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faq and bluetooth
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bstiq committed Oct 22, 2023
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---
layout: default
title: Bluetooth build
nav_order: 14
parent: Help
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1. TOC
{:toc}

# Introduction

Wireless bluetooth capabilities are not supported officially on Bastard Keyboards.

If you still wish to build one of the Charybdis or Dactyl keyboards, in this page is detailed a basic outline of the work needed.

Before beginning, make sure you have some **good understanding of electronics and firmware**. Read the whole page before comitting.

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# Caveats

There are a number of caveats involved.

Firmware:
- ZMK does not officially support input devices, so you will need to build from a fork
- There are some examples of Miryoku configurations for the Skeletyl and Charybdis Nano

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- Out of the box, there might be connectivity or trackball connection issues, depending on your OS and hardware

Hardware:
- You will need custom PCBs (sensor, shield). Read more below
- At the moment, only the n!n and clones are supported. The XIAO BLE is not supported because it doesn't have enough pins

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Support:
- When building one of the officially supported Bastard Keyboards, you can get online support through email or discord
- When building this unsupported bluetooth keyboard, **you will only get very limited support**

# Required hardware

A wireless Bastard Keyboard will use mostly the same Bill Of Materials as the wired ones. There are some custom PCBs and hardware you will need to get, you can read more below.

## Sensor

If you are building a Charybdis, you will need a custom sensor PCB. If you are building a Dactyl, you can skip to the next section.

// TODO

## Shield

// TODO

## Others

// TODO on/off button, no need for audio jack

# Required firmware

// TODO
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title: Frequently Asked Questions
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parent: Help
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1. TOC
{:toc}

# Hotswap

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{: .question }
Is it possible to build a hotswap Bastard Keyboard ?

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**On the 3d keyboards (Scylla, Charybdis...):**
It's not possible to use MX sockets, because they need a specific footprint on the PCB which is not present. It is in theory possible to use Millmax sockets, though not recommended.

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When installing the PCBs, you bend them to fit it to the curvature so the whole thing is continuously under tension, pulling away from the switch plate, only held in place by the switch pins and solder joints.

Generally mill-max has different holding strength depending on the switch pins and usage but it won't be enough to keep the PCB from pulling out reliably.

Some people have done millmax builds by gluing the PCBs, others have done it by using amoeba single switch PCBs and no glue (although this is basically like hand wiring with extra steps).

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The global experience with gluing the flexible PCBs with Millmax is: you have to be very precise and careful, and installing and removing the switches is a pain. It is not recommended and overall terrible.

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# Bluetooth

{: .question }
Is it possible to build a bluetooth / wireless Bastard ?Keyboard?

It is in theory possible, with a few caveats:
- it is not officially supported by Bastard Keyboards
- it requires a lot of custom hardware
- ZMK does not officially support wireless input devices yet
- you will get very limited support from the community, as only a few builds have been done

If you still wish to go ahead, **make sure you have a good understanding of electronics and firmware**.

There are more details in the bluetooth build section.
// TODO link

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