RGB Ruined My Life: MiRage Mechanical Keyboard Mk2

With hotswap Cherry AND Choc AND RGB AND e-paper!
Thanks to Bespoke Post for sponsoring this video! Head to bespokepost.com/freedman20 and use code FREEDMAN20 to learn more and get 20% off your first box.
Watch the first MiRage video first! • I Invented a Keyboard ...
More info on the project's core, the Seeeduino Xiao RP2040: www.seeedstudio.com/XIAO-RP20...
See more keyboard projects in Seeed's mech keeb contest: www.seeedstudio.com/seeed-fus...
The original MiRage modular mechanical keyboard had an incredible response - over 2000 people want to clack like Zack. I refocused on making the keyboard accessible to everyone, fix hardware mistakes, and make some improvements. Join my struggle to cram Cherry MX, Kailh Choc, RGB LED, epaper, and more into a single cutting-edge keyboard. It's got big problems, but opens up bigger possibilities. There will be a MiRage Mk3!
Do not download these design files: github.com/zackfreedman/mirag...
Sign up to the MiRage NewsLetter: lp.constantcontactpages.com/s...
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL!
💸 Patreon: / zackfreedman
🎥 Twitch: / zackfreedman
JOIN THE COMMUNITY!
👾 Discord: / discord
Uses footage from Adafruit: • New Products 5/6/2021 ...
Interference SFX from Partners in Rhyme
Other SFX by zapsplat.com

[@ZackFreedman]

MiRage NewsLetter SignUp WebPage: lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/IT2S7ta/mirage

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

This needs Pinning to the top...

[@ZackFreedman]

I forgot the pinned comment! 🤦‍♂

[@camplays487]

I love the option of just having an open space for Eink, knobs, etc. A gridfinity-esc part of the keyboard where people mod it to fit who knows what peripherals; like (not good ideas->) A pcb solder heat plate, a peltier module drink holder, (better ideas->) A grid-eye sensor for gesture and light dimming control, a flight controller flash and setup plate with mini servos to calibrate it. The possibilities!

[@Kraechtshammer]

Have you thought about just straight up using an RJ45 jack? :D

[@jameswalker199]

I do think the possibility of a swappable module where the e-paper screen is would be a good idea. I don't want to give up those cyberpunk OLEDs as much as you, so even if I have to separate the buttons or give them up entirely, I'd like the chance to have to make such a module of my own

[@mr_voron]

“Indie hardware development is an unrelenting bleak money pit” are the words that ring most true in my skull. Stay strong, and may your magic pixies never escape ✊🏻

[@3nertia]

Viva La Capitalism!

[@FlintTD]

It is bleak, but also vivid with opportunity.

[@minasokoni]

Hey Maks!

[@legionjames1822]

Yea but its soooooo cool.

[@TheMrR9]

make it so that each individual key is the keyboard, and each key is on its own using magnets to stick together to form any shaped keyboard you want. I WANT MORE OPTIONS!

[@___echo___]

gridfinity keyboard, but then mini gridfinity, like LEGO's are to DUPLOs

[@SuperBootyBay]

i could make that happen....

[@Noah-ek8hp]

That's going to get expensive real quick, and they'd have to be really strong, but I'd love to see something like this.

[@ZackFreedman]

I switched from saying "the most hackable keyboard" to "the most hacktical keyboard" because Adafruit released that numberpad where every row is a breakaway strip. There's a point of diminishing returns...

[@djm1ll658]

@@Noah-ek8hp aight show me😜

[@GrayeWilliams]

Listening to Zack feels like someone has taken my ADHD inner monologue and weaponized it. I mean this as the highest compliment.

[@bander1023]

this. ☝️

[@onedeadsaint]

boy, I really hope this project doesn't get cloned by some Chinese company before it's even finished. looks great though!

