Keyboard for VR?

[Roger Wilco Jr]

Not a VR keyboard, lol.

I think I'm going to need a new keyboard for VR. My existing keyboard is 18" wide, and 1/3 of it is off center to the right. I can get by now by looking at it, but for VR, I will need the letters centered in front of me for touch typing, and that puts the joystick way too far to the right. I've been checking Amazon for tenkeyless and compact keyboards. I will also need illuminated keys - though I won't be looking at them while typing most of the time, I may need to check for numbers and symbols and maybe some function keys.

I'm tempted to get a compact keyboard that doesn't have cursor keys or the del ins and etc keys - they are the narrowest and just go from l-shift to r-shif in width. The problem is that the function keys all run together, so it will be harder to tell which key is being pressed. I think this is a good compromise. It still has those keys, but they are mostly in a single column on the right. It looks like it should be fairly easy to memorize those key positions by feel and counting keys. And at just over 12" wide, it will really clear up some space for the joystick.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has run into this situation and what your solution was. Also, if anyone has any experience with this keyboard/brand, or other recommendations, I'd love to hear about it.

[TorTorden]

Build a simpit.

Embrace the madness.

[thebs]

Not a VR keyboard, lol.

I think I'm going to need a new keyboard for VR. My existing keyboard is 18" wide, and 1/3 of it is off center to the right. I can get by now by looking at it, but for VR, I will need the letters centered in front of me for touch typing, and that puts the joystick way too far to the right. I've been checking Amazon for tenkeyless and compact keyboards. I will also need illuminated keys - though I won't be looking at them while typing most of the time, I may need to check for numbers and symbols and maybe some function keys.

I'm tempted to get a compact keyboard that doesn't have cursor keys or the del ins and etc keys - they are the narrowest and just go from l-shift to r-shif in width. The problem is that the function keys all run together, so it will be harder to tell which key is being pressed. I think this is a good compromise. It still has those keys, but they are mostly in a single column on the right. It looks like it should be fairly easy to memorize those key positions by feel and counting keys. And at just over 12" wide, it will really clear up some space for the joystick.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has run into this situation and what your solution was. Also, if anyone has any experience with this keyboard/brand, or other recommendations, I'd love to hear about it.

Yes ... and I solved it with a really "low-tech" solution.

- http://www.kmart.com/essential-home-5-p ... 851896000P

I use two (2) Tray Tables split, one off to the left with my Throttle, the other off to the right with my Stick, with the keyboard "across" the gap of the two. It literally works very well and, when I don't like a position, I just move, turn, adjust, etc... the tables, and how the keyboard lays across them. Same goes for where the mouse and its pad (which I usually turn portrait-orientation, instead of common landscape) are too.

It is very, very effective, and you also can use whatever chair you're comfortable with ... as long as, of course, the chair's "arms" don't interfere with the Tray Tables.

[Roger Wilco Jr]

That's something I hadn't considered, but I may be able to do that one better. I have a desk just like this one.

It has a pull out writing table on both sides. I've tried using those in the past, but I had to sit too far back from the screen. But with VR, that won't be an issue. I'll just need to test fit that when I get home to make sure they are not two far apart. In any case, my chair and I take up just about that full width. I may be able to make rests that clamp on those trays. Something to think about.

I may still want a mechanical keyboard for a better feel (or easier to feel for the right keys), but maybe a standard tenkeyless layout would work - a lot more options that way.

No sim pit for me - too hard to crawl in and out of.

[GlobusDiablo]

I bought the Thrustmaster HOTAS X (cheap and nasty ) stuck them on each side of a 80 cm shelf, and placed this bad boy in between with added stickers on key keys. Place it all on my lap in my recliner. Nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCc367GA9-A

[Walter]

I'm tempted to get a compact keyboard that doesn't have cursor keys or the del ins and etc keys - they are the narrowest and just go from l-shift to r-shif in width. The problem is that the function keys all run together, so it will be harder to tell which key is being pressed. I think this is a good compromise. It still has those keys, but they are mostly in a single column on the right. It looks like it should be fairly easy to memorize those key positions by feel and counting keys. And at just over 12" wide, it will really clear up some space for the joystick.

Backlit and waterproof - thinking of playing in the bath?

