Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Comments by Epomaker If you think any part of this manual needs correction, adjustment or updating, sent the team a message at support@epomaker.com. You can also send a message there if you have any issues with your keyboard. Warranty Information Epomaker’s Warranty covers any factory defects that might affect the proper functionality of your purchase. It doesn’t cover any damage that may occur from normal wear and tear.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Unboxing What's included in the Box Note: This might change depending on availability 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Epomaker SK61/GK61 Epomaker Keycap Set Epomaker SK61/GK61 Manual USB A to USB C Braided Cable (1.5m / 4.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 FN + L: PU FN + M: Del Backlight Settings FN + Backspace: Backlight On/Off FN + ]}: Backlight Mode 1-5 (Modify) FN + {[: Backlight Mode 6-9 FN + \|: Pause/Play Light Effect FN + Down Arrow: Backlight Brightness FN + Up Arrow: Backlight Brightness + FN + Left Arrow: Backlight Effect Speed FN + Right Arrow: Backlight Effect Speed + Keyboard Modes Standard Mode: Standard Mode FN + Q (Driver Mode): Q White Light LED FN + W (Layer 1): W Light White LE
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Keyboard Keycap Dimensions The “units” of a keycap refer to a comparison between a one “unit” standard key. This is such that a 2u key will be two units of a 1u key. Changing Modes/Layers The following modes are available on your GK61/SK61 Standard Layer In this layer, you have preset configurations for the buttons to be pressed which you can see in the manual above.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Layer 3: Onboard memory layer, The “R” key will light up when this mode is selected. This layer will work without having to be connected wired, but you’re limited to what lighting you saved onboard (similar to the “standard layer”). Setting Up Keyboard/Bluetooth Windows 10 Bluetooth 1. First, charge the keyboard via a USB port on your computer until it has decent charge. 2. Power on the keyboard using FN + Space.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 6. Select “Add Bluetooth or other device” 7. Select “Bluetooth” from the add devices section. 8.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Your device will then be paired on that specific button. To disconnect/reconnect the keyboard, press the same button until the button turns white. iOS Bluetooth Setup 1. First, charge the keyboard via a USB port on your computer until it has decent charge. 2. Power on the keyboard using FN + Space. This will put your Epomaker in bluetooth mode. 3. Long Press Either FN + Z, FN + X, or FN + C for about three seconds.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 6. Make sure that your device is considered discoverable. 7. Press “SK61/GK61 KB” to connect to your Epomaker SK61/GK61. 8. When your device is connected to your iPhone, it should show as “Connected”. Note: If you want to disconnect the device, you can press the information icon on the side, and then select “Disconnect” or “Forget this device”.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 button. To disconnect/reconnect the keyboard, press the same button until the button turns white. MacOS Bluetooth Note: make sure your device is discoverable and turned on. 1. Press Command + Space to open Search 2. Type “Bluetooth” into the Spacebar, select “Bluetooth” (Don’t select Bluetooth File Exchange). 3. Hold the desired pairing button you would like on your keyboard.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 4. You should see “SK61 KB'' on the Bluetooth devices. Press “Connect” 5. You should see a keyboard symbol that is connected, and the Keyboard assistant pop up.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 6. Go through the keyboard setup, and make sure that you follow the instructions carefully. Your device, afterwards, should have the proper layout and functionality. Linux Bluetooth Pairing Bluetooth pairing really depends on the Distro you are using and what desktop environment you are using. You can find guides on how to pair your bluetooth for a few of the popular distributions here: Ubuntu 20.04: h ttps://help.ubuntu.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Downloading Software for your Epomaker SK61/GK61 The keyboard has support for MacOS, Windows and Linux. Make sure when you’re installing the software that you have a ZIP manager. We suggest using the open sourced 7Zip. Download it here: https://www.7-zip.org/download.html or The Unarchiver on MacOS: https://theunarchiver.com/. Windows Download 1. Visit the download page at https://epomaker.com/pages/software-downloads. 2.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. Extract the file to a temporary folder. Click the file and run. 4. Run through the installer and install to the location you would like - the default location will be the C:/ drive.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 5. Launch the software by searching “GK68Plus Driver” in the search bar. MacOS and Linux Download (GUI): https://github.com/pixeltris/GK6X In order for the keyboard to interface with the software, you’re going to need to have the keyboard in wired mode if you want to change the driver layer. Make sure you are using the cable that came with the keyboard, the keyboard can only communicate with the software via USB-A to USB-C.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 2. Click to download the “Stable channel” 3. Click the file in your download folder, you should see an installer launch, run through the installer and install mono. 4. Head to https://github.com/pixeltris/GK6X/releases, here you should download the latest release with the filename “GKL6X-XX-GUI.zip” With “XX” being the most recent release.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 5. Click the file to begin the download, and put this file somewhere where you can access it regularly via CLI. In this case, we will put it on the desktop. 6. Press Command + Space and type “Terminal” into the search bar. Press “Terminal”. This is where we will do our commands.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 7. You want to make the current directory you put your driver folder you placed it in, in this case, we placed the GK68X folder on the desktop, so we type the command cd Desktop 8. When you are in the folder that has the folder for the driver inside, you want to then cd into that folder, you can do this by typing cd GKX-XX.exe (You can use “tab” to auto-complete). 