[@giuseppevgiordano]

how dare you invoke the forces of irony like that

[@darknessblades]

its already cloned, though those companies do not know or are not aware of the BAD PCB design, that is prone to failure under normal usage conditions. [AKA plugging in a Sata cable]

[@VincentGroenewold]

Oh it will, but I want a Zack board, so he'll still make plenty of money. :)

[@ZackFreedman]

That would save me a lot of work

[@Grant740]

It most likely wouldn’t be nearly as good as Zacks finished keyboard

[@PommyDragon2525]

Looking forward to the Gridfinity mount that holds a full Mirage MK3 with all the additions. It’s the VoidStar Labs version of an MCU crossover event.

[@NeivGabay]

Gridfinnty based cyberdeck when?

[@HisVirusness]

I think making the space for the display into a plugin module is definitely the way to go. It makes the keyboard infinitely more hackable and customizable.

[@minecraftfirefighter]

imagine running an emulator on it and playing oldschool gameboy stuff on it...

[@ikeaforlife]

This video appeared to me like a mirage

[@lolapplesauce]

ZACHHH FRIEDMAN! You can run the IO Expanders off of 5V as far as I know! I2C is a pull-down communication protocol, so all it detects communication through lows, not highs so this difference in voltage between the expander and the microprocessor won't matter. but double check you won't end up as a Fried-man, man.

[@floorpizza8074]

Except that his last name is actually spelled "FrEEdman," so you know, he'd end up as a "Freed-man," which isn't exactly PC, ya know?

[@thumbwarriordx]

Beware ordering the microcontrollers with lots of pins when building a custom keyboard. You'll find yourself doing wacky crap like throwing in a trackpoint and an analog stick and 4 rotary encoders. Then you have to write the software to make 4 rotary encoders and an analog stick do something useful. Ew, desktop apps. Gross.

[@curly_luke]

adding hardware then thinking about what to do with it, sounds like me xD Right know I'm building handwired ortholinear Preonic-like keeb with RP2040-Zero with KMK.

[@gamespender8605]

I'm looking at all the bits and bobs I have on my desk, various encoders, analog sticks, so on, and thinking all the wonderful human interface devices I could make from them that I 100% know I would never use

[@drashna]

would love to see qmk support for this. (it supports rgb per key, without running the data line for rgb)

[@leilahsyed2157]

Y'know, you could counter the depth issue for the E-Ink panel by having a battery pack sit there and the panel itself sit on top of that with standoffs. This of course implies that you should totally make this wireless and the headache involved with that will surely be a fun time

[@faridwakim]

A bluetooth module isnt too difficult to implement

[@jamesyeoman794]

Wireless? Wouldn't that completely remove the need for the I2C pins? Mesh network of modular keyboards... hmm...

[@OhSoTiredMan]

@@faridwakim Also wireless adapter.

[@firstNamelastName-ho6lv]

Sounds like spicy pillow potential

[@scottwilliams895]

And it should Qi charge!

[@nomadcrossfire]

You could switch from sata to rj45. It has 8 instead of 7, but that's just expandability for the future.

[@slep1654]

They probably thought it was too thic to fit. But Id prefer the reduced costs of it tbh

[@nomadcrossfire]

@@slep1654 it would be taller than the sata, but no taller than most keycaps. So the overall form factor wouldn't take a hit.

[@pastellexists]

You can put any amount of wires from 1 to 8 in an RJ45 connector. Regardless, the problem is there aren't a lot of pretty ethernet cables out there.

[@BrennanLetkeman]

@@pastellexists on the other hand, they're pretty easy to DIY so it does open up the ability to sheath and crimp your own custom lengths

[@ShawnMagowan]

I was thinking the same thing. My keyboardio model 01 uses this, and I'm pretty sure the model 100 uses the same. And I don't know about you, but I have far more spare Ethernet cables kicking around than sata cables.

