Hi all sifus,

I'm totally new to custom mkb, any recommendation for a TKL or full size keyboard with budget of RM500 max?

I got a few preference, not sure its do-able or not:
- Hot-swappable, as I will try out new switch & keycap in future
- Decent board, as above reason, will only change board if it spoiled
- I type a lot in dark, so prefer to have backlit with shine through keycaps on legend (but not bleed a lot like image below). Too bad I'm not touch type kind of guy
- I prefer to have PBT keycaps, as I like the feel better, but is okay to have ABS, just need to rajin to change them once they "shine"
- I'm okay with both north / south facing, if south facing I can go with side facing keycaps with shine through also

If got fully assembled one I'm fine also, but I need some recommendation (especially on what brand is decent for what part etc etc), as I'm quite new to this, so want to get some reliable parts.
I try not to go for those gaming series as I don't need most of those fancy feature, i prefer a plain keyboard layout. And I also assume those gaming keyboard can't really provide much flexibility for changing switch/keycaps etc (do correct me if I'm wrong).

Thanks

Backlit Bleeding:


Preferred backlit (okay if there minimum bleeding, but not like above which will blind my eyes ):

Theres lots of choice nowadays. The Tecware Spectre Pro is compatible with all common cherry mx style switches whereas the cheaper Tecware Phantom is only compatible with outemu and akko switches. No need to spend alot if you just want to try out a mkb.

Hi guys, i wanna change my switches to the silent ones, any recommendations ah? Otemu or WS?

i still stick to my previous pick, i.e., ws.

note that this doesn't mean others are bad. all silent linear are ok for the silencing part.

anyone know where to get 351230 3.7V 120mAh Lipo Battery? All overseas site cant ship battery.

i saw some comments on the oetmu (dont know how to spell, can't remember), seems like it's mushy like membrane. Does WS suffer the same? Im thinking to get about 30 of them, to switch out the alphabets first, space bar and enter then only work on the others. haha!

Yes outemu silent whites are very mushy. And there's a failure rate of maybe 1 in 50. If ws about the same price, that should be better (sorry no experience with those).
Other options, boba u4 (tactile), bobagums, haimu something silent linear, ttc silent reds.
But if budget is a concern, outemu is usable. Its not the end of the world but i suggest get some extras.

yes, there are different silencing implementations. ws silent linear is relatively less mushy than others. ws silent linear is manufactured by haimu.

edit: a lot more options are available today for silent key switches. they come with different silencing implementations, and hence outcomes.

all silencing implementations are ok, so the level of mushiness is the differentiator for most silent linears.

if you played agak-agak, you might not find the differences between most silent linear in terms of mushiness. however, you will definitely feel the differences in haimu's silencing implementation compared to others.


This post has been edited by horns: Jul 31 2023, 10:35 AM

anyone have a wireless mech keyboard recommendation? A tkl layout…

I was looking at the tecware phantom +, how are those?

Tecware Phantom + and Phantom + Elite are relatively new. Released last December. They have gotten rave reviews, and from my short test in a Thundermatch, it feels and sounds good! I may be getting one myself if there's a deal on 8.8. I need more boards to put my keycaps on. Haha.

horns Do you find that your stabs' tuning get bad over time? I am getting unhappy with mine recently. Is there anything you do to maintain it? I can't get mine off without desoldering the entire board...

yes, i have two or three old builds, which are more than 4 years old, that have minor issues, e.g., mainly making ticking sound. they are all with pcb-mount stabs (old gmk screw-in), so i just fixed them by injecting permatex/superlube (these were the lubes that i used back then)

if they are worse, i will tear them down and do an overhaul. so far, i only did this to few.

my stabilizer tuning skills were immature back then, so i keep them as proofs of how suck i was lol

This post has been edited by horns: Aug 7 2023, 01:16 PM

Get both, at least get a few of both. The outemus are cheap less than RM1 in lazada/shoppe. I never a failed outemu new out of the box and but problems might come up after some time.
I got cherry mx silents from aliexpress for about RM2.1 each after shipping.

The phantom+ model stabilizers are better than the original Tecware phantom which rattled out of the box without modding.
A better deal is the RK R87 which is RM126 after the RM50 coupon deduction, its compatible with all cherry mx clones unlike the phantom+ which is only compatible with outemu type switches. I think theres less foam layers compared to the phantom+ but theres at least 1 layer of eva btween the plate and pcb which makes it sound decent out of the box considering its price and the stabs don't rattle.

The Phantom + now uses Kailh hotswap sockets so there's no longer any switch compatibility issues. In any case, I'm a Gazzew fanboy so it was never a problem for me.

When I was new to MKB a few years ago, Royal Kludge had plenty of bad reviews. I honestly have never owned one, but I have heard they have gotten a lot better these past few years, so I may consider it. Since it's not going to be a daily driver anyway.

This post has been edited by niakulah: Aug 4 2023, 12:34 PM

Which Gazzew are you using?

U4T on my Sinc

LT on my Fold

From their website only the Phantom+ Elite uses universal 5pin hotswap sockets, the Phantom+ non-elite uses 3pin 'tecware' switch sockets which is outemu style sockets.
https://www.tecware.co/phantomplus

one of my basic preferences is minimalist. i don't need backlight, rgb underglow, knob, oled, etc. look wise, i like plain and simple. i also don't like additional consumables, like battery. in recent years, i don't even install capslock led anymore.

the main thing that is important to me is clean typing feels and key strokes. tbh, to achieve such outcomes, kits are not supposed to cost a lot. this was what i realized for quite some time. however such kits didn't exist, until tkd released cycle 7.

it's a minimalist kit with practical features that i wish for, e.g., weights that can be used to fill up battery space (additional mass, and mixed materials improve feels), preinstalled elastic materials for force break mod, flex-cut pcbs that have dedicated plugs in case you wanna make it a non flex-cut. the bonus is its screwless implementation.

i really hope they make more of such no-nonsense kits.

TKD doing a tkl next.
I'll just wait for a 65 or 75.