Thread 106474824

You have to spend at least $400 edition

Previous: >>106426310

>Keyboard recommendation template:
https://pastebin.com/n220xk9V

>Find vendors
https://www.alexotos.com/keyboard-vendor-list // Up-to-date list of reputable vendors with brief descriptions
https://keycaplendar.firebaseapp.com // Tracker for current and upcoming keycap group buys

>This keyboard stuff is so expensive!
https://aliexpress.com (or Taobao if you know how)

>Learn about Cherry MX switches
https://rentry.org/mkg_switches // Introductory guide
https://www.theremingoat.com // Switch reviews
https://www.switchesdb.com // Compare force curves

>Split and non-standard layout resources
https://compare.splitkb.com
https://keyboard-design.com

>What does ______ do to a keyboard's sound?
https://blacksimon.tv/science (Google sheet)

>Practice typing
https://monkeytype.com
https://www.keybr.com
https://thetypingcat.com
https://play.typeracer.com

>How Cherry switches do backlighting, and why it's not ideal
https://rentry.org/mkg_backlight

Model M.

My goal is to build my own keyboard within a year. I have to learn everything from scratch except the firmware part.

>>106474824 (OP)
Thinking about getting these to replace the ugly stock caps on my keychron. Are rounded keycaps like this comfortable to use?

>>106475670
Forgot image

>>106475678
Did they put the left/right arrows on upside down? what's going on there

nth for split columnar stagger

>>106475452
but thou must do your own firmware

>>106475678
what is this fucking bullshit?

>>106475678
>>106475957
My best guess is that these are left-aligned legends similar to GMK and these are the correct positions for each key

>>106475678
And it's not just the arrows:
>option and command keys on the right-hand side
>option key is upside-down
>windows key is also upside down
incredible

>>106475957
>>106476805
>>106476930
>>106476943
Honestly I'm not a huge fan of them but I'm having trouble finding a set of primarily white/off-white keys with an option for English and Russian.

>>106477185
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the keys, I just think the photographer really fucked up putting the keyboard together for the picture

>>106477777
I think that's a render, not a photo. Well, someone fucked up either way

>>106477834
I don't think they'd choose to render some of that visible damage to the case

how bad did i fuck up

>>106474824 (OP)
What caps are those?

>>106479117
I wish I knew actually, I want them.

>>106477185
https://milktooth.com/products/jcs-cyrillic-purple

Not sure if any aliexpress sellers have this JC Studio set right now, this is an American vendor. But Keebox has XMI Cyrillic, also good:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007383812910.html

>>106474824 (OP)
I found a cheap and good looking wired keyboard on Japanese amazon, but I am afraid that the deal is too good to be true.

Can there be a built in keylogger inside the keyboard?

>>106480086
Theoretically, yes. I'd be more worried about chink, programmable, wireless keyboards though. They do have their own CPU with firmware which is basically a mini computer in its own rights. Keychron is a good example.

>>106479063
>keychron
You're fine

>>106476666
quads of truth and a devilishly-round fluffy boy

>>106480740
I highly suspect that a mouse + keyboard combo for 4000 yen is still Chinese in origin even if it is sold on Japanese Amazon.

>>106481695
Show us screenshot.

>>106479063
>low profile Keychron
I've never seen anyone say they actually liked these but maybe you'll be the first

How do you have enough room for your excess keyboards?

Today the w key started not working sometimes, like I have to press it hard or sway it around a bit. What do I do? I have a gateron red james donkey 619, any good replacements currently?

Needed a very cheap keyboard.
-Bought a 20$
Trust Gaming GXT 835 --> Dead on arrival, keyboard worked 10min then nothing. Also, the keys aren't backlit.
-Bought a 10$ Akuma Shonen K01 Gaming at the supermarket nearby to use "temporarily".
It works, it's quite compact, no problem, i'm very surprised and will keep it.

Is it better to just buy some Krytox 205g0 and a soldering iron/desoldering sucker/solder and all that shit and lube my 9 year old Cherry MX Reds and stabilizers as opposed to spending what is basically amounting to half a new keyboard on new switches?

