
Adding a Trackpoint to an Inexpensive Mechanical Keyboard - DanBC
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=98733.0
======
gedy
I did a more exotic/weird approach a while back and hid a Trackpoint under a
keycap on a mechanical keyboard:
[https://imgur.com/a/0VHce](https://imgur.com/a/0VHce)

~~~
amiga-workbench
[https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/j/jmouse.htm](https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/j/jmouse.htm)

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spectaclepiece
Exactly this has been on my mind for the past year except as a stand-alone key
cap that can be placed on any keyboard. If anybody want to makes this a
reality I would completely back that Kickstarter.

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SuperPaintMan
Power is a major issue for something like that, and you need to find a way to
bodge it into the existing key matrix, or have it as it's own HID device
(which I believe ruins combos). That and you don't have much space to work
with either, especially if you still want to retain the full travel of the
switch.

With Gergo [2] I took a different approach, and opted for every key to have
pads for connection to the i2c bus, as well as a custom footprint for mounting
devices (Needed as I2C is slow and that footprint is connected to a interrupt-
able bus). That allows me to create stuff like PCBs cast in resin, vibrating
keys and whatnot and whack them around the board, but there is a single slot
for anything that needs quick feedback. When a board is 1x1.2cm, you only have
so many options, and burying it in resin is valid.

But if you want to have a unified device, you pretty much need a firmware that
can handle it. QMK is an amazing project if you've never seen it. It powers
Gergo, drives the Trackball and communicates with my boards. And it's open
source! Feels weird to be writing and flashing keyboard firmware, but it's
crazy useful.

Threw a few more images here if you want to take a look at the module [1]

[1]
[https://blog.gboards.ca/2018/12/photodump.html](https://blog.gboards.ca/2018/12/photodump.html)

[2] [https://www.gboards.ca/](https://www.gboards.ca/)

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gedy
Nice work, that 1u Trackball is awesome. Does it work with any keyboard or
does it require your PCB?

~~~
SuperPaintMan
It requires a Gergo at the moment. If you know your way around interrupts and
QMK you could probably get it into a handwired setup :)

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linsomniac
I spent 20 years with a Thinkpad as my primary keyboard, and got one of the
USB Thinkpad keyboards when I moved to a new job at a desk; turns out if you
shock the hell out of one with static a few times a day for several years they
stop working...

I was already on a tiling window manager, so I borrowed a friend's Ergodox Ez,
did a custom keyboard layout, and augment the keyboard navigation with a
regular wireless mouse. I'm pretty happy with that setup. The benefits of the
custom keymap outweigh the benefits of a Trackpoint.

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sethish
I am a long time trackpoint user. I'd been using the Lenovo Bluetooth keyboard
for several years but wanted to upgrade to a nice split mechanical. I looked
into several models of mechanical keyboards that had trackpoints, but none of
them appealed. And looking into the various hacks to add one were a bit beyond
what I wanted to try on an expensive new keyboard. I noticed that qmk firmware
seemed to have a nice implementation of mouse keys. I figured it would be an
ok stopgap until I figured out a better solution. After a few days and several
remappings, it's now my preferred solution.

~~~
perkee
QMK has been the most joyful open source thing I've ever used. Typing on my
second split keyboard with weird chording right now. I've seen a spike in
rotary encoder support lately (on the Planck and an upcoming new version of
Keebio's Iris-the old version of which I'm using now) so keep an eye out for
that if you're into fun extra input methods on your keyboard. I'm looking
forward to having etch-a-sketch style arrows, personally.

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sleepybrett
There are a couple of off the shelf mechanicals I've seen over the years that
include a trackpoint.

I think these are the two I'm aware of presently:

[https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_det...](https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3094)
(built in)

[https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/](https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/)
(as a module)

I have used neither. But i've considered trying to hack a trackpoint into one
of my modded Kinesis Advantages ( I'm thinking at the intersection of RTFG or
YUHJ.

