Author Topic: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions  (Read 1249088 times)

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Offline NoteMakoti

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5250 on: Tue, 29 December 2020, 03:20:26 »
One thing I’ll say about larger boards is that most people definitely aren’t very creative about building them. It’s not so hard to use the 3 extra keys on a TKL as a mini macropad, or convert a numpad into a
Macros, or better yet, use different types of switches between alphas/modifiers/function keys/numpad.

Offline bkrownd

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5251 on: Tue, 29 December 2020, 22:43:01 »

As a noob in these parts I am puzzled by the "aviator" cable with the honking big clunky connector in the middle and the tight coil. 

Offline ideus

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5252 on: Tue, 29 December 2020, 22:49:22 »

As a noob in these parts, I am puzzled by the "aviator" cable with the honking big clunky connector in the middle and the tight coil.


It is just another example of feature items that are just for show. Aviator cables and artisan caps are some of the most conspicuous examples of these trends.

Offline yqqdrasil

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5253 on: Tue, 29 December 2020, 23:47:13 »

As a noob in these parts, I am puzzled by the "aviator" cable with the honking big clunky connector in the middle and the tight coil.


It is just another example of feature items that are just for show. Aviator cables and artisan caps are some of the most conspicuous examples of these trends.

One could argue that they offer a convenient way of switching between USB types for different devices. I've built two aviator cables for myself for fun, they're cool... Bulky, but I have a lot of free real estate on my desk.

Lemo on the other hand looks sick, but the prices of them are outlandish.

I love coiled cables. Reminds me of rotary landlines we had growing up  :D

Offline Atomical

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5254 on: Wed, 30 December 2020, 12:23:47 »
All the same people who used to buy $200 Corsairs, laugh at people with $20 rubber dome keyboards, and parrot everything Linus Techtip Sebastian said are now buying $500 "eNdGaMe" keyboards, laughing at people with gamer/KBDfans stuff, and parroting everything Taeha says. It's more about stunting than chasing new experiences or making something that looks and feels nice for a lot of people.
Never heard something more true about the keyboard community. I also feel like the influx of these “premium” $500-$700 boards are mostly cashgrabs from Chinese companies looking to get a quick buck from gullible Americans and Europeans. Like most of the time some of these boards aren’t really special or unique. Maybe I’m wrong though.

Offline CosminOance

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5255 on: Wed, 30 December 2020, 13:06:16 »
It's hard for me to believe that the most technologically advanced (and most powerful overall) country in Europe, the country that develops high tech sports cars, industrial engines, advances in surgery tech, vaccines, has some of the largest global banking giants... can't figure out a way to copy 30yo plastic injection machines.... ;D

or maybe... :eek:

Offline quadibloc

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5256 on: Wed, 30 December 2020, 19:32:39 »
I've used the Fujitsu keyboard, which is generally considered to be an awful keyboard because it has a 'backwards' tactile response, and I didn't think it was so bad.

Offline ideus

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5257 on: Wed, 30 December 2020, 21:17:52 »

As a noob in these parts, I am puzzled by the "aviator" cable with the honking big clunky connector in the middle and the tight coil.


It is just another example of feature items that are just for show. Aviator cables and artisan caps are some of the most conspicuous examples of these trends.

One could argue that they offer a convenient way of switching between USB types for different devices. I've built two aviator cables for myself for fun, they're cool... Bulky, but I have a lot of free real estate on my desk.

Lemo on the other hand looks sick, but the prices of them are outlandish.

I love coiled cables. Reminds me of rotary landlines we had growing up  :D


I like coiled cables also, but there are cheap ones available, or you can DIY some for a very low cost. The interchangeable USB connectors may be useful if you are switching devices frequently, and having just one cable for everything is required.

Offline bkrownd

  • Posts: 282
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5258 on: Thu, 31 December 2020, 05:17:38 »

Us plebs just use regular old compact adapters, easy peasy

Speaking of which I started using one of those magnetic usb-c connectors on my new keyboards (and my phone) because my desk is crowded and I'm worried about torqueing the fragile usb-c connector that hangs off the back.  My girlfriend's Akko has a nice slotted connector design that slots the entire connector securely into the case, but all of mine just let it hang way out the back where it can break.  The magnetic connector seems to work fine so far, but we shall see if the contacts work well long term.

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5259 on: Thu, 31 December 2020, 07:43:45 »

The magnetic connector seems to work fine so far,


I have used these for 3 years and they are fabulous. I have a mixture of micro-USB and USB-C devices and so bought a variety of heads so that the same cables can stay plugged in and be used for whatever. I don't ever want to go back.


I like coiled cables also,

you can DIY some


Personally, I despise coiled cables but this seems to be the way to go:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=82202.msg2869116#msg2869116
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Offline yicaoyimu

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5260 on: Fri, 01 January 2021, 01:55:47 »
All the same people who used to buy $200 Corsairs, laugh at people with $20 rubber dome keyboards, and parrot everything Linus Techtip Sebastian said are now buying $500 "eNdGaMe" keyboards, laughing at people with gamer/KBDfans stuff, and parroting everything Taeha says. It's more about stunting than chasing new experiences or making something that looks and feels nice for a lot of people.
Never heard something more true about the keyboard community. I also feel like the influx of these “premium” $500-$700 boards are mostly cashgrabs from Chinese companies looking to get a quick buck from gullible Americans and Europeans. Like most of the time some of these boards aren’t really special or unique. Maybe I’m wrong though.

