if i die die must pick one, a tuned tray-mount with aluminum plate. the truth is, i'm ok with all plate-mounting styles, because they have own strengths and weaknesses, in terms of overall typing experience and maintenance. all of them can be tuned to user's taste.

yes, all of us have our own first mkb, and it always has a special space in our mind haha mine is a full-size soldered prebuilt, corsair k70 rgb, with cherry mx red rgb. it's almost 10 years old now. many years after it retired, i bought few sets of corsair thick shine-through pbt double-shot keycaps, just to replace its stock but worn thin abs keycaps, and then put it back into storeroom hehe

i also have a small collection of old prebuilts from filco, ikbc, varmilo, leopold, ducky, cooler master, etc. most of them are with cherry mx key switches, and few topre. after that i started to make own custom, and explore parts. back then, everything was scarce, limited, and hard to get.

it's a good journey

This post has been edited by horns: Jan 24 2024, 12:31 PM

Alright, thanks. I'll look them up as well. 😊

That's a very interesting board at that price point. Do you have one? How is it?

Yeah my first is the Corsair too, MX reds K65 TKL. Great for gaming but I eventually hated it later because of how light and how error prone i am LOL.

I only started dabble into modding late last year, but kind of amazed by how popular the hobby become. KL already have wut, 4 physical stores now? And also plenty of helpful and passionate sales/forumers/enthusiast around. Even for those not heavily into typing, I feel this is a simple yet rewarding hobby that just requires a bit of spare time and cheap tools to get you goin.

back then, options for after-market linear rated spring were very limited, and gateron yellow/black just started to gain popularity. i'm ok with red, so i have minimal issues.

things have changed a lot over the years. kits are more affordable, choices and convenience to obtain parts have increased tremendously, and tools are cheaper yet with better performance.

however, convenience does limit creativity, so i hope continuous improvements and innovations will still happen.

.. and now i think it's safe to say that switch sockets from kailh last for quite a long time. with the proper switch installation method, or at least being careful during installation, everything will be fine.

wear and tear will still happen, and this will lead to contacts between sockets and switch pins being not as good. the fix is simple: you just need to bent switch pins slightly and accordingly during installation, and it will be as good as new after that.

imo the key to good installations of key switches on hotswap boards is the compatibility of plate and pcb. as long as plate holes for switches are cut with relatively good precision to match locations of each key switch on pcb, the installation will be good. you will observe this kind of precision cutting in higher-end kits, like monokei tomo, compared to gk64.

in retail market, the earliest iteration of gk64 has the oldest kailh switch sockets. after so many years, i still use it as testing/break-in unit. i don't even do solder reinforcement, because the soldering work is rather fine. (just remember good kits usually do not need to use force to do anything. everything just fits when you put them together)

i have collected some key switch sockets from kailh and gateron for years (multiple generations). i still don't have the chance to use them for actual replacement purposes.

This post has been edited by horns: Jan 31 2024, 05:27 PM

Can keycaps stem break easily?

I was reading the Noctua keycap reviews and was surprised to see people broke theirs! Even my capalang copy caps dont feel this fragile.

it depends. in general, abs is relatively more susceptible than pbt, in terms of materials (qualities, amount)

like you pointed out, usually this should not happen, unless it has something to do with things like oversized switch stems.

i'm not sure what happened to noctua keycap sets. however, it's like a rare case, somehow not widely reported.

edit: after cny i will do a round of tb scouting once. i just noticed that gateron has a silent linear (switch name: 0°, zero degree) with a different silencing implementation, i.e., double side rails in the bottom housing, and silencing pads at the outer bottom.

source: https://kprepublic.com/products/gateron-0-s...rail-silent-pad

This post has been edited by horns: Feb 5 2024, 11:28 PM

Shouldn’t be a problem for abs and pbt keycaps.
But I heard it’s a major issue for ceramic keycaps

it's official now: you will get taxed 8% sst at taobao.

