Image by [MakerM0] via Hackaday.IO[MakerM0]’s LangCard is an entry into our 2024 Business Card Challenge that just so happens to fit the Keebin’ bill as well.
You might label this a pocket cyberdeck, and that’s just fine with me. The idea here is to have a full-keyboard development board for learning programming languages like CircuitPython, MicroPython, C++, and so on, wherever [MakerM0] happens to be at a given moment.
Open up the LangCard and you’ll find an RP2040 and a slim LiPo battery. I’m not sure what display that is, but there are probably a few that would work just fine were you to make one of these fun learning devices for yourself.
Most one-handed keyboards rely on modifier keys or chording (pressing multiple keys in patterns) to stretch the functionality of a single hand’s worth of buttons. [Dylan Turner]’s PS-OHK takes an entirely different approach, instead putting 75 individual keys within reach of a single hand, with a layout designed to be practical as well as easy to get used to.
We can’t help but notice Backspace isn’t obvious in the prototype, but it’s also a work in progress.
The main use case of the PS-OHK is for one hand to comfortably rest at the keyboard while the other hand manipulates a mouse in equal comfort. There is a full complement of familiar special keys (Home, End, Insert, Delete, PgUp, PgDn) as well as function keys F1 to F12 which helps keep things familiar.
As for the rest of the layout, we like the way that [Dylan] clearly aimed to maintain some of the spatial relationship of “landmark” keys such as ESC, which is positioned at the top-left corner of its group. Similarly, arrow keys are grouped together in the expected pattern.
One-handed keyboards usually rely on modifier keys or multi-key chording and it’s interesting to see work put into a different approach that doesn’t require memorizing strange layouts or input patterns.
Want to make your own? The GitHub repository has everything you need. Accommodating the 75 physical keys requires a large PCB, but it’s a fairly straightforward shape and doesn’t have any oddball manufacturing requirements, which means getting it made should be a snap.
While you might think one-handed keyboards are a niche item, if you have reduced function in one hand or you only have one hand, they are pretty important. [Kian] was getting ready for surgery that would put his left arm out of commission for a while, which spurred the construction of a one-handed keyboard inspired by FrogPad.
There was a time when creating a new keyboard would have been a significant task. These days, it is reasonably easy and [Kian] simply repurposed an existing kit for a split keyboard. Using just half the board was easy since it is made in two parts already.
There have been many attempts at building effective one-handed input devices over the years, and the circa 2002 FrogPad is one of the better devices. Like most one-handed keyboards, it uses layers. The top layer has the most common keystrokes to minimize the number of layer changes required to type common text.
I keep saying I need to stay away from auction sites, but then I wouldn’t have as much fodder for Hackaday, would I? As I write this, I’m waiting on a Dell AT101W, which will be my first keeb with Alps switches. Well, hopefully it has Alps SKCM salmon or black switches — according to Deskthority, it might have rubber domes. If it doesn’t keyboard, I will probably salvage the switches and build something more ergonomic. Either way, I’m thinking we need a post about Alps switches, because some people think they’re even better than Cherry MX switches.
Now here’s a stocking stuffer of a keyboard. The DecaTxt is the size of a deck of cards, and at first glance it looks like some kind of pocket Keno machine or other gambling or gaming apparatus. But that’s just because it’s so colorful. When you only have ten keys emulating a full keyboard, there’s bound to be some serious labeling going on, as there should be.
The DecaTxt is a Bluetooth 4.0 chording keyboard that’s meant to be used with your phone or whatever you want to pair it with. It was originally called the In10did, which stands for Input Nomenclature Ten Digit Interface Device. Catchy, no? At some point in the last ten years, this little guy went wireless and got a cooler name — the DecaTxt. Continue reading “Inputs Of Interest: DecaTxt Ultra-Portable Chording Keyboard”→
