My Keychron Q8 Pro in its final form

n3cr0, 8 months ago

I’ve never seen this layout before.

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

You mean the keyboard layout (Alice) or the keymap layout (Colemak)?

n3cr0, 8 months ago

I mean the keymap. So Colemark it is. Thanks!

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

You’re welcome! More specifically, ColemakDH ;) Resources:

• Colemak
• Colemak DH mod

Actually it’s thought for touch typing, but having the correct legends helps sometimes and it’s just nice.

Nulubez, 8 months ago

How’s the feel, ergo-wise. I’ve been locked in to a Microsoft natural elite 2 since the early 2000s and this is the first mechanical ergo I’ve seen

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

I don’t have a lot of experience with ergo keyboards, but I found myself liking this Alice/Arisu layout quite a lot. I can keep my shoulders and arms more relaxed (I’m also quite tall, so a bit more room for my arms and hands is nice…). Only downside of these Keychron models is the tall height of the board. One could use a wrist rest though - Keychron themselves sell one - but I don’t use one. I also don’t type without interruptions the whole day, so it’s ok for me. Easy enough to go back to normal/laptop keys due to almost standard stagger and key layout.

Tenthrow, 8 months ago

I’ve been using this board for a while now and I love it. I don’t think the split is as extreme as other boards but I find it hard to go back to my straight boards anymore.

richard_wagner, 8 months ago

Beautiful keyboard!

Since you have the Bluetooth version, I’m curious if it is QMK compatible and how that works. I was under the impression that QMK doesn’t work wirelessly.

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

Thanks!

It is QMK and VIA compatible. I need to wire it to a computer with a Chromium based browser to customize it, but it works - albeit with some connection issues with my 2013 MacBook Pro. On Windows works flawlessly.

richard_wagner, 8 months ago

Wow nice. That’s sort of a game changer… why can’t other QMK boards work like this?

I got my first wireless board (with ZMK - a Ferris sweep) recently and I love it. My only wish is that the Bluetooth range were larger.

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

As for your question, absolutely no clue…

Regarding bluetooth, at which (metric pls) distance you have connection problems? I’m thinking of dipping my toes in DIY boards for a compact travel KB but I would also need bluetooth - so the problem you’re mentioning could very well hit me too.

Tenthrow, 8 months ago

I don’t know the technical details but I believe that keychron is dealing with the bluetooth separately from the main board. QMK still doesn’t really support bluetooth in a proper way so if I am not mistaken they handle it differently, and when you are flashing new firmware to the QMK controller it doesn’t talk to the bluetooth board. Almost like using a dongle for the keyboard.

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

That could be it, but in VIA you can actually assign bluetooth host keys in order to switch devices, so a sort of communication between main board and bluetooth electronics must be happening!

stardust, 8 months ago

How do you like the MTNU? How’s the height compared to CYL, any transition mistype(s)? Lovely setup really.

Etnaphele, 8 months ago

Thanks! After the few days with a light use: very confortable, nice light texture, the dished caps really work well and are visually striking. I am only slightly slower than with the almost same board (Q10) with GMK CYL that I use extensively each day, so I would say the transition is really smooth. The reason for this is the very similar height profile of each row. Still, I believe that CYL is more efficient because I feel less “trapped” in each row than with MTNU’s spherical profile - as the correct typing movements involve more vertical finger movement than horizontal, so CYL imo makes more sense. The effect is obviously quite minor and I am nowhere near to being a fast typer, so take my feedback in this context ;)