Mechanical Keyboards

Throwing heavy clickies and no-name caps onto a budget 1800...

• RK96 that's been de-foamed, de-batteried, and remapped to the extent its garbage software will permit
• Kailh Speed Navy
• Mix-n-match QX SA caps from two different sets

It's a loud, cheap MF'er, and I kinda like it.

I've had a ROG Azoth (don't judge) keyboard for about a year now. Been using it for both programming and gaming, and I really like it, but there are a few issues (software being the obvious one). So I've decided it's time to put together my own keyboard. I started watching some YouTube and yeah.... I'm out of my depth here.

So I was wondering if maybe people could share things they wish they knew when starting out so I don't mess up to badly.

I've already found this switch tester which I figured would give me a general idea of what kind of switches might be for me. Other than that, I'm not really sure how to proceed 😅.

I'm not interesting in doing any soldering.

Hi there, I'm a first time wannabe builder. Are there any guides that you can recommend I follow?

I've fallen in love with ceramic keycaps and built two very heavy but very satisfying keyboards with them. But now I crave for more.

One thing that I find somewhat disappointing is the fact that I never found any other vendors besides cerakey for ceramic caps. It's not that I don't like them, but I could go for other styles and layouts given the opportunity.

The other thing is that I would like to explore other materials. I've found wooden caps, again only from exactly one vendor and stainless steel caps by yet another single vendor.

What I would much rather try out are aluminum and glass, both materials I could imagine being pretty great for typing.

And maybe there are other options I haven't even considered yet?

Give me your best shops/stores with rare materials caps, I'm really interested!

The battery on my Cycle 7 stopped working suddenly, it still works wired, but no power when unwired, not sure if I inserted the plugs upside down or something

I want to get my SO a keyboard and unfortunately she uses ISO keyboards exclusively. ANSI is not an option.

The only keyboard I found were the keychron ones, looking for more options :/ Something like the Nuphy Air V2 would be amazing.

Anything out there, preferably TKL or smaller? Wired is totally fine.

Join our groupbuy: https://www.jellykey.com/artisan-keycaps/zen-pond-eden-flow

Hi everyone . Allow me to introduce our latest Zen Pond GroupBuy: Eden Flow - where sleek, relaxing design meets aquatic elegance. This exquisite set features gentle KOI fish motifs and rippling wave patterns that'll transform your keyboard into a truly unique masterpiece. We're proud to offer full compatibility with:

• 6 Designs
• Complete key sizing from 1u to 7.5u
• Profiles: Cherry, SA, and the Droplet profile
• Payment: PP / CC
• Price at start: $55

Designed for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts who appreciate both form and function, Eden Flow brings serene underwater aesthetics to your daily typing experience.

• The group buy is set to close on March 30, though it might end sooner than expected.
• Free shipping applies to orders of six or more keycaps. Furthermore, purchases over $300 come with a complimentary Ne Zha KOI keycap, while supplies last.
• Each keycap is packaged in a handcrafted wooden box. They are meticulously made by hand through resin casting and multi-layer coloring techniques, showcasing unique craftsmanship. No 3D printing is involved.
• We provide one-on-one replacements for any defects resulting from production issues. Feel free to contact us for assistance if necessary.

I'm newly interested in mechanical keyboards, but have some experience with soldering and decided to build this budget(ish) kit on a whim

• CannonKeys Ortho48 v2 board ($36)

• JWK Mauve switches ($25)

• NicePBT Bonkers keycaps ($60 on sale)

And now I'm (slowly) typing this in dvorak.

Is it terminal?

Edit: Guess I should mention it's a Nuphy Air60 V2 given the com. I was a bit hasty.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/33821377

I'm trying to find mechanical keyboards that are not black/grey, are standard or TKL, and are hotswappable. I have yet to find a site that allows you to sort by all three chritiria, nonetheless sort though multiple brands/sites. Has anyone made a site along these lines?

Edit: like what pcpartpicker offers for most other computer parts

Edit 2: Keeb-finder is what I was looking for. Its support for non-American stuff isn't great, but its better than nothing.

So I've got a Ducky One RGB Tenkeyless keyboard, and the doubleshot caps are pretty much worn out. (the homing bars on F and J are undetectable by feel).

I'm looking for a pudding version of the same. Namely:

• OEM profile
• 87 key ANSII TKL layout
• double-shot PBT
• black-capped pudding
• Works with Cherry switches (cherry red, FWIW)

As an added bonus, I'd like to replace the Windows key with something fun - maybe Tux the penguin or Lemmy the lemming, a motorcycle, something other than "We are the Microsoft Borg."

Best I can find so far is the enormous (145 key?!) set from Ducky, which is out of stock everywhere.

My sister wanted to get a mechanical keyboard. I bought her the cheapest from aliexpress, a "Philips" one with "blue" switches.

After 6 months she comes again, "you need to buy me a new one, the numpad is weird"

When pressing 9, it types "9+", press 6, and it types "6+", press 0 and it types "0."

I take apart the keyboard, i test the solder points under the switch and i see that somehow there's a short on + when i press 9

Switches are soldered, can't be easily swapped, i order another keyboard (different brand, with "brown" switches, still ultracheap nobrand).

