet your
66design’s requirements. I tried a few local PCB fabrication services:</p>
58<ul> 67<ul>
59<li>Lion PCB: Capabilities did not meet my requirements</li> 68<li>Lion PCB: Capabilities did not meet my requirements</li>
60<li>PCBPower: Capabilities did not meet my requirements</li> 69<li>PCBPower: Capabilities did not meet my requirements</li>
61<li>Circuitwala: Capabilities did not meet my requirements</li> 70<li>Circuitwala: Capabilities did not meet my requirements</li>
62</ul> 71</ul>
63<p>I settled for JLCPCB, a Chinese service. PCBs themselves were 16 USD, shipping was another 35 USD, and customs was another 3.5K INR (ouch).</p> 72<p>I settled for JLCPCB, a Chinese service. PCBs themselves were 16 USD,
73shipping was another 35 USD, and customs was another 3.5K INR
74(ouch).</p>
64<h3 id="case-material">Case material</h3> 75<h3 id="case-material">Case material</h3>
65<p>I don’t really have a case for the Lotus58, it is more of a “plastic sandwich”. I purchased acrylic plates from Robu. Cheap, fast, solid, and customizable. I cannot recommend Robu enough. A full set of plates (2 top plates and 2 bottom plates) cost me about 500 INR. I also bought a pair of laptop height raisers on Amazon to create a budget tenting setup.</p> 76<p>I don’t really have a case for the Lotus58, it is more of a “plastic
77sandwich”. I purchased acrylic plates from Robu. Cheap, fast, solid, and
78customizable. I cannot recommend Robu enough. A full set of plates (2
79top plates and 2 bottom plates) cost me about 500 INR. I also bought a
80pair of laptop height raisers on Amazon to create a budget tenting
81setup.</p>
66<h3 id="electronics">Electronics</h3> 82<h3 id="electronics">Electronics</h3>
67<p>You’ll need a few rather specific electronic components such as hotswap sockets and TRRS mounts, the rest are commonly available:</p> 83<p>You’ll need a few rather specific electronic components such as
84hotswap sockets and TRRS mounts, the rest are commonly available:</p>
68<ul> 85<ul>
69<li>Hotswap sockets: StacksKB</li> 86<li>Hotswap sockets: StacksKB</li>
70<li>TRRS mounts (PJ 320A): StacksKB</li> 87<li>TRRS mounts (PJ 320A): StacksKB</li>
@@ -73,7 +90,8 @@
73<li>M2 spacers: ThinkRobotics</li> 90<li>M2 spacers: ThinkRobotics</li>
74<li>Arduino Pro Micro: Robu</li> 91<li>Arduino Pro Micro: Robu</li>
75</ul> 92</ul>
76<p>I skimped out on optional components such as OLEDs and rotary encoders.</p> 93<p>I skimped out on optional components such as OLEDs and rotary
94encoders.</p>
77<h3 id="switches-and-keycaps">Switches and Keycaps</h3> 95<h3 id="switches-and-keycaps">Switches and Keycaps</h3>
78<p>Arguably the most fun part of the build:</p> 96<p>Arguably the most fun part of the build:</p>
79<ul> 97<ul>
@@ -81,30 +99,57 @@
81<li>DSA blanks: Meckeys</li> 99<li>DSA blanks: Meckeys</li>
82</ul> 100</ul>
83<h2 id="building-the-keyboard">Building the keyboard</h2> 101<h2 id="building-the-keyboard">Building the keyboard</h2>
84<p>The the build is extremely straightforward. Through hole components are easy to solder. Be wary of component placement and orientation. Check thrice, solder once. Few debugging tips:</p> 102<p>The the build is extremely straightforward. Through hole components
103are easy to solder. Be wary of component placement and orientation.
