Volodymyr Shcherbyna
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Dilemma split keyboard firmware repo ↗

Adapting existing QMK and Vial firmware for an unconventional split keyboard I bought assembled.

Table of Contents

What this is, and what it is not

I am not the author of this firmware. QMK, Vial and the MaxTouch touchpad driver are existing open-source projects, and the BastardKB Dilemma is an existing keyboard design. I bought an assembled Dilemma, which is an unconventional split keyboard on RP2040, and adapted the ready firmware to my needs.

What I did

  • Reverse-engineered the wiring and pin assignment between the two halves.
  • Reconfigured the split serial link and the GPIO assignments for that wiring.
  • Ported the existing open-source MaxTouch touchpad driver into this keyboard’s configuration. The driver is not my work; I only brought it into the Dilemma setup.
  • Kept the changes in a public fork of Vial-QMK, with more than 30 of my own commits.

Outcome

The keyboard works with firmware that matches its real wiring and with the touchpad enabled. The work is configuration, patching and wiring analysis on top of other people’s firmware. I did not assemble or repair the hardware.