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Fleedar posted:I saw that! Sadly it doesn’t look like he’s made anymore since the one production run a year ago. There's been a few runs actually. Just put your name on the list, and be patient. Or don't be patient and ping him on Discord. Your call.
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Sep 10, 2021 04:56
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Thanks to all the suggestions. Ended up getting a Hakko FX-888D and looking forward to practice with a some broken switches on an old keyboard before I move onto working with the new stuff I want to make and cables I want to repair.
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Sep 10, 2021 16:30
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interrodactyl posted:If you're in Canada, you might be able to get some parts cheaper. Check out some of the vendors by country listed here: https://www.alexotos.com/keyboard-vendor-list/#about Thanks for the link! Looks like everything there is group buys and/or pretty pricey, so looks like what I have in my cart is still the least expensive option. Thanks for all the recommendations.
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Sep 10, 2021 17:45
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Been using my first board that I ordered a few months ago (WASD 87) and I love it, even if my wife hates the clicking. Everytime I check in on this thread, I see all these models with knobs that makes me wanna pitch this one, or at least dump it on my desk at the office, and get a new one. Stop tempting me
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Sep 11, 2021 00:57
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If you just want a knob you could get it separately from the computer. If you want a knob that slots onto a keyboard then you know what to do.
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Sep 11, 2021 01:06
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couldcareless posted:Been using my first board that I ordered a few months ago (WASD 87) and I love it, even if my wife hates the clicking. Don't do that, just get a DAC/AMP setup and then you'll have plenty of knobs to use. It might cost you way more than a keyboard would, but then you have a different hobby to spend way too much money on!
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Sep 11, 2021 04:04
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Really, you just wind up with both hobbies, and even more knobs.
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Sep 11, 2021 09:23
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After a brief buying spree, I now have a board with U4s and a board with U4Ts and they've become my favorite switches outside of Topres. Strongly encourage anyone on the fence to try them
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Sep 11, 2021 15:05
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Yay I got my K7 last night. This thing is TINY! I'll post some pics and my initial thoughts later today.
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Sep 11, 2021 15:50
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emdash posted:After a brief buying spree, I now have a board with U4s and a board with U4Ts and they've become my favorite switches outside of Topres. Strongly encourage anyone on the fence to try them Which of the two do you prefer? Why?
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Sep 11, 2021 15:55
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interrodactyl posted:Don't do that, just get a DAC/AMP setup and then you'll have plenty of knobs to use. It might cost you way more than a keyboard would, but then you have a different hobby to spend way too much money on! I mean, I already have a blue yeti and ATH M50x, I'm pretty much halfway there as far as I'm concerned.
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Sep 11, 2021 16:02
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I use one of my knobs on my sofle for volume, the other for undo/redo. It owns
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Sep 11, 2021 16:17
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KAT Hyperfuse finally arrived, I really wish I got the purple/teal highlights sets though. Anyway, the KAT profile feels pretty good so far. I prefer it to SA, but also prefer MT3's dished tops to these. The profile doesn't feel as aggressive on these. Gonna have to get my hands on a DSS set to compare as well. But I definitely see myself getting more keycaps in this profile, and not completely give up on it like XDA. Cherry profile is still what I prefer the most though.
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Sep 11, 2021 17:07
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Speaking of, I grabbed an MT3 set thinking it seemed like my jam, and I love the concavity but hate the height. My fave sets are still mostly Cherry for that reason alone. What profile should I be looking at as an alternative?
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Sep 11, 2021 17:16
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emdash posted:After a brief buying spree, I now have a board with U4s and a board with U4Ts and they've become my favorite switches outside of Topres. Strongly encourage anyone on the fence to try them pretty much this. Actually I can't even use the rotary encoder on any of my boards for volume at my home office work desk because my TEAC UD-501 just bypasses Windows volume over USB, so I can only use the volume control on my AX-501 as God intended. As a result I usually only use R.E. boards that have VIAL support because I can quickly map the R.E. to something else. emdash posted:After a brief buying spree, I now have a board with U4s and a board with U4Ts and they've become my favorite switches outside of Topres. Strongly encourage anyone on the fence to try them Yeah U4T's are probably my favorite tactile as well. I do really like Koalas too though.