Few months back, i bought a keychron k4 pro for my office use. And i swapped the default linear switches to WS Silent Linear. I love it so much that I bought another 60% K6 pro for my home use, though i don't type much, that one is brown switches since they no longer have the linear one (but i can put in the default linear switches i removed from K4Pro!).

Anyways, just wanna ask all the sifu, what is the next step/improvements that i can do to my keyboards to improve the typing experience even more? Where do i start? Step by step please! Don't expect me to be a pro. I don't even have the right tools, looking for somewhere small to start that doesn't require crazy skills yet.

as long as you're using hotswap boards, there is no need for skills to play with them as beginner. you do need patience and common sense to make things better, and minimize issues in the process.

for plain tuning, skills (and experience) are the parts that you will learn from customizing stuff repeatedly, e.g., switch tuning, stabilizer tuning, case tuning, etc. each has own details, do's and don't, etc., and it's up to you to choose how deep you wanna go. tools needed for plain tuning are relatively minimal, because most of them are just to provide convenience and support when you work on the boards.

for beginner, i suggest start with switch and stabilizer tuning, e.g., at least learn how to identify 'overlubed' switches, and make the stabs relatively acceptable, without ticking sound.

know that all parts in a keyboard work as a unit to achieve desired outcomes. from key switches and stabilizers, you should expand tunings to other parts also, with relevant mods, e.g., plate type, case type, plate-mounting type, etc.

just do it at your own pace.

in terms of hotswap boards, while soldering/desoldering are basic, you can pick these up when you are serious about maintenance and repairs. (soldering station, or hot-air station for switch socket replacement)

Do you know anywhere with classes? I might be interested to join and get to know some enthusiasts too. haha!
I dont even know how to lube the switches yet! Should i start there or my keyboards are still too soon.

well, keep in mind that this is a simple but subjective hobby. you do not need to attend classes for this. places like youtube have rich resources for self learning and experimentations. since you have keychron boards, most required and optional parts are already included. you can just start experimenting with them, e.g., besides basic stuff, you can also look for keychron-specific stuff at youtube.

however, i suggest you get one with a relatively hefty metal case as well, so that you can learn benefits and shortcomings of a board with metal case.

there are local shops that have good collections of demo units too. you can visit them, and have first-hand experience before purchase. you can also join meetups whenever they are available.

there are places where local enthusiasts join for online discussions, e.g., user groups at fb/discord. from there you will get to know them. there are a lot of biased comments from all sorts of human beings. just chill and learn to pick up proper basics, so that you can apply them based on own preferences.

one of the things that i do not like is kits that claim to support qmk, but never publish working qmk source codes for the respective pcbs.

this bad practice has been around for many years, and i do not believe that these experienced vendors are not aware of the facts that tools like via/vial have limitations. they are just using qmk as bait to clueless new comers, give them false hope that makes them think that they can have better controls, or learn qmk basics with their purchases.

honestly, it's sad to see that this is still common today. it's better to ask if vendors can make sure that they can deliver good qmk support before purchase.

You can start with taeha's how to lube switches and stabilizers.
Can add foam or polyfill into the keychron to see iwhat difference it makes.

Anyone have any idea where I can get the software in this screenshot?



I bought a cheap macropad from a Chinese dropshipper who barely speaks English and this is my only clue on how to program it. Lol.

no idea.

i tried help but found nothing useful, e.g., using google image search, i found this ebay link, https://www.ebay.com.my/itm/142922652172

kind ppl of this thread, what is the popular linear silent mx switch of the moment?

i'm not sure if it's popular, but for now i'm still sticking to wuque's ws silent linear.

there is a relatively new silencing implementation from gateron zero degree. i have no idea about this yet, but you can try it out.

the main 'issue' about mx style silent switches is the inherited mushiness when bottoming out. different silencing implementations also aim to minimize this undesired feel, with different outcomes. so far, i do think wuque's implementations are relatively better.

This post has been edited by horns: Feb 19 2024, 12:12 AM