Comment by userbinator | Hacker News Reader

Comment by userbinator | Hacker News Reader

if anyone doing a hand-wired build has a better/more efficient method of making the cables for the columns, please let me know

Use self-fluxing enameled wire. It's insulated with an enamel that melts/converts into flux at soldering temperatures, so all you need to do is wrap a turn around the post of each switch contact for a column, then add solder to complete the connection. Some are sold in a convenient pencil-shaped dispenser (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiring_pencil ).

I've always wanted to build a keyboard for fast typing, with ultra-light low-travel leaf-spring switches that have a more "bouncy" feel. When trying to type at 160WPM+ it matters far less what kind of sound or tactile feel the keys produce as you care more about the key actuating immediately when hit and providing some spring action to help the finger back up afterward. A leaf-mounted keycap has essentially no sliding friction, which means very little difference in force required between hitting it obliquely or perpendicularly.

Isn't buying a premade MCU board for a "keyboard from scratch" cheating a little? I'd go with a deadbugged 8749 in a DIP-40 package, the classic MCU for a keyboard controller. :-)

Oh wow thanks for the wire tip! That will definitely make life easier :)

As I say to everyone questioning whether to do a keyboard build (or any DIY project) - go for it! Let me know how you go :)

edit: Didn't see your comments about the cheating bit. You are right, it probably was cheating a touch - it didn't quite occur to me until you said it. I'll see how I go with my next build and work out how to cheat a bit less, haha!

Self-fluxing enameled wire is great for more than just a simple keyboard project, too---it scales to microcontroller-scale projects, if you have enough patience: http://elm-chan.org/docs/wire/wiring_e.html

It's a good solution if you have some reason (money or time restrictions) that you can't order a PCB. The biggest downside of free-wiring like this though is that you don't have a whole lot of structural rigidity, but the steel that OP uses more than makes up for this.

>> 160WPM+

Wow! I am guessing you're not using a QWERTY layout to do that. What layout are you using? Dvorak?

Actually it is a standard QWERTY keyboard, with rubber dome switches but this one happens to have a much lower actuation force and distance than most switches, with a soft, cushion-like springy feel at the bottom. Someone used to "better quality" keyboards such as mechanical ones would probably find the keys too loose and wobbly, but I've found that the loose feeling helps when you just want the keys to go down as quickly as possible, since at those speeds it's more a process of hitting keys without conscious thought and hoping they register rather than trying to sense their feedback.

I have tried mechanical keyboards, and for the longest time I used a clicky one with blue ALPS switches, which has a nice tactile response to the keys, but was not able to exceed ~130WPM with it - the clicking was actually distracting and I felt like I was waiting to feel the key switches actuate before moving on...

(Many of the fastest typists on TypeRacer and one of the well-known, Sean Wrona, use QWERTY so I don't think it's a big disadvantage in terms of speed.)

That's interesting - I have an outdated notion that QWERTY was a hindrance to speed. This was based on stuff I read in the 80s-- this was way back when the Apple //c came out and offered an option to use either Sholes or Dvorak.

I find your choice of rubber dome very interesting. I learned how to type with an IBM typewriter, and moved on to the Apple Extended Keyboards in the early 90s. I recently thought I wanted a keyboard with Cherry MX Reds (I found the clickier MXes too jarring on my fingers), but after years of getting used to and liking the Apple chiclet keyboards, I found that I just couldn't get used to the feel of a mechanical keyboard again. I ended up getting a dome keyboard instead.

QWERTY was designed so consecutive keystrokes are usually on opposite sides of the keyboard, to prevent jamming on a typewriter. Switching sides often doesn't actually slow down typing.

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