Building My Endgame Keyboard from Scratch

This is my new keyboard It’s called Totem, and it was designed by GeistGeist. It’s a 38 key split hot swap low profile keyboard that’s based completely on open hardware and open source software and I basically downloaded it from Github Confused? Well, in this video, I’m gonna tell you how I did it, why I did it, what are the things I’ve learned, and how you can build one just like that. But why? So the keen eyed among you might have noticed that this keyboard… is kinda weird looking. Normally, keyboards come in one piece, and have straight row of keys that are staggered verically, so that you can type on them by angling your wrists. However, there are people out there who think that this is not the most ergonomical way to input text. And this is how we come to split keyboards. Split keyboards are split in two halves, which you can rotate and position in any way that you want. Making them a lot more comfortable and healthy to type on. At least in theory. Now, split keyboards are a niche within a niche. But even inside that niche, there are a lot of keyboards you can buy completely pre-built. Like the ZSA Voyager, Moonlander, Ergodox, Dygma Defy or even the keebio Iris So why did I decide to build my own keyboard from scratch? Well, mostly it’s because I’m a cheap bastard. The ZSA Voyager for example, costs $365 before tax, which would make it around 450€ if you’re buying it in the EU. And even if you go for a more DIY pre-built keyboard with a 3D printed or acrylic case, you’re still looking at around $250 to $300 for the entire build after tax. Now there are cheaper pre-built split keyboards out there, but none that would satisfy my particular needs. Which are: Low profile switches Wireless connectivity Optional support for tenting and less than 50 keys. And this is where the custom keyboard community shines. Because there are hundreds of keyboard designs out there based on custom made PCBs by the people in the community. And since those designs are completely open source, You can quite literally download a keyboard from GitHub. Which is exactly what I did with Totem. GeistGeist provides files for the PCBs and the case, and also has a very nice build guide which you can find on his Github. But here’s the problem. I don’t exactly have a PCB manufacturing plant at home. So what do I even do with those files? Well, thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can simply use the services of a PCB manufacturer to upload your PCB files and have them manufactured and shipped to you within like a week. I used JLCPCB, they’re not sponsoring this video or anything, and this is what the end product looks like! Pretty neat. I also had JLCPCB print the cases and the keycaps for me. Instead of the stock bottom plate models provided by GeistGeist, I’m using a tenting version designed by Bert Plassschärt. (I probably butchered that) These bottom plates have indentations in them Which you can use to mount those small adhesive kickstands from Aliexpress. The keycaps that I’m using are called KLP Lamé by braindefender, and these were also quite literally downloaded from GitHub. The keycaps are sculpted, unlike most low profile keycaps which are flat, and that’s actually why I chose them. I hate flat keycap profiles. The case parts and keycaps are printed using resin, so they don’t have that 3D printed look to them, and are a bit softer to the touch. However, they’re also pretty fragile, and as you can see here, the keycaps already have lots of scratches, even though I’ve only used the keyboard for about a month. Now for the microcontrollers. And the controller that the Totem is based on is called Seeed Xiao. Xiao is a bit of a new kid on the block since most custom keyboards are based on controllers like Pro Micro, Arduino Nano or nice! nano. Seed Xiao controllers are cheaper, and should have a longer battery life in theory. Moreover, you can actually prolong the battery life even more by building a keyboard dongle using a third Xiao, and using that instead of Bluetooth. For the switches, I went with Choc Ambient Twilight. These are 35 gram silent linear switches, and the reason I chose them is because, well, the Choc Ambient switches are pretty much the only “silent” Kailh switches. I work at an office and have no intention of being that guy. The good thing about Totem is that the switches are hot swap, so if I decide that I don’t like these switches in the future, I can always swap them for some other ones, without soldering So with the controller, the switches, the keycaps and the PCB taken care of, this pretty much leaves the small parts. Yes, the PCB comes entirely unpopulated, so you have to solder the tiny diodes, power switches, the hot swap sockets, and even the batteries, all by yourself. But you know what you don’t have to do all by yourself? Learn math, computer science and data analysis