[@lauradevries9242]

Amazing work! As a keybard enthusiast myself I will definitely try to buy one to costimuze monstrously. However I would like to add that north facing LEDs/switches are generally not recomended because some very popular keycap profiles interfere with most chery style switches when northfacing.

[@ZackFreedman]

I need to collect feedback on this. South-facing LEDs make shine-thru legends visibly dimmer, and printable shims can prevent Cherry cap collisions. The MiRage will likely be most users' first mech keebs, as well.

[@tobymarol7329]

@@ZackFreedman it's only cherry profile keycaps and only some of them, tho. newer ones tend to have slightly different inner supports and work with north facing leds too

[@scottiewilkins4797]

Zack! - but your sponsor transition is no longer smooth like butter the moment you mention how smooth like butter it was!

[@SnakebitSTI]

For the interactive e-paper display, what about something like a multifunction display instead of a touch screen? Would cost a little screen real estate, but physical buttons can be a lot smaller than touch targets and still be easy to use.

[@OhSoTiredMan]

He could add a nub like those thinkpad nubs that can be used to navigate the e ink display.

[@Celciusify]

@@OhSoTiredMan I have a keyboard with one of those nubs. It's a worthless gimick and innacurate at best. And I spend a couple days learning and adjusting it so I could justify its existance. It's the most useless choice of input device compared to the rest of the tech we have today. I'd honestly prefer a resistive touch screen... And I don't like those either.

[@3DMusketeers]

Love seeing the progress on this Zack! Keep it up! I have never done a custom keyboard before, but I think this may sway me! The customizability is awesome!

[@MHTSAPAS]

Very nice work mate! I built the Sick-68 for the wife after seeing your video way back when and the Redox Handwire for myself. On other projects I generally use the mini-e LED’s simply because I can solder them on the under side of the board and they protrude through an opening in the PCB which (as you stated) keeps them flat.

[@jcmkk3]

If you make the center post hole a little bit larger and add a hole for the alignment pin, you could also support choc v2 switches. This will give folks the option to have a low profile switch with an MX keycap. The regular switch pins are in the same places as choc v1 switches, which means that they're compatible with the same hotswap sockets.

[@metanim1]

Thanks so much for going into the code and the technical bugs!! It is really reassuring as someone starting in the tech field to see that just nothing works sometimes

[@mr_voron]

And when you try to search for a solution on Google and you get no results you know you’re breaking new ground. It’s terrifying and empowering. I hope you have a moment like that in your future career. Everyone should experience it.

[@WyvernDotRed]

Ooh, I currently have a separate numpad on the left despite being right-handed. So this keyboard would be great for me, if it releases.

[@KjelltheWolf]

I kinda want it to be a 200% keyboard. Like those 2m long ones from Cyberpunk

[@Draggins]

104 macro keys

[@KjelltheWolf]

@@Draggins at least

[@pandaboy6621]

Love the project, good to know its still alive and kicking. You might want to check out Adafruits magnetic connectors for your module interconnections.

[@randomentity0191]

I don't take enough time to appreciate how much time, work, and money Zack puts into this videos, with all the humor sprinkled throughout. And of course also much appreciation to the lovely Patreons and their glorious usernames.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Really good conceptual progress, I like the idea of just making the e-ink part effectively a breadboard either directly connected to the micros extra pins or left with footprints for 0R bridges and bodge wires selectively for maximum modularity - so many off the shelf dev boards that are good on breadboard pinspacing.

[@cakdgaf]

Dude your amazing to watch and listen too. I love the energy. I love the knowledge. The world needs more like you.

[@KernsJW]

Great video as always and the progress is great. Seeing the headaches you went through and the bodged wire is standard for the path you are taking. Think back to the old days and how many units came with wires added on! Still happens in a lot of China knockoffs too. Thankfully, most seemed to figure out the difference in power rails between countries, so stuff doesn't catch on fire as much.

[@nukezat]

The last keyboard I would need! Amazing hardware and hopefully powerful and accessible software to match!

