“Sometimes you need to approach a new hobby and when you do, why not dive into it?”

Or somehow were the lines when, some weeks ago, I stumbled through the concept of alternate keyboard layouts, had a talk to a colleague who uses Dvorak (“Wait, I somehow just can’t type on your keyboard…!”), had a glimpse at Colemak and finally thought “I just might” and embraced the concept of flushing my 80+ wpm 98% acc QWERTY-skills down the drain…

Some days later I decided to go for Colemak Mod-DH(m) as it seemed like a reasonable approach, wasn’t totally weird and enjoys (mixed) support on the different platforms (Windows and Mac for Work, Linux for private use).

As it turns out basic Colemak has better OS support - but the second thought has already risen, using not the default keyboard but going the road a little further and seek out ergo mech keyboards. Those are usually programmable so the problem of OS-support completely solved itself.

First looks were at the Moonlander. However it struck me as being quite massive and heavy, and expensive, too! So where’s that substantial improvement to my normal mech keyb I usually type on? Then came along the Corne. It’s probably one of the first keyboards one stumbles across when looking a little further than pre-fabricated keyboards that check the ergo mech checkbox.

I found some for sale on the online flea market but, man, these were also pretty expensive; or badly soldered or had RGBs, LCDs and other stuff - which I think I could accept, but not being a ricer and thinking about the reason about how much of this ergo stuff is to not look at your keyboard - so that seemed pretty useless to me.

Downgrading the “what it must have” lead me to simpler, smaller and cheaper designs. What I also grasped from the Corne and other “pioneers” of emks is, that they are based on quite old chips and concepts. Those having only a few pins and crude firmwares necessaries the use of diodes and other, I may call them, workarounds.

So came the Cantor. It uses a larger chip with enough pinouts to just connect every switch to a pin and be done with it. Perfect. Easier to solder, less stuff to order and later potentially break.

I liked the increased column stagger, too. Ah, the column stagger. That was something I was really looking forward to, having being accustomed to the row stagger, which I subconsciousnessly found, and still find, weird and not making much sense in our times.

While digging through all the different keybs (Sofle, Helix, and so many more) I narrowed down on the Cantor, just to find the Piantor, a slightly revamped version using a Raspberry Pi Pico rather than a quite exotic Black Pill, which might present itself as having a lower market share and probably being more difficult to order.

Now, that the prices for electronics have settled down a bit after the Corona rise, it seemed like the perfect time to get my hands dirty with soldering stuff so I began to configure my soon-to-be new Piantor.

I chose low profile keys. Not because I find them easier to type on (my previous normal keyboard had MX) but because when I make a change why not experiment with more than one variable?

I usually type on MX reds (linear, 50g) but having heard even lower force is better for ergo mech keyboards I chose the Kailh Choc Red Pro (linear, 35g).

I also ordered a mixed bag of other switches to try some of them out and a set of Light Blue (now Pink, previously gChoc) (linear, 20g) for the pinkes or all the keys.

So the keyboard has to be hot swappable, which the Piantor can be, if you solder the hotswap sockets and not the switches themselves.

Keycaps: the “gold standard” for Kailh Chocs: MBK from FK Keycaps with two specialized caps to indicate the two homing keys. I thought about ordering caps with letters on them but then again I want to type blindly, as I am accustomed to that already on QWERTY, and I don’t want to be needlessly tempted to look at the caps.

So, soldering and sticking it all together left me with the keyboard you see in the pictures. And I really like the simple, clean look of it. Nothing more than needed, nothing less than having everything one could wish for. The micro controllers were soldered to have them not stick out too much from the PCB and because I don’t intend to switch them; Micro USB is totally fine for me, I have plenty of cables for this and the cables are much cheaper than the USB C ones. Also I never broke a plug in my whole life on any hardware I own so they did not strike me as especially endangered to break when being handled by me.

I was unsure if I needed a case or if everything stays in its place when used without a top plate, and I can confirm that the switches do not fall off, rattle or wobble at all. They sit very firm in the hotswap sockets and typing on the keys just presses them back onto the PCB and into the sockets. Removing them really needs force. If that is still the case after switching them several times is still to be experienced.

But lacking a case the underside had some sharp edges from the soldering and the sockets. So I made an underside out of cardboard and stitched it in place through the screw holes (can I have a patent on this, please?). It works perfectly and only adds maybe 0,3 mm in height (or none if you use rubber feet), is comfortable to use and costs literally nothing. Feels pretty guerrilla but actually looks quite nice and very slim and light.

For the first keyboard layout I chose Miryoku (it uses Colemak Mod-DH by default), which leaves the outer key columns unused, but in case I want wo experiment with a different layout later, I can reactivate the keys. The outer columns can be broken off but I still want to keep my flexibility in case I want to use those later.

