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Peripherals Mechanical Keyboards

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Raptor77, 27 Dec 2011.

  1. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    I thought for a moment I had cracked it. The perfect keyboard for what I want. Having had some time WFH, with the laptop on the desk it got a bit cramped, especially if I wanted my pc on at the same time for music streaming or general procrastination. So back to the K4...

    Whilst I do really like the blacks I've got in the durgod in terms of resistance, I do miss having a little bump, so if I get a hot swap version I can find a better suiting switch. And then I find them. Keychron Lava Optical switches
    [​IMG]
    They're like the panda switches; mint ones with 67g actuation for most keys, banana with 57g for some of the others like function keys. They're perfect. :clap:

    They're also only for the K12 :waah:
     
  2. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    If they’re like pandas, why not just get some pandas? And a hot swap board of course :)
     
  3. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    Yeh, probably what I'll end up doing. Just annoying that I'm going to have to find a lighter panda type switch and possibly go down the lubing whole. I could get the board with browns and keep them on the keys I want a lighter touch to for quick ctrl+c, alt+tab, ctrl+v action, but then they'd have a completely different feel and I'm pretty sure I'd not like that.

    I had set those up as macros on the durgod, including trying doing copy and switch with a single keypress, but for whatever reason its a bit laggy. Even tightening up the ms didn't help much.
     
  4. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    I think I might take some inspiration from your escapades of switch Frankensteining. Get a K4 hotswap with browns, get a load of pandas, then swap the springs in a few pandas for the springs in the browns, so will get the same tactility but with a lesser force.
     
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  5. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    @The_Crapman have you seen the incoming Ducky one3? There is a full size option with hot-swap and macro recording, though I’m not entirely convinced on the colours available… Linky

    I’m considering doing spring swaps on some of my switches, probably putting some heavier switches in Silent Alpacas. I’ve got some lubed Glorious Pandas laying around if you wanted to try some before buying and lubing best part of 100 switches?
     
  6. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    Yeh, I'm not sold on the yellow at all. The daybreak ones look nice though. If you've got a couple of spare pandas that would be ace. I could stick them in the mountain Everest for a proper go too.
     
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  7. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    Agree on the Daybreak being the better of the colours. Hopefully there will be something a bit more understated as well to join them.

    I’m very happy to pop some Pandas in the post to you, I won’t be able to manage that for a couple of weeks though; Work’s got me on a tight leash at the moment.
     
  8. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    Yeh that's cool, I'm into bill season so I probably won't have the money for it for a couple of weeks either
     
  9. VictorianBloke

    VictorianBloke Man in a box

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    Just spotted GMMK have a new version of the compact up for preorder in ANSI and multiple ISO.

    QMK/VIA compatible and a few extra keys,

    [​IMG]
     
  10. IanW

    IanW Grumpy Old Git

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  11. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    Going from a 60% to a 65% makes it so much more usable for the vast majority of people wanting a small board. Arrow keys for a start are non-negotiable for many.
     
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  12. VictorianBloke

    VictorianBloke Man in a box

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    Aye, arrow keys are the one thing I still haven't got used to on my current 60% board ( MK1 compact). Modifiers for everything else I've got so used to that I try to use the same ones on full sized boards now.

    Hadn't been planning an upgrade...
     
  13. Mr_Mistoffelees

    Mr_Mistoffelees The Bit-Tech Cat. New Improved Version.

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    Do 60% and 65% boards have smaller keys? I have big w@nking spanners and often catch a second key using a standard TKL layout.
     
  14. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    No, not usually: pretty much all mech keyboards use equally-sized keys. Different heights, different shapes, different positions, different spacings, and some might use 1U for everything while others use 1.5U or 2U for modifiers... but the letters and numbers are all the same size.
     
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  15. Mr_Mistoffelees

    Mr_Mistoffelees The Bit-Tech Cat. New Improved Version.

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    Thanks.
     
  16. Byron C

    Byron C Multimodder

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    It was the lack of a full-sized Home/End cluster I couldn't get on with. I use all bar one of those keys (Insert) on an extremely frequent basis, and I have neither the time nor the patience to re-wire my brain with combos/shortcuts.

    "Full sized" TKL is absolutely perfect for me though.
     
  17. Arboreal

    Arboreal Keeper of the Electric Currants

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    I have 3 off the shelf mech boards, no custom rabbit hole yet!
    *Ducky RGB TKL with reds for gaming, replaced a Corsair K65 original version.
    TKL is fine for taking to LAN nights and has all the keys I need not at work, I can live without the numpad.
    *Ducky full size blue led lit browns for work as I need the numpad
    *Cheap 65+% with 'browns' which is as small as I'd go. It has arrow keys and some of the other useful keys, a couple missing that make it awkward as a daily driver like Byron said.
    This is my compact board for testing and building PCs.
     
  18. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    I've been through all sorts of iterations of 60%, including ones with dedicated arrow keys, but have settled on 65% as the way to go. I expect the Ellora65 (when it comes) will probably be the last board I buy. Though I do have a real soft spot for my HHKB layout boards.

    Now I just need to work out what to do with the rest of them... Maybe some display stands?
     
  19. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

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    My K4 arrived yesterday. Haven't really used it as I wanted to give it a full charge first and also had the disappointment that my panda switches would not be arriving.

    I was a little disappointed at first, as I had bought the "aluminium frame" version, and the frame is folded sheet rather than cast or cut.as I thought it would be. However the finish on it is really nice, both to the eye and to the touch. It's also good and weighty, although I'd expect a fair bit of that is from the 4Ah battery.

    A number of the keys were at odd heights too, a firm press give a little "clunk", so maybe the hotswap switches hadn't been fully pushed in or had come loose in transit. A little light typing revealed a pleasant sound and confirmed that normal browns are too light for me and some heavier pandas is likely the way to go. I'll throw some pics up once I've had a proper play with it.

    On form form factors, I don't think I could go any lower than 65%. 70 or 75 would likely be my sweet spot, as I use page up, down, home and end a fair bit even in normal day to day.
     
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  20. BeauchN

    BeauchN Multimodder

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    Having used my Keychron Q2 for a couple of months now I've been quite impressed. It's pretty weighty and build quality seems rock solid. Pretty good for £150. My only niggle is the stabiliser under the enter key as it's been wobbling a fair bit, I'll test it with a different keycap just in case it's that, but I'm sure I've got some spare Zeal stabs knocking around at home so I may just swap it out for one of those.

    I have found the NK creams a bit too light, though they sound OK. I've got a couple of different sets of heavier springs coming so will put a set in the creams and a set in my silent alpacas and see which I prefer.
     

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