Glyphs

Glyphs devlog #3
—Hello again proggers—
Not a build day, a thinking day. Spent it all on planning — connectivity options, shipping headaches, and the actual hard problem of fitting a full steno layout inside the Hackpad’s constraints.
no code today, just a lot of staring at ideas
Cat or dog? 2.4GHz
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
After devlog #2’s layout cuts, this round was less “build” and more “figure out what’s even possible.” Turns out connectivity and shipping logistics matter just as much as board space when you’re actually planning to ship this thing.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Connectivity: 2.4GHz Dongle Planning
Spent real time on how Glyphs should actually connect to a computer. Landed on planning around a 2.4GHz dongle rather than going straight to something like Bluetooth, and worked through what that means for the board and firmware side.
2 — Shipping Is Its Own Problem
Turns out getting parts shipped isn’t a given — some items for this project have to come by sea specifically because of where I’m located, which changes timelines in a way that pure design work doesn’t account for. Something to actually plan around, not just an afterthought.
3 — Full Steno Layout vs. Hackpad Constraints
The core design problem of the day: fitting a genuinely full steno layout onto a board that’s still fundamentally built off Hackpad’s constraints from devlog #1. Not a solved problem yet, but the shape of it is a lot clearer after today.
steno layouts want space, Hackpad’s constraints don’t care what steno layouts want
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. Except today was mostly planning, so no code got progged.
Q: Why a 2.4GHz dongle instead of Bluetooth?
A: Still early planning, but it’s the direction being worked through for now over other wireless options.
Q: Why does shipping matter this much?
A: Because sea shipping for certain parts means real lead time that has to get factored into planning now, not discovered late.
Q: Is the full steno layout figured out yet?
A: Not solved, but better understood after today’s planning session.
Q: Any actual hardware work today?
A: No, pure planning day. Building resumes once the shape of these decisions is clearer.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, sea freight permitting
POKE!!!

too lazy to write a full devlog but here was my idea for th board two halfs supplied by the kit the vowels outta my pocket

Glyphs devlog #2
—Hello again proggers—
Layout work started for real this round, and with it came the first honest round of feature cuts. Turns out “cool idea” and “fits on the board” are different questions, and the board answered one of them pretty definitively: no room for two OLED screens.
ambition met physical PCB real estate, physical PCB real estate won
Cat or dog? KiCad
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Following up on devlog #1’s refresher, this round was about actually laying things out and finding out which parts of the original vision survive contact with a real board. Some didn’t.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Working Out The Layout
Started actually placing components and working through the physical layout instead of just sketching ideas. This is where “sounds good” ideas either hold up or don’t.
2 — Cutting The Second OLED
The board simply does not have space for two OLED screens. One of the earlier plans assumed room that just isn’t there once real component footprints get accounted for. Cut it rather than force a layout that doesn’t actually work.
two screens sounded great until the board said otherwise
3 — Cutting Other Features That Didn’t Need To Exist
Beyond the OLED, went through and trimmed other planned features that were adding complexity without adding real value to what Glyphs is actually supposed to be — a multi-purpose steno keyboard, not a kitchen-sink board.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. Except this is hardware, so feel free to mentally substitute “engineer” if that fits better.
Q: Why cut the second OLED specifically?
A: Straightforward space constraint — the board layout doesn’t have room for two once real footprints are placed.
Q: Is this a major scope reduction for Glyphs?
A: More a right-sizing than a gutting — cutting stuff that didn’t need to be there, keeping what the project’s actually about.
Q: Is one OLED still in?
A: Yes, just not two.
Q: What’s next?
A: Presumably continuing the layout work now that the scope’s trimmed down to something that actually fits.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, footprint clearances permitting
PREBBLE!!!

Glyphs devlog #1

—Hello again proggers—

New project, new devlog series. Glyphs is a multi-purpose steno keyboard, built off the Hackpad project. Just wrapped the refresher on it, and it was genuinely peak. Forgot how much I loved PCB design until this exact moment.

turns out the love was never gone, just dormant

Cat or dog? KiCad

Okay let’s get into it~

—Yap—

Starting point for Glyphs: take Hackpad as the base and build a real multi-purpose steno keyboard out of it. First step was refreshing on the fundamentals before touching the actual board, and that refresher alone was enough to remember why PCB work is fun in the first place.

—The Great Suffering—

1 — The Hackpad Refresher

Went back through Hackpad to get reoriented before diving into Glyphs proper. Not glamorous, but necessary — steno layouts and multi-purpose input aren’t things you want to wing without a solid base understanding first.

2 — Remembering Why PCB Design Rules

Somewhere in the refresher it clicked again — the actual process of laying out a board, routing traces, all of it. Easy to forget how satisfying that is when you’ve been heads-down in software for a while.

software’s fine but there’s nothing quite like watching traces route

—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—

Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. Except this devlog series is mostly hardware, so maybe “progger” needs a hardware cousin term.

Q: What is Glyphs?
A: A multi-purpose steno keyboard, building on the Hackpad project as its base.

Q: What’s a steno keyboard?
A: A keyboard designed around chorded input for stenography-style typing rather than one key per character.

Q: Is this replacing any of the software projects (Spectralis, Command, EDITH)?
A: No, separate track entirely. This is hardware.

Q: What’s next for Glyphs?
A: Presumably moving from refresher territory into actual board design for the real project. Ask devlog #2.

—This is the end*—

*end for now, trace routing permitting

PINEAPPLE!!!