I Built My Dream Keyboard from Absolute Scratch
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- The Caldera keyboard, a completely custom, from scratch DIY keyboard I've been working on building for months. This shows the process, as well as a high level tutorial on how to build your own completely custom keyboard
Let me know if you have any input on the video (I'm new to this!), or questions I can answer, I'll try to answer everything in the comments!
Links:
Caldera 3D printable case files: makerworld.com...
Caldera files: github.com/chr...
Parts list: christianselig...
nice!nano footprint: github.com/Gir...
Convert JSCAD to STL: neorama.de
FlatFootFox Ergogen tutorial: flatfootfox.co...
Ben Vallack Ergogen tutorial: • Design Your Own Keyboard!
Pinecil soldering iron: pine64.com/pro...
Twitter/X: / christianselig
Mastodon: mastodon.socia...
Threads: www.threads.ne...
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
damn I'm glad youtube is working on promoting smaller channels. This dude hasn't made a video in like 10 months and comes back like he took a monk training for youtube, nice.
Lmao, this comment actually made me laugh out loud. Thank you
Is there a hall of fame for comments? If so you are probably in it
200% agree
First
I like how hes explaining what to do as if ill build my own keyboard
That’s exactly why I am! You genuinely can do it! I believe in you! :p
@@cselig ive been wanting to do this (but with a standard 75% layout) so thank you very much!
@@cselig I've been on the fence of doing this for years, your video might finally make me do it. I've been too lazy in sorting out the firmware, contemplated on just using off the shelf IC's and not a microcontroller.
Trust me you can handle the firmware. And if you ever get tripped up the ZMK Discord is super friendly
@@boomboxkat if you don't need a rare layout, I would simply buy a good keyboard. I have personally bought a Qwerty Keys QK75 from a group buy
I don't code. I don't solder. My typing speed is atrocious. The words "git", "push", "PCB", and "microcontroller" strike fear into my heart. But I do love aesthetics, and I love a truly well-made, careful, accurate, playful piece of content. Dude, this was a stellar video, and you may have convinced me to spend my after work hours learning some new hobbies. IDK how UA-cam has built their algorithm, but damn, this was such a good click!
Okay well if this was a stellar video this was an even more stellar comment, you have a very nice way of writing! And yeah you should totally take a swing at this, it's a really rewarding hobby and can open up the doors to a bunch of other really fun hobbies (great first project). You got this!
the words "git" "push" and "commit" are the three most terrifying words in existence.
@@xsham6224they're such simple commands it's not that deep. You push changes for review and commit to approve changes. Git is the program you use to do those things.
@@xsham6224yet one of the most important, without them the world wouldn't be the same. Thanks to Bitkeeper revoking license from Linux, Torvalds made a tool to enable millions of programmers to freely collaborate and iterate on projects.
I will never again complain about the price of the keyboards I buy now that you’ve opened my eyes on what a process it is.
Hahah it’s definitely more than I expected when I started out too 😛 I bet mice are similar!
@@cseligmaking mice sound like hell..
i love it when you find a random small channel like this, just doing random stuff, then and your just like, 'yeah i made apollo' :D
I've been very fortunate to make a few cool things over my career :D
OMG I HADN’T EVEN NOTICED BY THE NAME
@@jannesvandenboogaert6689 I was thinking "thats a familiar name..." before realising!
not really a small channel lol
@@Sic_Infernum it is a small channel lol
"and if you use Linux, I'm sure you know how to open a terminal." Dead. Subbed.
Hahah I originally had a bit on how to do it in Linux but was like "Oh come on they know"
I subbed instantly as well after that line. Amazing project. Thanks from a beginning IT student using a standard keyboard (yet).
This has to be the best joke anyone has made in 2024.
As a Linux user I can confirm && laughed at the joke.
@@cseligI DON’T XD
Of course you’re insanely multi-talented. 😒 The Caldera looks great! (I cannot endorse the use of lead-free solder, however).
