I’m pretty far from what you would call tech-savvy, but when my brother offered to build me a custom mini keyboard, I was very intrigued. This is one of his new hobbies, and it was neat to be able to see his process. I had no idea how simple / complex keyboards were, so I have a new level of appreciation for them.
- QAZ Printed Circuit Board
- Programmable Microprocessor and diodes
- Plastic Mounting Board
- Soldering Kit
- 34 Keyboard Switches (I chose Kailh Speed Silver Light Pipe Switches)
- 34 Keycaps (29 x 1 unit; 2 x 1.25 unit; 1 x 1.50 unit; 1 x 1.75 unit; 1 x 6.25 unit)
Demonstration by My Brother
Before my arrival, my brother had already prepped the circuit board, microprocessor, mount, and whatever else a keyboard needs to function. As a result, my first task was to pick the kind of switches that I wanted. I have never really used a mechanical keyboard before, so my brother gave me a few switches to tap until I found one that I liked. It turns out that I like linear switches, which have a smoother touch than tactile switches. After I made my choice, my brother began to solder all of the switches to the circuit board. Apparently with some circuit boards, you can also set up your switches so that you can ’hot swap’ them, but that wasn’t possible with this one.
My brother actually let me solder a few of the switches by myself, but his overall comment was that I am too scared of the iron, and therefore too cautious. This is an absolutely valid criticism, as I was definitely feeling very nervous about the whole situation. In the end, he took pity on me and finished soldering the rest of the switches for me, which was very appreciated.
The second step was to pick out my keycaps. My brother found these pink and white cat themed keycaps from an anime (Chi’s Sweet Home) and we split them between our two keyboards. He took the letters, and I took the cats! There’s something to be said about creating a keyboard that no one else will be able to use, and it makes me laugh.
After that, the only job left was to learn the new layout. To summarize, the letter keys are in the correct spots, but other keys like numbers or punctuation are hidden in different layers. Some of them can be accessed with two key combinations, and others need one button held while the other keys are pressed. I’m not quite back up to my normal typing speed yet, but I’m getting close!
It turns out that the QAZ keyboard is a 35% keyboard, which means that it has 35% of the keys in a full QWERTY keyboard with a separate number pad. I’ve had a lot of fun showing my friends my new keyboard, but the most common question is how functional it is. I think that for non-gamers who already know how to touch type, it’s a pretty easy switch over. Now that I am only using an iPad for my computer browsing, it is so nice to have a keyboard again for easier typing. It’s even better because this keyboard connects to the iPad via Bluetooth, so I don’t have to use up my one USB port every time I want to type.
Despite my lack of knowledge about electronics and keyboards, all I can say is that I love this gift from my brother. It’s functional, nerdy, and quirky, all of which are among my favourite things. I also love that we have matching keyboards now, as it reminds me of him every time I type.
Until next time, happy crafting!