Mechanical Keyboard Club!

[DailyProcrastinator]

4 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I'm not going to mention it to him as I feel like a prick complaining about something I didn't even pay shipping for. I'm planning on giving it to a friend when I am done messing with it (and fixing the USB port, as I didn't expect having to do that) regardless of whether or not it was broken in the first place.

Yeah no point in bringing it up at this point. Just to bad though. 

 

6 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

I don't really have a use for it and he's starting out in this bottomless pit of a hobby.

Ahhh yes, send him a shovel while you are at it! 

 

7 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

It seems very repairable. So far I've just had trouble finding a replacement. Closest I can find is this but it isn't an exact match, hopefully close enough.

That's good then, hopefully the replacement USB is workable. If not I would just message one of the main retailers (KBDFans) and just say you have a DZ60 with a broken USB-C Port, and maybe they have a line on where to buy from. 

[DailyProcrastinator]

After a couple years of service my K70 LUX is officially retired from active duty. Not that I was really using it at all the past few months, but it remained on my desk if I needed a numpad, but no more!

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Dusty desk and a blurry photo, how nice lol. 

 

For now, it can rest in peace.

 

Hmmmm what will take it's rightful place? 

 

Also thinking of doing a giveaway for my K70? Not sure how that would work yet. Gotta spend some time figuring out how. 

[kelvinhall05]

USB port came in today, soldering went well:

Spoiler

Sadly, it didn't work. Absolutely nothing. Nothing in dmesg, nothing under lsusb, nothing when I put it into bootloader mode, no dfu devices. Completely dead.

 

I poked around with a multimeter and eventually found that the USB C pinout is very proprietary and only works with one port...and of course it's only available on Digikey and on backorder until mid December. welp

 

Tried to handwire it in, but couldn't get it. Eventually got it to give me overcurrent warnings but it's basically impossible to get it working without a schematic.

 

Guess this is a donor board for my Unix60 protos, lol. At least I don't have to buy switches and stabs now...

[Gazzew]

I don't make keyboards, but I do make switches -- I'm Gazzew (/u/hbheroinbob)

- Outemu Sky

- Outemu ICE

- Outemu Blue ICE (aka Heisenbergs)

- Outemu Phoenix clicks (aka Aristotle v2)

- Outemu Silent Sky (aka Silent Forest - Hi Mr. Liu)

- Gazzew Boba U4 (silent tactile like T1)

- Gazzew Boba T4 (thocky U4 like Holy Panda)

- Gazzew Silent Linear (coming to a theatre near you very soon)

 

Can I join the party?

 

Paul

 

[Nowak]

8 minutes ago, Gazzew said:

I don't make keyboards, but I do make switches -- I'm Gazzew (/u/hbheroinbob)

- Outemu Sky

- Outemu ICE

- Outemu Blue ICE (aka Heisenbergs)

- Outemu Phoenix clicks (aka Aristotle v2)

- Outemu Silent Sky (aka Silent Forest - Hi Mr. Liu)

- Gazzew Boba U4 (silent tactile like T1)

- Gazzew Boba T4 (thocky U4 like Holy Panda)

- Gazzew Silent Linear (coming to a theatre near you very soon)

 

Can I join the party?

 

Paul

 

Absolutely, yes.

[Dr0y]

Kailh box navy ordered today ... will replace my kailh box white ... I found out I like clicky with the kailh box white (didn't liked the outemu and cherry blue at all) ... I figured I liked heavier switches when I got a snowfox with kailh box burn orange ... so kailh box navy

[kelvinhall05]

6 minutes ago, Dr0y said:

Kailh box navy ordered today ... will replace my kailh box white ... I found out I like clicky with the kailh box white (didn't liked the outemu and cherry blue at all) ... I figured I liked heavier switches when I got a snowfox with kailh box burn orange ... so kailh box navy

BOX Navy is amazing, easily the best modern switch I've tried and even beats some vint switches. On top of this, they're pretty damn cheap and easy to acquire...win-win-win.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

On 10/31/2020 at 6:29 PM, Gazzew said:

I don't make keyboards, but I do make switches -- I'm Gazzew (/u/hbheroinbob)

- Outemu Sky

- Outemu ICE

- Outemu Blue ICE (aka Heisenbergs)

- Outemu Phoenix clicks (aka Aristotle v2)

- Outemu Silent Sky (aka Silent Forest - Hi Mr. Liu)

- Gazzew Boba U4 (silent tactile like T1)

- Gazzew Boba T4 (thocky U4 like Holy Panda)

- Gazzew Silent Linear (coming to a theatre near you very soon)

 

Can I join the party?

