Build your own ergonomic low-powered wireless keyboard!

Lotus 58 - unWired, is a programmable wireless split keyboard in the Lotus keyboard family.

Lotus 58 - unWired is a drop-in ready PCB that fits the Lotus 58 case and plates, with no wires or charger needed. It has no screens, encoders, or RGB on the keyboard. It's just plain and simple a wireless keyboard with excellent battery life, no more, no less. Instead, it uses a small and unobtrusive USB type C dongle to connect to your computer.

Sold as a pair of PCBs with the dongle of your choice, you will need this kit and accessories to make a complete keyboard.

All relevant updates on estimated start of sale date etc are given on Discord, please don't all email me to ask!

unWired vs Wireless - What's the difference?

Wireless usually means Bluetooth™ BLE in the DIY world, and quite often using the excellent nice!nano controller with the option to add the low-powered nice!view screen. And the Lotus 58 - BLE fills that role in the Lotus keyboard family.

But BLE has disadvantages mainly in power consumption. And adding encoders and RGB to the keyboard, you are further compromising on the battery life, needing a larger battery and more frequent charging. And, it's not really ever wireless in a true sense, as you somehow have to plug in and charge the battery.

unWired means exactly what it sounds like, and what wireless really should mean. There simply are no wires to the keyboard, none, no-where, no-how, never. Never ever. There simply isn't a plug for a cable on the PCB. There is a dongle, however, since without BLE you still need to talk to the computer somehow. This builds on what started with the Mitosis keyboard and is very much a modernized version of it.

unWired means low power. The coin-cell battery (one per hand) doesn't need to be recharged! And since the keyboard does just one thing when you press a key, which is to wake up and send the keystrokes to the dongle, and nothing else, you will be surprised by how long that small coin-cell battery lasts. For most users, even if you use the keyboard for an entire workday, it should last you not weeks, not months, but more likely years. Yes, actual years, as in at least a year, probably more.¹

unWired is NOT Bluetooth™ BLE, or Tri-Mode. Even though the wireless module used is in fact capable of BLE if configured for it, and making the firmware Tri-Mode is quite possible. The simple reason is that this would require a more complicated circuit with a larger battery and a connector to plug in and charge, for it to function over a longer period, given BLE's much higher power consumption.

For reference a non-RGB split keyboard using the nice!nano v2 with Bluetooth™ BLE and a 220mAh² battery lasts around 3 weeks for the main half according to ZMK Power-profiler. The Lotus 58 - Unwired should last roughly 30 - 40 times as long with a coin-cell of the same capacity.

The dongle for the Lotus 58 - unWired, can be the bare minimum and quite small like the unWired Mini, if you prefer that option, or it can be hidden in a macro pad with options for an encoder, OLED, and RGB to use as layer indicators, or whatever you fancy like the UnWired Media. Both powered by an RP2040 Zero, they have more than enough memory and performance for whatever keymap, macro, or other programming you would want to do.

The dongle means you are using QMK/Vial to map your keyboard, even though QMK has no real support for wireless. We simply don't tell the firmware its wireless (Shh! 🤐) The downside is, well, you need a dongle. The upside is it's easy, familar and works quite well. It also works flawlessly in BIOS etc, where BLE keyboards have obvious issues.

The dongle also means that the link has the technical capacity to be a lot lower latency than BLE, if the signal quality is good enough, although the actual link quality and latency will vary greatly depending on your wireless environment. In practice, the link will be just as good as with BLE, and potentially better in good conditions.³

Lotus 58 - unWired can be built as a DIY-kit, and delivered as a blank PCB with all the parts needed to finish it.⁴ Or you can select to have it fully finished and ready to use, with all parts soldered. Simply add the coin-cells and switches.

Lotus 58 - unWired

Main Features

Keyboard:

• Features 58 keys, with a 4x6 main matrix and 4+1 thumb-keys per hand.
• Designed with no diodes for a fully interrupt based key sensing.
• Kaihl Hot-swap sockets for Cherry MX compatible switches.⁵
• Fully QMK and VIAL compatible, with every aspect of it being programmable.⁵
• Nordic nRF52810 chipset.
  • Ultra low-power sleep and dormant modes.
  • Nordic Gazell wireless protocol - Low power, short range.⁷
  • Support for Encrypted Pairing with AES-128 (Currently not implemented in firmware).⁸
• Powered by a single CR2032 Coin-cell battery per hand (Non-rechargeable primary cell).⁹
• Designed with a Sandwich-style plate/case as part of the design and with 3D printed cases as added options.

