So, over the past few years you could say that I’ve gotten into the realm of custom mechanical keyboards. I guess you could say I’ve gotten a lot into the realm of custom mechanical keyboards. So much so, that when my friend asked me to help him write the firmware for the specialized keyboard and PCB he was designing, I couldn’t hesitate at the opportunity.

So, in honor of international 40’s day, I introduce to you, The Compensator. A 40%(?) monstrocity with a childishly goofy name, 10U Spacebar support, and a required 2 full keycap sets to fill it.

A 3D render of the Compensator Keyboard

Crazy Right? The thing is laid out with an XT Column, Southpaw Numpad, Navigation Cluster, Alphas, Another Navigation Cluster, Numpad, and another XT Column. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s a very fun to type on.

A diagram indicating the layout of the Compensator Keyboard

A side picture of the Compensator

A picture of the Compensator from the back

A picture of the Compensator at a recent SMK Keyboard Meetup

We’re planning on creating a Geekhack page and running a local group by of the unit, so when I get more photos I will update this post with them.

Geekhack Page: The Compensator

All in all, what started as a goofy idea in 2022 has turned into a full fledged project. I’m excited to see where it goes from here and any other keyboard projects I work on.