9. When you are inside your driver folder, type mono GK6X.exe.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 10. When you see that your device is successfully connected, you can then type gui to launch the program. 11. The language might launch in Chinese by default. You can change this above by clicking the flag and changing the option to English.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Software Tutorials This section will show you how to use your SK61/GK61 for changing colours, macros and binds. In order for your keyboard to be detected by the software, it needs to be connected with the given USB-A to USB-C cable that came with the keyboard. Direct USB-C to USB-C connections will NOT work. Lighting Section This section was created for how to adjust the different lighting, create them and add them to onboard memory.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. Click the “+” Button to add a lighting effect to the LE File Management Module. 4. Enter the name that you want to call the lighting profile that you want to create. 5. Click the Edit icon on the given lighting effect name you just made to start editing the RBG and effect. You should be welcomed by the editor. Here you can add a lighting option by clicking the “+” Button, or delete using the trash can.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 6. Select a setting and then change the colour using the colour wheel. Select the keys on the keyboard you want the colour to use, or select from the buttons All, Top Bar, Bottom, Fifth Line. Them press the Effect to confirm the location you want the colour on. Make sure you do it in that order. In this case, I will make my keyboard a lavender purple and I want it to cover all the buttons.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 8. Go back to the configurations tab, and then select your LE File you created. 9. Click View, then Apply and Save. Edit Driver Layer Colours The driver layer will only work when the device is in wired mode, so in order to edit the colours in the driver layer you can’t use bluetooth. 1. Launch the software with the keyboard connected in wired mode. The keyboard must use the cable given, or a USB-C to USB-A cable.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 2. Click Driver 1 from the layers you can see above to access the Driver layer. 3. Click the side panel above, you will see different lighting effect options which you can press. Press any or create your own. You can see how to do this in “Creating a Lighting (.LE) File” above. 4. Click View, Apply and Save.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Add Onboard Lighting Effects We’re going to be adjusting the on-board lighting effects. You can access these effects by using FN + ] Until you reach the effect you created. 1. Launch the software with the keyboard connected in wired mode. The keyboard must use the cable given, or a USB-C to USB-A cable. The USB-A connection gives the ability for the driver to interface and detect the software.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. Click confirm to put that specific lighting configuration onto the on-board memory. 4. Click save, and then apply. Make sure you do this or it will not be on-board. The board backlight should turn for a second, and turn back on. 5. Click the FN + ] until you find the desired effect you selected. Want more effects for your Epomaker keyboard? You can make one yourself, or join our Discord that has many created by the awesome community: https://discord.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. Find the location where you saved your file, and select the file and press open. You should then see the file in the LE File Management Module. Downloading Lighting “LE” Files Uploading and downloading the files allows you to try other peoples configurations and also send it to other people. 1. Press the file you would like to download from the LE File Management Module and elect the download button as shown above.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 2. Enter your desired location and the filename. 3. Click Save. The file will now be saved in that location and can be shared. Creating Frame Based Lighting Effects These lighting effects will change with time. This gives you the option to change the different colours depending on the time. In this case, we’re going to be turning this purple colour on and off between the different rows.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 1. Select the “LE Files” Tab. This is the location for editing all your lighting effects. The frames will be the timing that different layers of effects will happen on the keyboard. The parameter will adjust the length and duration of your lighting effect. So the higher the value is for the parameter, the longer it will take for the keyboard to change the colour.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 2. We will first start by selecting our first frame, and setting the count. The count is for how long the colour will stay on the board. We then will select “First Line” as we want the colour to show on the first row.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. We will then select the colour we want to add to that row. In this case, we will be using a single purple colour. But you can add multiple colours to your liking and layer them.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 4. If you’re using a single colour, select your colour and then assign that colour to all the keys. We are going to be using frames to determine when those keys or specific rows turn on and off, but it will be the same colour. 5. We create our next frame and then rename it, we want to then select how long the frame is going to last by using the “count” variable.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 6. Select what the next frame is going to do, since we’re going to be lighting up the rows on the keyboard sequentially, we’re then going to make a new frame, rename it, then select the fourth line, make a new frame, assign it to the fifth line and so on.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 7. By the end you should have the frames you want, you want to click the tick button to save the configuration to your lighting file. This can then be used on your keyboard.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 8. Go back to the configuration file to enable your new lighting effect on your keyboard.