QMK firmware for the uConsole keyboard
Open-source QMK port of the keyboard firmware: Select + ball scrolls, Fn + G game mode, precision mode, tap-hold keys and a web tester, flashed over USB.
What it takes
- Firmware flash
Difficulty 2 of 3 — moderate.
Details
olly ported the keyboard to QMK in September 2024 (fork at oesmith/qmk_firmware) with Select-held trackball scrolling and Fn + Esc to reach the bootloader. beams (j1n6) now maintains the standalone qmk-uconsole distribution: Select + ball scrolls, Select + click toggles precision mode, Fn + G turns the arrows into a d-pad, tap-hold layers are remappable and a browser keyboard tester checks the result. GPL-3.0.
The first flash from stock uses ClockworkPi's maple_upload tool (lengthen the script's delays from 750 to 1500 ms); later upgrades use dfu-util with Left Alt + Right Alt + Start for the bootloader. If it goes wrong, short the S1 pads for the green bootloader blink and run the stock flash script. Several owners find the trackball smoother on QMK; pxlfvr's stock-based firmware exists for those who hit USB power issues with it.
Links
Open at Forum threadRelated mods
A modified build of ClockworkPi's own Arduino firmware: QMK-like trackball smoothing and Select + ball scrolling without QMK's USB power quirks.
A clean rewrite of the stock keyboard firmware on STM32 HAL: ten switchable layers, a better trackball curve with inertia, Fn lock and auto-dimming backlight.
ClockworkPi's flash tool updates the keyboard's STM32 over the internal USB with dfu-util, no disassembly; the UART route and the S1 pads recover a bricked one.
SuperMarioSF's xinput middle-button emulation turned the ball into a scroll wheel; ClockworkPi then built Fn + ball scrolling into the stock firmware.
Swap the stock ball for a white BlackBerry ball, the ball from a Pimoroni breakout or a fresh EVQWJN007 module — the usual first fix for a jumpy trackball.
beams' guide revives dead trackballs by roughing the ball on 120-grit paper or fitting a 5.5 mm glass ball, with a printed shim to stop the module rattling.