Keyboard Thread

Hey all would love to hear what keyboard(s) you're using and why you like em ~ going first: I switched to a Moonlander this year - the Oryx config environment is reaally nice/user friendly (especially as someone new to thinking in layers), and hotswapping switches let me try out clicky switches before eventually going back to my preferred tactile set :) the ortholinear learning curve is still tricky though

I have a couple, I have a Keychron K1 SE with low profile red switches that I use most of the time because it's fairly quiet and comfortable, and I also have a HyperX Alloy Origins Core with HyperX Aqua tactile switches. Bit noisier but fun to type on. I also have a cheap Amazon Bluetooth keyboard with blue switches that I toss in my bag in case I need it. Pretty loud and obnoxious but compact.

>>72583 Using a HyperX Alloy Origins (red switches), fairly simple keyboard bought it cause I found it at $50 discounted. Before this I had a Steelseries 6GV2 (black cherry mx switches) that I loved but some keys stopped working. Unfortunately they don't make that anymore. The red switches are easier on the fingers but more prone to mistypes.

i got a keychron v1 with the media knob, red switches. its my first mechanical keyboard, i dont really have much of an idea whats good and not so i just went with something basic to start. i initially disliked the red switches but i got used to em after a little bit. maybe ill get other switches eventually i dunno

>>72583 I use a QWERTY keyboard.

>>72583 i use a keychron q4 with clickiez switches 60% because i'm already so used to using the fn layer and having all the navigation buttons on the left side of the keyboard, hence i might as well get rid of the buttons i don't use so that it's easier to clean and maintain q4 because it's a decent 60% hotswap keyboard clickiez because they're wonderful clicky switches. they've got the closest actuation/tactility match i know of both on the down- and the upstroke except for buckling springs.

I use a Glorious modular board with Boba U4 switches. The main feature of this keyboard for me is the switches: I spent months of research trying to figure what kind of switches I would like best, and I finally landed on this unique combination of high tactility, low noise, and affordability. I've also done some extra work to reduce the noise of the board itself with bandage modding and sticking some foam in ringing aluminum areas. It's really shocking to my how many mechanical switches in the "tactile" category, which is supposed to be contrasted to clickies in noise, are in fact still obnoxiously loud because due to the clacking of the switch stem slamming into the bottom and top of its housing. The other thing I appreciate about this board is the backlighting, which sadly most mechanical keyboard hobbyists don't seem to care about. Hotswappability is also nice, but now that I have some very basic soldering skills it's not quite as important to me as it used to be.

I had a mekanisk something with lubed gateron yellows that I built which broke a while ago. now I just use a Leopold. Don't know what's wrong with the mekanisk one, will probably have to replace the PCB at some point when I get the money for it

If I am typing up a document for school, I use the lain keyboard. It's a 40% alice-style keyboard. Once you get used to its tricky layout, you can type blazingly fast. I run this board with silent alpaca switches. For anything else (e.g. browsing, gaming or programming), I use a Vortexgear Tab75. It is just the right balance between price, size, and functionality. Cherry MX Browns, once broken in after years of use, feel silky smooth to type on.

>>72583 Oooh that's a pretty split keyboard. In the market for one of those. I'd love to get an ortholinear KB at least :) I'm still using my first mech keyboard today. a One 2 Mini by Ducky with Cherry MX silvers. (Not saying "Speed silvers" it's honestly a cringe marketing name.) I first bought one for rhythm games, but stayed in the hobby side of things for the feel and nice type feel. Seriously, I never considered how good it would feel to just type on it lol. Pic related. Not at home atm and this is the best shot of my current KB I could find.

I been thinking about buying my first mechanical keyboard. The TEX Shura and Shinobi got my attention because of the trackpoint feature. Is it worth to buy the DYI version with hotswap keys? Is there any future problem I need to be aware if I buy the soldered version? As a side note, since I am a exchange student in japan, it seems to be more convenient to buy the JIS keyboard layout. Is there any good/standard remaps of the JIS layout to the ANSI version? I saw a couple of remaps but it seems that everyone likes to freestyle the additional keys.

>>72718 I don't know anything about that specific keyboard but the benefit of hotswap compared to soldered is you can change the switches whenever you want easily. If it's a soldered board you'll have to desolder every single switch and then solder on the new ones (or just never change switches because it's a pain in the ass). A hotswap socket can, if you're unlucky, break off. In that case you need to solder on a new one.

>>72718 I have a TEX Shinobi. I put boba U4Tx in it. DIY version is very worth it. It feels awesome and I love typing on it.

>>72813 I read that the firmware used in the keyboard was closed source. If the manufacturer stopped the support for the keyboard is it still would be usable?

>>72821 sure I mean, in the sense that any other peripheral has closed source software. Its not connected to some butt (cloud) service. I have not experienced any bugs. Maybe I should pull out a serial connection sniffer and see what exactly it is doing I guess.

