Hey horns

How's it been? Long time since I've looked at this thread.

My endgame has been going strong for a bit more than 3 years now but the stabs have recently started to annoy me. They are soldered PCBs (I knew I should have mill maxed them).

I know you have boards much older than that, although you do rotate them so possibly none of them has seen 3+ years of constant use, but do you have any tips on maintaining stabs without being able to disassemble them?

Worst case I guess I can build a new one...

hi bro, yes it's been a while haha

most of the pcb stabs that i have still behave ok. (my bottomline is no ticking sound) normally once my builds are tested fine before soldering the rest of key switches, they should be fine for a long time. so far, i haven't maintained any of them tbh.

additionally, for plated soldered builds, i normally use plate-mount stabs, because i have such plates. most of my builds are tray-mount based, so i also do plateless.

sorry i don't have anything useful for you, but casual maintenance can still be done without disassembling the board. by casual maintenance i mean reapplying lube by pulling up stems, or injecting grease into stem holes. however, for proper maintenance, it's still better to disassmble them first. there is no need to do it in one go. just take your time to do it.

yes, building a new one is much faster lol

This post has been edited by horns: Apr 18 2025, 11:00 AM

Thanks for the tips. My plates are custom that I laser-cut in my office. There's no room to disassemble them without desoldering the entire PCB since my goal was good acoustics. Even the spots where the PCB can accommodate multiple layouts, my plate only allows my chosen layout.

I just took a closer look and there's more than a little dust stuck to the grease...not sure if adding grease would help or hurt.

I may just bite the bullet and get a new one. If I do I'll definitely millmax them. Possibly I might try to make the stab holes just big enough to pass through after desoldering just its switch, I dunno. I thought I was done spending money on keebs. Lol.

in that case, there is no choice then, if you were to do maintenance properly. i do think you should take the opportunity to do a full teardown, clean up the stabs, and add millmax sockets.

haha i still scout and buy parts from time to time. it's just not as aggressive as before. recent buys were y3 from keygeek x mz studio (linear with 3.8mm key travel), and 'grey snow' from fl.cmmk (a silent linear with 4mm key travel). there are few jtk sets that i'm interested in also.

y3 and grey snow.

relatively speaking, grey snow has lesser mushiness, and is quiet enough, compared to wuque's white silent linear, and kailh's fried egg.



edit: good linears are everywhere now haha!

This post has been edited by horns: Apr 29 2025, 07:16 PM

just an update on my Aula f99.

on 2.4ghz wireless, disconnections is rare. only time it disonnect is probly low battery. so reliability for wireless, pretty good.

the battery lasts very long when used in 2.4ghz. i recommend using this over bluetooth. the bluetooth doesnt seem as reliable.

i use the mkb with the big LED bar turned off. the other leds on keycaps is only set to reactive on key press (basically the low power usage. if u set ur led on all the time, expect lower lasting battery duration).

so how to tell when need to recharge? the big led bar turns red with light. means its low so have to recharge. during recharge the lights go all crazy.

when stop charging, the big led is off again.

with my led settings, the wireless can last many weeks without a charge. and when it does need a charge, just connect wire for the day is more than enough. im really glad i got recommended this over the other mkb because this one supposedly has a bigger lithium battery.

just explaining how it works, works well :}

Double shot keycaps.... amazing for the price.


only thing it doesnt have is a metal body casing like alu. if u want to nitpick on that, then this is not what u r looking for. for me, i didnt care. as long as its crispy doubleshot keycaps, nice switches, good overall price, i was content. the hotkey software not pretty but it does the job. though i see some reviewers poke fun at it for not being up to par with other mkb software and thats fine. but for me it didnt impact me to be a big deal.

keyboard almost perfect, but it has a missing print screen key. this i had to use the mkb software to change the key for print screen to work on a key i hardly use. other than that, it had all the keys i needed.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 8 2025, 03:00 PM

mine keyboard, if battery low the windows key will blinking in red. u can check your battery level by pressing alt+B.
Yes the battery last damn long, i think like 1.5 month per charge. but mine RGB light always off.

f99?

the window key will blink? uh how to do that?

the only thing that blink was the big thin strip led. that one i disabled. but it started flashing one day probably cauz low battery.

but i did not see window key blink ;_; not sure what u do for that. or u using a different mkb model?

u dont use rgb at all? i do but it only appears when i type. its fine for low lit areas (though tbh i hardly see what key i type.... )

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 8 2025, 03:13 PM

Mine is Hi8se, a 75%keyboard. This keyboard dont have any lighting bar on the board, so when it is on, the win key will light on, when it go to sleep it will light off.
yes i dont use RGB, cause only i dont pay much attention on mine keyboard while i using, so i off it to maximize battery life.

saw other member feedback about f99.
i feedback my 2month+- wave75 lilac 8000mah variant
it will compare to monsgeek m1 v1 pink i bought last year

Pro
- Deep thock even with stock configuration
- Coming with decent keycap, not the perfect one but not alcheapo too
- 8000mah battery? you can run it with all RGB off, only logo light as capslock, 40~50% battery left on end of month
- Logo as standard alone CAPSLOCK light (talking to you M1, Capslock light on capslock itself, with south facing cant see sh*t)
- Lilac switch and stock stabilizer just working great on arrival, no tune needed.