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Sep 12, 2021 04:13
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My fiancee did her build with U4Ts. I've gone over to linear gang for now, but drat those switches are nice.
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Sep 12, 2021 20:49
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I'm considering picking up one of those 96-key keyboards because it seems like the ideal layout for me (has a numpad, but more compact than a full-size keyboard). I'm between the Keychron K4, Epomaker SK96s, and Royal Kludge RK96. Anyone have experience with any of them or advice on what makes them different? Related question: how do Gaterons compare to Cherry switches? The board I use the most right now has Cherry reds, and I like them a lot for gaming and typing. Should I go for Gateron reds in that case, or are they going to feel meaningfully different? Harrow fucked around with this message at 15:13 on Sep 13, 2021 |
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Sep 13, 2021 15:02
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Harrow posted:I'm considering picking up one of those 96-key keyboards because it seems like the ideal layout for me (has a numpad, but more compact than a full-size keyboard). I'm between the Keychron K4, Epomaker SK96s, and Royal Kludge RK96. Anyone have experience with any of them or advice on what makes them different? I picked up the K4 hotswap for work recently and threw some Boba silent U4’s on there and it’s been a dream. Nice board, great wireless battery life. Very happy with it. Also grabbed an RK84 with red switches for games/home use and it’s a real sturdy board. Feels like a beefy little tank (heavier than the k4) and I really love it.
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Sep 13, 2021 15:42
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Harrow posted:I'm considering picking up one of those 96-key keyboards because it seems like the ideal layout for me (has a numpad, but more compact than a full-size keyboard). I'm between the Keychron K4, Epomaker SK96s, and Royal Kludge RK96. Anyone have experience with any of them or advice on what makes them different? New gaterons are good. I probably wouldn't mess with gat blue/brown/red though because they have better switches for the same or less money. Consider Gateron KS3. https://kineticlabs.store/switches/gateron/gat-yellows There's a bunch of different versions of the "Gat yellow" switches but this one is the best feeling and smoothest. They're only slightly heavier than Cherry Reds, but I'm willing to bet that they don't feel like it based on 2 factors: 1) Cherry springs are notoriously bad; crunchy, and inconsistent. The tolerances for cherry springs are somewhere around 5% optimistically and sometimes worse, so you could have some cherry reds that have an actuation point of anywhere from 40-50g. 2) Cherry housings are generally good. Their stems aren't quite as good, and the combo of the two on reds is a little scratchy. Also the cherry leaves are notoriously pingy. YMMV and all that. Cherry Black switches are actually some of my favorite switches when modified properly, but if you want a great inexpensive out of the box experience with no additional cost or effort, than Gat yellows are the way to go. If you don't mind spending a little more, then get Lavenders. https://cannonkeys.com/products/lavender-linear-switch
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Sep 13, 2021 15:44
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:New gaterons are good. I probably wouldn't mess with gat blue/brown/red though because they have better switches for the same or less money. Oh yellows sound perfect to me, I somehow didn't notice the weighting on those. Slightly heavier than red sounds like exactly what I'd like to use.
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Sep 13, 2021 15:59
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Hi goons. I need a keyboard. The only mechanical I've ever owned was a NiZ/Epomaker Plum 87 Topre knockoff, which I loved the soft raindrop-y sounds of. I feel like I should play around with some other switch types before just buying another one of those (the U4s mentioned above sound nice), and I need my function keys for mmo gaming, so I think I want something hot-swappable in the 75% size range. What's the cheapest non-garbage place to start?
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Sep 13, 2021 19:07
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Harrow posted:I'm considering picking up one of those 96-key keyboards because it seems like the ideal layout for me (has a numpad, but more compact than a full-size keyboard). I'm between the Keychron K4, Epomaker SK96s, and Royal Kludge RK96. Anyone have experience with any of them or advice on what makes them different? I picked up a 96 key board for compact + numpad dreams, but the muscle memory fuckery from everything being so jammed together was too much for me to deal with. I was just hitting too many missed keys on the right part of the board and with the function keys (I use them extensively in a terminal) I ended up selling it in the end. I'd much rather have an 1800 style layout like the Drop Shift, or, the ultimate deep end, the Austin.