Here's a much cheaper alternative - UK pricing but bound to be a US equivalent. I use one on a daily basis with a matched wireless mouse. Cheap enough to use as a consumable - full size, lightweight and effective. http://www.ebuyer.com/233152-xenta-supe ... oCODrw_wcB

[AJH]

I'd also second the low-tech solution approach. I use a keyboard tray that I can pull out when needed and push back under the desk when not in use. This lets me keep the HOTAS properly positioned while still having easy access to my full Black Widow Ultimate when I need it.

[TorTorden]

Backlit and waterproof - thinking of playing in the bath?

I have heard worse ideas....

[thebs]

That's something I hadn't considered, but I may be able to do that one better. I have a desk just like this one.
http://instappraisal.quadrixit.netdna-cdn.com/sites/instappraisal/files/appraisal_images/DSC01850.JPG
It has a pull out writing table on both sides.

That's another idea. The only thing I might take issue with is that it could get in the way of the 'man spreading' I know I like to do when gaming. Although at least I'm no Bill Clinton ( https://heatst.com/politics/bill-clinto ... g-scandal/ ).

I've tried using those in the past, but I had to sit too far back from the screen. But with VR, that won't be an issue.

This is why I just moved to a 42-48" TN LCD TV for gaming years ago. Yeah, I'm limited to 60Hz, and the TN (for the refresh rate) isn't going to have the best colors. But it's very, very easy to look at gaming ... day in, day out.

No longer matters now that I have the Rift.

I'll just need to test fit that when I get home to make sure they are not two far apart. In any case, my chair and I take up just about that full width. I may be able to make rests that clamp on those trays. Something to think about.

I'd love to try it myself.

I may still want a mechanical keyboard for a better feel (or easier to feel for the right keys), but maybe a standard tenkeyless layout would work - a lot more options that way.

I've learned to feel the dash (-) under the F and J keys. I've also become quite quick at finding the numpad too. Just about any, standard 101-key like keyboard now works for me.

No sim pit for me - too hard to crawl in and out of.

I'm trying to come up with a very politically incorrect joke using a petite Chinese Man complaining about a typical, fat American like myself being at his family's buffet ... only in a VR-sim pit theme.

[Roger Wilco Jr]

Thanks for the suggestions.

tl;dr
I got this brilliant idea sitting at work. Now that I'm at home, it's not as bad as I was envisioning.


With the HOTAS 18" apart and my existing keyboard sandwiched between, the throttle and joystick feel almost perfect; however; the letters on the keyboard are shifted to the left, which makes touch typing feel unnatural w/o being able to glance at the keys. If I move the keyboard and joystick about 3" to the right, and the throttle about 3" to the left, they will be 24" apart. That actually doesn't feel so bad, but it seems a little wide (more mental than anything). I think I could probably get used to it, but it would bother me (faux-cd) not having the keyboard centered (not that I'd see it in VR). I also have room to move the keyboard closer to the monitor, center the letter keys, and then bring the HOTAS back to about 18" apart. This actually works pretty well, but it's a little bit of a stretch reaching for the keyboard, and I think it would be more of a problem wearing an HMD.

That brings me to the desk. The writing tables are a little too far apart, and my chair arms, even at the lowest setting, just rub on the bottoms of the tables. On the tables, the HOTAS is about 28" apart, which again really doesn't feel that bad. With this setup I can sit closer to the keyboard, but it feels a little funny having the HOTAS closer to my body. I think I can make some simple rests that clamp the the table tops. This would allow them to be a little higher, so they don't hit the chair, and closer together. I'm still not sure about having the HOTAS closer to my body, and the keyboard further away, even if they split the difference. I think I'll mock something up, because I'll also be able to get the HOTAS and keyboard about 1" lower, which should be a little less fatiguing (holding my arms up on the HOTAS).

A keyboard tray is out of the question. I already had to remove the center drawer just to make room for my legs. I also had to add 1" spacers to the kitchen table. I've always had to shop in the tall shop (6'5" - 195cm), but now I'm shopping in the big & tall shop.

So after all that, I'm basically back to needing a narrower keyboard that I can place between my HOTAS with the letter keys centered and the HOTAS 18" apart. It's either that, or making an adapter shelf, which will also need a narrower keyboard. And regardless, I don't like my low profile chicklet style keyboard, especially when I can't check it visually while wearing an HMD.