Mechanical Keyboards

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Presoldered split keyboard (lemmy.sdf.org)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi everyone! I'm planning on getting a split keyboard to replace my planck, but I don't have a soldering iron.

What are my options ? Ideally I want:

DIY, no soldering involved
QMK firmware
40% format

The keyboard I'm leaning toward is the let's split as it's a planck split in two halves, but it seems that you need to at least solder the keycaps yourself, which I can't.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

but it seems that you need to at least solder the keycaps yourself, which I can’t.

solder ... keycaps? Surely you mean switches :D

Anyhoo, Moonlander? https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ - hotswappable switches, ortholinear-ish, split and qmk support

edit: or bit more minimal: https://www.zsa.io/voyager

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Switches indeed ;)

Both voyager and moonlander are prebuilt, right ? I like the voyager, but might like just a few keys under the thumb compared to my current planck layout.

Thanks for the suggestions !

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

they're prebuilt as in: no soldering iron needed. I'm unaware if the switches/keycaps are on out-of-the-box, but that's like 15min of "keeb hobbying" to put them in.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Bought a moonlander about 2 months ago. It comes fully assembled, there are multiple switches to choose from and blank or qwerty style keycaps. It is hotswap and comes with a tool for pulling caps and switches included, so you can change things up as needed. Iirc you can buy it barebones without switches if none of the ones they have are right for you.

It runs on QMK but they have their own configurator which is super handy imo.

[–] transientpunk 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

There are non-solder options available here: https://typeractive.xyz/

I just got the 5 column Corne keyboard kit

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

The Iris Rev 8 might be just what you're looking for. In any case, I think the term you're looking for is "hotswapable" since you want DIY without soldering.

Personally, I have the Ergodox EZ and I love it. It almost meets all of your requirements but I think it's more than 40%.