104Check thrice, solder once. Few debugging tips:</p>
85<ul> 105<ul>
86<li>if a single key does not actuate, check the hotswap for poor soldering (reflow the joint), and the switch pins for deformation during installation</li> 106<li>if a single key does not actuate, check the hotswap for poor
87<li>if an entire column or row activates on a single key-press, a connection has been shorted</li> 107soldering (reflow the joint), and the switch pins for deformation during
88<li>if only some of the keys on a given row actuate, a diode has been soldered on the wrong way</li> 108installation</li>
109<li>if an entire column or row activates on a single key-press, a
110connection has been shorted</li>
111<li>if only some of the keys on a given row actuate, a diode has been
112soldered on the wrong way</li>
89</ul> 113</ul>
90<h2 id="the-typing-experience">The typing experience</h2> 114<h2 id="the-typing-experience">The typing experience</h2>
91<p>I decidede to give QWERTY the boot and learn Colemak along with the new keyboard. The first few weeks were terrible because I could neither type QWERTY nor Colemak, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Typing websites do help, but it is best to simply use it in your daily workflow. No site can help you get accustomed to the various things you use your keyboard for such as switching windows or navigating vim/tmux.</p> 115<p>I decidede to give QWERTY the boot and learn Colemak along with the
116new keyboard. The first few weeks were terrible because I could neither
117type QWERTY nor Colemak, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Typing
118websites do help, but it is best to simply use it in your daily
119workflow. No site can help you get accustomed to the various things you
120use your keyboard for such as switching windows or navigating
121vim/tmux.</p>
92<h3 id="colemak">Colemak</h3> 122<h3 id="colemak">Colemak</h3>
93<p>Alt layouts such as Colemak are definitely worth it. I find that Colemak reduces finger movement a lot, a good portion of the keys on the left hand are the same as QWERTY, it is fairly easy to pick up as well.</p> 123<p>Alt layouts such as Colemak are definitely worth it. I find that
124Colemak reduces finger movement a lot, a good portion of the keys on the
125left hand are the same as QWERTY, it is fairly easy to pick up as
126well.</p>
94<h3 id="vim">Vim</h3> 127<h3 id="vim">Vim</h3>
95<p>Using an alt layout means most programs with keyboard shortcuts are not going to work as expected, <code>HJKL</code> on vim for movements being one of them. I took the short route out by creating a new layer with arrow keys on the home row:</p> 128<p>Using an alt layout means most programs with keyboard shortcuts are
129not going to work as expected, <code>HJKL</code> on vim for movements
130being one of them. I took the short route out by creating a new layer
131with arrow keys on the home row:</p>
96<pre><code>default homerow: 132<pre><code>default homerow:
97H N E I 133H N E I
98 134
99&quot;nav&quot; layer: 135&quot;nav&quot; layer:
100&lt; v ^ &gt;</code></pre> 136&lt; v ^ &gt;</code></pre>
101<p>The remaining commands in vim are largely mnemonics. Navigating with home-row arrow keys also means that I can use “HJKL” globally, to scroll a website, for example.</p> 137<p>The remaining commands in vim are largely mnemonics. Navigating with
138home-row arrow keys also means that I can use “HJKL” globally, to scroll
139a website, for example.</p>
102<h3 id="cutting-down-to-34-keys">Cutting down to 34 keys</h3> 140<h3 id="cutting-down-to-34-keys">Cutting down to 34 keys</h3>
103<p>A couple months into my ergo journey, I realized that I could get away by moving my fingers even lesser. I moved modifiers such as <code>Super</code>, <code>Ctrl</code>, <code>Alt</code> and <code>Shift</code> to the home-row as QMK Mod Taps. The rest of the keys are cleverly placed in layers, not too much unlike the Miryoku layout. Even for someone that writes Rust (a symbol-heavy grammar), I find 34-keys to be sufficient.</p> 141<p>A couple months into my ergo journey, I realized that I could get
142away by moving my fingers even lesser. I moved modifiers such as
143<code>Super</code>, <code>Ctrl</code>, <code>Alt</code> and
144<code>Shift</code> to the home-row as QMK Mod Taps. The rest of the keys
145are cleverly placed in layers, not too much unlike the Miryoku layout.
146Even for someone that writes Rust (a symbol-heavy grammar), I find
14734-keys to be sufficient.</p>
104<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2> 148<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>
105<p>I have been bitten by the ergomech bug.</p> 149<p>I have been bitten by the ergomech bug.</p>
106<figure> 150<figure>
107<img src="https://u.peppe.rs/XM3.jpg" alt="The Lotus58 in action" /><figcaption aria-hidden="true">The Lotus58 in action</figcaption> 151<img src="https://u.peppe.rs/XM3.jpg" alt="The Lotus58 in action" />
152<figcaption aria-hidden="true">The Lotus58 in action</figcaption>
108</figure> 153</figure>
109 154
110 </div> 155 </div>