I think it's that I've never used leaded solder (or paint, or gas 😛) so I don't know what I'm missing out on. Also why I lock my games at 30 fps
@@cseligplease tell me you’re joking about 30fps LOCK
@@TheWebgeckoI am not proud of it but it works
Pretty sure you can't buy it in the EU anymore if you're a hobbyist.
@@cselig What do you mean it works? That's the saddest thing I've ever heard
This was an unreasonably good video
Just like how you make unreasonably good apps!
this is one of the the most random underrated video I ever clicked on, ended up watching till the end and love it
Yay that's what I want to hear :D Thank ya
Excellent! The writing, concise AND detailed. the pace, the density of info, the well structured reasoning, the choices justified, the examples, the humor spicying up and giving "air" to keep the focus. I feel you've cared for our time: not slow-mo ranting or inteligence-insulting patronising advice. Sharing a very useful log of a complete experience. Inspiring. Thank you!
I made this face at my phone reading this comment: 🥹 thank you for such a thoroughly kind compliment ❤️
@@cselig 🙇♂
Woo, good to hear from you. I’m here because of your email. I went to add this to my watch list but I found it hard to stop to watch it later. In other news, I still dearly miss Apollo. Thanks again for everything.
Thanks my friend ❤ I miss Apollo too, kinda blew me away when I realized it had already been a year since it closed down. Pleasure for "everything" was genuinely mine
Holy shit, I didn't even realize you were the Apollo dev. You did such a great job with that app, and it's a damn shame what happened to it.
I don't miss Apollo because I keep using it. I miss the regular updates, though.
Wait you made the Apollo app?? Small world lmao
@@cseligI’m still using the Apollo app! Using a tweak called artemis
so many new hobbies unlocked with one video 😭
We are truly in the golden age of humanity for being able to pick up new hobbies hahah
@@cselig I pay $5 a month for Relay for Reddit. Why did you shut down Apollo instead of letting people pay for it?
There's a sticky in the Apollo subreddit where I go over frequently asked questions!
Great video Christian. I remember all the joy you provided with Apollo and now you’re back bringing joy, but in a different way. Love it.
I really like this. My new goal is for my profession just to be Joy Deliverer
@@cseligYou’re succeeding already!
“I know this looks scary but it’s not even programming.”
Proceeds to type things and do things that look like magic to a non-programmer like me
Hahah sorry. I promise that if I said down and made a video dedicated just to that part, you'd see that it's honestly not that hard, heck you can play with the website I mentioned in the video now to kinda see how what you type directly manipulates the keyboard. It's more like a text-based adventure game than traditional programming :p
@cselig not that hard to someone who understands numbers and stuff. Some of us have dyscalculia 🤷♀️
I will always miss Apollo - I've yet to find an app that feels as 'native' as it did. If there's one bright side to it being sunset, I'm glad you have the opportunity now to focus on other projects and create stuff like this! I saw in another comment you saying you like the idea of being a "joy deliverer" - I can certainly vouch for getting some joy out of this video! I guess I am just echoing other comments but seriously - great production value, great explanations of each process. When you're not too busy with Juno, I'd love to see more little project videos like this! :)
I really appreciate you taking the time to comment this, that’s a very nice comment :) I miss Apollo bunches, but I also feel very fortunate to have been able to work on such a cool and loved project for so long, so it’s hard to be down on the situation all things considered. And as you said, the bright side is that I get more time for little projects like this that have been a lot of fun to make. Thanks again :)
wow I totally didn't even look at the author of this video til I saw your comment. somehow you just made an amazing video even more awesome. christian, we all loved your app -- I hope you have some cool plans for new products in the future!
I just watched the entire video without knowing that you're the Apollo dev. Great video
Should I have mentioned that more? :p
same here
I clicked and subbed before I wanted because I recognized he was the Apollo dev.
I am slowly being lured into building my own keyboard by UA-cam.
Great video
Seriously, like ten years ago it felt like you needed a PhD in electrical engineering to do any of this stuff, now thanks to a bunch of neat software making it easy you can basically learn it in a weekend. DO IT
@@cselig 🥲 and i am wasting all money on building keyboards...
