Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
We confirmed today that the Planck Light PCB's were not flashed properly at the manufacturer and they are arriving without the bootloader. This means your keyboard will arrive functional and usable, but without reprogramability.
Right now we are working with Jack to restore the reprogramability that was designed to be there. At the moment we are looking to fix this by creating a module that will allow you to flash the PCB using the In-System Programming which should be the fastest and simplest method.
That said, we will need some time to create and test that module. We are evaluating timelines with our manufacturer now and will reach out to everyone with any updates and an expected ship date as soon as we have more information.
My apologies for this issue and we are working to get everything taken care of as quickly as possible.
We'll be making a device that we'll send to everyone so they can use it and load the bootloader onto the PCB. This will return the proper functionality to the Planck Light keyboard including the ability to reprogram it.
@jeffeb3 we are working with Jack on instructions and will post them for those that already can ISP flash.
If you have the QMK repo downloaded, you can find the at90usb1286's bootloader hex in the util directory. If not, you can find it on github.
As for the pin config, I'm not really sure.
What I did personally is use a header and a few of these jumpers: https://www.adafruit.com/product/266 connected to the appropriate pinouts on a teensy that I own with the teensyduino AVR ISP firmware flashed. I then hold the header to the board by hand to flash as the flashing process is over is <20 sec or so
Thanks,
-=Marc=-
Software: 1) AVRDUDESS 2) USBasp drivers 3) qmk bootloader hex file
/u/hyliansavior has a good thread on Reddit with more detail.