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Sep 13, 2021 21:10
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Keychron C1 is a great budget hotswappable TKL if you’re looking for all the stuff minus the keypad. Definitely recommend switching out the keycaps, they’re thin ABS. Here’s mine with Akko Matcha Greens and cherry-profile keycaps: 
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Sep 13, 2021 21:11
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Ringo Star Get posted:Keychron C1 is a great budget hotswappable TKL if you’re looking for all the stuff minus the keypad. Thanks, that looks nice! To be honest I could (should?) probably even lose the arrow keys and trim it down even further than TKL. I can't remember the last time I used those. I just have that irrational fear that it would bite me in the rear end somehow the moment I did. Edit: All forms of the C1 seem sold out on their website, but the more squished-down and slightly more expensive K2 is available. Any idea how that one is? Edit 2: I guess I could get it from Amazon. 
Unsinkabear fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Sep 13, 2021 |
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Sep 13, 2021 21:14
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Unsinkabear posted:Thanks, that looks nice! To be honest I could (should?) probably even lose the arrow keys and trim it down even further than TKL. I can't remember the last time I used those. I just have that irrational fear that it would bite me in the rear end somehow the moment I did. Those 75% boards are good, downside is finding keycap sets that have the smaller right shift and right side modifiers next to the space bar. Some people don’t like all the keys bunched up but it’s personal preference. Keychron tend to sound hollow because of the plastic cases. Toss in some sorbothane or other foam and it will be good. With it being hot swap, get a switch opener so that you can lube up the switches since they’ll be easy to take out. Just be careful with putting them back in that you don’t bend the pins.
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Sep 13, 2021 21:51
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Ringo Star Get posted:Those 75% boards are good, downside is finding keycap sets that have the smaller right shift and right side modifiers next to the space bar. Some people don’t like all the keys bunched up but it’s personal preference. I was wondering about that. Is there a standard-ish size for the shrunk keys, or am I going to be hunting for proprietary shapes when I want to upgrade the caps? Good to know about the hollowness, ty. It looks like the K1 has an option to spend an extra $10 for an aluminum case. That one is sold out right now, but would that do anything to help the sound?
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Sep 13, 2021 22:27
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Harrow posted:Related question: how do Gaterons compare to Cherry switches? The board I use the most right now has Cherry reds, and I like them a lot for gaming and typing. Should I go for Gateron reds in that case, or are they going to feel meaningfully different? You already got a good answer to this, but I'm going to chime in and say that Gateron reds are vastly different than Cherry reds. There's a small but definitely noticeable difference with them out of the box, but if you lube them the difference is night and day. The Gateron reds are way smoother, quieter, and very noticeably lighter than the reds. The lightness can definitely be a negative if you like stiffer switches, in which case you should probably go for blacks or yellows, but I really like the feel of the very light switches, I even use Gateron clears for a few pinky keys. I'm far from a switch expert but in general I was really unimpressed with all the cherry linear switches.
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Sep 13, 2021 22:42
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seriously I need more keycaps in XDA PBT. Like I want more solid sets of good blue's and poo poo. Where are they??!!!
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Sep 13, 2021 22:50
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Unsinkabear posted:I was wondering about that. Is there a standard-ish size for the shrunk keys, or am I going to be hunting for proprietary shapes when I want to upgrade the caps? The shrunk keys are the same across pretty much all 65%/75% boards If you want a cheap set to go with the K2, Keychron themselves have a bunch of them https://www.keychron.com/collections/q1-k2-oem-dye-sub-pbt-keycap-set
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Sep 13, 2021 22:54
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I finally managed to log on to a website selling Boba U4T’s while they were in stock. My current hot swap friendly board has only 3 holes so I would need to clip the stems to use them there. But these are eventually destined for a board I’m getting in a few months with a proper PCB. Would clipping those stems be a case of me owning myself or can I just go for it and not worry about it? (I know they’ll like, work fine either way, I’m just getting paranoid about dumb longevity or sound impact issues that might exist here or whatever)
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Sep 13, 2021 23:40
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CaptainPsyko posted:I finally managed to log on to a website selling Boba U4T’s while they were in stock. My current hot swap friendly board has only 3 holes so I would need to clip the stems to use them there. But these are eventually destined for a board I’m getting in a few months with a proper PCB. Would clipping those stems be a case of me owning myself or can I just go for it and not worry about it? Don't worry about it, they'll work 100% fine in any board with 3 pins.
