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[Mechanical Keyboards] Clickity Clack! We build them ourselves now!

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Posts

  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    I may get around to switching it out, but would prefer not to. Also it shouldn't be just not liking the feel, it is a cherry red just like all the others, it is just the only one that is this stiff. And a bit of googling says they are indeed soldered in there.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    I wonder if you can clean out the switch or key cap with some air. Possible refurb has crap in it

    camo_sig.png
  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    So a coworker has one of those testers with the different key switches, blue, green, brown, white, red, and black. He got himself a das keyboard for work with browns, and let me take the tester home and play around with it.

    My primary concern was what my wife liked, because while I like the idea of blues, I don't want to drive her insane, and she's a bit sensitive to noise (for the purpose of context, know that I wear earphones or headphones nearly 24/7. She turns off video game music even for games she's actively playing).

    No matter how much I tap away at those 6 keys, the only thing I'm certain of is that I don't like cherry mx blacks, they're too stiff to me. But the rest of them I thought were brilliant in their own way and I couldn't decide shit. So I asked her which ones she likes the most. Her response after trying them? The blues and greens. She likes the clicky. I then picked up the tester and pressed the blue rapidly, with an inquisitive look on my face, and she then said, "Okay, maybe I'd go crazy hearing that if I wasn't at the keyboard."

    I feel like whites may actually be the middle ground? Is that loco? Have I gone to loco city?

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    maybe clears. Aren't those firm browns?

    camo_sig.png
  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    maybe clears. Aren't those firm browns?

    I just checked with him, and even though it appears white to me, the key I'm liking is indeed a clear. So to be clear (see what I did there?), we're talking about clears, and not whites. Off to a good start with communicating this!

    And yes, they're a firm brown. There's some initial resistance when depressing them, but they have lots of give afterward. I may go that direction.

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    mts wrote: »
    I wonder if you can clean out the switch or key cap with some air. Possible refurb has crap in it

    You could try contact cleaner. Hold the keyboard upside down and spray the contact cleaner into the switch and actuate the switch a few times. See if it loosens up.

    Contact Cleaner

    Steam ID: Webguy20
    Origin ID: Discgolfer27
    Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    I keep wanting to pull off my keycaps and snap them back into place. Theoretically this should be doable, but because of the weird form factor on this keyboard, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure if I should do it with my fingers (because I can get them under there) or if I should use a key puller...

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    So, after holding down the switch in various places and blasting some air in there...it's better! who knows what was in there, but it isn't in that spot now! Thanks all! So in terms of adjusting, I think it's just because this is "different" but part of me misses the firmness of my previous membrane keyboard. I assume that means that it had a higher force required to depress the keys? While now the cherry reds are low force and thus resist me less? I don't know why, but part of my brain wants the keys to spring back up faster, but that may not actually be desireable vs having to use less force to press them. I'm typing on it now and it's not like they aren't returning fast enough for any reasonable use.

  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    The real answer is that all keys are just training for black switches

    camo_sig.png
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Oh wow. With a proper puller, the keys come off really easily on my keyboard. I was expecting some kind of clip like the membrane ones I've used in the past have, but no -- these appear to be just held on by friction.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    So, after holding down the switch in various places and blasting some air in there...it's better! who knows what was in there, but it isn't in that spot now! Thanks all! So in terms of adjusting, I think it's just because this is "different" but part of me misses the firmness of my previous membrane keyboard. I assume that means that it had a higher force required to depress the keys? While now the cherry reds are low force and thus resist me less? I don't know why, but part of my brain wants the keys to spring back up faster, but that may not actually be desireable vs having to use less force to press them. I'm typing on it now and it's not like they aren't returning fast enough for any reasonable use.
    The "standard" Cherry MX switches (red - linear, brown - tactile, and blue - clicky) also have heavier variants (black, clear, and green, respectively). The springs inside the heavier variants are stiffer, and require more force to push; I suspect that this means they also spring up faster. If you look around the mech keyboard enthusiast community, you will find lots of different switches that slightly tweak this or that parameter (firmness of the spring, loudness of the click for clicky switches, etc etc). It may be that there is some niche switch out there that is perfect for you.

