u/Ok-March1037

It seems the previous post violated the rules of r/ErgoMechKeyboards, so I am republishing the article here.

Outsider is an ortholinear keyboard developed with the Planck as its core. My initial purpose was to "research ZMK". Although it was developed based on wireless keyboard standards, it does not mean it cannot support QMK.

Current status of the Outsider PCB:

• Soldering only.
• ProMicro footprint MCU driven.
• Multi-layout, break-off sections supported.
• QMK (Wired version):
  • Supports EC-11, TPS43, TM040040 (choose one of three).
  • Supports VIAL.
• ZMK (Wireless version):
  • Only supports EC-11.
  • Supports GitHub Actions.
  • Supports ZMK Studio.

Project Link:https://github.com/DreaM117er/Vanguard-Keyboard-Outsider

Regarding the GitHub Actions and ZMK Studio parts, I developed them along the way while researching ZMK. I have also written this process into a tutorial article under the project for everyone's reference. There are both English and Chinese versions:

https://github.com/DreaM117er/Vanguard-Keyboard-Outsider/blob/main/about-zmk-eng.md

If you are interested, feel free to dive in for some self-learning.

Thanks.

Hi everyone, DreaM117er here again.

This time I'm releasing a keyboard I built specifically for ZMK. It's called the Outsider, a modular ortholinear keyboard continuing the Explorer Keyboard Blank module architecture.

I really love ortholinear keyboards like the Planck. Aside from being an absolute favorite for OCD, it has a lot of extensible design points, especially for split keyboards. But I'm not discussing splits here—what can it support?

• QMK, VIAL
  • Supports TPS43, TM040040 trackpads.
  • Supports EC-11, EC-12 encoders.
• ZMK
  • Only supports EC-11, EC-12 encoders.
• Multi-layout, break-off sections, flippable soldering, multi-switch support.
  • Soldering only.

After final testing, I found it was an MCU core design issue that prevented ZMK from supporting the trackpad, which is a deep regret. But that's not the main point. As mentioned, I developed this board for ZMK, so I wrote an about-zmk-XXX tutorial under the project. All texts have both English and Chinese versions for everyone to read. The outline is below:

1. Differences between QMK and ZMK
2. ZMK Cloud and Local Architecture
   • zmk-main
   • zmk-config
3. Building the ZMK Local Compilation Environment
   • Installing dependencies & error handling
   • west.yml setup
   • .gitignore
   • Zephyr engine
   • How to compile firmware locally
4. zmk-config Directory Architecture
   • Adding a new keyboard
   • Operating core & function setup
   • PCB schematics & actual matrix diagrams
   • Adding an encoder
5. Introduction to Pointing Devices
   • How to read the specification sheet?
   • Mounting third-party databases
6. How to setup GitHub Actions
7. Physical Debugging Rules
8. Pointing Devices (Under construction)
9. Starting ZMK Studio (Beta)
   • Prerequisites
   • Coordinate system principles
   • How to write the coordinate system

If you are interested in this part, I have open-sourced everything. I'll find some time later to put the firmware in the Release section, or you can directly check the source code in my Repo/vial and Repo/DreaM117er-zmk-config.

Project Link: https://github.com/DreaM117er/Vanguard-Keyboard-Outsider
About-ZMK-ENG: https://github.com/DreaM117er/Vanguard-Keyboard-Outsider/blob/main/about-zmk-eng.md

Thanks everyone.