@@cselig My plan for the summer :)
Damn bro I hope UA-cam comes back to this. People showing things they genuinely care about and have passion for! great vid bro.
The reception to this video has been beyond my wildest dreams, genuinely! Thank you so much for the kind words :)
Gonna make a companion video, "I Built My Nightmare Keyboard From Absolute Scratch", where you painstakingly build a replica of a 2002 membrane keyboard aquired from a supermarket where there's Standby, Restart, Shutdown keys where the Prt Sc trio go, and Prt Sc etc and the home key cluster are shoved down touching the cursor keys
Hahah you joke but I’d honestly be curious if it’s even possible to build a membrane keyboard as a DIYer. Some (very few) of them are nicer to type on than they have any right to be
7 ak8?oo{oool8oo⁸88oooooo888ooo{22
@@BloodZangetsu well I can't argue with that
@@RoamingAdhocrat LMAO how did that even happen?
@@BloodZangetsu looks like a cat standing on a keyboard to me
0:55 Love that cat species, they don't climb on everything, they don't make sounds, and their food is also a lot cheaper :p
Just gotta watch your fingers :p
@@cselig hahah tell me about it, I had 4 of those XD
@@JustVoylinfour fingers?
So glad to see Ergogen being useful! Congratz on the awesome build! 👏Also, this vid is insane production quality, and is kind of the missing tutorial to the program that I still haven't made... Cheers!
oh, you made Ergogen? it looks incredibly powerful!
Thank you so so much!!
I built my own 34 key layout a couple years back that I still use every day, and did it using your software. Thank you so much for making it
@@talbotsolenberger4434 You're very welcome! :) Also, holy shit, this video took off since I last checked on it - and deservedly so, too!
I have been looking for ages for a budget friendly keyboard that matches all my special tastes and requirements, and I don't know why it never occured to me to design my own pcb and 3d print my own case for it. You have enspired me for my next project. Amazing video, and thank you! (I don't think I'd enjoy a split/ortholinear layout, but I do have to admit it looks incredibly slick).
That's the beauty of custom keyboards, you can build whatever your heart desires and it's so satisfying! Good luck with it, you totally should :)
Such a good vibe on this video: learning, chilling, building.
That's honestly the best compliment I could get haha
I would love a long form Ergogen video! I'm also working on building my first ever keyboard from scratch, and I'm incredibly interested in moving the controller under the board, as well. A handful of the items you've done here are in line with what I'm trying to trouble shoot, but am having a hard time finding resources on how to accomplish. Thank you so much!
Ive watched a lot of these beginner videos for soldering, but honestly you do an amazing job comforting the viewers insecurities. That's what's missing a lot and you're doing an amazing job!
Oh geez thanks, that means a lot! Soldering genuinely scared the crap out of me when I was starting out, so I really wanted to try to convey that it's not that bad at all haha
I am very high rn, it's 3 am, and this video has fascinated me.
it has quite literally forced me to learn and i just kept being mind blown,by how because of how well you explained stuff, i just couldn't help but understand all of it extremely easily, even while distracted sometimes, id still get all of it with enough confidence to go and try it myself, and this comes from someone with absolutely 0 experience and frankly interest.
I mean all of this in the absolute best way possible
if you managed to captivate someone with 0 interest and making them learn something, i cant even imagine what you do for ones who are interested and even searching for help.
You're doing an amazing job, in my opinion it is certainly something to be very proud of, hell i dont even know you and im proud of you!
