Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
https://lastcontinue.github.io/ctrl-info/#helpful-gists
There's comments in the scrips to make them more helpful.
Edit: Since it seemed you downloaded the loader via Safari, you'll want to replace references to `mdloader_mac` with `mdloader_mac.dms`
(I should make that an option)
Edit2: I made that an option on https://gist.github.com/LastContinue/65dc6e6dcd8181dc6c82ed351b7525ad . You can now run it as `./ldr.sh -s <name_of>.bin` and it should look for `mdloader_mac.dms` 👍
I'll fix the other script at lunch.
Edit 3: Realized I had more time than I thought this morning. Updated both scripts to accept a `-s` or `--safari` option.
(bonus you can see I made `print` and `insert` screenshot buttons. Otherwise they aren't used on a Mac. Oh also I use capslock as ctrl, but that's easy enough to swap)
I wish I could share the my configurator layout with others... But, here are some screenshots of my layout. I basically have 3 extra layers. The 2nd layer (1) brings the entire number row into the home row when I push the function key. The 3rd (2) layer is for Vim motion as I'm primarily a programmer (I access this layer by hitting the caps lock key). I also changed Caps Lock to Esc in the main layer (0). The 4th (3) layer is just for controlling the LEDs. I hope this helps.
Oh great call out. Lemme hack around and see what I can some up with (even if you've already figured it out, a screenshot will help somebody else I'm sure)
what does the second step mean?
This is the base layer. The only thing kinda tricky is the `Mod(1)` but I included how I did that. Now, you'll notice that Mod(1) (which acts like our FN key) isn't in the same spot as in the picture, but I think this will be more useful (and gotta have that eject key 😉) This is the function (FN) layer
F14 and F15 on a "regular" keyboard adjust brightness, so those are free. F3 to show desktop/windows is just "ctrl + up_arrow" so I did that. Showing Launchpad is a bit more difficult. There's no shortcut for it, so I put it as F16. This will allow you to go into the MacOS control panel and set it as a shortcut on a unique key
The rest are self explanatory, but "oops" I left the default "mute" . Just replace that with "trns" Hope this helps! You can do this! 😤
1) Press cmd + space and type in "terminal". Hit enter and it will bring up a terminal! 2) Lets make a new directory so we can kick up some dust without disturbing other things. type "mkdir CTRL" and hit enter 3) Lets go into that dirctory! type "cd CTRL" and hit enter. 4) Always be paranoid about your dir! Type "pwd" to see where you're at. It should say `users/something/something/CTRL` 5) Now we need to get the files you downloaded earlier into this directory (because I can't remember what utilities are included on a default Mac 😅). In the terminal type "open . " (there's a space between the period/fullstop) 6) That will open up a Finder window and you can drag N drop! 7) Now you're in the right DIR and you have the right files. Type "ls" ("lima sierra", not "india sierra") and you should see everything you need. The loader and the bin file. 8) Now you'll type in chmod u+x mdloader_mac.dms 9) Reopen a finder window and lets drag in a downloaded .bin file from Massdrop (any will do, even the default) 10) Because it's my instructions, we'll feed my ego and download my script 😉 Download https://gist.github.com/LastContinue/65dc6e6dcd8181dc6c82ed351b7525ad/archive/1ae0c6fdcbb862aedb1e2cf0378835775046dc3e.zip and keep opening folders until you only see `ctrl-ldr.sh` and now drag that file into your CTRL folder 11) Get a toothpick ready. You're going to need to be able to hit the button on the bottom of the keyboard. Do a few dry runs so you can get the feel of it. You can just unplug and plug the keyboard back into power it back up (you could use a pin, or even a mechanical pencil, but just be really careful with metal. Toothpick is safe) 12) Now, lets run "./ctrl-ldr.sh -s <name of the massdrop file>bin" Protip: you can start typing "massdrop" and then hit "tab". That will autocomplete the rest of the name of the file (or rename it to something shorter using finder 😉) 13) The script will tell you to hit the button. HIT THE BUTTON! 14) Wait. Your keyboard will turn off, and then turn back on 15) Enjoy! You did it! 😎 16*** If you encounter any issues, just unplug the keyboard and plug it back in. It's pretty resilient it seems.
(I hope this wasn't patronizing, I don't know how much you do or don't know about using a Mac with cli tools)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w8D0mgdEVsbKASjt3dH93dQrH2O8E3DW/view?usp=sharing
Glad I could help.
You helped me think about this from another direction and I'm not sure if you saw, but I made an app to help automate the setup for this (for Mac Users)
https://github.com/LastContinue/ctrl-info/releases/tag/0.1 (Just download the Zipfile, and keep opening until you get to the App. Probably best you have it on the Desktop, because that's where it'll try to save your files into)
I'd appreciate any feedback on it!
https://github.com/LastContinue/ctrl-info/releases (getting one of drag-and-drop loaders from here will be the easiest way to flash. There should be instructions on that page) https://github.com/LastContinue/ctrl-info/wiki If you want to reset this back to default you can just download a base map from https://www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/configurator/preset/ctrl--default without any other configuration and that'll give you more or less a stock map.
Error: Could not open port! (Correct port?) Any ideas for how to overcome this?
- Are you trying to compile a map from QMK and load it?
- Are you trying just load a map from the GUI configurator?
- Something else entirely?
What type of OS are you currently using? Most of my knowledge on this is related to MacOS/Linux, however, I can borrow a Windows machine from a buddy if needed (just be understanding that in 2020 "things take time") What CTRL keyboard are you trying to program? (at some point they did a board revision so this might be helpful). If it's an ALT I can probably help, but SHIFT seem to be different enough I might not be able to help. Let me know the answers to these questions (Or maybe you already figured it out?) and we can go from there 😀