 

Paul

 

Hey Paul, welcome to the forum.

Hope you remember my username at least.

 

I've bought from Paul multiple times and can definitely recommend his switches. The bolded switches above are what I've used, with the Boba U4 and the Silent Sky as my current daily drivers for work.

[Gazzew]

2 hours ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Hey Paul, welcome to the forum.

Hope you remember my username at least.

 

I've bought from Paul multiple times and can definitely recommend his switches. The bolded switches above are what I've used, with the Boba U4 and the Silent Sky as my current daily drivers for work.

 

Yeah, your username always made me chuckle

I have new switches coming soon - just got off the line, giving green-light; hit me up on discord

 

Wishful thinking... Maybe I can get the attention of Linus and his crew, would love to send them some switches to say thanks for their contributions (not looking for review, no strings attached)

 

Paul

 

[Dissitesuxba11s]

40 minutes ago, Gazzew said:

 

Yeah, your username always made me chuckle

I have new switches coming soon - just got off the line, giving green-light; hit me up on discord

 

I'm definitely interested especially that silent linear. I have the Ghost switch, Sakurios and Roselios to compare.

[Eschew]

1 hour ago, Gazzew said:

Wishful thinking... Maybe I can get the attention of Linus and his crew, would love to send them some switches to say thanks for their contributions (not looking for review, no strings attached)

 

No guarantees, but perhaps you'd like to reach out to Colin (ColinLTT) or James (James) with a PM/profile post?

 

Colin's content focuses on electronics and DIY projects; as an example, he's done a lot (most?) of the work for LTT's The ALL-METAL Keyboard vid.

 

James has done first impressions for keyboards like the CandyBar Premium, and hosted/wrote LTT's switch-related content like the G.Skill KM360 Review (compares Cherry MX Reds and Kailh Reds) and Which Mechanical Keyboard Switches are BEST? Blind Test! vids.

 

Also, er, well, Luke (Slick) moved on from LTT to Floatplane stuff, but LTT's older vids gave me the impression he was an avid keeb enthusiast, too. No idea whether he's still got that interest nowadays, however.

[Nowak]

31 minutes ago, Eschew said:

hosted/wrote LTT's switch-related content like the G.Skill KM360 Review (compares Cherry MX Reds and Kailh Reds)

GoLDeN sTaNDarD

[Gazzew]

On 11/1/2020 at 9:28 PM, Eschew said:

 

No guarantees, but perhaps you'd like to reach out to Colin (ColinLTT) or James (James) with a PM/profile post?

 

Colin's content focuses on electronics and DIY projects; as an example, he's done a lot (most?) of the work for LTT's The ALL-METAL Keyboard vid.

 

James has done first impressions for keyboards like the CandyBar Premium, and hosted/wrote LTT's switch-related content like the G.Skill KM360 Review (compares Cherry MX Reds and Kailh Reds) and Which Mechanical Keyboard Switches are BEST? Blind Test! vids.

 

Also, er, well, Luke (Slick) moved on from LTT to Floatplane stuff, but LTT's older vids gave me the impression he was an avid keeb enthusiast, too. No idea whether he's still got that interest nowadays, however.

 

Thank you,

 

I sent a PM to James

 

Paul

[DailyProcrastinator]

Well... here is another addition to my 2020 custom mech keeb saga, and of all my builds and purchases, the most anticipated. This is my new everyday keyboard, sitting front and center on my desk. This is a huge improvement and suitable replacement over my Corsair K70 LUX.

 

I present to you ‘Jaster’, a 90% Tofu96 build, with the DZ96 PCB (solder), brass backplate, Zealios v2 65g switches lubed with TriboSys 3204, GMK screw-in stabs also lubed with 3204, 2x3x4mm White Diode LED’s, and to CAP it all off (pun very much intended), the GMK Boba Fett keycaps. 

 

This is the way.

 

Photo dump:

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(took some proper pics for once)

 

 

 

 

 

Prior to soldering the diode LEDs

 

[b emoji]

On 11/1/2020 at 2:29 AM, Gazzew said:

Gazzew Boba T4 (thocky U4 like Holy Panda)

are there any vendors that stock these? I've only seen the U4s stocked 

[Gazzew]

15 hours ago, b emoji said:

are there any vendors that stock these? I've only seen the U4s stocked 

Not yet, they are being produced now

2 vendors in USA will carry them, and one on aliexpress

Paul

[geo3]

 

 

 

GMMK is coming out with a premium 75% for only $170.  This looks like it's going to be seriously disruptive to the market.