keep up the awsome work man, props to you 😌
Wow I’ve read and responded to a lot of comments on this video but this one might take the cake. Thank you so much for such an amazingly kind comment, I’m gonna print this one out and put it up on the wall haha. Seriously, this is my first video I put a bunch of work into so this means the world. Thanks for making someone’s day you are an awesome person :)
Are you from canada? “Its not accualy that haeeared” 0:36
This actually made me laugh out loud hahah, yeah you got me there :p
Hey mate, also here because of the e-mail. Really miss Apollo, I've actually stopped using Reddit because of it. Subbed immediately, because I'm also a keyboard nerd :D
Me too and my life has improved as a result
Between Apollo and keyboard nerdery you sound like you have excellent tastes, thanks for watching my friend :D
This is the exact video ive been looking for. For the past 2 years at my job ive wanted a regular qwerty keyboard with the numpad mirrored, on the left side, and with the num lock button replaced with the ' button for my work in autocad. im definitely gonna give this a shot
Lemme know how it goes! That’s a cool keyboard and totally possible :)
I wanted a dactyl manuform keyboard for the longest time. I started by researching about making one or where to get one. Making one seemed wayyy too daunting from the only video i could find on it at the time, so I bought one. It ended up never arriving and I never got a refund. After a couple years, I found this video which kinda inspired me to try to make it by myself now !! the explanations are super easy to understand thank you !
A well-shot, concise, funny, and engaging 21-minute long video about something I only have a passing interest in and experience with? Sign me the hell up!
I'll try to keep that pattern going! 😛
Goddamn this video was 21 minutes long? Didn’t even realise until your comment
This video had no business being this good.
I like building my keyboards but this, this is on a whole nother level.
Keep up the great work man, awesome video!
Thanks my friend :) if you like building keyboards this is an awesome next step to take that I think you’d have a ton of fun with. And I shall try!
This video is one of the best things I've seen on UA-cam. I am not the kind of guy to subscribe to a channel after watching just one video by it, but my man you fucking earned it. Please keep this kind of content coming.
That really, truly means a lot. I have some ideas for some more videos and I hope you like them just as much! I think they're the same kind of DIY style idea and I'll continue to put a bunch of effort into them!
This is fantastic! I used your video and files as a base for a similar keyboard, but with four rows instead of five. I started from absolute scratch, no soldering skills, etc. I'm impressed at how concise, and complete your video and other files are. Thank you so much.
This video is extremely well done! Congrats, man!
this is an awesome project and as a keyboard enthusiast i'm almost tempted to make it myself. thanks for sharing everything for free!
You totally should! It’s a lot of fun and very rewarding :)
20:53 I'm sorry, did you tie half of your keyboard to a drone and fly it 100+ feet in the air???
Had to perform a flight test, and thankfully it did well
2:39 OMG OMG I HAD FLASHBACKS
Hahaha he transcends time!
@@cseligbill wurtz reference, right?
Great to see you’re doing well Christian! Reddit did you dirty, but they really just lost a passionate third party developer and freed you up for other projects. Happy to reconnect with you through the Algorithm (praise be)
Never thought of making a custom keyboard this was a really cool project. Definitely on my radar now. Thanks for sharing!
Yay, my pleasure. I hope you’re able to create something really cool :)
Dude, FINALLY I do not get the obsession with SEEING the controller at all! Like is this to keep a diy aesthetic or something?
I already think it's wack enough that no one seems to ever remove the chips from their development boards
I think it’s a few things. On some boards it looks pretty cool, almost like an early Iron Man suit or something, but yeah I prefer the more minimal look personally. It’s also a fair bit harder to hide the controller so if your main goal is just to get something cool working it’s a bunch easier to not have to hide it
The white moonlander from ZSA I feel like almost fits the bill, but not quite. I'm quite happy with mine though! Awesome video 🔥
Love the Moonlander, not the biggest fan of MX keycaps/switches just because they make the board so tall, so the ZSA Voyager really tempted me when it came out, but once you go wireless it's really hard to go back to having wires everywhere haha
2:43 please dont sue me bill wurtz 😭
This project is so perfect for someone who want to get started with PCB design, small electronics project like me. Thank you for sharing
That’s one of my favorite parts of it for sure. Great exposure to soldering, PCBs, even the tiniest bit of programming. My pleasure :)
A fellow colemak user! Loved the video.
