"SFF" Keyboards

[BaK]

I almost had to google every reference mentioned above and the guy says

My tech hobby interests have shifted to 3D-printing and mechanical keyboards, and even about that I'm way less in the loop than I ever was here

Haha!

 

[rfarmer]

I almost had to google every reference mentioned above and the guy says

Glad I am not the only one, I had to check the quoted message to even know what he was talking about.

 

[BaK]

Heh, 'custom' mechanical keyboards seem to be a world on its own.
I just put half a foot on it but then decided to go with a ready-to-go and quiet Logitech G810, happy with it.

All that to say that we will miss you @iFreilicht if you don't come here as often!

 

[HeroXLazer]

I've got an 75RE on order right now, waiting for the letter from customs to pick it up, which will fulfil my ortholinear needs until I get time to complete my custom Atomic build. I'm also following the DO64 PCB to replace my S60-X (something the Bananasplit failed to do), but I think ortholinear really is the way to go for me.

My mid-term goal would be to have a 75-key ortholinear at home and/or work, and a smaller (Preonic or Planck-size) on the go. Once you go that far, it's super easy to get into more interesting stuff like the Let's Split or Nyquist, both of which I'm interested in.

Favourite switch at this time has to be the Kailh Box White. I also really like Gateron Greens, but those are too heavy for gaming. Great for typing, though.

I'm not that big on buying keycap sets. I like my orange+white PBT blanks, and custom sets are just so very expensive without any practical use. Some of them look amazing, though. GMK Nautilus is super dope, huge fan of that.

Have you tried the Kalih Speed Bronzes?

 

[br3nd0]

I'm trying to get my hands on a MK TKL Disco with brown switches, going to plasti dip the base white to match my white/black theme build

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1540

 

[|||]

The previous 7 posts were moved over from the Iris 16 RGB vandal button thread.

In SFF Keyboard related news, Cherry announced slim switches at CES.

 

[HeroXLazer]

The previous 7 posts were moved over from the Iris 16 RGB vandal button thread.

In SFF Keyboard related news, Cherry announced slim switches at CES.

Yes, they did, but I think the Kalih low profile switches, may be a better alternative, as it's already released.

 

[|||]

Yes, they did, but I think the Kalih low profile switches, may be a better alternative, as it's already released.

Just reporting the news. But what I'd really want to see are low-profile Flaretech switches with full analog capability.

 

[kittysox]

I’ve got a vortex race 75 with clears that I love and a ducky varmillo cherry blossom one that I wouldn’t pay 10 cents for again. 75% is perfect for a compact gaming oriented sff keyboard 60% is mostly for pretend hackers and reddit posters

 

[alexep7]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't like typing in mechanical keyboards. I love the look of a nice, small 60% mechanical keyboard, I just can't get used to the feel and noise of the mechanical switches.

Right now I use a Logitech K380, by far the best and most comfortable keyboard I have ever tried.

 

[Solo]

HHKB. It's the only keyboard, son.

 

[HeroXLazer]

HHKB. It's the only keyboard, son.

How's your RUBBER DOME working for you?

 

[Solo]

How's your RUBBER DOME working for you?

 

[ignsvn]

Have a little extra to spend, so here goes:


Basically a Keycool 84 with Dolch PBT keycap, single shot, side printed. Haven't got time to try much of its functionalities.

Edit:
- Gateron brown switch
- It says RGB but haven't found a way to activate the RGB. I get 7 colors for now. Quite cool.
- Unfortunately not programmable.
- Plastic frame.
- Braided USB - micro USB cable, should be detachable.

Build quality is OK, I guess. Nothing special, but not bad either. Compared to my 100% Tesoro Excalibur, it's very lightweight. I was concerned when I received the packaging - I thought they send me an empty box LOL!

75% is my preferred layout, so yeah pretty happy to have this.

 

[MultiDoc]

A few days ago I received the long awaited (for me) Wooting One. Very happy so far, will see how it goes in the long term

 

[ignsvn]

A few days ago I received the long awaited (for me) Wooting One. Very happy so far, will see how it goes in the long term

Nice! What is your opinion about it? Is it really useful? Any extra fatigue from holding a key midway?

I'm asking this because, IMO, an analog input is effective if we have enough travel distance on the button/stick/whatever input method. I'm not sure if a keyboard switch offers enough travel distance to optimally utilize the pressure sensitive keys. But this is just my guess, hence my question.

 

[EdZ]

The analog face buttons of the PS2 controller (DualShock 2) were useful in only a small number of cases, but they were effective in those cases, and had an extremely short travel distance and used only rubber domes. Perceptually you're not so much modulating travel distance as you are varying the force you press the button (or keyswitch) with.

 

[MultiDoc]

Didn't have the chance to test it yet, but as @EdZ said, you vary the force more than the travel distance. I had been watching the Wooting development since they first started years ago and I am very happy with the final product, can highly recommend it.

 

[ignsvn]

The analog face buttons of the PS2 controller (DualShock 2) were useful in only a small number of cases, but they were effective in those cases, and had an extremely short travel distance and used only rubber domes. Perceptually you're not so much modulating travel distance as you are varying the force you press the button (or keyswitch) with.

Thanks for the explanation.

Admittedly I rarely used my analog stick on my PS1. I used it only when my thumb became too tired pressing the arrow buttons. And even then, I usually pushed that analog stick all the way LOL.

 

[jmarin]

Bringing this back from the dead. I'm looking into getting a new keyboard. All I've ever known was inexpensive membrane keyboards the last 20 or so years that were the full 104+ key layout. I have no idea which way to go. I've looked at 104, TKL, 87, 82, 72, 60%, you name it. Mechanical keyboards interest me to a degree, and I think I'm open to a less than full keyboard, but if I do that I'd like the numpad as a secondary function (FN+ whatever) as I hardly ever use the numbers at the top. There are so many options I have no idea which way to really go. I don't want to spend a huge amount of money either. So any guidance would be appreciated. I've also read this entire thread, and learned a ton, but that's led to more questions than answers lol. Thanks