[DailyProcrastinator]

21 hours ago, geo3 said:

GMMK is coming out with a premium 75% for only $170.  This looks like it's going to be seriously disruptive to the market.

Holy shit I just took a good look at this.... and for $170 it really does not get any better. I legitimately cannot think of a feature I would want to ad (DIY kit would be nice, although to sell to the masses this obviously does not make sense), and getting a rotatory knob board for this price point..... The Drop CTRL would be the best "comparable", but it does not compare, plus it's $200 (with switches). 

 

It's no wonder this is plastered all over r/MechanicalKeyboards

 

Just cancelled by XD84 Pro order, luckily it had not shipped yet hahaha. 

[ProBottler]

My first venture into this hobby. Scrappy CyanSpecification:

- GK61X hotswappable PCB + stock aluminum plate with the 6.25u spacebar module and plastic case foamed with furniture foam
- Gateron Yellow lubed with Krytox 205g0
- Gateron plate-mounted stabilizers fully modded
- Cheapo YMDK gradient keycaps in cyan

 

Since this is my first ever mechanical keyboard, I have no big complaints about the build quality. One thing I do notice tho is that there is audible spring ping on the B and ] buttons which I can't quite put my finger on what compoments are causing this.

 

Anyway I'm still really happy with how this turned out and hopefully I can purchase other boards in the future.

Thank you for reading!

Spoiler

For those who might wonder what is "furniture foam"

yeh

 

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by ProBottler
accidentally left an unwanted pic in

[Dissitesuxba11s]

34 minutes ago, ProBottler said:

Gateron Yellow lubed with Krytox 205g0

 

One thing I do notice tho is that there is audible spring ping on the B and ] buttons which I can't quite put my finger on what compoments are causing this.

Did you lube the spring a well? Swap the switches and see if there is any change.

[ProBottler]

3 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Did you lube the spring a well? 

I did lube both ends of the spring as well as the outside wall of the center pole 

5 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Swap the switches and see if there is any change.

Have done that and the ping is still audible

[kelvinhall05]

OLED arrived and fitted, still waiting for JLC to restock 32u4 so I can get it SMD assembled (mostly because I don't want to get a third Digikey order in the last week and a half).

Spoiler

 

[kelvinhall05]

Zenith restoration time! This was found in an abandoned building (not by me) and was mostly given to me so I can use the PCB to make a drop-in replacement, however, I'm going to restore it (as best as I can). I'm also going to use this as a test board for what is believed to be a modern equivalent to OG Alps lube used on early SKCL/SKCM switches. The modern one is called Nyogel 760G.

 

Because copy-pasting is broken and because of the 20MB limit, this first post only has a small photo dump. I can't upload pictures of the caps and PCB (and didn't take any of the case when dirty), but I've got pictures of the switches and plate as I got them:

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As well as pictures of the plate before sanding:

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And after:

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It's currently sitting in vinegar to get the last little bit of rust out of some of the deeper pits. I will then hand-sand the bottom of the plate as the belt sander can't reach in there due to the lip on the edges of the plate. Keycaps have gone through ultrasonic and just need to be dried, top case is almost clean (just have to get rid of a little bit of sticker residue), and then I still have to do bottom plate, cable, switches, stabs, and PCB.

 

This is going good so far, fun project. Oh, and surprisingly enough, the switches don't even feel that bad! If the board itself was clean and/or I didn't have to desolder the switches, I wouldn't even bother cleaning them (but I might as well at this point, lol).

[kelvinhall05]

Ok, paint for the Zenith plate is/has been drying for several hours now, and it looks really good! There is some pitting which I can't really do anything about, but it's not that bad and won't be noticeable when the keyboard is assembled.

 

Here are some pics before paint and during painting (will take final pics tomorrow when it's nice and dry...if I remember):

Spoiler

I've been running parts of the switches through the ultrasonic for most of the day today, hopefully they clean up nicely as this is my first time doing switches in an ultrasonic and my first time using denture tablets instead of soapy water, alcohol, or vinegar (depending on what I was cleaning).

[kelvinhall05]

Oh, and today I'm typing on NEC Blue Ovals. This was the mystery keyboard the Zenith sender also sent to me, and I have to admit, I really love these! Very nice, light, relatively quiet clicky switch with a nice sound (but with a LOT of ping). I do find the actuation before the click to be a tiny bit annoying, but it's not a huge deal, and it does need a light cleaning (it was already in very good shape, I cleaned the case a tiny bit but the keycaps need a light wash, and some of the switches feel scratchy and bind a teeny bit on off-center keypresses).

Spoiler