I got a split spacebar keyboard 2 years ago and I have started using the second layer a lot more. Right space is just space but left space is layer2, only while I hold it down. When I release, it switches back to layer1. I have UNIE mapped to arrow keys, S is backspace. T is delete. H is home, O is end. These are the secondary keys I use most and I have small hands, so not having to move from the home row for these keys is such a quality of life improvment for me. My volume keys are since I rarely use them while typing text. I would encourage you to try more second layer shortcuts as well. I have the regular arrow keys as well so that I can one hand scroll with the arrow keys when needed but I almost never use the actual space bar, delete, home, and end buttons.
I still don't get the chess thing. It doesn't let you know that multiple keys are pressed properly -- say you have two keys pressed, located at 1,1 and 2,2. That has columns 1 and 2 active, and rows 1 and 2 active. But this is the same result as pressing the keys 1,2 and 2,1! So idk how this can work.
Great question! That part in the video was slightly simplified to better explain the concept at a high level. The behind the scenes, slightly more technical implementation for the controller is one where it performs a scanning step (that occurs many times per second) for each row and column by setting voltages, and is able to determine individual key press states. Combined with diodes, this allows multiple keys to be pressed at once without the controller ever getting "confused". It's a bit hard to explain in a UA-cam comment, but I'd encourage you to check out some articles on the key grid voltages for a slightly more in depth look, it's pretty interesting. Hope that makes some sense?
Apollo gang rise up, missed you Christian, really do, hope you're doing well!
Genuinely miss you folks too
2:00 playdate spotted 👀👀👀
This came out awesome. My favorite part was the final assembly; there isn't anything quite like the the sense of accomplishment that comes from watching the last few screws smoothly thread into something you designed yourself. Well played sir, I hope to make something nearly as clean as this someday.
Yes!! It's so satisfying once you finally get to put everything together, it's like taking a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven and getting to finally eat it haha. And I believe in you, you can totally do it!
this made me feel so inspired. i was one of those people who thought they couldn't do math, and now when i'm not working my corporate job i'm building keyboards and learning how to code for fun. thank you so much for making this info feel so accessible
I just get upset whenever I see a keyboard with no numpad.
Haha, the reason a lot of folks don't is that the wider your keyboard is the further it pushes your mouse away which is less comfortable/ergonomic on your shoulders. But with keyboards like this you can simply add a numpad on a different layer, so that you can tap a key then the numpad is basically active on the right half of the keyboard for instance, kinda like how caps lock works as a "mode"
Mac user immediate dislike
Sorry to hear that's a big deal for you :(
Not only is this video super well done, but I've been looking to make my own keyboard for a few months and you sir have checked every box I was looking for but couldn't find anywhere else. Looking forward to making one of these myself. Thanks so much for sharing this with the community!
This video is incredible: so much detail, super easy to digest, great explanation of not only what you did but the motivation and "why" behind every piece. Fantastic work Christian.
I'd love to learn more about your software setup on your machine: do you avoid using a mouse & lean on keyboard/software tricks for navigating around? What's your window management look like? What keeps you productive on the split keyboard? Could be a good topic for a future video!
Oh geez what a thoroughly kind comment, this genuinely was very nice to read :) I do exactly as you said haha, I try to use my keyboard for app navigation and window management (plus text editing) as much as possible. A video or at least a blog write up sometime would be fun
#1 issue to getting rid of wrist pain, and carpal tunnel, is to not prop the keyboards up in the back - leave them flat. Had issues in my 20's because of that (I'm 51 now) and that one change not only made a huge difference but has been used for every keyboard I've ever used since. Love that sound BTW.
Totally agreed, that’s been my experience too! Not sure why so many keyboards do that, it’s like the opposite of long term comfort
wow, I don't know 90% of the words used in this video, but you have such a calm voice and such a communicative way that it captured me in the video in a surreal way. keep it up.
Oh geez, that is such a nice thing to say and makes me so happy to hear :D :D :D Thank you my friend
Hands down one of the best video/guides about building your own keyboard. Congrats, keep the good work up
That's very kind of you to say, thank you so much! I shall try my hardest!
Hey, I ended up making a keyboard of my own using Ergogen thanks to your amazing video. It was so helpful in helping me understand how Ergogen syntax works, and the video has incredible quality to it. Bravo!