[@ivovass195]

Awesome project, big props for persistence and will to improve regardless of setbacks. Keep it up

[@cyberpunk1618]

I did the same mistake with the internally connected ground in design, was great.

[@EndDayz]

Awesome energy and projects as always. . stay awesome!

[@controllerpleb6568]

I think an optional third half could be really cool. It would be super useful for audio/video editing too. Keep the footprint small for the first two halves, move the cool stuff to the third one.

[@shivaargula4735]

This seems like an amazing backbone for a media keyboard using the epaper as a touchpad (just using the rage half to control VLC for example). Wonder how hard it would be to add bluetooth and a battery.

[@DynamicEllie]

"That is one supporter I support right back" You are already my favourite content creator, but this comment just elevated your status to "Supreme being". Thank you for your support Zack! Also, the keyboard is looking beautiful, and I will definitely be buying one when you release it, probably at around v600 :)

[@somehow_sane]

Actually made me cry a little

[@DynamicEllie]

@@somehow_sane I often wondered whether the user with that screen name was being ironic. But Zacks reply to it made my day!

[@cmpatrick0]

Is there a possibility for a version with south-facing LEDs? I know it hurts RGB a bit, but north-facing switches interfere with cherry profile key caps, removing compatibility with a large portion of key cap sets.

[@jdoe2469]

Ok hear me out… Gridfinity keyboard

[@Sillybutts]

Very happy to see an update on this finally!

[@jamesyeoman794]

Holy shit, with this sort of modularity, the simulation community is gonna have a field day with this! Never a dull day when you appear in my YT feed, Zack

[@porticojunction]

This rocks! Thanks for not giving up on the I-O after the first week!

[@Rainbow_Atlas]

The touchscreen is awesome! Like using it as password or macro manager, using it as a sound mixer or whatever is awesome!!!

[@adamreynolds3863]

BRO YOU HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY!!!! freakin hilarious the little jokes you hide in the videos😂😂😂i love your videos and projects!

[@aftabansari606]

When will this be available. This seems like the most exciting keyboard I've ever seen. 60% 100% southpaw numpad dials touchscreen the possibilities are literally endless..

[@bittins4199]

I've had an idea bouncing around in my head for a while, if you like it, please run with it: each module (which like you said can work independently or together) can be connected to one another via magnets and spring loaded pins (aka pogo pins). Super fast and modular hot swap!

[@ZackFreedman]

I might experiment with this in the next version. My gut check is that most people will want to "set it and forget it" instead of regularly switching between configurations.

[@bittins4199]

@@ZackFreedman thanks for the reply! My original idea for wanting it is for a modular number pad which I can add or remove when I need, and to also be able to take it and use solo with my laptop when I'm away from my main PC.

[@AJMansfield1]

10:20 regularly-spaced hole grid for mounting screen/knob/joystick/slider PCBs on standoff pillars to provide custom functionality anywhere within the key grid at an adjustable height that matches the height of the keyswitches and keycaps you've installed.

[@Menuta]

Great video, I made a Sick68, naturally I am now addicted. Bring on MiRage!

[@aiiaznsk8er]

really awesome progress on everything so far!

[@axelanderson2030]

Best sponsorship segment I've seen in a while! Keep it up!

[@Kaiged11]

For the V3 you should add some drainage holes. If you can print a clam shell that actually protects your keys major step forward

[@Dr.supervillain]

BROTHER, YOU ARE THE BEST!!! You oooh really helped me!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!This is cool, well done!

[@belug23]

OMG!!!! I finally found you back!!! I saw your MiRage video a while back.. a few months later, I've try 10 key less keyboards and I fell in love, but they are far less ergonomical than my good old ergonomic key board that is way to large. So I wanted to try a split keyboard and I wasn't able to find the MiRage back! I lost hope and bought an commercially available one and I'm happy with the split... I just hate the layout of the keys and I miss my mecanical keys.... Funny enough last week youtube proposed me your DLP video, I liked it and subscribed to your crazyness.. Today I just wanted to watch your old content and what did I see the MiRage!!!!!! Now.. let's find how to make/buy one! Thanks!