Dimensions per hand (LxBxH): 145x115 mm, Case height 11-13mm, Height with keycaps ~35mm

Dongle:

• unWired Mini - Small and unobtrusive dongle.
  • RP2040 MCU, Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz.
  • 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of on-board Flash memory.
  • USB-C connector, (USB 1.1 device and host support).
  • Single RGB LED as indicator.
  • Dimensions (LxBxH): 28x18x8 mm
• unWired Media - TBA
  • Dimensions (LxBxH): LxBxH mm

Build Features:

• The PCB design is reversible, making the PCB for both hands identical for a much lower cost.
• Simplified design with almost no components, extremely easy to build.

Basic Components

Parts included in the DIY-kit:

What do you need to buy?

You can buy most parts for a full functioning keyboard in this listing or as additional components in this store. You will however need to add switches and keycaps of your choice from other sources, as it would be impossible for me to stock a reasonable selection of what the market can offer.

For a bare minimum functional keyboard you will need:

• This PCB Kit (Sold as a pair with dongle)
• Case Kit (x2) with hardware or a 3D printed case or similar

Required Accessories

• Key Switches, Cherry MX compatible (56-58 pcs)
• Key Caps, Cherry MX compatible (Set)
• CR2030 3V Coin-cell batteries (2 pcs)

The Sandwich Case

Lotus 58 is designed as a complete keyboard with a sandwich style case of the same FR4 fibreglass material as the PCB.

The FR4 fibreglass plates used are quite stiff and give a good intermediate feel for keyboards, making it the ideal low cost material for a case. The 'case plates' are available in black or white, with multiple options based on your choice of layout.

Please Note! You do infact need a case of some kind, as being hot-swap compatible the front plate helps hold the switches in place, and without the plate, they will very easily come undone. You can however 3D print your own case, or have plates made in whatever material you desire. All the information required for this can be found on the linked GitHub page.

Specific caveat for Lotus 58 - unWired & BLE: These products should not be used with a metal case (both ferrous and non-ferrous metal, ie Aluminium), either CNC machined or as plates, as it reduces wireless performance and increases battery consumption noticeably.

¹ In testing, using the prototype for a normal 40h work week, battery life has greatly exceded this, but results may vary with usage.

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button_cell - CR2032 has a nominal capacity of 220 mAh.

³ https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF52810 - This describes the technical specifications and quality of the theoretical link, as per the chipset and API. Keep in mind that this is an enthusiast grade keyboard, with a very low power wireleless link, that is highly susceptible to outside interference. Be aware that you experience may vary greatly.

⁴ Segger J-Link - Flashing the modules requires a Segger J-link or equivalent hardware flasher.

⁵ Please note that Lotus 58 supports only Cherry MX type switches (3 & 5 pin), NOT Kaihl Choc, as they require a different PCB and plate design.

⁶ The dongle is infact the part that uses QMK/Vial, and the keyboard parts act as perpherial parts over a serial link. Firmware for the nRF modules is made available as binaries.

⁷ The communication is currently unencrypted with the base firmware, with an effective range of <2 m LOS, so sniffing/spoofing is technically possible, but highly impractical/unlikely to happen.

⁸ This pairing requires a hardware flasher to achive, and re-flashing to remove or to re-pair the units. I still have not determined how this will be handled logistically.

⁹ With no voltage regulator, the circuit simply cannot handle the voltage of a rechargeable coin-cell. Please do not attempt to use one!

Normal handling time is 3 - 5 working days, not including build items (Those usually take 1 - 2 weeks).

Shipping is done with insured/signed for parcels, where no such service is available the parcel is sent as insured parcel, but may not be fully traceable the entire transit. If no insured or traceable service is available, parcels will be sent as uninsured/untraceable at the buyers responsibility. All of which is clearly stated on checkout.

All packets are represented to courier services and customs at their true sale value, and all responsibility for import fees, taxes and tariffs lie with the buyer.

The SE/EU "Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts (SFS 2005:59)" allows returns of the items in undamaged (unsoldered!) condition within 14 days of receiving it. Return shipping on returned items are the responsibility of the buyer.