What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
There just isn't a demand for them on higher end boards to hit MOQ (minimum order quantity). Dedicated media keys are generally reserved for lower-quality "g4m3r" style boards.
Most people who own higher end keyboards who also care about tactile audio control already own dedicated amps/DACs for their PCs. I know I do, and my headphone amp has an extremely nice Alps 27 volume pot on it, much better than anything offered on any keyboard on the market today.
It's worth pointing out that I am not at all talking down your preferences or what you're looking for, it's just the nature of the market. This assumes you're trying to get into higher quality mechanical keyboards. It'll be difficult, but you can find or build a really nice keyboard that has dedicated media controls, but a volume wheel just isn't going to be feasible unless you go 100% custom and do it yourself. At that point you're looking at around $500-900 for the complete board.
You can get USB volume wheels for $30. What's nice about a separate wheel is that you can use them regardless of whatever keyboard strikes your fancy at that moment, and unifies headphone controls.
However, I built this for $15 bucks. Just Google "Rotary Encoder Volume Wheel". It's powered by a pro-micro clone and a rotary encoder knob. A little solder, a little hot glue, a little copy-pasta and *DONE* . (I mostly did a DIY so I know for a fact it will work with Mac, and in the future I can add more buttons to have more features)