[@belug23]

OK now that I've finished the video about the Mark II, I'm so stoked! I love the idea of making the keyboard infinity expandable and change the order of the boards. I want to split my key board so I can have the pads inline with my shoulders and that's why I was looking into a 10 key less design because I don't want the mouse to be pushed too far. The biggest problem I had with the design with the e-ink screen and the macro was the extra space used ~around~ the keybooard, now, if I can switch the left and right board, I can have the e-ink screen and macro keys in the center of my board, you know, where there's free space that I use to put my phone or my food plate because it's empty! I can't wait to get my hand on one. In the mean time tho, I have projects to test with that e-ink touch screen! Thanks for the design files, not to build it in it's totally unusable state, but to make a prototype e-ink touch screen setup so I can write code for it and maybe, if that work, make that code public for everyone to use, but not before a working prototype. Thanks alot for fuelling my "totally not caused by you" new passion about custom keyboard and my real need for a split keyboard.

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Zack is really good in extreme high wordcount/minute without ruining the videos with jumpcuts or worse zoom-cuts.

[@xaytana]

The expandable concept is interesting, and could expand this project greatly. I imagine a nav and num pads will be the first two non-half expanders, then program/workflow specific macro/dial/switch/touch/etc. pads. I could also see center expanders for split keyboards that include pointer navigation, like joysticks, circle pads, trackballs, etc. Hopefully someone can recreate a 6dof mouse as a module. The MiRage ecosystem could get super interesting beyond just a splittable keyboard with a non-standard function area on one side.

[@qwerty9170x]

I really like this project! I've been subscribed for a long time but haven't been watching as actively lately and this is super cool/keeps you in the back of mind to check in if the YT algorithm fails me

[@tharsis]

Looking forward to the 2x2 key mount component and keyboard gridfinity backplane so that I can easily swap my keys around. Add another gridfinity component that houses the e-ink display and I can lay out my keys in whatever insane order I desire!

[@grayfaux_]

Beautiful work as always.

[@elainajourney]

Absolutely beautiful work!

[@chocolatemonk]

I have not gotten into programming on your level but love your projects

[@Brett_is_Veng]

i like to hear about projects in progress, what went wrong as well as what went right and the progression as much as the result. Your delivery is impeccable and compelling and I'm a big fan. Love your vids, sadly i cant oin your streams due to the 6000 mile difference in location causing time problems and i cant burn 3-4 hours watching you when ive got stuff to do as well, but that doesnt mean i wouldnt like to. How are you finding your new home away from the big city?

[@HowAboutNo16]

I fucking love all the nerdiness and flowing dialogue in your videos, it’s just *chef’s kiss*

[@romeucapelasa]

There's connectors named "magnetic pogo pin connector" that are great if you can get a stable base to connect them it's basically the connector used in tablets to connect keyboards but diy

[@0hellow797]

Hey Zach, huge fan, I tried to build my own keyboard a bit ago, that used my favorite 128x128 color OLED. I’ve been messing with the EPDs recently and they’re awesome, but I do think they’re way too slow. With an OLED, you can have a great refresh rate. I love the idea of a plug and place module instead, how about you make them interlock using a tab coming out of the PCB? It would increase the footprint, but also the strength across boards. Then in the female end of the pcb, you could fit the extra plug and play module on the right. You should also try to make it mirrorable across the x axis but that’s easier said than done.

