Mechanical Keyboard Club!

[Aytex]

Buckling springs

Outemu Blues

Beam springs (Expensive AF)

[iFreilicht]

10 minutes ago, atomicus said:

That looks pretty good. I definitely prefer the arrow keys which you don't get on 60%... well, I know there is a way to still use them, but I prefer dedicated arrows like that Sentraq. I've never soldered before, is that tricky?

Soldering isn't very hard, but you do need a soldering iron for it. Watch a few tutorials on youtube, that's absolutely sufficient to learn the basics. Keyboards are one of the easiest things to solder.

 

11 minutes ago, atomicus said:

Would it be possible to use this as an ISO UK board?

Take a good look at the product page. You'll find this image:

 

 

As you can see, the ANSI enter can be replaced with an ISO one, and the long shift to the left can also be replaced with a short ISO shift. So yes, you can.

 

12 minutes ago, atomicus said:

I'd also like to know if the switches are PCB or plate mounted, and what difference that makes... I've seen switches available with both options, but I don't understand what it means.

PCB mount switches have two plastic legs on the bottom that provide additional support. They are only required when the keyboard doesn't have a plate for the switches to click into. So the switches here will be plate mount. PCB mount switches can be converted into plate mount by simply snapping the two legs off.

 

13 minutes ago, atomicus said:

I'm a bit confused by some of the options. It says it includes LED backlighting, but it has White LED's as an option? I've also no idea what the spring options are and if I'd need those. And what are the SIP sockets?

For the backlighting, you will have to purchase LEDs. The underglow (LEDs on the backside of the board that light up the case, not the keycaps) is pre-installed.

You can swap out the springs of each switch to change the force-curve if you want, but you don't need to. Just getting the switches is enough.

SIP sockets are sockets you can install into the switches (which requires opening each switch) and solder to the PCB in place of LEDs. This allows you to then hot-swap LEDs without having to resolder them.

 

17 minutes ago, atomicus said:

Sorry if these are dumb questions, I'm new to this keyboard thing lol!

Keyboards are a deep rabbit-hole to dive into. I would recommend checking out the Mechcanical Keyboard subreddit. You can find lots of pictures there and some build-logs where people show how keyboards are built. Also check out skiwithpete's youtube channel, he has loads of build videos and a whole introduction to mechanical keyboards playlist. Really, searching around and seeing what others have built is the quickest way to learn what is possible.

[iFreilicht]

14 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

whats the loudest key switch that you can get? i have blue switches in the one i take to schook(because i cant stand the laptop keyboard lol) and i feel like its not anoying people enough so whats a louder switch?

As Aytex said, Beam spring boards with built-in solenoid are the absolute loudest boards out there. They cost a ton but make the sound of a typewriter, that should be loud enough for you.

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, iFreilicht said:

As Aytex said, Beam spring boards with built-in solenoid are the absolute loudest boards out there. They cost a ton but make the sound of a typewriter, that should be loud enough for you.

sounds nice, probably way out of my priceclass but il take a look at the other things he suggested  

[Bananasplit_00]

ummm yah so i just found an old no brand membrane keyboard and everything i ever knew about what switches should feel about is falling appart... this is AMAZING to type on, im almost about to replace my K70 for this one... 

[Falkentyne]

5 hours ago, Aytex said:

Buckling springs

Outemu Blues

Beam springs (Expensive AF)

A Buckling Spring with Unicomp Branded Model M can be bought easily from https://www.pckeyboard.com/ and other restored keyboards can be bought from clickykeyboards.com.

You absolutely do NOT want to carry around a beam spring terminal keyboard with you.  Not only does it need extensive modification to work with a PC, it weighs more than one of those extremely heavy $8,000 gaming laptops that have built in mechanical keyboards out there.

[Falkentyne]

double sorry

[atomicus]

17 hours ago, iFreilicht said:

Soldering isn't very hard, but you do need a soldering iron for it. Watch a few tutorials on youtube, that's absolutely sufficient to learn the basics. Keyboards are one of the easiest things to solder.

 

As you can see, the ANSI enter can be replaced with an ISO one, and the long shift to the left can also be replaced with a short ISO shift. So yes, you can.

 

PCB mount switches have two plastic legs on the bottom that provide additional support. They are only required when the keyboard doesn't have a plate for the switches to click into. So the switches here will be plate mount. PCB mount switches can be converted into plate mount by simply snapping the two legs off.

 

For the backlighting, you will have to purchase LEDs. The underglow (LEDs on the backside of the board that light up the case, not the keycaps) is pre-installed.

You can swap out the springs of each switch to change the force-curve if you want, but you don't need to. Just getting the switches is enough.

SIP sockets are sockets you can install into the switches (which requires opening each switch) and solder to the PCB in place of LEDs. This allows you to then hot-swap LEDs without having to resolder them.

