This is my current projected parts list. I’m still REALLY early in the process, so this is subject to change. A lot

  • Gateron Browns x45 (holy shit, I thought there were more) I bought 47 and added them to the leftovers from my ergodox build. could have saved money if I’d realised i need less than half that. (47ct $14.90) x
  • pro micro atmega32u4. i lost them. then purchased below. that’s right, three different boards bought for this build…. (2ct 10.99) x
  • Esp-32s x2. I’m using a set of SUPER cheap ones off amazon. (5ct 25.99) x ((unused. turns out esp32’s cant talk via usb, which means they’re only useful in a keyboard as a blutooth. wish i’d gotten esp32 s2’s…)
  • raspberry pi pico 2x. replaced above. (4)
  • 34mm trackball. i feel like i’m going to end up changing this one to the size used by the Oddball, but i wanted a real trackball and not a cheap cueball prop. ($10)
  • PMW3360 Motion Sensor from tindie. ($29)
  • 1/8” ball bearings. I picked up steel ball bearings, which may be a bad idea. Here’s hoping I dont rub flat spots on my trackball. (100ct 5.45)
  • a set of keycaps. 3d printed some DES profile caps on my voxelal proxima.
  • filament for the casing. I can easily get a few practice cases out of a roll, so $15. (might swap to abs resin, which has gotten pretty cheap)
  • 22ga solid core copper wire. I cant stand stranded core, it doesnt solder right.(25f 6.98)x
  • 1n4148 switching diode. funny thing here, I bought 100 for my ergodox, they sent me 300… (100ct $4.99)
  • 3mm threaded inserts. also from the ergodox build. (100ct $1.44)
  • m3 6mm screws, left over from the ergodox. Starting to see why I bought bulk. or maybe why I thought a second keyboard was a tempting idea… (100ct $6.47)
  • flashtree trrs breakout boards. not sure if these are still available. (3ct 5.99)
  • 9mm mouse encoder. bought a bunch to use in another project. (25ct 9.25)
  • gateron limbos! yep, i bought another thing i didnt need. i heard about the limbos and decided i really liked the way their feel sounded. now i’ve got them and i have to admitt i think i made the right choice. they’re super unique. i bought these from ilumkb, which has rocking prices for these. (50ct, about 18$ shipped)

i really hadnt planned on adding LED’s but the keycaps i printed off are translucent and it was just begging for it. time for more unnessisary purchases!

  • 20ma 2v 3mm yellow LED’s. should have paid attention. bought 2v’s instead of the 1.8v i planed for. ugh. also accidentally purched flat top leds instead of the square ones i’d wanted. ALSO ended up only using 8 of these…. (100ct 6.98) x
  • 300 ohm 1/4w resistors. bought these for the LED’s above, miscalculated. i was shooting for 5ma ea, but ended up with 4.5ma because of a derp (100ct 5.00)
  • 2ma 1.7v 3mm red LED’s. bought these because i misunderstood how current works with resistors and was sure that i wouldnt be able to power anything bigger. turns out i’m a dumb wizard and i could have used any ol’ led with the right resistor and had enough juice. as it is, however, these puppies save me quite a bit of juice and they’re much brighter than the yellows by comparison (just running off a pair of AAA’s) so the MUCH higher cost is still kinda worth it imo. (100ct 20.49) x
  • 820 ohm 1/4w resistors. for the led’s above. (100ct, 5.00) x
  • yet another set of LEDs. these are pretty much the twin to the yellows above, but red. testing showed that the flat tops brought MUCH more illumination to the keys, which so far has been a rather depressing topic. since i’m not using the yellows i can use the resistors i bought for them to save a bit of money. also, aliexpress ftw. way cheaper than amazon for an identical product. same brand and everything (100ct, 2.75)
  • 100m of .18mm enamled wire. the heavy duty wire i purchased above was nice but far too much. i’m hoping this magnet wire will be sturdy enough to take some routing, and insulated enough that i dont have to worry about crossing streams. in theory it should reduce the thickness of my handwireing by a LOT, at the cost of needing WAY more patience to use…. (100m, 2.72)

running total: 149.40

total with ‘free’ ergodox parts:162.3

total with LED’s on top: 187.24

total with ‘free’ parts without stupid purchases: 119-ish. man how’d i spend almost a hundred bucks on parts i am not using.

missing parts?:

  • usb cable
  • usb connector jack?
  • a truckload of patience