Because that’s where you can get help from today’s sponsor Brilliant. org. Brilliant is an online platform where you learn by doing. It’s designed to be uniquely effective, and is based on real life examples and hands-on problem solving. a method that’s been proven to be up to 6 times more effective than watching lecture videos. Instead of focusing on memorizing, Brilliant’s lessons feature simple and engaging practical examples, which helps you develop your critical thinking skills and become a better learner. And Brilliant also works great on your phone! So you can do lessons anywhere and anytime, instead of mindlessly scrolling on [insert social media of your choice] For instance, in the course Case Study: Going Viral on X, you can learn more about how social media algorithms work, and see if a false tweet will spread faster than a true one. So go ahead and try Brilliant today! You can access to the full library of content for 30 days, free of charge, by visiting brilliant. org/wolfgang And as my viewer, you also get a lifetime 20% off Brilliant Premium. So thank you Brilliant for sponsoring today’s video, and now, let’s build our keyboard! Now I am very bad at soldering, so don’t take anything shown in this video as a guide on how to solder, but hey, that just goes to say that If I can do it? You can probably do it too. My recommendations as someone who has no idea about soldering are use flux, even if your solder already has a flux core. clean your tip with a copper brush, and make sure your soldering iron is hot enough. I used 360 to 380 degrees, and I’m happy to report that all of the components have survived. And after hours of grueling work… Tada! Both halves are completely assembled and working. Now the tolerances on the keyboard are very tight, and if you used a bit too much solder on the hot swap sockets in some places, like me, or maybe if your microcontroller ended up being a zero point two millimeters off, you might end up with these kinds of gaps between the two halves. Now I don’t own a Tesla, but if you do — you’ll probably feel right at home with this keyboard. the last thing that I had to do was to install the tenting stands, and that was pretty easy. and with that done, our keyboard is complete. And it looks gorgeous, in my opinion. But then again, I’m biased, since I’m the one who built it. Now as I mentioned previously, the resin parts printed by JLCPCB are actually pretty fragile, and already started showing signs of wear and tear pretty much from day one. Here you can see a spot where I tried to clean it using isopropyl alcohol, and I haven’t been able to get rid of it ever since. still, I think it’s a very well designed keyboard. So, how does it feel to type on? well, the regular English letters were no problem at all. After a day of practice, I was able to type at 100 words per minute, which is actually slightly faster than my previous keyboard. But what about other keys? What about things like symbols, numbers, control, alt, delete? Well, because we only have 38 keys to work with, we pretty much have to rely on additional layers for extra keys. For instance, I have a numpad, which I can access by activating a second layer, and I also have things like arrow buttons and brackets on the same layer as well. My third layer contains more symbols, as well as controls for volume, brightness and media buttons. My base layer has a spacebar just below the thumb, and a shift button below the other thumnb. However, that still leaves us with modifier buttons, like control and command, as well as an enter button. The default layer provided by GeistGeist puts enter under the right thumb, but I personally found it way too easy to confuse space and enter, since they’re both under the thumbs. So instead, my enter key is a combo key. If I press j, k and l at the same time within 60 miliseconds, I get enter. It’s very intuitive, since my fingers are already on the home row most of the time, and I get pretty much zero accidental presses. I also have similar combos for the hyphen, tilde, as well as tab. As for the modifier keys, my Command key is on the thumb cluster And it also doubles as a backspace key when pressed once. The same key on the right half acts as an option key, so that I can type German specific letters, and when pressed once, it acts as a delete keys. Finally, this key on the left acts as a Control key when held, and Escape when pressed. All in all, this layout took a few iteration to get to where it’s at. The stock layout features the so called home row mods. That’s when the letter keys in the home row act as regular keys when pressed, and modifier keys, like control command or shift, when held down. Even though I like the idea of home row mods, In my case they just resulted in way too many accidental keypresses. at the same time, this keyboard has 38 keys, unlike some other popular designs which come with 36 and even 34 keys

so we do have a few extra keys to spare for modifiers All in all, even after the customizations, this layout definitely took some getting used to. As I already mentioned, I was able to get up to speed pretty quickly, when it comes to letters, but numbers, symbols and brackets… that’s something that I’m still getting used to a month after switching to the keyboard. But the progress is there. And by the way, I used an amazing tool called Keymap Editor by Nick Coutsos, and it made customizing my layout very easy. So what about the typing comfort? Well, since it’s a split keyboard, I can position the two keyboard halves in any way that I want. and that makes it very easy to change up the position of my hands throughout the day. the overall splay of the keys is pretty aggressive, but I found that when tented, it’s actually pretty comfortable to type on. When it comes to tenting, the tenting stands have three height settings. But unfortunately, I’ve found that the keyboard is only stable on the lowest height. Which is a shame, becauseI kind of like the highest setting, it’s kind of like using a vertical mouse, but as you can see, it just makes the keyboard wobble and shake when pressing some keys. And when it comes to the sound? Well, I’ll let you be the judge. Personally, I find the sound of the switches to be a bit too dry and scratchy. Now sure, they’re low profile switches, and you don’t buy a low profile keyboard if you care about what it sounds like. You won’t get the same smooth, creamy and “thocky” sound as the Cherry switches. but to me, it’s quiet enough to where I don’t really care all that much. I might lube the switches in the future to get rid of the scratchiness, But for now, I’m perfectly happy with the sound. The battery life has been pretty good as well I usually charge the keyboard once a week, but according to some sources online, it should last up to 10 days. So now we get to the cost, and I’m happy to report that building this thing actually won’t break the bank. Now the catch here is that when building a custom keyboard from scratch, you can save quite a lot of cash when buying parts for multiple keyboards. When it comes to the PCBs for instance, the minimum order quantity is 5. and some other parts are dirt cheap, but come with a hefty shipping fee. And obviously, if you don’t have a soldering iron with a small tip, and some solder, flux and tip cleaner, you’re gonna have to invest into those as well. And depending on how often you need to solder stuff, you might be buying them for just this one job. So long story short, I’ve built two keyboards, one for myself, and one for a colleague of mine, and the price per keyboard came to around 140€. That’s for an entire keyboard, including the switches and the keycaps. Now there are actually online shops that sell fully built Totems, so we can compare the prices. keeb. supply sells a wired Totem kit for 98€, and if we add the switches and the keycaps as well, we get to 154€ per keyboard. Keep in mind that this is a wired version, and getting a wireless one will probably be a bit more expensive. That being said, for 154€ you get a kit, which you will still need to assemble yourself. If you want a pre-asembled keyboard, this will set you back 229€. This seller ot Etsy sells pretty much a carbon copy of my 140€ build for more than twice the price 290€ after tax. So yes, building your keyboard yourself is definitely worth it might seem challenging, but honestly, even a complete amateur like me can do it. And if you mess up, you’ll still have extra PCBs to play around with. So, is this going to become my new daily driver? Yes. In fact, it already has. I’ve been using this keyboard at home and at work for about a month now, And apart from my colleagues now being convinced that I’m a lunatic, It’s been a great exprience. We’ll see how this keyboard does in the long term but for now, that’s gonna be it for this video, and as usual, I would like to thank my patrons