Con
- Need to charge 1 week+- if you run it with full RGB on (left 20~30% on sunday)
- Will repeat drop and reconnect if something thin metal in between keyboard and receiver

talking about bt and 2.4ghz wireless, here's the general notes for reference purpose, https://reolink.com/blog/bluetooth-vs-2-4ghz/

just wondering, if you full on RGB, can the battery life last a day of use?

tbh i never tried. i dont need the rgb on all the time, but i imagine yes, it will reduce ur battery so will have to recharge sooner.

most of the time my mkb has no lighting unless i actively type. tbh i only really notice during night when low lighting. just vanity aesthetics really

but it doesnt get in the way of the nice doubleshot keycaps. these arent the see through doubleshots if thats what u r looking for. the RGB leaks from around the sides of the keycaps. Some mkb they have special keycaps where the letterings can see the rgb as well.

Here are some solid numbers
https://www.reddit.com/r/keyboards/comments...tery_indicator/

https://www.rtings.com/keyboard/reviews/aula/f99-f75

8000mAh



based on the review comments, sounds like if ur using the RGB 24/7 or like 4-8 hours per day before the mkb goes to sleep mode, then expect it to last a couple of days before u have to charge it again. I never tested this, but this is what they say. If thats the case, thats a deal breaker for me. I dont want to keep charging every few days. I already do that for smart watch (galaxy ultra) and S24 ultra


i dont know exactly how long to charge. i simply leave it wired the entire day to charge, and i leave its many weeks on wireless without issue







on shopee u can get the aula f99 for RM222.00 - RM294.90 on sale. i think its worth it IF

- u dont mind the Compact (96%) keyboard layout
- u dont mind NOT a solid aluminium full body casing (its just plastic. has heft though so dont have to worry about sliding)
- u dont mind the UI software to manage mkb is not as beautiful as other mkb brands. for me it wasnt really a big issue.


in the past i spend like rm 800 ish on mkb. compared to this, i much prefer this one just cause u spend more doesnt always mean its better by a huge margin. there r some very good mkb deals, and i think this is one of them. some may be more nitpicky about aethetics like color schemes and etc, so thats fine.


the last 2 mkbs i bought were a royal kludge and this aula. the RK phantom had a very nice color scheme.



This aula is more classic looking with its black, grey, white colors (boring) but very clean/professional looking (would look nice in the office without looking weird as long as u turn off the RGB effect )





The RK had a smaller battery, had a smaller keyboard layout. So between the 2, i preferred the Aula based on that (cauz i still need numpad, and i want a longer lasting battery before having to recharge. seriously wireless for mkb is a game changer for me )


the aula f99 pro has the knob if u need that? but expect to pay more for it though.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: May 13 2025, 02:56 PM

I have a love/hate relationship to Cherries, seems like one week I like it then the other I just can't stand it.. it's good to have other great switches to fall back on.

Recently really digging hmx yogurts for linear clack and gateron type r for tactiles.

haha i have the same mixed feelings. while i still prefer tuned cherry mx red, i like other good linears as well.

linears have improved and diversified significantly over the years. some are fine to be used without tuning, if you're not that picky. (basically, good news for beginners hehe)

no wonder you said linear clack. hmx yogurt's loud haha

Hi all ducky shine 6 vs corsair k65 plus which one is better? Should i compare fully keyboard vs fully or what?? Me light game... Not heavy hardcore gamers

I would suggest to look at other brand, like Leobog or Aula, They give more for way less money. there is well wrriten review in this tered u may read on Aula F99 board. At Post#1534

Leobog nice eh ok bro will go to tered about aula and Leobog

yes many are good and cheap too, just i think way too many reiteration/recolors is going on, thats going to be confusing to many

the yogurts they are as loud as f and hits very hard, sometimes it can be too much for some setup but i like the feedback it gave.. sort of thing i want in a gaming board.

Now im typing on some mx browns that i swear was the best thing last week.. cant wait to take them off lol

This post has been edited by quarantined: May 14 2025, 06:30 PM

reiteration/recolor taught me to become 'picky'. the good side of things is that when one is playing hard to get you can go for alternatives hehe

the more serious issue to me are those with a series of spring weights. previously i dropped ONE key switch with lighter spring by accident, into a bag of the same switch with heavier spring. since then i just label and handle this type of key switch series separately

i am a linear user. i'm almost certain that i will always be one. just like Linus Torvalds, he went back to his beloved mx blue lol