[@divyanshsrivastava7312]

Hi, Zack, sup well I wanted to thank u... after seeing your vids I made my 1st split keybz (a custom redox with adjustable thumb cluster similar to a moonlander and hence had to make my own PCB...😬) cherry MX blues, well although there was criticism regarding using QMK and pro micro in the last MiRage vid that's what I could get my hands on in India and yaa you are right making custom keybz is pretty addictive and expensive too 😅, so yaa thanks a lot sir for all your videos they were an excellent help to get started... 😊👍 Cheers Divyansh

[@dave_dennis]

NXP does make a chip that is the I2C equivalent of a network switch. I use this all the time when I need to control more than one device on the same I2C address. I put each one on essentially it’s own I2C bus. With this you can multiplex the bus almost an infinite number of ways. There is a bit of I2C over head for the micro because it has to tell the “switch” which port to push the following data out.

[@espero_dev]

Thanks for the design files I want to make it a little easier to use so I’m a switch the sate cable for some magnets so it can connect :) or use nickel strips solder wire to it and put magnets behind them son it works like a full keyboard without a big cut in the middle

[@DanielDeadweight]

honestly, brilliant work. Can't wait to see how this pans out. Definitely some money here

[@ifohancroft]

If you flip (not to the other side of the pcb, but rotating it a 180 degrees) either the MX sockets or the Choc sockets, you can have them both there at the same time, so you won't have to choose a socket type since you can solder both and you can hotswap from MX to Choc and vice versa

[@Bouzeu]

Thanks for your video. For the screen i prefer keyboard with a screen at the top, like logitech g25 or g510. Gool luck for the Mk3

[@ziandthecoolthings]

Fantastic video! Can’t wait to see what happens with V3. I know this is a wild idea but I’d love to see a set of three small trackballs as an add on in v3. That way you can have a cool color panel for color grading so it doesn’t have to take up the whole desk/have it’s own dedicated space. Heck would love to see a diy color panel at some point with three trackballs and dials.

[@ZackFreedman]

I bought a few to test for the Optigon, and they're truly awful - imprecise, scratchy, and jittery. I don't think it's my specific model, either - DevTerm buyers made the same complaints.

[@ziandthecoolthings]

@@ZackFreedman oh no that’s a bummer! We’ll here’s to hoping there’s some unheard of brand tucked away that can do the trick!

[@viksohal]

Gotta say Zack, I really enjoy your channel, a large part of that is your freestylin' cybertalk! 🙂

[@boxfabio]

I have to say , Thank you for existing you make me happy and you got a subscriber . I have not yep found a perfect keyboard but you make me think someone will make the perfect keyboard. I have been wanting to get creative with a raspberrypi to create a keyboard for all computers using USBPI so i could share everything connect to my "keyboard". including usb storage your solution with a usb expansion so i could share usb and audio would be the perfect solution that i wanted but of course i think i will have to wait 10 more years for a solution that i dreamed =) Happy creations for you

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

I would love to get one of these, but I can't do ortholinear for the same reason I never tried to learn Colemak or Dvorak - most of my typing is done at hot desks I can't control the configuration of, so getting used to using a non standard format would make it harder for me to type most of the time

[@JacobCanote]

Zack, you always speak-a-my-language. A joy to see. Love your face. Best of luck!

[@rafaellindarte6052]

It looks fantastic. Can't wait for the mk3!!!

[@GNARGNARHEAD]

Arduino, now I'm curious oh man, the feels on the variations board to board damn interesting project

[@butre.]

you can have mx and choc at the same time by just putting the mx sockets up top and the kailh sockets down below. just gotta have the chocs rotated 180 degrees relative to the mx switches

[@professorxgaming2070]

I came across your channel testing 3d print filaments (which I dont even have a 3d printer) However it was unexpectedly entertaining. I had no idea about custom keyboards either, but super interesting stuff. Bunch of good laughs as well, the supporter names caught me off guard and almost spit my drink out laughing. "Throw the left half in the trash" lmfao and a 3rd 1/2.......🤣🤣

[@adhdaf]

dude I legit just subbed off this one video, QUALITY content right here my good sir 😎

[@jaysonbunnell8097]

I love this!! I **can** wait for the MkIII but I won’t be happy about it (lol), hopefully I can be a patron soon!!!

