lubekpl / Unix60

HHKB Layouted and QMK compatible keyboard built from FR4

Unix60

The Unix60 is a budget FR4 keyboard designed to make a HHKB-style layout available to everyone with as few compromises as possible.

If you have any questions or need help, please join the FR4 Discord: https://discord.gg/z7mpQX5YJQ

Disclaimer: You must follow this guide in the order it is written. Assembling stuff in the wrong order (specifically your Pro Micro or Elite C and its headers) will likely result in you having to desolder components and significantly increase the amount of time it takes to assemble. I am not responsible for boards damaged during assembly. I highly recommend you read through the entire guide before starting assembly.

Assembly:

1. Put the diodes through the PCB so the legs stick out the front side of the board and so the diode is flush with the back, making sure the black line on the diode faces the square pad:

2. Solder from the back and snip the legs:

3. Place your Pro Micro or Elite C onto its pin headers and sit it into the board so the Pro Micro is on the back of the PCB (the side with the Unix60 logo) and tape it down to temporarily hold it in place. This helps align the pin headers properly. It doesn't matter whether you put the shorter pins on the PCB or the longer ones; either way, you will have to snip the longer ones once you've soldered them in. DO NOT SOLDER THE PRO MICRO OR ELITE C TO THE PIN HEADERS YET!

4. Solder in the pin headers from the front side of the PCB. Do not solder the Pro Micro or Elite C yet, just the headers!

5. Solder your reset button to the PCB

Note: If you've lost your reset button, don't worry. Shorting the two pads closest to the edge of the PCB or the two closest to the inside will reset your controller. After all, that's all the button does :)

8. Attach your stabs to the PCB (do not be afraid to push, you won't break it)

9. Mount switches in the corner of the plate to align it, then lower the plate onto the PCB

10. Add the rest of your switches and solder them all in

11. Once you have verified that all your diodes, switches, and Pro Micro or Elite C pin headers are soldered properly, you can now solder your Pro Micro or Elite C onto the pin headers:

12. Attach standoffs to the bottom of the plate using screws from the other side

13. Screw on the bottom plate

Flashing instructions for Linux:

1. Plug your Pro Micro or Elite C in

2. Open up the QMK configurator and create your desired layout

3. Download the .json file (on the left, next to keymap.json)

4. Open up a command line

5. Type qmk flash /path/to/layout.json (obviously replacing the file path with the path to your downloaded layout) and follow any additional instructions

One thing to note is that you can compile a .hex file on the configurator and flash that with avrdude, however, I prefer the method outlined above.

Flashing instructions for Windows:

Please keep in mind that I do not run Windows on my own system and cannot 100% verify this flashing procedure will work or if it requires any other configuration. I highly recommend you check the QMK docs if something is not working.

1. Plug your Pro Micro or Elite C in

2. Open up the QMK configurator and create your desired layout

3. Click "compile" in the upper right, and once it's done, download the .hex by clicking "firmware"

4. Open up QMK toolbox and load your downloaded .hex

5. Click "flash" and follow any additional instructions