The default Miryoku layout was okay. I later switched to INVERTEDT, which re-arranges the cursor keys a bit as I’m no vi user and wanted a more classic cursor layout.

Programming the keyboard itself is simple as the firmware provides a Vial interface so using the application to rearrange the keys was very very easy. I also found a Miryoku via file which I could use to kickstart everything in a very short manner. It had a few misbound keys and Mac-bindings, too, but those were easily fixed.

So, that’s the story how I became a ergo mech keyb user; it all started with the innocent curiosity to experiment with an alternate keyboard layout - and only in the end it closed the circle.

How my learning of Colemak went in the meantime is a different story, for a different time :D (… that damned 60 wpm plateau x_x’ )

Additionally here’s a gallery with some more pictures: https://imgur.com/a/JU1gTpn

I hope you like it! Have fun :)

  • apfel@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Very nice read, and I was reminded a lot of my own considerations starting out in the hobby. Looking forward to what comes next :)

  • puppybox@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I ordered a piantor few days ago. How was soldering? I really like the diodeless design, hopefully I will be able to build it (first time soldering). Also agree the column stagger looks nice. How does it feel?

    Btw I’ve been working full time with Colemak dh for few years and it’s quite nice layout. But decided to switch recently and learned “canary” which is layout created in 2022. It’s slightly more optimized than Colemak. Maybe you can looker into it if you’re interested.

    • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      The soldering process was pretty easy. I responded to a comment with a bit more detail a little further down as a reply to a similar question.

      The like the increased column stagger very much as it fits my fingers quite well and feels very natural. I think if I’d went with a Corne I would not be as happy as I am now with the columnal layout.

      Had a look at canary. It shuffles many keys around and I was astounded they changed the ,./ keys. I’m not sure I like it at first sight. How is your experience after a while?

      • puppybox@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Actually it feels nice but probably not that much better than Colemak dh. So I think in your case I’ll stick with what you learn and maybe switch when you feel you want to learn something new. About the “.,/” , I just changed it, I don’t think it matters that much.

  • Corr@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Awesome write up. Welcome to the community and good luck learning colemak and small form factor :)

    • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Thanks :) Miryoku’s home row mods are a little troublesome, especially as there is no dedicated Shift key. I adjusted the timeouts a bit, so it’s better now, but I am still not entirely won over.

      • Corr@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Check out this link. This guy made a patch that added typing streaks to remove accidental mod activation while typing. I couldn’t get it to work with caps word but I might try again sometime in the near future with a custom combo.

        Edit: also check out achordion a userspace solution to implement bilateral combinations with some extra features as well

        • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 year ago

          Wow, they really show some dedication! The problem for me is not unintented misfires but more the long delay until I trigger the mod, so the opposite of what their problems seem to be :D I already reduced the holding duration from 200 to 160 milliseconds to get to the Shift key faster as it breaks my flow when waiting for the uppercase keys to become available. Especially noticeable at the start of a sentence or when typing “I” or getting to the other layers or symbols (shifted numbers)

          • Corr@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            You can edit the tapping term per key Docs.

            If you reduce your tapping term down really low and use the typing streak, that may work well. Just a suggestion though. I think I have my shift down to about 100-110ms but the rest sit at about 160 I think

  • jrbaconcheese@yall.theatl.social
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    1 year ago

    I love this entire thing. Your story of how you landed on Piantor is so close to my story (including Moonlander, Colemak-DH, and not wanting a ricer!) except to the point where I bit the bullet and bought a keyboard.io Atreus. But now I want to have an ergo split without spending another $250ish and I’m stuck in analysis paralysis, that I am going to follow your footsteps and build a Piantor as well.

    If you don’t mind me asking, how much did you end up spending to finish that one? Was the actual soldering difficult at all?

    • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      The total cost with some spare switches and caps (they’re usually sold in packs 10, I planned for 42 keys) was 107,99 EUR, including all cables, hotswap sockets, switches, PCBs, TSSR, Pis, etc. and shipping. I have the bill of materials here.

      The soldering process is also pretty easy: first the hotswap sockets (first one end, then the other), then the Pis (which have castellations and thus need no pin headers (or whatever they’re called)), then the TRRS. Take your time, 2h max.

      Here’s a nice video showing the soldering process so you can get an impression of what to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQz0VSOYrFs

      I can recommend the Pinecil V2, which I bought for this project. It can be powered by USB-C, amazing!

      My other soldering iron was for heavy metal sheets or something like that :D Definitely too crude for electronic parts.

      Using thin soldering wire (0,5 mm) also helped me.

      • Pantoffel@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Where did you order your PCBs? I only checked one website where it would be around 80€ for two PCBs.

        • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 year ago

          keycapsss had me covered. It’s a german shop that stocks everything needed for a Piantor (and of course other keyboards).

          Aliexpress might be cheaper but I did not want to risk a hassle and the long shipping.duration. keycapsss’ delivery took only a few days and their service is awesome, nice contact too. Support your local dealer.

          A single full set of Piantor PCBs sets you back 15 EUR plus shipping. Switches and keycaps are also priced reasonably.

  • tubbytwins@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Very cool! Thanks for sharing your journey. I like the use of cardboard on the underside of the PCB.

    Good luck with learning the new layout. My advice is to not focus so much on WPM and instead remember how much easier it is to type on a better (more optimized) layout.

    • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Indeed, wpm is not relevant, accuracy is.

      The first weeks I focused solely on accuracy while learning the layout and in the first days I achieved a whopping 8 wpm - but with 99,5% acc ;) Those first days I experienced fatigue and quite substantial headaches while training, I could really feel how the neurons began to rearrange in my head.

      After that an episode of 30 wpm 98% came and I completely switched to Colemak.

      The next weeks I focused partly on accuracy and partly on speed, to enable my fingers to act more intuitively. Than tanked acc sometimes to around 95%, with wpm of course following down but picking up after some time, but still with bad accuracy.

      Then I shifted training focus back to accuracy again for some time and now I am currently in my “endurance” phase, how I like to call it.

      Some days ago I found the time to type a few more chapters on “War of the Worlds” with Amphetype: four hours of sentences, punctuation, dashes, colons, semicolons, spoken texts, everything - at only around 45-55 wpm but with 98% to 100% accuracy, averaging at around 99%.

      That’s when I can “zone out” and type automatically. Sometimes I don’t know how that word appeared or how I typed it, I just did. While typing sentence after sentence and lesson after lesson it sometimes happens that suddenly and utterly unexpected I just stop and can’t type another key. Then I wonder what’s going on and come back “zoning in” and reflect what’s happening. Then I realize: the finger that I just wanted to press down to type a key just did not move. It flat out rejected the automatic command to press down the button and stopped the typing process in its tracks. Upon inspection I realize the finger would have pressed a wrong key - so it did not, which was not a conscious decision of me. I swear, this is scary stuff (but amazing).

      On monkeytype (with my default english 1k) currently has a record of 63 wpm at 99% and averages at 55.79 wpm at 96.72%, but it’s been a while. On problemwords I can battle several mistyped words down to 2-3 words with concentration and a bit of patience before gaining another one. On Amphetype (The War of the Worlds, whole sentences, interpunctuation, et. al.) it’s around 55 wpm with around 98,7%.

      So I think accuracy could still be better but it’s probably mostly okay.

      Working on the endurance / automatic typing now for some time, before switching back to the accuracy block and then the speed block again.

      Typing own texts, such as these articles, have a perceivable worse accuracy, but that’s normal as the brain has to focus on building sentences alongside typing. That improves the more typing is automated.

  • richard_wagner@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Nice, your keyboard looks great.

    How do you like the low profile switches? I type on silent linear MX switches right now and am wondering if I would like a keyboard like yours just to switch it up occasionally and for travel.

    I have also heard the choc switches don’t sound as nice as MX switches? I’m curious how your experience has been.

    • neonred@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      That’s tricky to describe. The MX keys are on my more substancial keyboards that are quite heavy and have metal plates in them, so they can take quite a punch :D and I feel more confident when being a little more forceful when writing.

      On a laptop keyboard however there is much less travel but still a solid frame so the keyvoard does not move when typing as it is fixed in the frame.

      On the ergo mech both halves are very light so they would move around if I’d heavily press down. So I am more tapping than hitting, thus the lighter switches (35g) really make sense and I personally would not use a stiffer key spring and consider going even lighter.

      The Choc have a key travel of 3 mm and trigger after 1,5 mm (+/-) so they actually feel neither like MX nor Laptop switches as they are lighter than MX but have more travel than Laptop switches. It’s difficult to describe.

      Overall I like them and my brain can differentiate between all three keyboards, which is great because Laptop+RowStagger=QWERTY and Choc+ColumnStagger=Colemak and my brain accepts this and is able to switch the layout. My QWERTY skills have taken a hefty hit in the meantine and while training Colemak. I plan to retrain QWERTY once Colemak is much better but that will still take a long time.

      The Chocs feel nice but the spring is resisant even in the first sub-millimeters so they feel stiffer and harder as they really are as they resist against your finger more than a wobbly Laptop keyboard, that gives a few sub-mm before pressing against the spring. I hope I could describe what I mean with this.

      PS: typed on my mobile so probably full of typos, sorry :)