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Layout Section The layout section is here to help people understand how to remap keys, edit their language settings and also set up a Mac layout, restore to default settings, and also understand what the different layers are and how they work. Changing Keyboard Language Settings This will help people who use different layouts than the typical US layout. You will need to order separate language keycaps that support your layout, however. Windows 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. Click the “Add a keyboard” button 4. Select your desired keyboard layout from this section. You can then change between these layouts using Win + Space.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 MacOS In this case, we will be adding the Dvorak layout to our MacOS keyboard preferences. This Mac is running MacOS Catalina. 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 2. When you are at the System Preferences screen, select “Keyboard”. 3. Select “Input Sources” when you are at the Keyboard settings. 4.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 5. Select the “Add” button when you find the keyboard layout you want. 6. Select the keyboard layout you just decided to use - in this case we selected Dvorak.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Remapping A Single Key We will be remapping the “S” key to the Backspace key to show how it works. 1. Select the layer you would like the button to be mapped to. In driver mode, the layer will only work when the keyboard is in wired mode, but the Driver Layer will not work on MacOS. Layer is for MacOS, however, and is an onboard Layer. Standard layer can not be remapped. 2. Make sure that you’re on the proper layout for your Operating System.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual 3. Version 1.3 Press the key on the animated keyboard that you would like to edit. In this case, We are going to be assigning the larger portion of the split spacebar as a Backspace button.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 4. Press the key that you would like to assign to the keyboard, in this case, we are assigning the Backspace. You will then see the button flash with the name of the key you just assigned. 5. Press Save, and then Apply. Remapping A Key Combination If you want to make a keyboard combination of your layout, you can do this to have more if you want to have more functionality on your board. In this case, we’re going to map LCtrl + R to our Spacebar. 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual 2. Version 1.3 Press the key on the animated keyboard that you would like to edit. In this case, We are going to be assigning the larger portion of the split spacebar as the combination LCtrl + R. 3. Select from this section what combination you would like to do. You need to select a main button from the dropdown and then a key from the virtual keyboard. 4. Click View from the Combination Section, then Save and Apply.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Macro Tutorial Creating a New Macro Category 1. Press the “Macros” tab at the top of the navigation bar to get to the Macro creator 2. Select the Plus Button by the Macro Category tag and give it a name. Then click confirm.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 You will now see your Macro Category. Creating a Macro 1. Click the “+” Button the the left and enter your desired Macro name, then press Confirm.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 2. You will now see the Macro appear in your selected Macro Category.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Recording a Macro 1. Click the Recording setting, this will then listen to key pressed and save them to your macro. 2. Record your keypresses. In this case, we recorded the key presses “H E L L O”. You can then click the tick and it will confirm your macro selection.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Editing a Macro 1. Press the “Macros” tab at the top of the navigation bar to get to the Macro creator 2. Click the Macro you would like to edit, and click the pencil icon.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Assigning A Macro To A Key 1. Head to the configuration tab in the software. 2. Head to the Macro section on the right and select the dropdown, in this section you will see the category you created.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. You will see the macro you created, press on the macro, and then press on the key you would like to use it with, in this case we will run the macro on the Z key. 4. After selecting the key and the macro, click view and you will see the macros name flashing on the key. 5. Click Save and Apply.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Troubleshooting Frequently Asked Questions This section will answer some general questions that I have seen coming up in support threads and on the Discord. You can contact us via support@epomaker.com if you’re still having issues I see “Not Support Device” In this circumstance, there could be a few things to look into to figure out why the computer isn’t detecting the keyboard. 1.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 Combination of the FN key + Another key You cannot use the FN key to make combinations with other keys. The keys that are currently available to use as the base key for a combination include but are not limited to: LCtrl, LShift, LAlt, LCtrl + LShift, RCtrl + RAlt and so on. But the software uses the FN key for a bunch of combinations that are pre-defined so it is not available.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 1. Select the Apple mode of keyboard from the selection. Here, you should see the familiar layout for MacOS. 2. Select the Delete key in the keyboard, you should see it flashing on the animated keyboard that you binded it.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 3. Press Save, Then Apply. My GK6X Plus Driver is in Chinese Sometimes, when the driver is launched, it will display in the default language which is Chinese. In this case, we can change it easily by going to the flag in the top right of the software and changing it to English. I can’t seem to press anything on my MacOS screen Your device possibly has too small of a display or too small of a resolution that results in the software being too zoomed in.
Epomaker SK61/GK61 Extended Manual Version 1.3 How do I check my battery and what does the indicator mean? You can check your battery using FN + LEFT Alt. The battery indicator works as follows: Flashing Red = Low battery, the Bluetooth will possibly not work to save power. Green-Yellow = Charging, not at a sufficient level No light = Your battery is at a fine charge or is full. My Left-Alt is stuck at an orange-yellow colour This is the battery indicator, with the levels described above.