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daurnimator
I've got a tex yoda 2 which has one. Not available any more, but see
[https://www.tomshardware.com/news/tex-yoda-ii-mechanical-
key...](https://www.tomshardware.com/news/tex-yoda-ii-mechanical-keyboard-
trackpoint,34645.html)

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Eldandan
The first link is to purchase a TEX Yoda II. They're now regularly stocked at
mechanicalkeyboards.com, which is awesome.

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splatt
The idea of a trackpoint on my desktop keyboard is what led me to pull the
trigger on one of these:
[https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/](https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/)

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Topgamer7
As someone who debugs programs often, and renames files with f2, I like
f-keys. It looks like a great keyboard, aside from the lack of f-keys.

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perkee
I'm on a 56 key split right now but I used to use a 48, which had only F2 (of
all the F keys) on any layer because it's used for jumping in Sublime Text or
Atom or something. Layers vs dedicated keys becomes a matter of preference
over chording vs hand movement; some people prefer one to the other.

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earthicus
Does anybody know if there's been a keyboard with dual trackpoints, analogous
to dual joysticks on game controllers? I'm almost certain this is whats
required for precision mousing.

A software controller might look like this: one nub would move a modest sized
circle (playing the roll of the hand) quickly around the screen, while the
other would make precision movements within that region (playing the roll of
fingers), snapping to clickable regions.

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Stratoscope
If you run Windows, you might enjoy my JKLmouse utility. I designed it for
exactly the purpose you're talking about. You can use the TrackPoint for fast
movement and seamlessly follow up with pixel-by-pixel movement using either
IJKL (and neighboring keys for diagonals), HJKL, or the cursor keys. Also WASD
or ESDF for the left hand.

This is similar to the MouseKeys built into Windows, but it's designed for
laptop keyboards and does not require a 10-key pad.

Basically, whenever any mouse button is down, all the keys mentioned above
become active as mouse movement keys. So just keep the button down and you can
use TrackPoint/touchpad or the keyboard interchangeably.

To move the pointer without any mouse button down, you can hold down the Caps
Lock key which also activates keyboard mouse control.

There's an installer, or you may prefer getting JKLmouse.ahk and launching it
under AutoHotkey.

[https://www.jklmouse.com/](https://www.jklmouse.com/)

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westmeal
Nice build! Thanks for the xinput trick. I'm actually surprised it went so
well.

If you're not a fan of putting this whole thing together yourself these guys
in Taiwan make a really nice mechancial keyboard called the Tex Yoda 2. Kinda
hard to get though...

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diggernet
Or for half the price, the Unicomp EnduraPro.

[http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/FeaturedProducts/UB40PGA](http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/FeaturedProducts/UB40PGA)

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lorenzhs
A colleague of mine has that and the trackpoint on it is useless. I tried it
and it feels super stiff, no acceleration, and the mouse buttons are very hard
to press, too. The keyboard is very nice if you like buckling springs. Buy
their normal keyboards if those are your thing, but don't buy the EnduraPro.
It's nothing like a ThinkPad trackpoint.

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joecool1029
Sounds like it uses TrackPoint II, which was an earlier iteration of the
TrackPoint as we know it. I have the first laptop I ever used, a Thinkpad 350C
and it has this earlier iteration. The feel and caps used were very different.

The current version is the TrackPoint IV.

More on the topic, unfortunately does not include usage in external keyboards:
[http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TrackPoint](http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TrackPoint)

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jazzabeanie
I’d love for someone to build a track pad into the J key, and maybe a high
sensitivity trackpad into the K key.

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rjplatte
Interesting idea. How would you click?

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SuperPaintMan
Remap a button. I have the keys to the right of t,g,b mapped to right, middle,
left respectively! Really cozy with a trackball for finicky CAD work

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tjoff
This is not good for me. So... where do one buy a trackpoint? If the folklore
is to be believed ibm/lenovo are the only ones worthy.