 

Keyboards are a deep rabbit-hole to dive into. I would recommend checking out the Mechcanical Keyboard subreddit. You can find lots of pictures there and some build-logs where people show how keyboards are built. Also check out skiwithpete's youtube channel, he has loads of build videos and a whole introduction to mechanical keyboards playlist. Really, searching around and seeing what others have built is the quickest way to learn what is possible.

 

Thank you, that's very helpful. What is the process for using this as an ISO UK board then, apart from using the correct keycaps obviously. Is that something in the firmware that has to be changed? Seems I would need to source different keycaps anyway as it says those ones don't include ISO, only ANSI.

 

I see how the backlighting works now, that RGB thing was throwing me. So ref the springs, you mean you could open up each switch and swap out the spring if you wanted? I am looking to buy some Cherry MX Red Silent switches (I've found a site that sells them) as I want as silent a typing experience as possible.

 

Yes, I'm finding it's a big rabbit hold indeed lol!

[DnFx91]

Im rockin Romer-G switches on my G810 Orion. Cherry isn't the be all and end all of switches, you know

[iFreilicht]

1 hour ago, atomicus said:

 

Thank you, that's very helpful. What is the process for using this as an ISO UK board then, apart from using the correct keycaps obviously. Is that something in the firmware that has to be changed? Seems I would need to source different keycaps anyway as it says those ones don't include ISO, only ANSI.

 

I see how the backlighting works now, that RGB thing was throwing me. So ref the springs, you mean you could open up each switch and swap out the spring if you wanted? I am looking to buy some Cherry MX Red Silent switches (I've found a site that sells them) as I want as silent a typing experience as possible.

 

Yes, I'm finding it's a big rabbit hold indeed lol!

You'll probably want to re-do part of the firmware anyway, just so the right column of keys does exactly what you want. I don't think the sourcecode for the S65-X is available yet, so I don't know for sure whether the standard keymap has the ISO keys bound correctly or not, but I don't see why they would be excluded specifically. 

 

Yup, that's exactly what those springs are for. Personally I've never done it, and the effect it has is different on every switch. I believe the S65-X plate supports switch opening, so you don't have to worry about it know, you can swap the springs (and perform other mods on the switches) after soldering them in.

 

19 minutes ago, DnFx91 said:

Im rockin Romer-G switches on my G810 Orion. Cherry isn't the be all and end all of switches, you know

Oh absolutely! Brown, Green and Blue switches are better bought from Gateron in my eyes than from Cherry.

[DnFx91]

2 minutes ago, iFreilicht said:

You'll probably want to re-do part of the firmware anyway, just so the right column of keys does exactly what you want. I don't think the sourcecode for the S65-X is available yet, so I don't know for sure whether the standard keymap has the ISO keys bound correctly or not, but I don't see why they would be excluded specifically. 

 

Yup, that's exactly what those springs are for. Personally I've never done it, and the effect it has is different on every switch. I believe the S65-X plate supports switch opening, so you don't have to worry about it know, you can swap the springs (and perform other mods on the switches) after soldering them in.

 

Oh absolutely! Brown, Green and Blue switches are better bought from Gateron in my eyes than from Cherry.

exactly, Cherry just managed to build up a fanboyism fast enough that nobody is aware of other mechanical switches which are arguably better

[atomicus]

2 minutes ago, DnFx91 said:

exactly, Cherry just managed to build up a fanboyism fast enough that nobody is aware of other mechanical switches which are arguably better

 

Do Gateron do a quieter switch than the Cherry MX Red Silent though? I've never had much experience with Gaterons.

[Aytex]

5 minutes ago, atomicus said:

 

Do Gateron do a quieter switch than the Cherry MX Red Silent though? I've never had much experience with Gaterons.

Nah, they are more stiffer than cherry though, which is what I prefer

[atomicus]

4 minutes ago, Aytex said:

Nah, they are more stiffer than cherry though, which is what I prefer

 

Yes, I have found on Cherry switches the Nature White is just right for me regards pressure, Reds a bit light and Blacks a bit too much. Not many boards come with these though, and I can't seem to find them available to buy separately. Not sure if there is a Gateron that would be comparable to the Nature White? I definitely prefer linear, not tactile. I was planning on getting some of the Zealencio silencing clips for whatever switches I use, as I've read really good things about those... much better than o-rings. I want as silent a keyboard as possible.

[Aytex]

Just now, atomicus said:

 

Yes, I have found on Cherry switches the Nature White is just right for me regards pressure, Reds a bit light and Blacks a bit too much. Not many boards come with these though, and I can't seem to find them available to buy separately. Not sure if there is a Gateron that would be comparable to the Nature White? I was planning on getting some of the Zealencio silencing clips for whatever switches I use, as I've read really good things about those... much better than o-rings. I want as silent a keyboard as possible.

