Mechanical Keyboard Club!

[RollinLower]

13 minutes ago, geo3 said:

What cap set is that? The grey ones.

to be honest i'm not too sure myself. i bought them a while ago for cheap on aliexpress.

i'll see if i can find them again.

[geo3]

22 hours ago, RollinLower said:

to be honest i'm not too sure myself. i bought them a while ago for cheap on aliexpress.

i'll see if i can find them again.

It looks very similar to dev/tty (the set in my avatar) but that is MT3 profile where your's is SA profile. 

[SeriouslyMikey]

Question.

I'm getting into the rabbit hole of custom keyboards, after all, they can look so damn nice compared to the store bought alternatives. However, why aren't full sized more common? Are custom keyboard enthusiasts the hipsters of the PC world and care more about asthetics than function?

 

[geo3]

Just now, SeriouslyMikey said:

care more about asthetics than function?

A lot of proponents of small boards find them more functional.  Layers let you do everything a full size can and more while not requiring you to move your hands too far from home row.  It's a learning curve but once you develop the muscle memory it's actually faster.   

 

Another advantage is ergonomics when using a mouse and also more desk space.

[SeriouslyMikey]

7 hours ago, geo3 said:

A lot of proponents of small boards find them more functional.  Layers let you do everything a full size can and more while not requiring you to move your hands too far from home row.  It's a learning curve but once you develop the muscle memory it's actually faster.   

 

Another advantage is ergonomics when using a mouse and also more desk space.

Cheers, definitely seems to be preference then.

I'm not too bothered about the ergonomics and really enjoy having my numpad, so I don't think I could go without.

Definitely going to keep looking into custom keyboards, but for now I'll be sticking with my trust, dusty Filco.

[geo3]

1 minute ago, SeriouslyMikey said:

really enjoy having my numpad, so I don't think I could go without.

People like this often go with a separate numpad as full size customs aren't really a thing. 

[smug_lisp_weenie]

I have my numpad on a separate layer of the keyboard.  I find it more efficient to use that than using a numpad on the full keyboard since I can switch from letters to numbers without moving my hand position. 

[Mazdaspeeding]

Ordered a Ducky Mecha Mini with Cherry Browns.  Should be here within a few weeks.  I'm excited but I recently became aware of the Drop Alt as well and now I'm thinking about buying one of them as well.  Maybe the high profile. 

 

I have access to like a full legit professional wood shop and I'm considering designing and making some custom keyboard cases for myself or getting a 3d printer from Micro Center to prototype some stuff.  

 

Damn this is going to get expensive fast.  

[SeriouslyMikey]

12 hours ago, geo3 said:

People like this often go with a separate numpad as full size customs aren't really a thing. 

Shame. I'm all down with investing into a custom board, but I like full size.

 

11 hours ago, smug_lisp_weenie said:

I have my numpad on a separate layer of the keyboard.  I find it more efficient to use that than using a numpad on the full keyboard since I can switch from letters to numbers without moving my hand position. 

Sounds like we're getting into deminising returns for efficiency if I'm honest.

[b emoji]

Just got a TGR x SINGA Unikorn 60% built with Fully milky housing Gateron Giant switches lightly lubed with Tribosys 3204, stock 62g springs lubed with 105g0 and LSD mix. 

[geo3]

1 hour ago, b emoji said:

Just got a TGR x SINGA Unikorn 60% built with Fully milky housing Gateron Giant switches lightly lubed with Tribosys 3204, stock 62g springs lubed with 105g0 and LSD mix.

What's the rest of it look like?

[geo3]

15 hours ago, SeriouslyMikey said:

Shame. I'm all down with investing into a custom board, but I like full size.

 

What about navless or simi-navless?  So something like this: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=96158.0

 

[SeriouslyMikey]

8 hours ago, geo3 said:

What about navless or simi-navless?  So something like this: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=96158.0

 

I could get behind that if I didn't think the layout looked atroticous. I like a full sized as it has everything that I'd need for what I like to do.

That layout is very similar to my laptop layout and I can't get down with it compared to my full sized Filco, especially how the 0 key on the numpad is a single key rather than double in length.

The biggest issue I have with custom keyboards, and this is entirely subjective, is the insane obsession with small form factors and "efficiency". Especially the latter, you lose barely any time moving a hand over to the numpad rather than learning how to access a second layer to achieve something that wouldn't be an issue otherwise. I find layers fixing an issue that wasn't needed to be fixed to begin with, akin to removing a headphone jack and deciding that bluetooth is the solution.