    Chyrosran22 does reviews of keyboards (modern as well as ones from decades ago), including sound tests of typing on various switches, and I think he's pretty highly-regarded by the community, so there might be something interesting there (although you can't just, like, search his channel by "switches wot feel better than reds", so I guess you'd really need to do a bunch of legwork first on the mech keyboard subreddit, and/or Geekhack, etc., to figure out what kind of a switch you might be interested in so you could then look it up on his channel).

  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    Delduwath wrote: »
    So, after holding down the switch in various places and blasting some air in there...it's better! who knows what was in there, but it isn't in that spot now! Thanks all! So in terms of adjusting, I think it's just because this is "different" but part of me misses the firmness of my previous membrane keyboard. I assume that means that it had a higher force required to depress the keys? While now the cherry reds are low force and thus resist me less? I don't know why, but part of my brain wants the keys to spring back up faster, but that may not actually be desireable vs having to use less force to press them. I'm typing on it now and it's not like they aren't returning fast enough for any reasonable use.
    The "standard" Cherry MX switches (red - linear, brown - tactile, and blue - clicky) also have heavier variants (black, clear, and green, respectively). The springs inside the heavier variants are stiffer, and require more force to push; I suspect that this means they also spring up faster. If you look around the mech keyboard enthusiast community, you will find lots of different switches that slightly tweak this or that parameter (firmness of the spring, loudness of the click for clicky switches, etc etc). It may be that there is some niche switch out there that is perfect for you.

    Chyrosran22 does reviews of keyboards (modern as well as ones from decades ago), including sound tests of typing on various switches, and I think he's pretty highly-regarded by the community, so there might be something interesting there (although you can't just, like, search his channel by "switches wot feel better than reds", so I guess you'd really need to do a bunch of legwork first on the mech keyboard subreddit, and/or Geekhack, etc., to figure out what kind of a switch you might be interested in so you could then look it up on his channel).

    Thanks! I'll probably hold off a while, a big reason I got this one at all was I could scoop up the refurb for ~50 bucks. I'll give myself time to adjust before I drop a hundred+ on something new. It may not be perfect, but thus far it's nice! I already find myself coveting a fancy escape button as well.

  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    edited February 2019
    Soon I'll be able to CNC fancy escape buttons.

    Edit: I mean I can CNC keycaps now. Still refining things though and I've mostly only been doing normal profiles. I haven't looked at doing anything like companion cubes or whatever.

    Radiation on
    PSN: jfrofl
  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    Radiation wrote: »
    Soon I'll be able to CNC fancy escape buttons.

    Edit: I mean I can CNC keycaps now. Still refining things though and I've mostly only been doing normal profiles. I haven't looked at doing anything like companion cubes or whatever.

    Oh don't tell me this. I was already on Etsy before I said, "I really really can't justify 20$+ for a key."
    ...but once you get going PM me and maybe it being a forumer will change that math!

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Delduwath wrote: »
    So, after holding down the switch in various places and blasting some air in there...it's better! who knows what was in there, but it isn't in that spot now! Thanks all! So in terms of adjusting, I think it's just because this is "different" but part of me misses the firmness of my previous membrane keyboard. I assume that means that it had a higher force required to depress the keys? While now the cherry reds are low force and thus resist me less? I don't know why, but part of my brain wants the keys to spring back up faster, but that may not actually be desireable vs having to use less force to press them. I'm typing on it now and it's not like they aren't returning fast enough for any reasonable use.
    The "standard" Cherry MX switches (red - linear, brown - tactile, and blue - clicky) also have heavier variants (black, clear, and green, respectively). The springs inside the heavier variants are stiffer, and require more force to push; I suspect that this means they also spring up faster. If you look around the mech keyboard enthusiast community, you will find lots of different switches that slightly tweak this or that parameter (firmness of the spring, loudness of the click for clicky switches, etc etc). It may be that there is some niche switch out there that is perfect for you.

    Chyrosran22 does reviews of keyboards (modern as well as ones from decades ago), including sound tests of typing on various switches, and I think he's pretty highly-regarded by the community, so there might be something interesting there (although you can't just, like, search his channel by "switches wot feel better than reds", so I guess you'd really need to do a bunch of legwork first on the mech keyboard subreddit, and/or Geekhack, etc., to figure out what kind of a switch you might be interested in so you could then look it up on his channel).

