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
It's my understanding that you need
- Case (60% or Full)
- PCB
- Plate (optional - by build)
- Switches (and related stabilizers)
- Keycaps
Is this accurate? Individually, these sets and pieces can be expensive. More expensive than a pre-assembled board.Is it possible/ recommended to buy a pre-assembled board and modify it with different switches to save money?
Backstory:
That said, I saw that the mass drop community had an interest in the Gateron Switches so I committed blindly. I did some research and committed to the plate mount switches, as it seems like they are a good starting point for people who are new to the game and don't want to run the risk of breaking solder joints and their pcb.
I've looked into a couple of how-to's and generally understand the process, but was concerned with the price.