Bought Logitech MX Keys Mini today, best scissor switch board I've ever used.

>>72687 ooo i love the lain keyboard >>72718 hotswapping is especially nice if you're new to mechanical keyboards, since you can easily try different switches without needing to cop a whole new kb

I just got a logitech mx mini and this thing is awesome. Like $120 and it feels great to type on and it took no adjusting for me

>>74096 >120$ you're insane. 20-30$ is the absolute maximum for a keyboard

>>74097 thanks, my HHKB found this very amusing

>>74099 this keyboard costs 100 bux less than my notebook wtf this is unreal

>>74097 I used to agree with this, but then I couldn't find a good replacement for my last cheap keyboard. The mechanical keyboard racket has me by the balls.

>>74104 different hhkb user here, its expensive sure but ill be damned if it isnt a fine keyboard. I expect Ill never buy another KB in my life so I don't regret the cost.

>>72583 i use a custom chalice with a colemak layout, akko pink linears filmed/lubed

>>74111 isn't it harder to type on a mechanical keyboard? i have a vague impression that the scissors ones are the most comfy for typing.

>>72583 finally got my hands on an IBM model m as of recent, found it in a thrift store for 15 bucks

This post is written using Logicool K400 plus, which is a handy and practical companion for Raspberry Pi, being used as the surfboard. However, when using workstation, I use the PS/2 keyboard. Yes, THE PS/2 keyboard, which is now around 30 years old. Mechanical, good touch, will probably serve me well for the end of my life and if not, I have spares. They were being thrown out and I volunteered to carry the burden of "disposing" of them.

>>74116 Now wait a minute! Are you me? But what a good choice indeed!

>>74116 lucky, i had to pay 75€ for one, it's also ISO (the OG one before the lexicomp, without membrane). At least it's almost new. All the other ones selling were like 300€ or more, it got really mainstream it seems

>>74115 That depends entirely on the spring weight and type of switches you're using. By intention, my current mechanical keyboard switches feel very similar to the tactility and pressure of my old membrane keyboard. For some odd reason, switch 150g springs exist. Put those in your switches if you're looking for a challenge.

https://ek.ua/en/RAZER-PRO-TYPE-ULTRA.htm kinda a fool's dream. ain't getting one in a lifetime except by luck and for free. not the exact keyboard, just the price for one in general. i like that it's with fn key and ansi layout and numpad

>>74115 I guess it depends on what you consider hard. I've used some scissor-switch keyboards that I enjoyed a lot, especially that one standalone Thinkpad keyboard. In the sense that your fingers don't have to move very far, it's easy to type on scissors. But I find them generally hard (read: frustrating and counterproductive) to use, on account of the same characteristics. I like a heavier switch that I can rest my hands on without accidentally pressing keys (though I do have a soft spot for MX reds with red 40A-L o-rings). Tapping at a flat, relatively unresponsive surface doesn't do great things for me when it comes to getting into a good typing rhythm. Longer key travel with an extremely consistent resistance curve and actuation point lets me confidently flow keystrokes together into the tightest queue possible. This is probably only compelling for people who are into competitive speed typing though, I guess. There's a wide variety of force/resistance curves in mechanical keyswitches, but I'm not sure which best replicates the feeling of a scissor switch (it may be hard to find any that were intended to do so). Scissor switches tend to have an actuation force around 65 grams¹, so if you like the amount of force you have to use to press the keys, you could try starting in that range (bear in mind that the same force over a greater distance of travel equals more [mechanical] work (which may or may not correspond to more effort/exertion on your part)). For reference, the vast majority of the most popular/common mechanical keyswitches have a lower actuation force than that (by which I mean mostly blues/browns/reds and clones thereof). Buckling springs (IBM Model M) actuate at 70g. You can test the actuation force of your keyswitches by stacking nickels on a key until it actuates. One nickel = 5 grams. Having used both Topres and Clears, I can say they're both very enjoyable. The Clears I sometimes find a bit underwhelming in the strength of the tactile bump in the force/resistance at the actuation point. I am a pretty heavy-handed typist though; I used to do transcription full-time on MX blacks and the highest WPM I ever achieved on TypeRacer was done on a Model M (but I came pretty close many times on MX Reds and Topres too, so I don't know how much it matters overall). I can hardly feel anything at all on MX Browns (the lighter version of Clears). Topres are highly satisfying and probably especially comfortable and familiar if your scissor switches have pretty snappy rubber domes. If you like scissor switches because they have a very short travel (either total travel or pre-travel before the actuation point -- probably it's the same for you right now, but in mechanical switches the key will often continue to travel past the actuation point; this is generally considered a good thing) then try Cherry MX silvers or any Cherry MX or Kailh "speed" or "low profile" switches, or the Razer linear optical switch (note: Razer Huntsman Mini VERY NOT recommended; "reprogrammable" feature is actually badly neutered). If you like them because yours are crispy, then look into MX or clones that are "tactile" or "clicky" (= tactile + noise like spilling LEGO). You may also find Topre satisfying in this case (I think it's hard not to find them satisfying in any case though). If you like them because they take less effort to actuate than common rubber-dome boards, then aim your search toward the lighter end of the range -- in Cherry MX this looks like blue/brown/red at the lighter end, then green/clear/black, then white/tactile-grey/linear-grey. If you like them because they seem overall less fatiguing regardless of how much force is actually required to register a keypress, then this may be related to bottoming out. The stiffer resistance of the more rigid chassis of a PC keyboard on a hard desk surface vs. a slightly flexing laptop keyboard could have this effect. Try MX linear or tactile switches with soft O-rings added. 1. https://old.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/ripometer#wiki_scissor_switches