    Thanks! I'll probably hold off a while, a big reason I got this one at all was I could scoop up the refurb for ~50 bucks. I'll give myself time to adjust before I drop a hundred+ on something new. It may not be perfect, but thus far it's nice! I already find myself coveting a fancy escape button as well.
    The first mechanical keyboard I got had Cherry reds on it, and I realized that I really don't like typing on them. They're really fun to press, and to just click-clack for fun, but I didn't like actual typing on there at all - turns out I need that tactile feedback (chalk it up to two decades of typing on membrane keyboards, I guess), and the springs were so soft that if I just rested my fingers on the keys (a habit I'd gotten into, apparently), the weight of them would actually press the key down to the point of actuation. The keyboard I have now has Zealio 65g switches (which are like Cherry Browns But Better And You Get To Be A Snob When You Use Them), and I like them much more, buuuuut also it's an ErgoDox Infinity, which is a super-different key arrangement. I haven't had the time to properly learn it yet, so I'm still typing at a very slow speed; it's possible that at a normal typing speed, I'd have some other complaint about these switches. Get back to me in like... year.

    Anyway, the point of this was to say that maybe you'd like a tactile bump as well, and it's not an issue with (or not JUST an issue with) the weight of the spring.

  • ChaosHatChaosHat Hop, hop, hop, HA! Trick of the lightRegistered User regular
    Is soldering super hard? I've never done it before but I'm pretty interested in an Iris keyboard. Is this the kind of thing I should be trying out on some other shit first? As far as I can tell the through hole stuff is the easier stuff to learn on so it's probably not that bad?

  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    It's not terrible.
    A few youtube tutorials and you should mostly be there.

    The bigger the glob does not mean the better the job.
    Also be careful about leaving your soldering iron against something for too long.

    PSN: jfrofl
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    I managed to solder my ErgoDox Infinity together a couple of years ago, and I had no idea what in the world I was doing. I can see that some of my solder joints ended up being pretty crummy, but they work and I'm not confident enough in my skills to try and fix them.

    I would absolutely try it on something cheap first. There are cheap soldering practice kits, where they just give you all the pieces you need to make some small toy piece of functional electronics (a buzzer with a button, a thing with some LEDs and some buttons to light them up, etc), which is what I used as practice before working on the actual keyboard. It was helpful, mostly in the confidence-building "oh, well, I guess I can actually do this without setting the house on fire" sense; I definitely wish I'd watched more tutorials and practiced more before working on the keyboard.

    Way after I was done, I found this soldering guide and this guide on bad joints (and their causes/fixes), which looks invaluable to a beginner like me. If I ever solder something again, I'll definitely re-read those guides first.

  • BigityBigity Lubbock, TXRegistered User regular
    Upgraded the wife to a Razer Black Widow Chroma v2 and myself to a Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum (both lightly used for like $40 each). Really enjoying the G910 and the wife likes the Razer (but likes the keys on the G910 better).

    Wish they weren't quite so big though.

  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    I'm so envious of everyone who can do a 10keyless life. If I'm using a numpad, it's almost a promise I'm not having fun. And deep down I know I could just use a little USB one when I needed it, but I also know I'd totally use that as an excuse to not do work. "But the numpad is over thereeeee"

  • ChaosHatChaosHat Hop, hop, hop, HA! Trick of the lightRegistered User regular
    Hmm okay this sounds doable. Maybe I'll pick up an iron and kit and start working my way towards it. I figure slow rolling this is the best way to go, gotta find some dope keycaps on some group buy or something.

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Finding dope caps is the easiest thing, there are ten thousand billion awesome caps out there in various color themes, profiles, and materials. The trick is finding the dope caps that are currently for sale, and aren't, like, part of a group buy that ran once for two weeks in 2015 and will never be repeated for a bunch of logistical reasons.

  • ChaosHatChaosHat Hop, hop, hop, HA! Trick of the lightRegistered User regular
    Delduwath wrote: »
    Finding dope caps is the easiest thing, there are ten thousand billion awesome caps out there in various color themes, profiles, and materials. The trick is finding the dope caps that are currently for sale, and aren't, like, part of a group buy that ran once for two weeks in 2015 and will never be repeated for a bunch of logistical reasons.

    That's what I meant. Don't just want to pull the trigger on the first set of caps. Gotta get some keyswitch testers and all that, figure it out.

