I bought from this seller in Lazada:
https://www.lazada.com.my/products/desolder...6146369332.html

I tried using flux paste previously and it made the silicone tip like sticky and messy. That is why I just stick to adding slight solder as the desoldered area is clean and the silicone tip is also clean.
Probably the flux that you recommended would be just fine.

You are right, you need a soldering iron to heat up the solder joint.

previously I was comtemplating to get the proskit desoldering station at around RM400+. It should be easier to do the job, but ended up with the pump. lol

I'm in complete agreement with this. I have just completed the replacement of the RK browns on my RK61 with my balance Akko Jelly purples. Those switches needed to be desoldered and I totally find the process of desoldering not as difficult as anticipated using the silicone tip desoldering pump. Using just a simple standard stock tip is already quite usable and in a hobby setting, it is more that sufficient. It is not like I'm soldering and desoldering daily, unless I'm looking at many many boards, then getting a vaccum type desoldering tool does speed up the process.

As a side note, I'm currently trying to daily drive that RK61. Even with the standard key combo on the RK61, I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm liking it more and more. those function row accessibility using the FN key combo is unexpectedly easy for me. It is more of the Pg Up, Pg down, end, home key that needs some additional customization that the RK61 does not allow.

Come to think of it, using or getting 60% or 65% boards seems to be cheaper in comparison to a TKL. Of course, a smaller board using lesser material will cost lesser, but I read from your previous post there are good quality 60% generic" boards that are very affordable and when I browse for a TKL, it does not seem to have a "generic" board per se, or am I looking wrongly.

Probably I would check and join some "lower" cost 60% boards GB and check them out. Now going to get a metal board to try it out.

A note on tuning stabs, I tried out popular choices like super lube, permatex, 205G0. For the new TX AP, using a thin coat of 205G0 seems to be the suitable for it as using super lube does make it slightly more sluggish. As for other not so tight fit stabs, I find using super lube is easier and the feel is just nice, while using the permatex (which is significantly more viscous) easily makes the stabs sluggish. My method of lubing the wires and wire hole on the stem, I just squeeze the super lube into the stem hole until it is full and just a spread of lube on the wire.

Thanks very much for the clarification. This makes sense now. lol, my bad.
I'm currently liking the size and usability of the 60%, did not hinder me on my daily workflow.

Looks like narrowing towards a personal preference board does take effort and especially money.. lolx.
Getting a few boards in test and build really put a dent in the wallet.. lolx. But this is how it goes.

Do you have a recommendation on a board to start of with for 60%?

I will keep in mind the stabs with the super lube and see how it holds up over time.

it is the internet which have its good and bad. For better or worst, communities exist as like-minded people group together to discuss same interest and topics. In this situation, echo chamber would form naturally, i guess.

But try not to let it get to you as the whole purpose of a hobby is to share your ideas and thoughts. Without generous sharing from members, it would not be a hobby to have fun in.

My 2 cents.

But Geon is pricing his boards around at the higher end of the premium pricing. Like his glare65 i checked it out, and it will cost like almost USD600 including shipping and tax. And more if you get more plates and PCBs..

Like his Frog mini, I liked the design but it is really costly and you cannot buy more boards with the same budget. lol

but Geon recently sells in stock, which is great

Maybe I will snag that F1-8x V2 end of the month. lol

I came across something like the QK100 which does provide quite a lot of plate PCB, colors options for it, though it is not the higher end boards such as Geon.

Though to be fair, Geon does mostly in stock sales which is not the same as group buys.

Oh ya, the rabbit hole, all hobbies do fall into in more or less.... lol.

Nice combo overall. you must have many noctua fans then....

I bought a keykobo WOB set recently from Clickclack and found the backspace was totally loose on the left stem hole.
I contacted clickclack and they sent me a replacement backspace key which is great.

I'm definitely buying this one. Will want to see how much of a value this is compared to the Frog which is at a much higher price. lol.

Which Gazzew are you using?

Why not get a Neo65 now? It is in the similar price range as the cycle7.