>>74136 thank you for the quality post! i have tried my relatively not worn out keys on my current membrane keyboard and it's 70-90 grams. 90 grams feels kinda very good, because not enough for my fingers to press while resting and yet feels very arousing while typing. the stroke is maybe 3mm, i really have no way to measure. i've had a very old cheap keyboard with that kind of very tall keys with stoke around 6-7mm and it really isn't nice. this current key stroke feels very good to me. i've only had 3 keyboards in my life, two being with tall keys so i am probably biased. that said 90-100 grams with low stroke is something i want to at least try out if i ever get to choose a keyboard. also you seem to be talking about curves and pressure as if it's something that lies on the outside. i, however, have never actually seen any keyboard vendor supplying me with this kind of info. yes i don't buy expensive keyboards, but maybe i just don't know where to get started? maybe can i have an advice please?

>>74139 People capture/graph force curve data using force displacement meters or sometimes homemade devices that improvise the same functionality somehow. Sometimes this information is published by manufacturers too. You can buy cheap single test or sample keyswitches meant for seeing how they feel. I'm sure there are more than a few keyboard places at this point but when I got started, geekhack.org was the keyboard place. Still a good source of info/data/experience reports.

>>74139 almost 100g is crazy, my dailies r 40 g lel

Some good force curve resources: https://github.com/bluepylons/Open-Switch-Curve-Meter/tree/main/Force%20curve%20measurements https://chart-studio.plotly.com/~haata/#/ https://chart-studio.plotly.com/~r2b#/ And attached images give you a general sense of what good tactile switches are like.

Also, beware relying too heavily on listed spring weights to inform your switch decisions. They are often inconsistent from switch type to switch type and don't tell you exactly how much force is needed to actuate a switch due to other variables like the shape of the switch stem and the resistance of the leaf spring (MX-style switches actually contain two types of springs).

>>74153 perhaps. i don't have precise measurers though. i think trying out the whole range of 70-100 would give me pretty solid idea of what i want.

>>72583 zsa moonlander with this layout https://configure.zsa.io/moonlander/layouts/Wzlly/latest/0

>>74336 nice, i like your hub layer 2 i should really make better use of the red thumb keys

>>72583 i have a razer blackwidow v3. i bought it around 2 years ago when i spilled coffee on my keyboard and sorta panicked and bought it since i didnt have a spare keyboard at the time. just bought what looked like the best keyboard at the store. i mean its alright. i regret getting it since its overpriced and i think the rgb is ugly as hell. but ill probably use it until i get sick of it or i spill coffee on it again.

>>72718 It would be fantastic if it were split. I use split keeb for about 10 years, I simply can't get back to the "standard" layout because split feels way too comfortable. I wish there were some preassembled split keyboard with trackpoint or trackball, I would pay up to EUR500 for that. I know soykaf about DIY to be honest.

finally got my iris 58 and its fuarrrking awesome. i think i need a bigger one soon but this one is really nice.

>>74097 Same, I bought a small aluminium bodied mechanical keyboard some time ago for 30€, now I see the same one going for 100€+ Funny when a brand starts out cheap and becomes expensive when it becomes popular

>>74808 how it feels to chew five gum

Model M, feels nice and tickles my ears :)

Is an ergodox 'Wooting' possible yet?

I use a Sofle V2 for work and a Gok 7v for gaming

>>72583 I've been using Das cherry blue for a while now, it's good, especially how good it feels to type on this thing. Love the loud sound it makes. Can type for hours on this thing, only complain is don't like to type with this thing at night, it's very loud and I don't want to cause any disturbance to others. I've used brown and red too, but don't like them compared to the blue. I want to try topre someday, but it's very expensive.

>>72583 I have a Wooting HE. It's pretty cool, there's a program to turn it into an analog music controller https://github.com/WootingKb/wooting-analog-midi