Mathias quiet pro is pretty damn quiet

?

[atomicus]

2 minutes ago, Aytex said:

Mathias quiet pro is pretty damn quiet

?

 

Can you buy those switches separately?

[Aytex]

Just now, atomicus said:

 

Can you buy those switches separately?

Meh, I doubt it..

 

You should take a look at zealios, kinda close to mx clear eargos

[atomicus]

1 minute ago, Aytex said:

Meh, I doubt it..

 

You should take a look at zealios, kinda close to mx clear eargos

 

Yeah all the Zealios are tactile though, not linear. They are apparently releasing a linear later this year though, so they told me.

[The_Denks]

Just bought a Tesoro Excalibur Spectrum RGB with MX Browns for my sister

The variation between each switch is disgusting

 

The Y and the H key, which border each other, sound NOTHING ALIKE

[iFreilicht]

1 hour ago, atomicus said:

Yes, I have found on Cherry switches the Nature White is just right for me regards pressure, Reds a bit light and Blacks a bit too much.

Well in that case you should consider a spring swap in the Silent Red. See whether you can find out what springs come close to the Nature Whites, and get those.

[iFreilicht]

1 hour ago, UberGamerKing said:

Just bought a Tesoro Excalibur Spectrum RGB with MX Browns for my sister

The variation between each switch is disgusting

 

The Y and the H key, which border each other, sound NOTHING ALIKE

Those aren't MX Browns, they're Kahil Browns. If you care about consistency, stay away from that brand.

[Falkentyne]

11 hours ago, DnFx91 said:

exactly, Cherry just managed to build up a fanboyism fast enough that nobody is aware of other mechanical switches which are arguably better

This was true for awhile, however Cherry recently retooled their machines, and are now making switches that are just as smooth, and equal to or higher quality than Gaterons.

New batches of Clears, Reds, Silvers, are much smoother than before and are almost equal to their Gateron versions, while being less wobbly and the clicky versions (RGB MX Blues) having a deeper, more tighter click than older versions.  The RGB MX Blues on my Ducky Shine 6 and YOTG feel absolutely splendid, and the key feel is substantially different than the VERY Scratchy RGB blues in my iKBC F108, for instance.  The iKBC feels almost like the clicker is vibrating or having some sort of metallic resonance and is higher pitched than on the Shine 6 and YOTM.  It's very noticeable and substantial.  I suspect complaints about the Corsair RGB blues came from these issues.

 

A Ducky rep admitted to me that Cherry has improved their manufacturing recently.

GH thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88031.0

[iFreilicht]

5 hours ago, DnFx91 said:

exactly, Cherry just managed to build up a fanboyism fast enough that nobody is aware of other mechanical switches which are arguably better

I wouldn't say that. Cherry were the inventor and sole provider of these switches for quite some time. Companies like Gateron only produce clone switches with MX stems since Cherry's patent ran out. So Cherry has a certain (deserved) reputation, but that has little to do with fanboys but more with the fact that companies that put Cherry switches in their boards actively advertise that while companies that have clones inside will just say "mechanical switches" in the advertisement material and only mention the actual brand in the specs. 

 

Sure, some people will argue that Cherry has higher quality in general, but that argument has little actual proof if any, and that group of people is very small. Some of the perceived fandom around Cherry switches also comes from vintage switches like vintage blacks or nixdorfs which have been actively used and are thus much smoother than factory-new switches. As cherry clones only started being made a few years ago, non-cherry vintage switches with MX stems simply don't exist. You do of course have vintage alps, but those are a separate beast.

 

Also, many people actually prefer the feel of Cherry switches over other brands when blind-testing, so it just comes down to preference.

[scottyseng]

Woot, just got my Ducky Shine 6 Snow White Edition (Silver switch). I quite like this keyboard design. I thought maybe I would have trouble mistyping with the silver switches, but they're pretty good to me. I really like the white color of this keyboard and the RGBs are pretty vivid as well. Wow, though, the first thing I thought when I picked it up was that it couldn't be that heavy right? I picked it up and wow, it's very solid feeling, no flex what so ever. The floating keycaps feel really solid as well (no flexing or extra movement).

 

Well, RIP old Saitek Eclipse 3. This is my first run into the mechanical keyboard world and I'm really liking it. It's not crazy loud either, even bottomed out. I think I did good in getting this over the K70.

 

I did have a hard choice between the silver and red switches though. I thought maybe the silver would be too easy to set off / the short travel distance would be bad for me, but it fits me pretty well.

 

I just have to stop staring at this keyboard and get ready for my exam now....

[Falkentyne]

None of the Ducky Shines have any flex to them because they all have metal backplates the switches are mounted on.   Any keyboard with a metal backplate shouldn't flex.  I'm not sure if the backplate is made of aluminum or steel.