I’m currently fiddling with the Frog TKL to find a combination that would produce the sound and typing feel that desire. As someone that have not experience a soft typing feel keyboard, I’m currently enjoying the stiff typing feel of this Frog.
Experimenting and selecting plates, switches really is a time consuming effort, but it really highlights the need to fiddle with it to get the actual results, lol. Playing around with 6 types of plates and 3 to 4 types of switches is already taking many hours. I cannot imagine doing it on a soldered PCB. I’m trying to get to a somewhat optimal build on the hotswapped PCB before transferring it to the soldered PCB.

Just wanted to share some random thoughts.
I started off with the default leaf spring plate that came with the Frog and combined it with the Emogogo grey tactile switch, hotswapped Apollo PCB without any foam. This combination was ok but it just seem muted and not sounding lively as I expect. After some period of using it, I just felt the spring was slightly too heavy.

I proceeded to try out the Vertex V1 and this was considerably easier to type on, the sound was even more muted. Lol.

I’m currently liking the Akko CS piano as it sound very lively couple with non leaf spring(less flex cut)Aluminum plate, carbon fiber or forge carbon fiber plates. I’m comparing this to the Vertex V1 using the same plates, which in this Frog sounded muted and dull. But both switches are nice to type on. And after typing mostly on tactile switches, I have now found a liking for lighter linears. It just feels nicer to type on. Now what do I do with those tactile switches… lolx.

Something that I did not expect was how much an effect of a bent aluminum plate would affect the sound of the board. The aluminum plate was deformed during the shipping from the vendor I ordered in Shopee. I tried to bend it back into shape and just fix it onto the board. The whole board just sounded “hollow” or “pingy” especially towards the sides of the board such as the caplock, or the arrow keys.

After that I slowly straighten the plate so that each of the tadpoles sit almost flat on the bottom case. This time those hollow sound was significantly reduced or almost eliminated. I’m gonna avoid the particular shopee vendor in the future.

Currently I’m gravitating towards the forge carbon fiber or the carbon fiber plate. They just sounded a little more lively compared to the Aluminum plate. Still experimenting. As a side note, the plates that were fabricated by the tao bao vendor that was mentioned by Marcus95 previously did quite a good job.

Throughout the process of swapping switches and plates, those TX AP stabs hold up very well. I did not need to take it out to tune it since the 1st day of installing it.

This post has been edited by zzzz52: Aug 7 2023, 04:00 PM

I recently bought the Akko V3 cream yellow pro which cost around RM0.7/switch. I do not have any linear switch to compare in the price range, but comparing to the Akko CS piano that I was using, it was generally louder and higher pitch. I really like the sound of it. As for the feel, it felt like any smooth linears that I have used such as the Vertex V1, difference would be on the spring force.

For RM0.7 price, I very happy with it and currently using it with the CF plate on the Frog TKL. The whole board just sounded lively to my liking now. Probably will try it with the PP plate and see how it sounds. I used the Akko CS piano with the PP plate and the sound is slightly lower pitch vs the CF plate, and it is overall a bit fuller. I quite like it.

This post has been edited by zzzz52: Aug 17 2023, 03:16 PM

I'm kind of the opposite, a shorter travel is fine for me and the faster bottoming out provides a certain sound characteristic that I kind of like it.

Personally, I do not mind that much for the slight inconsistentcy of the printing or colors. It is more of the tolerance of the keycaps.
The stem holes if they are slightly tighter, it is still fine as I can use the trimmer tool to remove some materials.
But if it is too loose, it is almost unusable, especially for long keys. And using some tape or stuffing in material is not a great fix for it.

Thanks for the share.

I just use those RM5 masking tape and it works like a charm if you are looking for that tape mod popping sound. If 1 layer is not enough, u can use 2 layers.

Experiment with cheaper material first. I don't think 3M will have any benefit in the tapemod vs those cheaper masking tape.

I thought glare tkl was shipped previously? Are u purchasing direct from Geon?
I did want to buy one previously, but after calculating, it would cost more than RM3K total if I'm not mistaken, which I was reluctant to pull the trigger. haha
Does Domikey have official store in taobao?

