Tiny Steno Board 2

thingiverse

This is an improved version of my compact keyboard for stenography with Plover. While using the previous model, I encountered several issues: - My pinkies were moving too far (yes, I am somewhat accustomed to Dactyl-Manuform and Let's Split boards.) Pressing -TD and -SZ keys along with any other right-hand keys (except thumbs) required my palm spreading, which is a bit of a problem for me. - Index fingers and thumbs worked overtime as well. Thumbs had to press two keys all the time, so they moved much more than regular QWERTY typing on Dactyl-Manuforms. In this version, I brought keys closer so my tired fingers can move as little as possible. Another thing I noticed was the force required to press Matias switches when using multiple buttons with one finger. Those switches seem harder if the force is applied sideways. That's because in steno, one finger can be pushing from one to four keys. Looks like in the normal position (i.e., like this "=") the keys require greater force than if they're placed sideways. That's not their intended movement anyway. The switches are great - there's no manufacturer fault at all; the switches are superb. It's simple math - 2 or 4 multiplied by a single key's gF, plus friction from an incorrect pressure point, and the keys become hard to push. Surprisingly enough, sideways pushing wasn't so difficult, so I decided to rotate the switches to help with the most frequent scenario in steno - two keys in the same row pressed with one finger. Yes, that felt much better. Also, it allowed me to bring the keys closer, thus limiting pinkie and thumb movements. The result is (not so surprisingly now) closer to the Stenograph Reporter machine layout. Internally, it's still the OLKB Planck-based keyboard. No changes from the original design there. I only added a detachable cable - I couldn't make up my mind how the cable should go, so I just added two USB connectors on the left and in the middle, where the keys left some space along the back wall, just enough for the USB connectors. Both can be used one at a time, of course. Please note this thing is still a work-in-progress; the keytops are being printed at the moment of publishing. UPD 20181019: I added a picture with the connection diagram in it.