here's what i know about the changes of cherry profile double-shot pbt key cap sets. i might be wrong, so please correct me if that's the case.

in a nutshell, a good-quality key cap set usually means the key caps have well-aligned, well-sized, crispy/sharp legends/sub legends, which last like forever. material wise, abs and pbt key caps give different typing feels and sound profiles to a build. the rise of pbt as key cap material took place after 'key shines' was used as a popular 'bad' thing to tag abs key caps. as it turned out, pbt will have key shines also, just at slower pace. however, due to this initial misinformation, and eventually its unique characteristics in feel and sound, pbt key caps became a popular choice to many. on the other hand, double-shot/triple-shot printing is considered as the better printing technology for key caps to produce lasting and crispy legends (combining two or more plastics; usually more expensive), compared to dye-sublimination.

years ago, abs was the main choice used in double-shot printing technology for quality key cap sets. (gmk, jtk) back in those days, thick pbt was mainly used with dye-sublimination printing. (enjoypbt, crp/hammerwork) there were few that attempted to use pbt to make double-shot key caps, but the results were not good (e.g., smeared and inconsistent legends and all; as reference, i still keep some that were made by capturer)

this bottleneck was there for a few years, until osa profile sets came into life. at that time, an improved design/method was used to make these osa profile double-shot pbt sets, with relatively better (crispy/sharp) legends. they are closer to the results of double-shot abs.

i believe that the same methods were adopted to make cherry profile sets after that. the results was a collection of what i called the 2nd-generation double-shot pbt sets from capturer. most of them are tagged as clones (due to colorways) these were sets which have shown significant improvements, with relatively better legends, compared to the last generation's.

these days, the overall results of double-shot pbt sets have shown significant improvements, compared to double-shot abs. pbtfans by kbdfans is using double-shot pbt as one of their main printing technologies.

This post has been edited by horns: May 27 2022, 02:20 PM

my point was just 'be careful'

i guess the better option for you is to get both and do spring swap. they are not expensive. from specs, after-market springs with the exact weight and type of stock springs for both might not be easy to get.

yes. akko switches are mainstream switches, hence their price is not expensive.

to me, akko matcha green is a typical pom-stem/pc top/nylon bottom linear. it's like gateron ks-9. to have better deep sound (so-called 'thocky'), the combination should be like gateron ks-3, cherry mx red/black, jwick black (i.e., pom stem/full nylon housing)

however, honestly, individual preferences are always subjective, especially for sound. it's up to the user to decide.

maybe it's a compatibility issue between the hub and keyboard cables. perhaps you should wait for users of the same hub for better answers, or extend the question to other places also.

--

qmk 0.17.0 was released; changelog: https://docs.qmk.fm/#/ChangeLog/20220528 (with information to upgrade your msys2 environment)

added new stuff, like oled and caps word; and RESET is now renamed to QK_BOOT, and will be depretiated later.

new generation of mkb users are lucky indeed.

now is the era that things like affordable hot-swap prebuilts, improved parts, pre-made stuff that are used for common and uncommon mods, etc. are readily available in the current market. this means mkb prebuilts have reached the stage that they have options that are meant for convenient personal customization. because of this, compared to previous generations of users, beginners can start learning basics through first-hand experience with their hot-swap boards, in relatively much lesser time, with less efforts, and at much lower overall costs.

plenty of proofs have been shown at places like youtube, bilibili, etc. that even affordable hot-swap prebuilts can be tuned to perform relatively better, within their respective physical limits. it's just the matter of choice of that individual, whether to continue to stick to stock, or make themselves happier.

about hot-swap board/kit selection, i have written something to give the basic ideas on how to choose, based on my own preferences. it's for reference only, so just get what you want. due to progressive improvements over the years, hot-swap kits are getting closer to soldered builds in most areas. the gaps are still there, though. however, beginners do not need to worry about this part yet, because the more critical part is to start somewhere to learn basics, expand their own experience and skill sets first.

all the above just means that beginners nowadays have better convenience to get started. it doesn't mean you should skip learning soldering and desoldering. components on pcb can still fail, and you need those basic skills to fix them.

like niakulah pointed out, it's really situational. if it's mushy, then you just clean it up, and reapply the lube.

also, lube will wear off eventually, depending on the combined effects of which lube you're using, surrounding temperatures, lube evaporation rate, keyboard usage, etc. just top it up when necessary.

it's like key chattering. the most common cause is dust getting into the affected key switches. normally, it can be fixed by blowing strong air into the switches, followed by key spamming for a minute or two. if this doesn't solve it, desolder and open the switches up. then clean them up.

--

for those who have dz60 v2 flex-cut pcb. and are wondering where the working qmk source code is, https://github.com/moyi4681/qmk_firmware/tree/DZ60V2 (under keyboards/dztech/dz60/v2)

the source code was not released officially, but it's actually accessible to everyone.

now, if you wanted to experience the true flexy typing feel, you should get this pcb, and make a plateless build hehe

edit:

there is a built-in dedicated capslock rgb led under capslock key for dz60 v2 flex-cut pcb. it's a nice touch, but depending on switch housing (and keycap), the result might not be good. you can hardly see the white led if you used switches with opaque housings.

the better option is to convert all rgb underglow leds to become capslock indicator. it will work even if you turned the rgb underglow effects off.



