deskthority

Who here is in the Austin, TX area? I'm up in Cedar Park.

Is anyone going to the Keyboardio demo next Sunday?
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=72672.0

It looks like the venue finally has a time and place. The time is earlier now:

ATX Hackerspace Co-Op
9701 Dessau Road #304
Austin, TX 78754

Sunday, June 28, 2015 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (CDT)

::crickets::

Well, I'll be there, and I'm bringing a Displaywriter beam spring. Last minute requests welcome. I'm packing my bag now.

I was considering going but unfortunately I can't make it this time. Although, it would be interesting to hear your review of the Model 01.

I'd like to know how the two halves of the Model 01 are connected - I've heard that the ErgoDox's TRRS cable interface can cause problems. Also, can the Model 01 run the TMK keyboard firmware? TMK supports "tap modifiers" to be able to distinguish between holding down and tapping a modifier key (e.g., a Control key can be set up to generate Control when it's held down and Escape when it's tapped) - after scanning through the Model 01 firmware, it doesn't seem like it supports "tap modifiers".

Edit: It looks like they're using an SX1509 in the Model 01 so I guess that answers both questions.

Yep, that's correct. The left half of the keyboard is a "master" and the right half is a "slave".

I'm not sure the current model is using the SX1509. I know there was a part change at some point. I cannot recall if SX1509 is the old or the new part. I have some photos that might have the answer. Still need to grab them from the camera.

After doing a little more research, it seems like most of the ErgoDox's TRRS-related issues that arise are the result of DIY mistakes. The two halves of the Model 01 are connected with a TRRS cable but it shouldn't cause any issues since the PCBs are going to be professionally manufactured/assembled.

Also, if this is a reasonably current version of the Model 01 firmware, I guess the SX1509 is the new part.

I asked, "why not just two USB devices?"

The answer: "Mac OS doesn't propagate modifiers from one keyboard to the other, by design."

AAARGH.

Hmm, that's unfortunate - setting up each half as an individual USB device sounds like a good idea.

I think most operating systems propagate the state of the lock keys to all keyboards so they can update their lock LEDs. Although it's a hack and probably impractical, the state of the modifiers could be synchronized through a lock key toggling protocol.