Top plate (Stainless steel, MX switches) for ~AU$20.27 (15 USD).PCB (Printed circuit board) for ~AU$54.06 (40 USD).For steno, they’re flat keys that have close, adjacent edges so that it’s easy to press 2 together at the same time. Finally, the key caps are placed on top of the switches, shown in the top–right of the photo, so that it looks like a real keyboard. You’ll fasten together your keyboard in five places using screws, shown in the top of the photo, and attach the four plastic, sticky feet to the base of the keyboard, which is the tiny grid of plastic circles in the photo, so your keyboard doesn’t scratch your desk. When the pieces are all attached, you’ll see that the pins or legs of the key switches will pass through the gaps in the top plate and the holes in the PCB and soldered to the PCB. You won’t, however, assemble the keyboard in this order. In the top plate will sit the key switches, which are the mechanical part that let your keys move up and down when you press them, shown in the top–left of the photo. On top of the PCB will rest the top plate, which is used to hold the key switches in alignment with the PCB and protect the PCB, shown in the bottom–right of the photo. On top of this will sit the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), which is the part that makes the keyboard operate like a keyboard, shown in the left of the photo above. The milled bottom of the keyboard is the purple part shown in the bottom–left above, which is used as the base of the keyboard to hold it all together. There are a few main parts of a keyboard you need. Firmware (with a little knowledge of computer command lines).Without a split layout, the size of this keyboard might be too small for some people’s frame. If you’re eager and persistent, it’s straightforward to do. The Planck also requires a small amount of assembly and a little bit of knowledge of computers. You can use it as a regular keyboard too, if you want. It’s an NKRO keyboard, which means you can press as many keys together at the same time as you need for steno. The Planck keyboard is a compact device (40% keyboard!) that balances light key switches (35 cN, which is as light as it gets for Cherry MX style mechanical keyboard switches, but still require more force than stenotype machines) with reasonable prices (far cheaper than stenotype machines that start at a grand). It was vastly easier than I had expected, so I wanted to share the details here, so you can build one too. Later, I learned a little more and ended up building my own Planck keyboard to use for stenography. ![]() ![]() It was a suitable device to train on with a nice split layout, but the keys were tough on my fragile wrists. I ended up buying an UTOPEN Stenoboard pre-made, which now appears to be out of production. In the beginning, there was a lot of information for me to process to figure out what option would be the best for me, and I knew nothing about hardware or electronics. Shipping to Australia, however, is expensive. The Open Steno Project suggests you can buy a compatible keyboard for as little as $26 (USD). When I decided to switch from QWERTY to stenography, my immediate barrier to getting started was finding a device I could write on. (It might also be harder than you think you have different experience to me.) Spoiler alert: piecing together a keyboard might be easier than you think. I hope this helps you decide if this is a good option for you. If you’re interested in learning stenography, and you’re not sure what keyboard or stenotype machine to invest in, here you’ll find details about what’s involved in assembling a suitable mechanical keyboard.
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