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Sep 14, 2021 01:10
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Gwaihir posted:Don't worry about it, they'll work 100% fine in any board with 3 pins. Guess I have an hour watching poo poo on youtube with a pile of switches and a toenail clipper in my future. Thanks.
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Sep 14, 2021 01:40
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I'd highly suggest a good pair of flush cutters to make it really painless. They're like  at most.
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Sep 14, 2021 02:03
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Gwaihir posted:I'd highly suggest a good pair of flush cutters to make it really painless. They're like Yes good grief very much this.
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Sep 14, 2021 02:22
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CaptainPsyko posted:Guess I have an hour watching poo poo on youtube with a pile of switches and a toenail clipper in my future. Thanks. Please buy a flush cutter for this or you are in for a lot of pain and not super well seated switches
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Sep 14, 2021 03:44
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So trip report on the Keychron K7 after a day of normal use. Overall positive. The board is super tiny, but it is not crowded. The dual function keys are taking some getting used to. I regret my choice of the mint tactical switches. They are too heavy and I wish I had gone with the banana switches or tried the linears. The build quality is good. The keycaps are mega thin but not wobbly. It is extremely quiet compared to my drop alt with pandas. Overall I would recommend if you want a very small 60%.
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Sep 14, 2021 03:49
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Unsinkabear posted:I was wondering about that. Is there a standard-ish size for the shrunk keys, or am I going to be hunting for proprietary shapes when I want to upgrade the caps? I'd say just keep an eye out for what the keycaps have for the sizes they offer. Some sets are just strictly "standard" while some sets come with additional different-sized keycaps for different keyboard sizes. Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/HK-Gaming-Dy...73&sr=8-14&th=1 As for the hollowness, there's a wide range of different materials to use and methods. Popular one is just literally taking the foam that comes packaged with the keyboard and cutting it to fit inside of it. I purchased a roll of sorbothane and used that, along with putting down some painter's tape to thicken it up, and then used small o-rings on the posts where the PCB screws into the board. Overall I am happy with how my C1 sounds - I did not lube the Matcha Greens at all but I plan on lubing and filming them on a rainy day. I did that with my 60 percent board with optical Gateron Yellows and its noticeable difference. What also affects the sounds is the surface you're typing on, whether it's a plastic cheap-o folding table vs. a thick desk with a deskmat vs. having it rest on a rolled-up shirt. There's a ton of videos on YouTube on the materials to use for making a board sound different. The best way to approach it is that there is no correct way for a keyboard to sound - just the way you want it to sound.
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Sep 14, 2021 04:07
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All good to know, thank you so much! Has anyone tried the RK84? It looks like it's offering the same features with some interesting extras at a slightly lower price point, and the all-white style is definitely up my alley (at least as a starting point). Too good to be true? Unsinkabear fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Sep 14, 2021 |
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Sep 14, 2021 04:15
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Unsinkabear posted:All good to know, thank you so much! I have this and I like it a lot. It’s a very sturdy board and I like having the option to pop the outer frame off for the floating keys look and making cleaning off the board from all the gd dog hair floating around in my house a lot easier.
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Sep 14, 2021 21:13
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puppy party posted:I have this and I like it a lot. It’s a very sturdy board and I like having the option to pop the outer frame off for the floating keys look and making cleaning off the board from all the gd dog hair floating around in my house a lot easier. Nice. Which switches do you have?
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Sep 14, 2021 22:09
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