  • SynthesisSynthesis Honda Today! Registered User regular
    I ended up returning the Cooler Master SK630 I got from Amazon.

    I really, really liked the design, enjoy the keys themselves, and appreciated the size (since I now have a much larger Logitech Powerplay pad), but the Cherry switches were too distractingly...different. A slightly more resistant push, and not as much tactile feedback (or the accompanying click) as the HAVIT.

    Though to their credit, they would've been much less obnoxious for someone else to listen to.

    Well, live and learn. Had to pay $20 to ship it back, but assuming I get a full refund, I don't mind too much. Now I'm looking at one of these, a Keychron K1 which I think has switches closer to something I'm used to...and built-in wireless at a lower price point, though it's not as nice a design. But I'll probably be a lot slower to pull the trigger this time. :biggrin:

    My HAVIT is fine, even if a third of it covers my mousepad.

  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    Picked up that Roccat Vulcan 100 (no need for the wrist rest), and I really like this.

    It's a fair bit quieter than my previous Razer keyboard. Keys are also a bit narrower than usual which takes some getting used to.

  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    Hey all, I bought some cheeeeap shit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015MPQQ0A/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_vyfECb0YDWPA8

    It's an Eagletec KG010 with off-brand Cherry Blue switches. Reviews looked good, and money is tight, and my keyboard was broke, so I bought this right away this week.

    It's.....good? Like, this would be my first mechanical keyboard, and I only have my coworker's Das Keyboard to compare with, but it's actually pretty good right now. Of course, talk to me in 3 months about how good it is.

    My wife demanded that I go with the Blue switches, btw. She loves the noise, which I think is so weird. She hates noise of any kind, usually, but when I plugged this in and started banging away she just ran her hands down her face and said "I love it."

    I could have found a better way to say that, but mid-way through that sentence I decided I was now committed to making it sound dirty.

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Thawmus wrote: »
    I could have found a better way to say that, but mid-way through that sentence I decided I was now committed to making it sound dirty.
    We appreciate your commitment.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Time to bring a switch tester into the bedroom
    :winky:

  • IoloIolo iolo Registered User regular
    Thawmus wrote: »
    Hey all, I bought some cheeeeap shit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015MPQQ0A/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_vyfECb0YDWPA8

    It's an Eagletec KG010 with off-brand Cherry Blue switches. Reviews looked good, and money is tight, and my keyboard was broke, so I bought this right away this week.

    It's.....good? Like, this would be my first mechanical keyboard, and I only have my coworker's Das Keyboard to compare with, but it's actually pretty good right now. Of course, talk to me in 3 months about how good it is.

    The price of that Eagletec is approaching 'pick-up-one-for' work territory. Is is super clacky? Too bad they don't offer a version with quieter switches.

    Lt. Iolo's First Day
    Steam profile.
    Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    Iolo wrote: »
    Thawmus wrote: »
    Hey all, I bought some cheeeeap shit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015MPQQ0A/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_vyfECb0YDWPA8

    It's an Eagletec KG010 with off-brand Cherry Blue switches. Reviews looked good, and money is tight, and my keyboard was broke, so I bought this right away this week.

    It's.....good? Like, this would be my first mechanical keyboard, and I only have my coworker's Das Keyboard to compare with, but it's actually pretty good right now. Of course, talk to me in 3 months about how good it is.

    The price of that Eagletec is approaching 'pick-up-one-for' work territory. Is is super clacky? Too bad they don't offer a version with quieter switches.

    Oh yeah, it's pretty loud. I don't think I could get away with using one in my office, honestly.

    They do offer browns, though:

    Brown: https://www.amazon.com/EagleTec-KG050-BR-Mechanical-Keyboard-Switches/dp/B07DRNXG87

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    edited March 2019
    Shame they only offer those with hella ugly key-caps (more power to you if you like them, give me basic ass fonts)
    More this please, no lights, cheap, and basic looking:
    71wpIMTwroL._SL1500_.jpg

    QuantumTurk on
  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    One thing I'm absolutely in love with is the aluminum casing.

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Is the entire case aluminum, or just the top plate? When I got my Corsair keyboard, I was inattentive and thought the whole case was going to be aluminum; turns out the case is plastic, with an (admittedly very nice) aluminum top plate.

    I really should have known better: entirely-aluminum cases are pretty expensive, although they certainly exist in all sorts of form factors and colors in the enthusiast mech keyboard market.