What you suggested before, being a separate numpad is something I'm interested into looking into, especially as it can be pushed out of the way when not in use to save space.

[b emoji]

16 hours ago, geo3 said:

What's the rest of it look like?

not much, gmk sol dark (Will be replaced with CRP Blue Arabic Dye subs), brass full plate, 50a Gummysnake gasket, tsangan layout with full backspace. Cherry clip in stabs. 

[geo3]

5 hours ago, SeriouslyMikey said:

What you suggested before, being a separate numpad is something I'm interested into looking into, especially as it can be pushed out of the way when not in use to save space.

Something like this. This is just an example, there are a number of pads like this.

https://kbdfans.com/collections/20/products/kbdfans-kbdpad-pcb-v2 or this : https://kprepublic.com/collections/pcb/products/cospad-20-numpad-xd24-xiudi-custom-keyboard-pcb

 

 

5 hours ago, b emoji said:

not much, gmk sol dark (Will be replaced with CRP Blue Arabic Dye subs), brass full plate, 50a Gummysnake gasket, tsangan layout with full backspace. Cherry clip in stabs. 

Nice. What's the hashbang key do?

[b emoji]

30 minutes ago, geo3 said:

Something like this. This is just an example, there are a number of pads like this.

https://kbdfans.com/collections/20/products/kbdfans-kbdpad-pcb-v2 (scroll down for an assembled example)

 

 

Nice. What's the hashbang key do?

the left shebang is just a windows key and the right is fn(2)

[jiyeon]

Thank the Lord for QMK software. Made some RGB layers on my DZ60.

 

[Koeshi]

On 5/31/2020 at 12:07 PM, SeriouslyMikey said:

The biggest issue I have with custom keyboards, and this is entirely subjective, is the insane obsession with small form factors and "efficiency". Especially the latter, you lose barely any time moving a hand over to the numpad rather than learning how to access a second layer to achieve something that wouldn't be an issue otherwise.

I largely agree with this.  Personally I use a TKL as I do not like having to move the extra distance between the actual letter keys and my mouse, plus it is much more convenient with the limited space on my desk.  But every time I have to do something banking or shopping related I find myself wanting a numpad.  I like the idea of having a numpad on the left hand side, but then I would need to learn how to use it with my left hand properly which would take time/be annoying.

[BTGbullseye]

On 5/31/2020 at 5:07 AM, SeriouslyMikey said:

The biggest issue I have with custom keyboards, and this is entirely subjective, is the insane obsession with small form factors and "efficiency".

Agreed. I hate the TKL boards. (I had one on my laptop, and could never get over the muscle memory for the numpad for almost everything number related)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Well, I just got a full-size GMMK, their Aura keycaps, 40A thick o-rings, and Kailh Pro Purple switches. (I also got their Silvers, but decided to try the Purples first) So far regretting that I rarely type anything, because this is the best typing experience I've ever had. Never had a keyboard that came anywhere close to how fast and error-free I am on this, apart from a Lenovo G780 which had the Thinkpad style keyboard, but even that wasn't quite as good. (the switches themselves were a bit gritty feeling)

 

Currently using the "Matrix 2" color preset in red, brightest and fastest available. Looks very similar to cooling embers in a fire, except more red. Come to think of it, I should see if I can get it to look just like actual fire embers... That would be epic.

[Nowak]

54 minutes ago, BTGbullseye said:

Agreed. I hate the TKL boards. (I had one on my laptop, and could never get over the muscle memory for the numpad for almost everything number related)

96% boards solve all those issues while still being more compact ^^

[BTGbullseye]

16 hours ago, Nowak said:

96% boards solve all those issues while still being more compact ^^

True, but those seem even harder to find than full size.

[Nowak]

27 minutes ago, BTGbullseye said:

True, but those seem even harder to find than full size.

Unfortunately.

[geo3]

54 minutes ago, BTGbullseye said:

True, but those seem even harder to find than full size.

Not really.

 

[alittlepeace]

YMD96 is a great pickup for the money imo 

[BTGbullseye]

13 hours ago, geo3 said:

Not really.

 

That just links to r/mechanicalkeyboards for me...