>>106482563
Lubing switches is gay, and you are gay for even considering it. Also, I don't think you would need to desolder a switch to lube it, but then again, I am not gay, so I wouldn't know.
Also, a good soldering station costs like $80 at least, anything less than that is going to be painful (although not impossible).

>>106482081
I uhh don't, it's kind of problematic. Add in boxes of unused keycaps, bags of unused switches, keyboard-specific tools, unused travel cases....

>>106482563
I don't think 9 year old cherry reds have a lot of life left in them unless you're also cleaning the contact surfaces etc, which frankly I wouldn't know how to do.

But yes a bit of lube on very broken-in reds would be a nice switch. Filming helps too

>>106482223
>any good replacements currently?
Yeah Cherry Reds cost like 30-40 cents

>>106482563
If the switches are PCB mounted, then you can easily lube them without desoldering. If you need to desolder, then it's going to be quite a lot of work. The switches themselves should still be fine. If you feel that some switches are more worn than other, you can swap them somewhere where they won't bother you. Like moving switches from WASD to F9-F12

>>>106482876
9 years is not a lot for MX switches, even if he's a professional typist

I love the sound of Topre

>>106474824 (OP)
:^)

>>106483832
>indicator on esc

How do I shine gmk keycaps? I've been using it for a year and still looks like new

>>106483832
Why is there a light under the spacebar lol

>>106483514
>9 years is not a lot for MX switches, even if he's a professional typist
7 years is how long it took for mine to develop problems. Typing isn't what does it, gaming is.

>>106484405
As said, individual troublemakers can be swapped out. Most of the switches should be fine. Lubing can also mitigate certain problems, like double clicking

>>106484402
It's some kind of diode that emits light. A "luminescent diode" of some kind.

>>106484620
...why is it there though?

>>106483832
Reminds me of old keyboards that had the indicator lights in the keys.

>>106484692
for shine through keys that the guy isn't using.

>>106484771
Oh... he has ALL the RGB on

>>106483153
you can buy the switch separately and replace a specific one? do i need to solder something?

>>106483947
Indicates my want to escape :^)
>>106484402
Because the keyboard is backlit? Im too lazy to figure out how to set it to specific keys.
>>106484724
Yes that is the intention

>>106486683
I'm only giving you a pass because I know we bullied you into installing stabilizers and you were a good sport about that. It's too early to bully you again. Also I actually like your keyboard so you get some leeway

>>106485496
>do i need to solder something?
Yeah but it's about as simple as a soldering job can get.

>>106482223
how's your L key?

>>106483832
ローマ字IMEの快適さより 日本語配列はどうですか?

>>106475452
Why? The market is saturated and you're basically going to be assembling a kit and not making anything.

>>106484498
>>106484405
>Gaming on mechanical switches
Why do people keep falling for this meme.
Get a hall effect and get gud.

>>106488054
Get great savings with Geiko insurance! 100% customer satisfaction rating, guaranteed! Get great savings with Geiko!

>>106488454
Are you OK?
I need you to point on the doll where the hall effect keyboard touched you.

>the HEtroon shill is still raging
I just want newfags to buy whatever keyboard they want, and to ignore hypefags that watch e-celebs.

I'm a linear red switches enjoyer. Do Magnetic switches feel as smooth as red linear?

just got my q6 max in the mail, what are some quality caps I can get for it? the ones it came with feel nice but I just don't like the coloration on them.

>>106490064
GMK WoB

My FL.ESPORTS OG104 rocked up today. Packaged really nicely, came with a set of mac and windows specific keycaps, I got the Ice Mint V2 switch option and I'm actually quite impressed by how nice it is to type on. I thought I'd want some clicky switches right away but these are extremely smooth and have a nice stop. Overall build feels quite sturdy, the keycaps have a slightly rough texture but it'll probably wear off the more I use it, and in terms of looks I'm satisfied, it looks very 90s.

I know I said I'd be a guinea pig for this kb a few threads back, if anyone has any questions about it.

