Hey! I saw posts from here on my feed, and have been sucked in. Beautiful keyboards!
But, I’m a bit overwhelmed with options. If I want to get started with an EMK, what would you suggest?
I am comfortable with general soldering (though haven’t done surface-mount), so putting a kit together should be doable. I use a Dvorak keyboard layout, so would prefer a way to customize keycaps. But … I would prefer a kit that comes with everything (or at least a checklist), and doesn’t require me to figure out what components to order, to help ensure I have compatible parts.
Thanks for your suggestions!
Some questions that you will have to ask yourself is what keys you’re interested in losing. Do you need a number row? Function key row? Expectations for how much you use layers and thumbs can help to decide.
I’ve always liked a number pad better than the row, so I figure getting used to layers will be the way to go. Function keys would be the same. I’m looking at beekeeb’s piantor kit with 42 keys, which seems like a decent starter. Rotary encoders are attractive, but I’ll probably save them for the future, especially as the kits he has with optional encoders have either too many keys, or fewer than I want to start with.
I haven’t yet built a board with encoders. I think they’re neat but pretty optional. I’ve actually been considering building a Piantor myself. It seems pretty solid
What are some of your recommendations for an ergo keyboard with f row and minimal layers.
All of the ergo keyboards I see out there never have the F row and have so many layers.
You can customize a Dactyl to have them. But here are some that have function keys that are a bit more pre-designed:
I’m sure there are more out there, but they’re not popular so you have to customize or dig.