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by jsheard 888 days ago
Does that NuPhy QMK codebase include the wireless code, or are they doing the old trick of running QMK on one microcontroller and the wireless stack on a separate microcontroller? QMK has very limited wireless support so AFAIK wireless QMK boards usually use the dual MCU arrangement, and the wireless MCU firmware is probably still closed even if they release their QMK source.
2 comments

It includes the wireless code.

I think you're confusing this with WiFi. The Nordic Semiconductor chips don't require a firmware upload; the protocol they run is vastly simpler than wifi -- it's like UART-over-2.4ghz-GFSK-radio plus some error correction.

https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Components/nRF24L01_prel...

The block diagram doesn't show any kind of CPU in there.

Oh of course, I'm confusing it with Bluetooth boards which need a hefty wireless firmware stack. Boards using a dongle don't necessarily need that complexity.
Yeah the NuPhy Air is the first wireless keyboard I've ever been willing to use, specifically because it is non-bluetooth (and I can recompile the firmware to guarantee that it isn't using bluetooth!)

Bluetooth keyboards were a horrible idea.

Separate wireless controller, see the glue code at [0]

[0]: https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/compare/master...nuphy-s...