>buy 2nd keychron that has red lubed switches
>kinda prefer the slightly more springy non lubed switches of my 1st one
aw fuck

>>106490343
nice beige caps

Some fuck here recommended Outemu Silent Limes, I got Silent Lemons for cheap off AliExpress during the last sale because whatever same shit, but I don't like em. They're tactile but they feel linear. Like a rubber dome membrane, from what I remember them feeling like.
So what would be an actual good tactile switch, I have Jupiter Bananas but I don't want chatter anymore.

>>106492293
lol I wish I'd seen that because I would have warned you against silent lemons.

Your best bet is Lichix Raw Big Bump Silents (if they're still available anywhere, but I don't think so) or Gazzew Boba U4

>>106492293
Bruh, you need to get a fucking tester kit. Or better, find some website that sells them by one piece, and order everything that catches your eye. Then spend quite a bit of time poking at them.

I ordered some of those 'silent click' modified melodics (Gateron Lanes) from Korea and I'm paying an arm and a leg for them.

And I'm still going to prefer mx browns like I always do, but I can't help myself.

>>106492689
Don't necessarily care for silents after this. But I have heard good things about the Gazzew Boba U4, but they ain't cheap. Are they really that good? Do you need to re-lube them? I really can't be bothered to do that.
>>106492738
Problem with the tester kits is that I feel like actually typing is very different to pressing the same singular key in multiple times. Of course it's better than nothing I suppose.

>>106492779
I can't vouch for the U4 (silent) or the U4T (not silent), because I haven't tried them. They're manufactured by Outemu and they're very popular. Super tactile switches aren't my thing.

>>106492752
Let me know how they are. From what I hear they're just melodics with a silent click, and I thought melodics were just too tactile.

>>106492779
>Problem with the tester kits is that I feel like actually typing is very different to pressing the same singular key in multiple times
Funny coincidence: when I bought silent limes I bought a pack of 10, and decided I liked them. Bought 100 more, did a full board, realized I did not like them.

You're absolutely right BUT you can identify some red flags from a small number of switches, like bad plate/pcb fit, excessive stem wobble, etc. Maybe you could have decided you didn't like silent limes—all of what you describe as bad I fully knew about from trying 10 of them.

>>106492812
>and I thought melodics were just too tactile.
I thought that too. You do get used to it a little. Been using them for a couple weeks in my Keychron and managed to set a few new personal records on Monkeytype so they're not obstructing my typing too badly.

>>106492779
I got a tester of about 15-20 switches (most of them tactile, but also a few linears and clickies just to see what they are like). I managed to form like top 3 in the list (KTT Matcha (low price, decent feel and sound afair), Kinetic Labs Penguin and Durock T1 tactile (on the heavier side, but feel good)). Ended up with penguins as they are what's called ergo clears and have a long/soft bottom out, which doesn't hurt your fingers as bad if you type a lot. Pretty damn satisfied, and threw them in just because they were on the website I was buying from, not on a recommendation.
But yes, I am still interested to know what it's actually like to type on a linear keyboard, even though i used some linears for my thumb cluster modifiers.
Also want to try chocs or gateron low profiles at some point, just as an experiment.

>>106488040
I want to design my own pcb that fits my hands perfectly.

>>106492967
Just choose an existing board closest to your goal and fuck around with its spacing constants. You don't have to spend a fucking year to do that, you can probably cover decent ground tonight already. The hard part is knowing what will actually work for you, and that means printing A4, and then printing on real PCBs. Use this
https://yal-tools.github.io/ergo-keyboards/

>>106490343
Alright keep me posted, I wanna know how this is doing 5 years from now, please let us know

>>106492900
> Durock T1 tactile
This mirrors my experience, where trying a little of everything I ended up with a Durock (on my case the light tactile)

But what I didn't realize is they had a very unpleasant subtle noise in my hotswap keyboards because it was a bad fit in the plate, and this made them basically unusable for anything that wasn't soldered.

i thought a manufacturer wouldve made a cheap ass hhkb layout keyboard by now

>>106493489
It seems like it'd be easy money, especially if it was done when custom keyboarding was more fashionable a year or two ago. Maybe there's some patent faggotry that makes it difficult? Those nips do love being absolute assholes with patents and having courts act as their corrupt enforcers (see: Nintendo).