@@lukashibchen6866 Oh my gosh, that means so much to hear! I hope you and your new keyboard have many happy typing sessions together :)
loved it! I've been procrastinating on making my own keyboard for a long time and your video might finally make me go for it! I love the way you are catering to people with basically no electronics experience to pretty decent level with your explanation. Great job end to end!!
Yay, thank you! I’m glad I hit that balance haha, I wanted to try to make it a good resource for anyone interested in trying this out :)
Excellently done video. The way you laid everything out, the way you broke it down into simple pieces, and the visual demos to go along with each step, were all superb. And the finished product looks Beautiful too. When i was finished I thought this video would have at least 100k views it deserves so much more love and attention!
That’s such a kind comment, thank you! Especially about the visual demos, those were tricky to learn and a fair bit of work but I’m really happy with how they came out!
It 100% shows! I'm definitely interested to see what you make next :D
I was wondering about creating my own keyboard from scratch, your video just encouraged me finalize my project! Seems so much more feasible after this!
@@danielea.3740 That makes me so happy to hear 🥹 Good luck with the project and let me know how it goes!
Long time Apollo user and new subscriber here, glad to see just as much attention to detail in your UA-cam videos as in your apps. Awesome stuff, keep it up!
Hahah, I love when people notice the little details what can I say :p Thanks my friend
I definitely would love to see an in depth video of Ergogen. I have watched several videos that talk about it but I like the way you explain things. Neat board you built! I might have to grab one.
I just got you in my recs and I instantly subscribed. I then discovered that not only can you make killer apps and keyboards, but your videos are impeccably edited and timed. Save some talent for the rest of us!
That really means a lot, as I had no idea how this video would be received and video editing is something I'm still super new to haha. But it's a lot of fun! You sound like an awesome person!
@@cselig i agree with him bro
amazing video man! usually I don't understand technical stuff but how your explained things made it a lot simpler and easy to understand. hope more people find your channel soon!
Oh wow thanks, that's honestly the perfect compliment. I really love the idea of making unknown subjects easier to understand :D
This vid is awesome, Ive seen some colleagues with custom keyboards like these and i didnt have the faintest idea of how they even did it. this vid really inspires me thank you
Yay, that's really awesome to hear! The easier route (and what your colleagues may have done) is just ordering an off the shelf split keyboard that's already assembled, like a Corne, Lily58, Dygma, etc. or maybe even a kit to make assembly themselves a bit easier. You really only have to go down the route in this video if none of the existing split keyboards out there quite do it for you, which was my case haha
I am currently thinking about building my own keyboard. Was looking for kits left and right. Now I'm here and thinking to myself... "I don't need no kit! I can make my own PCB, 3D-printed case!"
You explained everything so well, I'm impressed. Thank you.
Wow, you're such a big fan of the ✨ emoji that you gave it its own key! That's dedication!
In all seriousness, most of your desired requirements sound absolutely awful to me, but I've been interested in a custom keyboard for years. I'm pretty impressed with the amount of work you put into this describer.
I definitely think that where you say "you don't need to be a programmer for this", that's a real blind spot that you have from being a programmer. Even as a programmer myself, I suspect that would be an absolutely daunting process for someone who isn't a programmer.
I kinda love the idea of an emoji specific hardware keyboard actually hahah. And for requirements that’s totally fair, the best part about being able to do this is you can do it however the heck you want, so your dream keyboard can deviate immensely! For the programmer part, I’ll push back a smidge there actually. Is it easy? No but it’s basically just a config file, you’re not doing complex logic or anything. I think with a separate video just on those slightly more technical sections I could definitely make it clear to just about anyone, it’s just a bit harder in a high level overview video haha
Really like that look of this. I just might have to use your files and make my own version. I really appreciate uploading everything. A case study is my preferred way to learn something new.
Thanks so much, and the pleasure is all mine! I hope you do make it and it serves you well!
