I don't have one but musical or guitar communities may have recommendations. Lot of foot controllers in that world.
Wide variety of feel and purpose there.
this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
22 points (100.0% liked)
ErgoMechKeyboards
5776 readers
4 users here now
Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards
Rules
Keep it ergo
Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)
i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²
¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid
No Spam
No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.
No Buy/Sell/Trade
This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.
Some useful links
- EMK wiki
- Split keyboard compare tool
- Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
- Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Are you looking for a bare pedal that you can wire to a controller, or something that's ready to plug in?
For something that's ready to be wired to a controller, I used a couple of these: https://www.amazon.com/Momentary-Operated-Controller-Industrial-Anti-Skid/dp/B07KN6GLYD
They're a single firm clicky button, with relatively short travel. I never really had any issue with them being pressed too easily.
I had not even considered the other options! I guess I shouldve added more context.
I was thinking of a foot pedal that plugs in with a USB, that I could map to a keypress.
I've been slowly remapping my laptop keyboard, disabling arrow keys, esc, etc, in preperation for making a full mostly-seamless switch to ergo-mech. (I can't afford to buy an ergo board only to realize I can't handle the jump). Sadly some of my new chords are causing me more hand pain than I was already having. So I'm hoping to add a relatively cheap foot pedal as an intermediate step.
If you can solder, you can quite cheaply build your own ergo prototype, without habing to 3D print or buy PCBs: https://golem.hu/guide/cardboard-prototyping/
I did this, and am very happy. I got to stagger the keys as I like, place my thumb keys nicely, and know I can do it again easily and cheaply if I want something changed. Time's not free of course, but I value the freedom this gives me.
If you are handy with basic soldering and some programming, you could easily wire these to a controller, and program them to a key. That's what I did with the ones I had.
I used the double version of this foot pedal for a while. The software lets you configure what key press it registers as.
I bought mine off aliexpress, it's 3 pedals and was like 30euro. Used it to switch virtual desktops, but now that's on keeb..
Maybe a cheap one until you know it will be used a lot? Mine is used very sparingly...
Can you give us some more context here: What exactly does this pedal need to do?
Plugging in with USB would be nice. Being able to map it to a keyboard shortcut would also be nice. But if it just pretends to be a keyboard or mouse, regardless of what key it defaults to I can make it work with some software of my own.
What about the very, very cheap piano pedals? Those are usually just a on-off switch, which is output over a 6.3mm jack. Connect that to an Arduino or something which emulates a keyboard and Bob's your uncle.