Purple-owl Alternatives

purple-owl reviews and mentions

• Sometimes, we just need to hear this.
  2 projects | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 29 Mar 2023

  Tell that to the Mode Envoy I have on pre-order. While I have a QK65 and KBD67Lite, and few self-design custom boards(purpleowl, mtchoc)...plssendhelp.

• Keytok CTRL Semi-Transparent Keycap Set
  1 project | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 21 Sep 2022

  If you are interested in the scan chain portion (series of shift registers polling the switches) of the electronics, I have a keyboard project (Purple Owl) going over it.

• Purple Owl, a laser cut custom 60%
  1 project | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 17 Sep 2022

  Github: [Purple Owl](https://github.com/SonalPinto/purple-owl), open source Layout: Uniform row staggered (0.25u), 61 keys Switches: Akko CS Lavender Purple Keycaps: Drop+MiTo MT3 Cyber (ortho kit) Case: 4-layers laser Cut acrylic (1/8"). Electronics: Custom PCB with hotswap sockets, 16 RGB leds for underglow, 61 keys on a scan chain (rather than diode matrix) -- powered by Seeed XIAO RP2040 on KMK firmware. You know you've gone too deep into the rabbit hole when you start sending out PCB to fab. A lot of things happened around the same time that got me into this project. The Norcal'22 meetup where I saw a great bunch of DIY keyboards from the community. Then, the KBD.news article talking about the [Seeed XIAO Mechanical keyboard contest](https://kbd.news/DIY-XIAO-Mechanical-Keyboard-Contest-1542.html) and the article on [HanWen project](https://kbd.news/Hello-Word-Smart-Keyboard-1569.html) which had brilliant electronics. However, this [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/wdgbuy/keyboard\_builders\_digest\_issue\_89/) on this sub was the moment when it all clicked and the idea for this version of the board came together. The layout is primarily inspired by [Zlant](https://1upkeyboards.com/shop/keyboard-kits/diy-40-kits/zlant-40-keyboard-pcb/)/\[ZlantXL\](https://1upkeyboards.com/shop/keyboard-kits/diy-40-kits/zlantxl-50-mechanical-keyboard-kit/). As for the case, the laser cut layers came out far better than I thought it would. Had to cut through a variety of plastics to find the right one for the bottom. A total of 4 layers with p95 matte black for top three and satinice for the bottom. Plastics sourced from my local [TAP Plastics](https://www.tapplastics.com/). They often have great cuts sitting in the scrap pile. It did help that I had access to a laser cutter for some experiments. Total credits to my wife for the gorgeous photos.

• Purple Owl, a 60% board - Custom PCB and Case, Seeed XIAO RP2040 and KMK firmware
  1 project | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 16 Sep 2022

  Github: Purple Owl, open source

• Prototype PCB just came back... and the design is already old
  2 projects | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 10 Aug 2022

  Ah, my bad. I had forgot to link the repo in the original comment. I have the draft schematics here. It's missing some final elements - like underglow LEDs (ws2812c). I need to test whether I can run these off 3.3V before I can add them to the schematic. I have seen it working in some designs, but 3v3 is "technically" out of spec for most addressable LED. Else, I need to default the LED supply to 5V. I'll prolly add a solder jumper just in case.

• Godspeed R2 MT3 Ares won at the Norcal'22 Meetup
  1 project | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 6 Aug 2022

  Background is a sidequest I am grinding on.

• Keyboard Builders' Digest // Issue 89
  2 projects | /r/MechanicalKeyboards | 1 Aug 2022

  Yeah, I am thinking about it too (purple owl). Already gone down the rabbit hole and was looking at 74HC165 parts in LCSC. Some TSSOP-16 package will do, I think.

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