[@f0rr3stgump]

I just found your channel again (sorry) and this looks freaking awesome. Keep up the hard work and keep your chin up. 💪

[@redpanda4102]

very excited to build one whenever this project is done

[@derekis1joedirt]

I've always wanted a macro style mechanical keyboard. I like the straight key rows that macro keyboard use.

[@theend7449]

love the Baudrillard call out!

[@Billy.osullivan]

Those brandy/whiskey glasses are sick!

[@rsin314159]

This project looks amazing.

[@rev_dude]

"everything always goes to plan as long as I write the plan last" is a legendary line that I am absolutely stealing

[@foureight84]

The eink touch pad would be a game changer. I've integrated a pimoroni trackball to my custom keyboard running QMK and that's okay, not the best. Blackberry mouse resolution on a 4k monitor is a bit meh.

[@techdaddykb]

What about a magnetic pogo pin interface on the sides and some sort of lock to lock the “halves” together or for a more split look use a braided x-pin din type cable with adapters that mag to the mag pogo pin connectors.

[@cheater00]

Hey, if you want to connect the two halves of the keyboards together, use USB-C with alternative mode negotiation, and that'll make it possible to connect the two halves with usb cables, while talking between each other with whatever protocol you would like to use. As a bonus, you can then use the same usb-c port to connect directly to a PC.

[@tamasdovenyi-nagy3779]

Make cutouts in the PCB for the LEDs and solder them onto the other side -- LEDs recessed into the holes. This way there's no interference with the the switches.

[@andrewharper7518]

Even if I am not particularly interested in the video topic, I always watch your videos for the puns, word play and overall fantastic scripts.

[@Hackercat77]

I hope that this mighty modular beast will one day grace the desks of Britain! Finally a device worthy of my tea cup ridden realm of robotics!

[@DFX2KX]

This is super neat. not sure I'd ever go so far as making a splitting keyboard myself, but a keyboard with an extra few keys emulating a gamepad or something (particularly for Push-To-Talk so that holding down the key doesn't peeve Windows off) would be heckin' useful. wait how does one even wire in all the switches? a bunch of multiplexer chips?

[@Leezorc]

Every effing video you kill me! Amazing project yo! I looking forward to the version 3.

[@DirtyGingy]

The main concern we will have with MX compatibility is the need for support plates. Rather easy to general though. And I'm certain you might be able to get a bit of help from the community for that and other little ideas such as case designs, feedback, etc.

[@sgsax]

Due to capitalization, I read this as My Rage. I now see that was perfectly correct. Looking spiffy!

[@Indull]

wow that transition was way too smooth, didn't even see it coming!

[@iSandRocks]

13:46 when that bug puts on a top hat and starts tying people to train tracks it will need its own video

[@codemakeshare]

Maybe consider RS485 instead of I2C? It's a multi-drop bus, so you can have all nodes directly on the same 2 wires. You'll only need one UART on the uC, and a GPIO for enabling the TX driver while sending. Plus a tiny RS485 driver like MAX3082 (or any other RS485 driver chips, there are many options). You can either roll your own half-duplex protocol, or use e.g. MODBUS which is designed to go over RS485. And as it's a differential bus, you can safely use it over pretty long cables without fearing the EMI demons... (which I2C is not very good at).

[@XalphYT]

This is a winner of an idea, RS485 and MODBUS.

[@krikun98]

These LEDs definitely work with 3.3 (tested plenty with nice!nanos and nrfmicros). Also, why not QMK? It seems to pass the LED data line over the main I2C bus just fine.

[@TroyFletcherKeyboards]

I almost got burned on the sata cables doing a hardware split, so I switched to a USB type c cable, which probably has enough connections for you, but not enough for the hardware split I was working on. Note type c has plug orientation to track and connected internal wires.