After six months, the same, when pressing "right arrow" it types "right arrow 0"

Is that possible? Coincidence that is always in the same spot? Those are so shitty that break so easily? I noticed that my sister always has a water bottle nearby the numpad, might it be that she's accidentally pouring water and then blame "low quality" for this?

Also: I saw the the RGB LED under the faulty switches are dead or dimmed. It might cause the issue?

I'm more interested if any of you actually do work on a 60% or below, I see a lot of 40s and a lot of lemmings are devs so do you guys use that for personal or work? No arrow keys? F keys? Home/end? Are you really holding shift+fn+d for end?

In a switch you get on/off, but a button returns to the original setting.

The raffle form for this week is open now: https://www.jellykey.com/raffle

Some information:

• Character Sculptures Collection: Cat Knights, Night Hunter, Magician Klown, Octopian (10 keycaps per sculpture)

• Colorway: Aura Bloom

• Price: $100

• Shipping fee: $12 per keycap (free shipping if you live in Vietnam)

• Keycap Compatibility: MX stem & meticulously crafted with multiple layers

• Shipping Commences: Starting from 03/27/2025 (one month after the raffle conclusion)

Rule:

• Only one entry.

• You will be banned if you don't pay the invoice when you win.

Raffle:

• This form will open in 24 hours (closed on 02/26/25 at 11 PM GMT+7).

• The invoice will start after the form has closed (30-90 mins).

Payment:

• We only accept PAYPAL with raffle sales.

• Payment will be open 24 hours before closing. Unpaid invoices will be cancelled & keycaps will be raffled again.

I’ve been out of the custom keyboard scene for several years, and recently dove back in with the Sat75x. I’ve built probably 15-20 custom keyboards over the years, but the last few I built before stepping away used the CreateKeebs SOTC Linear switches. I am a huge linear fan, and these switches ticked all the boxes for me. The factory lube was good enough that I didn’t feel the need to lube them myself (which I hate), they had a really good feel, and the sound was pretty good. Unfortunately, it looks like they no longer make these switches as I have been watching the Divinikey website (the only place I know sells them) for a few weeks now, and they haven’t come back in stock.

There are a ton of different switches on the market now, so I am looking for some recommendations for some good linears!

What it says on the tin.

Pros:

• The clickety clack is creamy as hell
• The dial/knob is very useful already
• I really like the LED effects when I'm typing.
• The packaging was superb and it just generally looks amazing

Cons:

• Shipping (unrelated to keyboard):
  • it took 3 weeks to get here
• Keys / Spacebar
  • It's quite a high profile position and I find myself double-hitting the spacebar often which appears to have a hare-trigger
  • The spacebar is needlessly long, and my thumb can't quite reach the Alt or Win key without contorting my hand.
  • On my laptop, the spacebar begins at C and ends at M. Here it starts at X and ends at ,
• Customization
  • Modifying it in Linux is proving to be painful.
    • The qmk cli requires a full reflash, but no easy way to set macros
    • VIA has easy macros, but has no cli just a shitty Electron app that requires you to set your keyboard permissions to World Accessible for chrome to detect it (which is creepy).
• Gaming
  • I knew that some keyboards are better for typing and others for gaming, but I did not think the difference would be so big.
  • The arrow keys could be a lot more responsive
  • I've never noticed this issue with a normal keyboard.

I guess I love the look and feel of it, but it's incredibly frustrating to modify as a linux user and I'm making tons of mistakes with it whilst typing.

Is this all normal? Do I eventually get used to it? Or should I send it back and just use a normal $20 keyboard that I can just type and forget about.

The raffle form for this week is open now: https://www.jellykey.com/raffle

Some information:

• Character Sculptures Collection: Cat Knights, Night Hunter, Magician Klown, Octopian (10 keycaps per sculpture)

• Colorway: Prism Circuit

• Price: $100

• Shipping fee: $12 per keycap (free shipping if you live in Vietnam)

• Keycap Compatibility: MX stem & meticulously crafted with multiple layers

• Shipping Commences: Starting from 03/19/2025 (one month after the raffle conclusion)

Rule:

• Only one entry.

• You will be banned if you don't pay the invoice when you win.

Raffle:

• This form will open in 24 hours (closed on 02/19/24 at 11 PM GMT+7).

• The invoice will start after the form has closed (30-90 mins).

Payment:

• We only accept PAYPAL with raffle sales.

• Payment will be open 24 hours before closing. Unpaid invoices will be cancelled & keycaps will be raffled again.

I see a lot of ads these days for fancy mechanical keyboards from numerous brands, but the thing I always wonder about is: how do we know these keyboards dont have keyloggers or other spying tech built into them?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/8032101

From the author of the "Shift Happens" book that came out a little while ago.

i grew up with some beautiful, heavy mechanical keyboards and i just setup a new office. i would like to have the great clickity-clack snappy response keys back in action. any recommendations?

First handwired design/build

I designed this little desk-mounted macropad last week and finally got around to wiring it up yesterday. It was a fun little project but I’m not great at soldering so the wiring was a bit challenging. Really happy with how it turned out, though!

Specs:

• Raspberry Pi Pico MCU
• Gateron Oil Kings
• Drop Dasher