>>106493489
https://kbdfans.com/products/agar

Is this not cheap enough for you?

>>106494171
>Those nips do love being absolute assholes with patents and having courts act as their corrupt enforcers (see: Nintendo).
thats funny because all these chi fi mice have shapes taht are the same as brands as logitech, pulsar, etc

>>106494357
shut up

>>106494357
not true hhkb bottom row, doesn't count

>>106482029
I originally wanted the v3 max, because I like a keyboard with a knob on it, ever since i got a keyboard called a microsoft sidewinder x6 back in like 2008. But it's got this huge space around the perimeter of it, it just didn't look good enough for me. So I looked at the regular TKL Keychrons they sell and they have this raised edge around the board too, and I am really particular about how my keyboard looks, it's in front of me for days of my life

so i went with low profile, i am worried the keys are wobbly but some reviews of it say there is no issue

>>106490343
Please de-foam and post sound test video

>>106489839
Allegedly potentially more smooth because there's no friction with a leaf spring.

Is there a keyboard out there that can be adjusted to have a very low polling rate rather than a high one? I need something that will make it easier to get simultaneous inputs.

>>106489839
>>106498242
I have cherry MX reds on one system and hall effect on the other.

The Hall effect are fucking butter compared to the reds. A lubed red is almost on par with an lubed hall effect.

>>106499024
*Unlubed hall effect
My bad. A lubed Mx Red *almost* feels as smooth as an unlubed hall effect.

>>106493032
Thanks for the link.
Yea, 1 year is a very conservative estimate but there are a few things that I want to do. I still want to get better at typing on my current keyboard and see if my preferences change. I'm still optimizing my layers etc. and have to decide whether I need the number row, or the outer keys. I might even go with a design that has a single outer pinky key instead of either 3-4 or none.
I wanted to practice soldering on some easier projects, maybe also learn about 3d printing.
Some of that isn't necessary to just get a keyboard quickly but I hope it's also fun to do.

>>106499155
I hear you. I recently switched to a 42-key dactyl myself (36 + 3x2 thumbs), and to my surprise I found that using numbers and symbols on a layer via a modifier is not so bad. In a way, it's intuitive, and I learned the positions the minute I mapped them (since it was I who mapped them and they immediately made sense to me). Even though I am probably only a little faster with a dedicated number row, I felt more "confident" with a dedicated row as well, if that makes sense. I had to type a couple of regexes that looked like this today
>\"1.4\"
and it's just juggling with fucking modifiers, a pain in the ass. It's bad enough for me to want to make a seperate mapping for the backward slash + quote combo. Or maybe even make a toggle layer for numbers & symbols.
That said, in a certain way, typing symbols and numbers got easier somehow too, in ceratain situations. It's hard to explain. I put all the important symbols on the same split side as the modifier, and it's easier to type "occasionally" than when they were on separate sides. Even somehow better than having a dedicated pinkie. I think I just need to give it more time, as I have been on this only for like a month, to gain the confidence. Will be glad to hear from others of their experiences on symbols and numbers, especially from programmers and vim users.
People also shill homerow mods, but I kind of dislike those, I need my typing experience to be rubust, and hate even thinking about delays.
As for pinkies, I don't think I can survive without at least 4 outer buttons (enter/backspace/quote/tab).
Also check out Apiaster for inspiration, I haven't made it myself, but the docs are dope, and it has a splayed number row.
https://github.com/nmunnich/apiaster
Peace

>>106490113
>hideous
>ABS

>>106490113
Looks cool. Are they double shot?

>>106490113
Would make a great gift for your favorite CIA operative.

>>106500346
next time i interview john kiriakou i'll give it to him

Biggest reason not to use Dvorak is your typos won't make sense to people. Good luck explaining to a normie how you accidentally said your favorite Winnie the Pooh character was "Nigger".

>>106502849
(I said dvorak but of course this applies to colemak etc)