Honestly? The cheapest option is probably to find a friend who has a decent iron and borrow it (costs ranging from nothing to a pint or three, depending on the friend)
"SFF" Keyboards
- Thread starter iFreilicht
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Well, I just ordered one anyway, better to ask forgiveness than permission sometimes ???
The nice thing about having a tool like that, you can use it for lots of different projects so it will eventually pay for itself.
I've paused my SFF build project despite having received all the parts, because of a lack of personal free time and space to assemble it in peace.
So I though until I resume building, let's get a decent Keyboard and mouse !
Being a keeb noob, I stupidly followed the internet's general directions and ended up buying a mildly expensive mech, Ducky One 2, with Cherry MX browns.
And the experience has been terrible, though the keyboard seemed like an overall quality product, the switches were a total disappointment.
Very scratchy, incredibly bad non-homogenous 'tactile bump' design, creaky and VERY loud pinging springs.
Then I got a cheap generic chinese brand kb with Gateron (reds this time), and it's been like typing on the feathers of an angel's wings.
Reading through the internets much more thoroughly (should have done from the start), I've learned that while Cherry used to make the top switches and are still considered the more durable brand, their typing quality in our era has decreased dramatically, and clones like Gateron are actually the superior-feeling switches, if not as durable.
Or consider less prominent products like Kailh Box for instance or even Topre as other quality alternatives.
Next time I'm thinking of getting a high quality keyboard, in any case I'll make sure to avoid the Cherry options.
I don't want to have to go through that insane lubing job and dampening like mad, to get a decent keyboard experience.
So I though until I resume building, let's get a decent Keyboard and mouse !
Being a keeb noob, I stupidly followed the internet's general directions and ended up buying a mildly expensive mech, Ducky One 2, with Cherry MX browns.
And the experience has been terrible, though the keyboard seemed like an overall quality product, the switches were a total disappointment.
Very scratchy, incredibly bad non-homogenous 'tactile bump' design, creaky and VERY loud pinging springs.
Then I got a cheap generic chinese brand kb with Gateron (reds this time), and it's been like typing on the feathers of an angel's wings.
Reading through the internets much more thoroughly (should have done from the start), I've learned that while Cherry used to make the top switches and are still considered the more durable brand, their typing quality in our era has decreased dramatically, and clones like Gateron are actually the superior-feeling switches, if not as durable.
Or consider less prominent products like Kailh Box for instance or even Topre as other quality alternatives.
Next time I'm thinking of getting a high quality keyboard, in any case I'll make sure to avoid the Cherry options.
I don't want to have to go through that insane lubing job and dampening like mad, to get a decent keyboard experience.
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This. I have 1 SFF case ready to be used, and 2 keyboards ready to be assembled.
But living with a toddler is hard, it's very hard to find personal free time & space.
Yes, children make it difficult, especially when you have 2 boys under 4 and the wife works opposite schedule from you Monday through Thursday so you gotta parent alone after work. I feel your pain ?
Meet my 36-key (35%?) daily driver, GergoPlex.
It uses low-profile Kailh Choc mechanical switches.
Layout https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/pull/8928/files#diff-0e9d71e8f0c811ab90aeea8e5e2e4470R34
It uses low-profile Kailh Choc mechanical switches.
Layout https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/pull/8928/files#diff-0e9d71e8f0c811ab90aeea8e5e2e4470R34
It would take me so long to learn how to use that thing that I would never be able to actually get it working. Looks awesome in its own way though, just far too few keys to be practical, especially for those of us using languages with more than 26 lettersMeet my 36-key (35%?) daily driver, GergoPlex.
It uses low-profile Kailh Choc mechanical switches.
Layout https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/pull/8928/files#diff-0e9d71e8f0c811ab90aeea8e5e2e4470R34
Talking about LP... the Keychron K1 (edit: and K2, K4, K6, K8) is coming to my country supposedly soon next month.
It'll be available with Gaterons, and since I like the full size reds, well.
Anyone tried/liked that keyboard and switches ? I find hard to believe LP is too short for gaming, unless people mean 'for brütal gaming', idk.
Lots of opinions about the K1 or other LP regard typing, hardly gaming.
It'll be available with Gaterons, and since I like the full size reds, well.
Anyone tried/liked that keyboard and switches ? I find hard to believe LP is too short for gaming, unless people mean 'for brütal gaming', idk.
Lots of opinions about the K1 or other LP regard typing, hardly gaming.
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I believe it's completely possible to game with low profile switches. People game in laptop too, after all. It's just a matter of preference
Thank goodness for the used market. Plank EZ, came with Kailh copper switches, lasted about 30 seconds before I pulled them for Zilent 62g.
To tide me over until I can build a custom kb, I purchased some Tai Hao keycaps and dielectric grease to spruce up my Drevo Caliber a little bit. I must say, I do like the feel of these keycaps, and they were inexpensive at $40. I liberally applied the grease on the stabs, and my god did it make a huge difference. This also proved to me that I will definitely be lubing the switches, as now the majority of any rattling is from the switches themselves (and perhaps keycaps bottoming out). Overall, I am pretty happy with it, but really looking forward to doing a custom job. Wife said it sounded more like a "winter project" when I brought it up, so there is hope
To tide me over until I can build a custom kb, I purchased some Tai Hao keycaps and dielectric grease to spruce up my Drevo Caliber a little bit. I must say, I do like the feel of these keycaps, and they were inexpensive at $40. I liberally applied the grease on the stabs, and my god did it make a huge difference. This also proved to me that I will definitely be lubing the switches, as now the majority of any rattling is from the switches themselves (and perhaps keycaps bottoming out). Overall, I am pretty happy with it, but really looking forward to doing a custom job. Wife said it sounded more like a "winter project" when I brought it up, so there is hope
Nice. Don't forget to do the band-aid mod as well if your stabs are PCB-mounted.
Even if they are plate mounted I would do the band-aid mod. Clip, bandaid, and if they have any wiggle in the plate itself I would wrap a small piece of bandaid on the edge of the plate where the stab comes in contact to stop it from moving around. IMO it's worth it for the little extra work to silence any potential rattles from the stabilizers.
From my past experience, the feet of plate mounted stabilizer never touch the PCB.
But yeah I did put small electrical tape on the edge of the plate of the stab holes, to make sure they stay in place.
Yeah I tried electrical tape but it's hard to get it to stay where I wanted it to without making the stab stick. I could try again, but the dielectric grease seems to have reduced 99.9% of the sound from the stabs. They are plate mounted but the switches are soldered on and I would rather not screw around with that. I have read about lubing switches and to be careful with clicky ones especially with getting a lot of lube on them which reduces the tactility/clickiness of the switch. I won't be trying that on my current board though, it is reasonable now with the sound, although I might get O rings since I tend to bottom out sometimes. May do some sort of insulation in the case to help with any echoing as well. Just cheapy mods for this kb lol
O-rings will alter the feel a bit. They'll make the switch travel more shallow to some extent, and may or may not make the bottom out feel mushy. It depends because o-rings are available in many thicknesses as well as hardness ratings.
It also matters what switches you're using. IIRC all Cherry type switches generally have about 50% of the entire switch travel be dead space....so out of say 4.0mm of travel, the switch won't actuate until 2.0mm; which tends to lead to bottoming out or hammering because that dead distance is hard to judge where the actuation point is. Which, if you use 1mm o-rings; that bottom out distance is cut in half--because the bottom out is even closer to the actuation point.
Personally not much of a fan of Cherry style switches because of the huge pre-travel. Would rather have a stiffer switch with no pre-travel.
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