How to Install MX Switches

In ThumbsUp! keyboards MX and ALPS switches require additional support.
In the "conventional" boards there is a separate "gasket" or a "mounting" plate which ThumbsUp! keyboards do not have.

Instead it uses a 3D-printed panels as switch supporting brackets.

This video shows how to install switches into the brackets.

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ThumbsUp! Trackball v3/v5 Assembly Steps

I designed a trackball, two versions actually, which differ in the switches used V3 with Kailh Choc switches: https://github.com/ak66666/ThumbsUp-Trackball-v3 V5 with Omron micro-switches: https://github.com/ak66666/ThumbsUp-Trackball-v5-Omron Assembly steps are quite the same, except for the switches. The original article version described v3, steps specific for v5 are added in the end. I sell the PCBs on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4367668734/thumbsup-trackball-v3-pcbs-for-dyi In this post I show the process of building the board. Bill of Materials To assemble you will need to obtain the following parts: 1x PMW3610 sensor and lens (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007118767775.html) 1x Nice!nano v2 (or clone) (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006074191337.html) This will give you a Bluetooth-connected device. You may add another nice!nano to make a USB dongle . 1x 34mm ball (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007857787050.html) 1x 3.7V 110mAh 301230 Lithium Polymer...

ThumbsUp! Trackball v3/5, v4 Usage

ThumbsUp! Trackball comes in three versions, v3 (the bottom one), v5 (top left) and v4 (top right): https://github.com/ak66666/ThumbsUp-Trackball-v3 https://github.com/ak66666/ThumbsUp-Trackball-v4 https://github.com/ak66666/ThumbsUp-Trackball-v5-Omron Trackball v3 and v5 Versions v3 and v5 have the same layout, six mouse buttons in each, plus configuration buttons and three slider switches. The only difference between them is the switch types they use: Kailh Choc in v3 and regular mouse-type buttons Omron in v5, These two versions can be used as thumb- or finger-operated with either left or right hand. Two slide switches define device orientation and hand it is used with: In thumb-operating mode index finger presses left button, middle finger - middle button, and ring finger - right button, this configuration is kept in all device positions (configured through switches shown above) : Trackball v4 v4 got two more buttons and it uses Kailh Choc switches. In v4 the orientation switc...

How to make a wireless ThumbsUp! with a touchpad using ZMK and ProGlide Cirque

ThumbsUp! can be made wireless using a nice!nano v2 MCU (or its clone) running ZMK. Recently ZMK got support for ProGlide Cirque touchpads, and the biggest difference from QMK was requirement to have an activity pin (DR) to be used/specified in the configuration. My configuration project is here: https://github.com/ak66666/zmk-config/tree/cirque Unfortunately that requirement was not known to me when I designed ThumbsUp! boards, so in order to make these boards wireless and with touchpad I had to add a bodge wire from the touchpad to a inter-PCB connector, and then from the connector on the other plate to the controller. Luckily there were a few unused pins in v9, so the task turned to be relatively easy. Step 1. Solder the wire to the third pin from the top on the innermost row: Step 2. Solder the other end of that wire to one of the pins in the center header. For that - gently pry the plastic spacer a up halfway, and solder the wire as close to the board as possible. I chose the bott...

ThumbsUp! Keyboards

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