This was such a good video :D I am a casual enjoyer of keyboard content & do not usually enjoy the software side of it (usually I'm into the physical building process) but your explanations really simplified it and made it entertaining to me. Hoping to see more videos like this from you, express your array of talents king!! You got my sub :P
That's really awesome to hear, was hoping to create kind of a holistic video showing the whole process so glad the software part was good too :) I'll definitely keep making some videos, and very much appreciate the sub :D
First video of your's I ever saw, you've inspired me to make my own keyboard like that :D
The video editing and the little jokes are absolutely amazing, I myself am soon planning on getting a corne keyboard, very excited.
I've already spent like several hours making the perfect homerow oriented layout [btw, you can fit everything with just 2 layers, base and extra, but i used 3 so that it's more intiutive and homerow is used more.]
Thank you so much for this video! I've been wanting to make my own keyboard for a very long time and had no idea where to even begin. Been a huge fan of yours since Apollo and am so grateful that you'd be the one to help me with a project like this. Can't wait to get started once I have the money again to do so. Thanks for the video and everything else over the years. Can't wait to see what the future holds in store next from ya!
This is such a nice comment!! The pleasure is genuinely all mine, and I wish you the best in your building process/journey :)
I wish I had the time to wrap my head around whats needed to do things like this. I have an idea for a mouse that you can adjust its orientation quickly depending what side of a table top screen you are working from but have no idea where to start other than a totally mechanical solution. but to know there are such resources out there just for keyboards is encouraging.
Ooo interesting, yeah I don't know too much about the mouse side of this hobby but it wouldn't surprise me if there's something out there. A lot of folks take apart an existing mouse and use its internals as the basis for theirs, then 3D print a new case around it or something. Optimum did a neat video on it
Sub count is obviously no measure of content quality, but this legit feels like content from a channel with millions of subscribers. Fantastic
That is seriously so nice of you to say haha. Maybe one day!!
Well, you didn't make it look easy. But you did break it down and make it look doable. Great job, man.
Thank you for making a video about building a custom keyboard, for people who aren't massively down the mechanical keyboard rabbithole.
The pleasure is all mine! Totally agreed that the hobby can feel like a bit of an intimidating rabbit hole for folks new to the hobby, was hoping this video could kinda serve as a one stop shop to cover a bunch of the subjects so folks could see it's actually not that bad and know where to start from :)
Such a under rated UA-camr I like how he doesn’t scream into the mic
I've been thinking of making my own keyboard for a while as I want a very specific set of keys in something that isn't much larger than a 60% keyboard. This video helps SIGNIFICANTLY with making something that originally looked extremely complicated a lot easier!
YAY, that's the goal :D You should totally tackle that, sounds like a good project and only having one half would make it even easier to tackle than the keyboard in this video! Nothing beats typing on something you yourself made :p
What an amazing work you've done!
I'd like to repeat this experience, but I never don't these kind of things before, and I don't thing I have time for this. But you've explained all steps so clear that I think it is possible for me now)
Thank you!
Especially for making this video, with all these explanations.
Even if you've never done it before it's honestly a great first project, I think you'd have a lot of fun with it if you give yourself time and patience, it's a really handy skill to have under your belt :D I wish you luck and the pleasure is genuinely all mine :D
16:05 ya, you've definitely earned it, i subbed. You are super underrated you need to be mainstream. Keep at it man
That's incredibly kind of you to say haha, thank you my friend, I'll keep at it!
All this amazing work for free!? You are the GOAT! I've always thought about doing this but didn't know where to start, thank you for the amazing video!
Yay, thank you so much! Answering the question of how to even begin tackling such a thing was exactly the goal of this video :D
I already love your channel. (also.. you have every thumbs up from your editing, your voice, your audio quality, explanations etc)you earned it. i subscribe
:O Oh geez that's so kind haha, thank you! I've never really liked my voice so that means a lot to hear
This is literally the video I've been waiting for for the past 4 years now. I'm not big into what's available but wanted so badly to make my own keyboard. Thank you for this !!!
Board looking really solid dude - I just went through this exact same process, ergogen (and the associated tools for mapping to kicad) was extremely helpful. I loved my 3x6 corne but wanted something with more stagger and conjoined.