But ebay only wanted to sell me complete keyboards, which I wouldn't mind but
prices were in the ~$100 range and is a bit much for this morning itch.

Perhaps one can buy spares somewhere?

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acomjean
They’re essentially strain gauges, with a nub. But I don’t think you can just
convert one.

IBM invented them (I worked a tj Watson research where they had a display case
dedicated to its development).

When I was a IBM I had a mouse with a nub, it was much better than the wheel
for scrolling, but the concept didn’t take off...

They’re seem to be some on alibaba..!?

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lhball
"When I was a[t] IBM I had a mouse with a nub.."

I'ver never wanted anything so badly! Link to Alibaba?

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acomjean
The mouse doesn’t exist sadly.

I mentioned alibaba because have trackpoint keyboards though (seemingly in
lots of 5). my reply wasn’t clear and lamentably too late to edit.

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devereaux
The mouse does exist, I had one.

Bing IBM SCROLLPOINT 12J3618

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acomjean
Thanks for the model number. I wonder how the driver support is.

I had one at a job too. I remember really liking it. So much better than the
wheel. When I said they didn't exist, I meant I couldn't find one on alibaba..
I should reread my posts so they are clearer...

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th0ma5
I wish more keyboards had the trackpoint, ideally a brown switch or clear
switches.

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arkh
Trackball under one thumb would be awesome. Then split the keyboard to have
two independent parts so you can type with your arms parallel (even better,
add a half-keyboard holder at the end of each of your chair armrests).

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tincholio
Sounds like you want this:
[https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/](https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/)

(I want it, too, but it's kinda pricey)

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jdhawk
And the TrackPoint and Trackball modules are still "Under Development"

I know they claim that orders are shipping immediately, but a co-worker waited
over a year for his.

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mondalaci
We have never stated this. Please stop spreading misinformation about us.
We've made it crystal clear in our most recent blog post that "we expect to
deliver every non-module UHK webshop pre-order in January to February". See
[https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/blog/2018/12/13/shipping...](https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/blog/2018/12/13/shipping-
uhk-webshop-orders) . Afterwards, we'll transition to on-demand manufacturing.

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afandian
In a similar vein, I'm on the lookout for a tiny bluetooth pointing device
that I can use with my Android. I've been looking for a trackpoint or one of
those small optical trackpads. I've had no luck.

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npmaile
I'm currently typing this from a Tex Yoda II, and I can say that at least for
me, the trackpoint keyboard on my work desktop is very nice. The biggest
problem I have is that I more or less sit in exactly the same position for
hours on end without moving any joints beyond my hands. Also, whenever someone
needs to take over for me on my machine, they are always taken aback by the
lack of mouse.

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ElijahLynn
OH MY GOODNESS, I WANT THIS!

I have toyed with ditching my MS Natural 4000 for a real ThinkPad Keyboard
because I want the TrackPoint!

This should allow me to keep the MS Natural 4000 and mod it with the
TrackPoint!

LOVE THIS!

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ElijahLynn
Actually, the "back|forward" buttons on the 4000 could be used as the
primary/secondary input devices too. Put the TrackPoint just below the "Zoom"
switch.

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jbb999
That annoying ugly "button" in the middle of the keyboard is the main thing
that makes me rule out lenovo laptops in general before I even look at them.

I find it very hard to understand why anyone would want to add one!

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raaxe
Instead of dismissing the trackpoint because of how it looks, try using it
exclusively for a week to understand why people really like them.

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lathiat
On the flip side if you use a Mac track pad for a week you’ll never need a
track point.

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eykanspelgud
I disagree. I have both a MBP and ThinkPad. I'm probably in the minority, but
I prefer the trackpoint.

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rjplatte
I also have both, and I love both. I'm about as fast with both, although
gaming with a trackpoint is a positively joyful experience.