This post has been edited by horns: Jun 7 2022, 02:19 PM

tx stabilizers are ok. i got some from quovadis123 (keys.my)

my brief observations:
- their wires are relatively straight; (checking with phone screen)
- the bottom of stems are flat;
- the socket openings for wires is relatively narrower, compared to cherry clip-in (hence there is a lesser chance for wires to pop out, but you need a bit of force to push the wires in. it's not like some said that wire pop-out can be prevented by using stab stoppers that are included. stab stoppers are actually meant for securing clip-in stabilizers on the pcb; normally you can use tooth picks for the same purpose)
- there is no need to do holee/epsi mod for tx stabilizers;
- the included stab stoppers are good enough to secure the installation;
- the overall performance is ok; smooth and firm during key travels.

from my brief tests, tuning required are relatively minimal. in terms of overall performance, compared to tuned everglide v2 and equalz c3 with holee mod, they are very similar.

however, i think tx stabilizers are overpackaged. these days, a lot of stuff are overpackaged. it has become a trend that we pay more for stuff that are meant to be thrown away. also, nice packaging doesn't guarantee qualities of the products. for instance, switches. since when should we be worried about bent pins, and need a pretty packaging box to protect them? it's common to have bent pins for switches. they can be fixed with just a pair of tweezers. unless you're doing everything wrong, switches are one of the more durable parts in a board. they don't break because of mere bent pins.

edit: tx stabilizers have 2 variants, i.e., for 1.2mm and 1.6mm PCB thickness; color: black, white. mine is for 1.6mm pcb.

This post has been edited by horns: Jun 8 2022, 09:02 PM

sweet haha yes you should also compare them and find out the outcomes. i will restock more from time to time also, and try make some frankenstabs lol

it's good to support innovative products. it's way better than to get stuff due to hypes.

it's just my own opinion about overpackaged products. there are much cheaper ways to package stuff for transport, since back in the days, when zeal/gmk/cherry stabilizers were considered as better options.

i just wish they spend more to make products with better materials and qualities, instead of packaging.

fixing bent wires is part of the basic skills that we should learn imo, so that we can still proceed even when conditions of what we got is less than optimal. i also use cheap wires for stabilizers. none is wasted so far hehe


This post has been edited by horns: Jun 10 2022, 10:23 PM

my points are about overpackaging. i used zeal/gmk/cherry stabilizers to point out that even they were underpackaged, they still perform as expected.

i agree that tx stabilizers have good qualities, compared to other stabilizers. for now, they are relatively accessible, and not really expensive.

yes, by better materials, i mean the materials used to make stabilizers, which consist of housing, stems, and wires.

chill. my only rant is always about overpackaging in this case, not the stabilizers.

sweet

you're right, about the consistency of linear switches after lubed, just let time settles the rest, in short.

in general, after lubing switches, they will go through two stages imo (given that the switches are not overlubed, especially with 205g0 or up):
1. freshly lubed stage. depending on factors like lube type, how thick and even the lube is applied, etc., switches will show relative inconsistencies in feel and sound. (e.g., inconsistent feel; more muted key sound) usually this is temporary, and will go away after a week or two of normal typing usage. (repeated key spamming helps too)
2. steady stage. this is the actual stage that we look for. with typing, lube will be distributed evenly during the process. the lubed effects will come to a point that both sound and feel are relatively permanent (sound might be louder than the first stage)

usually, most switches in a board will reach the second stage without issues, including less-used ones. you can just focus on fixing only those with obvious and weird outcomes.

thanks for sharing. right, just make necessary adjustments, and they are all good to go

i think you can try swap tx sliders into c3 housings also.

just follow your heart hahaha

--

i have tested the FL-CMMK v3 plate-mount stabilizers. they are ok also. it's a better stabilizer that needs minor modifications.

--

there is a good news for me today. the maker has sent me the qmk source code of star75

the original codes were written in old-school styles, and used depreciated functions. i have cleaned them up, and made them current.

i have shared the unofficial code for star75, https://github.com/hornslyn/qmk_firmware/tr...eyboards/star75

hopefully after this we can use it with VIA without side-loading lol

reviews for the r1 are everywhere afaik. you can refer to those. as always, they were from users with various levels of experience in mkb scene, so just take their reviews with a grain of salt.

the r2 international gb is still on-going. users in cn have gotten theirs, and there are plenty to read about the new revision as well.

for the price, i believe qk65 is a good deal to many, especially with options that are only available in premium kits previously. eventhough they have quality control issues, but i believe many will not mind.

hopefully the problems surrounding their dual-mode pcb will be resolved properly. (their wired pcb is ok according to feedback; there are plenty of related posts at zf)

also, if possible, use hex screws.

edit:

i should clarify that the above comments are just my opinions, concluded after going through reviews and user comments from mkb community in different regions on the same kit. you can safely ignore them. however, it's clear that there are two sides now: one side created and maintained hypes, the other exposed faults. thanks to the progressive delivery plan of the project, international users still have time to adjust their options, if they wanted to, to avoid potential issues.

i understand that qk65 is an entry-level kit with all the bells and whistles, and it makes nice key sound, according to many. compared to other options, available or not at the time of this writing, it is a better option for the price. however, it's not fair to discredit others' work, just because key sounds are not what they want, while ignoring everything else. each kit is designed differently. they have their own target audiences.

if the key sound is the main consideration for qk65, just go ahead. tbh, its wired-only pcb is ok, according to feedback. (bluetooth usually doesn't work well with metal housings; wired-only pcb is the more stable option to go with)




This post has been edited by horns: Jun 23 2022, 12:30 PM

right. more importantly, always do more research then decide. go for what you want, not what others want. eventually you are the one who pay and face all consequences, not them.