Literally just finished printing off the case and flashing firmware.
Always a pleasure to meet another Ergogen user :p But yeah agreed, we live in the golden age of being able to build custom keyboards. Congrats on finishing the keyboard and I hope you love it!
Awesome video. I've always wanted to create a custom split keyboard, quite similar to this one. Love having the whole process laid out like this.
Glad you liked it, and you should totally try it out, it’s a lot of fun
i am so glad i came across your channel through recommended. apollo was a godsend, and i knew you'd continue making insanely quality products. you've got me thinking about building my own custom keyboard now! it seems like a good project to learn how to solder. also, you just had to flex the 160wpm! haha
instant subscribe, hope to see more awesome projects!
Oh geez, you're a very nice person :D So glad you liked the video (and Apollo), I'll try to keep making fun stuff for ya, and you should definitely take a swing at the keyboard!
First video of yours I've seen and I'm looking forward to more. I'm a big believer that interested people are interesting and you are proof of that. Excellent video quality, excited to see what else you have in store!
I love "Interested people are interesting", that puts into nice words something I've thought for awhile, so thank you for that and for the kind words!
Thank you for linking to everything/making it available, and the thorough explanation. I would love to try doing this sometime soon - I didn’t realize making your own keyboard was an option but it makes total sense that it would be😂
Right?? I suppose it's always been "possible", but it's really only the last few years that a bunch of tools have popped up that make it a fair bit easier for us normal people. (And my pleasure!)
I'm never doing any of this, but you're the goat for putting this all up for everyone else to use. Awesome video, you earned the subscribe!
Thanks so much my friend, I love goats
Holy moly, only when i checked through your other videos that I realized you’re Christian from Apollo. I miss your app so much, browsing reddit has never been the same.
Glad you’re doing well, and will look forward to more of your videos
Thanks my friend, always a treat talking to someone who enjoyed Apollo :D Appreciate the kindness
I don't normally comment on videos, just lurk from afar, but this was so well done I had to say great job! Your vibe was super calm and fun to watch, and I thought you explained everything extremely clearly and concisely. Again, great job, and please keep it up! P.S. So cool that you released all your files for free
You know, you always hear rough things about the UA-cam comment section but dang if comments like these don't make my whole year, thank you so much! I was genuinely so unsure uploading it if it was any good so I'm so stoked you like it. And I hope you enjoy the files!
Really awesome! I do hate how much we are stuck with outdated keyboard designs based on decisions for typewriters.
Same my friend, makes me wonder how many other aspects of our lives are similarly affected
@@cselig It's a lot... From our electrical grid to our telecommunications and of course many outdated laws hahaha. Great work.
honestly a great, well rounded and yet not bloated video with all the necessary information, love it! thank you so much!
Yayyy! I was trying to balance those so glad it worked out! Thank YOU!
Familiar w your work from apollo, a minute into this video and I am so impressed w your editing. No wonder this got picked up by the algo, amazing edit + writing !
Oh geez, thank you so much for saying that haha, this is my first video in ages and I'm beyond stoked that it was at least okay let alone people seem to like it haha
bloody amazing. Love it. Just saw a college kid build an aluminum keyboard from scratch the other day- a bit more complex given the components, but equally amazing. Love it man!
Thanks my friend, I'd love to do an aluminum case sometime, I think I'd probably request help from a machining shop though haha
Your production quality is top notch, I'm a huge fan of your work on Apollo!
Thank you so much! It truly means the world to have people appreciate the stuff you create, and you like two of mine! :D
Great job explaining everything. I just subscribed. This was the most detailed video I have seen yet. All of the tips and tricks were great, too!
Very entertaining video. Good mix of the hard subjects and still a good story. Hardest part of being an engineer and tinker is being able to not bore my friends about things like this.
Hahah right? I've definitely bored a fair few people, but at least with making videos you can watch it back and re-edit parts that feel really boring/long and try again :p
That video is the best simplest step by step walkthrough of creating a keyboard I've seen! I love it! Will refer to it in the future!
That genuinely means the world to hear 🥹 Thank you!!