Hi! I am excited to share my new build in this new community in Lemmy.

It is an Aurora Corne Low Profile keyboard. I just wanted to do a wireless split keyboard as thin as possible.

I bought all the pieces in splitkb.com:

  • Aurora Corne PCB (comes with diodes and choc hotswap sockets to be soldered)
  • 2 Nice!nano v2 USB-C controllers
  • 2 batteries 301230 3.7V 110mAh
  • Kaihl Choc low profile Orange switches.
  • Choc keycaps
  • Carbon fiber plate
  • Case (I have not bought any, I’ve just made a wooden panel, cutting it ad hoc), but I may buy one in the future or 3D print one, let me know what you think about it.

About the building process, I can say that I was afraid of soldering, but it was fun and easier than expected. I struggled a little more with the firmware configuration, because I was used to QMK but the nice!nano controller uses ZMK so it was a little different.

After configuring my Colemak layout and my layers on the firmware, the flashing process is pretty strait forward. Also the bluetooth connection integrated in the nice!nano was connected easily to my PC.

However, after 1 month of use, I have started feeling some issues in the left part of the keyboard, mainly with modifiers, such as Ctrl, Shift, Alt, and some letters. When I keep them pressed they are not recognized and I have to repress them. I don’t think it is a firmware issue, because I have tried different configurations in ZMK and now all of them fail with the same keys, independently of whatever character I map on those keys. I am thinking that it maybe due to some diode that may be missoldered or some pin in the controller, because the first days it worked fine. And I have tested the same configuration as those days, and now I am getting these issues.

Any suggestion?

  • @kukkurovaca
    2•1 year ago

    Case (I have not bought any, I’ve just made a wooden panel, cutting it ad hoc), but I may buy one in the future or 3D print one, let me know what you think about it.

    This looks great. You can also use adhesive-backed foam for a really low profile (while not scratching up your desk)

    When I keep them pressed they are not recognized and I have to repress them. I don’t think it is a firmware issue, because I have tried different configurations in ZMK and now all of them fail with the same keys, independently of whatever character I map on those keys. I am thinking that it maybe due to some diode that may be missoldered or some pin in the controller, because the first days it worked fine.

    Could be some cold joints, it’s not unusual for them to work fine at first and then start to fail later on. Check the soldering on the affected keys and diodes and reflow anything that looks supect. You can also ask in the SplitKB discord to find out which controller pins should be checked based on the keys where you’re seeing issues.

    • @[email protected]
      2•1 year ago

      Seconded, that panel looks very clean. Nice job on it.

      I had a couple solders on my corne leds that looked fairly good but didn’t work reliably. Iirc, I removed and resoldered a couple connections, but reflowing may well be easier. Even fully removing was pretty quick and easy, so I think you won’t have much trouble, especially knowing which keys are acting up.