Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
Is this actually a major problem when looking at GMK caps and MX switches with north facing LED? Is there any way Massdrop could consider swapping these to south facing LED if ti is a problem? Or is that a matter of just making compatibility with shine through caps + thin wall caps? As a south facing LED woudln't work well with the included PBT caps.
Are there any switches that don't have this interference issue with GMK caps and North facing LED? I'm not tied to MX switches, so I'm open to looking at other switch options.
Maybe I can go on /r/mechmarket and look for some left over GMK caps and do some testing on my own. Put some paint on the switch top, bottom out the cap and see if there are paint marks inside the keycap. I can then take one keycap and use a fine dremel to actually see how much is hitting by removing material.
I guess the bottom line for me, I'm more of a clicky switch person anyway. So having the keycaps bottom out a fraction of a millimeter less and have maybe a bit more plastic on plastic clack is not going to be noticed compared to someone who's trying to make an ultra-silent linear or tactile switch keyboard. So I can see the concern some people have and the lengths they go to make their keyboards near silent.
I am the same way I am not a clicky person but I do enjoy the more muted sound cap's and switches can make. At the moment I am typing on a set of Cherry MX clear's with XDA God Speed Caps. I really enjoy the sound they make, Its not very loud but its just kinda reminds me of rain on a roof are window. Sorta muted soothing calming. Sounds strange I know.
As the Alt uses SMD LEDs, it should be a non-issue.