I have a set of JTK 9009 and I'm using it on my cycle 7, what flaws are you referring to? With a sample size of 1, the JTK does not have any problems in my daily usage.

How do you find CRP sets?

just wanted to drop in to share some thoughts.
For the past few months, been bz with other stuff therefore not much time to tinker around with keyboard stuff. Did not do any serious switch lubing, which to me is the most time consuming part.

Got myself some JTK, GMK, Domikey and KKB keycaps to have some comparison between those ABS keycaps. In general I did not encounter any crooked long keys for the sets I had, albeit just a small collection.
From the get go, Domikey to me is significantly different sounding vs the others, it is lower pitch and muted. I'm not sure all Domikey are like this, but the set I have is the Domikey Obsidian WOB. The others are noticeably higher pitch, macam brighter sounding.

Currently I'm liking JTK quite abit, it seems to be thicker, not sure how to put it, the keycaps just feel more solid IMO. The price seems to be somewhat lower vs GMK, more "value" compared to GMK, if we can say that. Currently I'm only having 1 set of JTK 9009, planning to get one more.

As for the KKB, the WOB set I gotten from click and clack was looser fitting. I read that it is just those initial sets that have this issue, and subsequently they have made chages to the mold to make the hole size to be tighter fitting. Comparing it to the Gigachad from Geon which is also made by KKB, the fitting is tighter for sure. Hopefully their new sets are made with better fitting.

The Shenpo BOW PBT keycaps was a pleasure using it. For the price, nothing to complaint about. Long keys are straight.

As for the switches, initially I had been always a tactile switch user. Started with those Outemu Brown to Akko Lavender, JWK Black T1, then used for a while Emogogo Grey and Gazzew U4T.
But somehow along the way, I switched to linear switch and I much prefer it.

The actual first linear that I use for an extended period was the Akko CS Piano which is already EOL. It was a surprise change as it came together with a used Zoom TKL. I tried to used it and it sound and feel good to type on. After that I used a few other linears such as the Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro, Emogogo Cream, Vertex V1 (lubed), Neo White... working through those linear switches, I do prefer lighter, single stage spring. Those 2 stage spring just feel too "heavy" during the upstroke. My small collection of switches that I can type for a few hours are the Akko V3 piano, V3 cream yellow, Vertex V1. But of those 3, that cream yellow is significantly louder. Curently on hand having some Cherry Nixies, not sure how they are.

Something I did not expect was how the typing angle affected my typing speed and accuracy, . Using a 7' (Cycle7) or 8'(Neo65, KalamKorn, don't judge me ya) angle gave me the best typing experience. I can comfortably get like 70wpm, but comparing to the 6' (Frog TKL) or the 5' (Zoom TKL), there was a noticeable drop, getting around 60wpm only. Looking forward to the F1-8x V2 9' angle which fortunately or unfortunately will only start delivering in Q1 2025, not sure how the typing will be on that. Also I have found that I would prefer a stiff typing feel. Those using soft gasket mount. it is just feeling like earthquake, vibration during typing.

One thing, do you guys change layout daily during your work or leisure? I find changing between layouts does not affect much during daily usage. The only time I would want to change back to the TKL is during playing BG3, which constantly needing to use the function keys.

Coming to stabs, those pesky stabs, it is just PITA. Getting it to work exactly how you want it to be can be frustrating. Sometime ticking, rattle, sticky. And when you thought you have made them to work properly, you proceed to solder everything and voila, they are not perfect and it gets on your nerves. Had to desolder everything again and redo the stabs. From my limited experience, the TX AP stabs are easy to use, just light lube with 205G0 and they are good to go. I have used 3 sets without any issues. For the Equalz stabs that came with the Cycle7, doing the holee mod with the tape that came together with it, it was equally easy to use. For plate mount, FLCMMK are easy to use, used 2 sets without issues.

end of the day, I would also echo the saying that all of these are just siok sendiri stuff which in a more diplomatic saying, it is up to your preference. hahaha.