  • QuantumTurkQuantumTurk Registered User regular
    Delduwath wrote: »
    Is the entire case aluminum, or just the top plate? When I got my Corsair keyboard, I was inattentive and thought the whole case was going to be aluminum; turns out the case is plastic, with an (admittedly very nice) aluminum top plate.

    I really should have known better: entirely-aluminum cases are pretty expensive, although they certainly exist in all sorts of form factors and colors in the enthusiast mech keyboard market.

    At that price, the bet that it's as little as possible is a good one. Granted I think its just a nicety/flex. Has anyone ever broken a keyboard case that wasn't trying to or dropping something particularly heavy on it?

  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    Delduwath wrote: »
    Is the entire case aluminum, or just the top plate? When I got my Corsair keyboard, I was inattentive and thought the whole case was going to be aluminum; turns out the case is plastic, with an (admittedly very nice) aluminum top plate.

    I really should have known better: entirely-aluminum cases are pretty expensive, although they certainly exist in all sorts of form factors and colors in the enthusiast mech keyboard market.

    I'll have to check over my lunch break. I think it's just the top plate.

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    edited March 2019
    Delduwath wrote: »
    Is the entire case aluminum, or just the top plate? When I got my Corsair keyboard, I was inattentive and thought the whole case was going to be aluminum; turns out the case is plastic, with an (admittedly very nice) aluminum top plate.

    I really should have known better: entirely-aluminum cases are pretty expensive, although they certainly exist in all sorts of form factors and colors in the enthusiast mech keyboard market.

    At that price, the bet that it's as little as possible is a good one. Granted I think its just a nicety/flex. Has anyone ever broken a keyboard case that wasn't trying to or dropping something particularly heavy on it?
    Oh, it's 100% an aesthetic thing. I was shocked at how nice the aluminum top plate felt - the coolness of it, the heavy solidity of it, the smoothness. I kind of want a full-aluminum case for the same reason I want fancy custom keycaps of a specific profile and color, the same reason I want RGB LEDs, etc: because it's satisfying to trick out every aspect of the keyboard, if that's what you're into.

    There's no real practical benefit that I can see, other than that a metal case is heavier and less likely to unintentionally slide around on your desk. There's even a downside that would never have occurred to me had I not tried the metal top plate: I had never ever given myself a static shock off of my keyboard until I used one that had a large, metal surface that was constantly in contact with my hands.

    Delduwath on
  • RadiationRadiation Registered User regular
    Shame they only offer those with hella ugly key-caps (more power to you if you like them, give me basic ass fonts)
    More this please, no lights, cheap, and basic looking:
    71wpIMTwroL._SL1500_.jpg

    My daughter picked up a white one of those. Also with Blue LEDs. We kinda like it. Though I am going to make a few wooden keycaps for her so we can add some more color to it.

    PSN: jfrofl
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Those two exposed screws on the top corners though?

    Is it a brand new 2019 computer keyboard or a 1976 Freightliner truck dashboard?

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Thawmus wrote: »
    Hey all, I bought some cheeeeap shit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015MPQQ0A/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_vyfECb0YDWPA8

    It's an Eagletec KG010 with off-brand Cherry Blue switches. Reviews looked good, and money is tight, and my keyboard was broke, so I bought this right away this week.

    It's.....good? Like, this would be my first mechanical keyboard, and I only have my coworker's Das Keyboard to compare with, but it's actually pretty good right now. Of course, talk to me in 3 months about how good it is.

    My wife demanded that I go with the Blue switches, btw. She loves the noise, which I think is so weird. She hates noise of any kind, usually, but when I plugged this in and started banging away she just ran her hands down her face and said "I love it."

    I could have found a better way to say that, but mid-way through that sentence I decided I was now committed to making it sound dirty.

    She really likes the loud clicks, hey?

    Get yourself one of these, and introduce it to her whilst you're wearing nothing but a leopard print g-string, see what happens...

  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    Echo wrote: »
    Picked up that Roccat Vulcan 100 (no need for the wrist rest), and I really like this.

    It's a fair bit quieter than my previous Razer keyboard. Keys are also a bit narrower than usual which takes some getting used to.

    I'm already a fan due to having a cat. I can just grab a brush and get all the cat hair out of the keyboard!

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