Can you name a premium $500 to $700 board designed by Chinese maker? IRON185 and ANDROMEDA come to mind but neither are Chinese. Matrix is the most premium board from Chinese maker and even their boards never go for more than $500 at GB price. Cashgrabs are definitely not unique to Chinese maker. I think you might confuse made in China premium board with board designed by Chinese maker, as most custom keyboards are made in China but they are not necessarily designed by Chinese maker.
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Offline Learis

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5261 on: Sat, 09 January 2021, 12:10:13 »
Overlube. Don't listen to what all the pro keeb teachers tell you. Overlube (don't be afraid to use a generous amount). I've spent this whole time following their advice and being very gentle with the lube. Then my switches come out sounding scratchy. So then I say to myself, screw it, and brush a generous amount of lube on them. Lo and behold they're less scratchy, and they haven't become any more sluggish. I think ppl stress too much this "less is more" concept in lubing. Ultimately you'll have to experiment for yourself as this is my opinion, and maybe what I consider to be a lot others might consider just normal. Ofcourse use proper technique with applying an even coating with a brush, but I say don't be afraid to provide a generous healthy coating!

Edit: To actually give an objective observation, what I did was apply literally a double coating of what I normally apply to the stems of my switches. I then compared my single coated switches to my double coated switches. To be honest, many of them still felt the same in terms of scratchiness with the single and double, however there were some stragglers with the single coat that were definitely more scratchy, and overall the double coat feel slightly less scratchy. So it's a safer bet in my opinion to be more aggressive in lubing. There was no sluggishness in the double coated ones compared to the single coated. And I was using very light springs (the gateron clears at only 35g)!

Unfortunately I'm currently doing this experiment with silenced switches, so I can't make strong sound difference observations. They sound the same for silenced is all I can say.
« Last Edit: Sat, 09 January 2021, 13:16:27 by Learis »
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Offline NoteMakoti

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5262 on: Sat, 09 January 2021, 16:35:08 »
Overlube. Don't listen to what all the pro keeb teachers tell you. Overlube (don't be afraid to use a generous amount). I've spent this whole time following their advice and being very gentle with the lube. Then my switches come out sounding scratchy. So then I say to myself, screw it, and brush a generous amount of lube on them. Lo and behold they're less scratchy, and they haven't become any more sluggish. I think ppl stress too much this "less is more" concept in lubing. Ultimately you'll have to experiment for yourself as this is my opinion, and maybe what I consider to be a lot others might consider just normal. Ofcourse use proper technique with applying an even coating with a brush, but I say don't be afraid to provide a generous healthy coating!

Edit: To actually give an objective observation, what I did was apply literally a double coating of what I normally apply to the stems of my switches. I then compared my single coated switches to my double coated switches. To be honest, many of them still felt the same in terms of scratchiness with the single and double, however there were some stragglers with the single coat that were definitely more scratchy, and overall the double coat feel slightly less scratchy. So it's a safer bet in my opinion to be more aggressive in lubing. There was no sluggishness in the double coated ones compared to the single coated. And I was using very light springs (the gateron clears at only 35g)!

Unfortunately I'm currently doing this experiment with silenced switches, so I can't make strong sound difference observations. They sound the same for silenced is all I can say.
In my experience, you can overlube most parts of the stem, just not the foot of the stem. With heavier lubes it makes the return and bottoming out feel mushy. Overdoing the sides or the top housing can affect the sound and feel in a good or bad way, too.

Offline funkmon

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5263 on: Sat, 09 January 2021, 20:21:18 »
Overlube. Don't listen to what all the pro keeb teachers tell you. Overlube (don't be afraid to use a generous amount). I've spent this whole time following their advice and being very gentle with the lube. Then my switches come out sounding scratchy. So then I say to myself, screw it, and brush a generous amount of lube on them. Lo and behold they're less scratchy, and they haven't become any more sluggish. I think ppl stress too much this "less is more" concept in lubing. Ultimately you'll have to experiment for yourself as this is my opinion, and maybe what I consider to be a lot others might consider just normal. Ofcourse use proper technique with applying an even coating with a brush, but I say don't be afraid to provide a generous healthy coating!

Edit: To actually give an objective observation, what I did was apply literally a double coating of what I normally apply to the stems of my switches. I then compared my single coated switches to my double coated switches. To be honest, many of them still felt the same in terms of scratchiness with the single and double, however there were some stragglers with the single coat that were definitely more scratchy, and overall the double coat feel slightly less scratchy. So it's a safer bet in my opinion to be more aggressive in lubing. There was no sluggishness in the double coated ones compared to the single coated. And I was using very light springs (the gateron clears at only 35g)!

Unfortunately I'm currently doing this experiment with silenced switches, so I can't make strong sound difference observations. They sound the same for silenced is all I can say.

Contrary opinion: don't lube at all. Lubing is dumb. If you need to lube, you've picked a dumb switch.

Offline Arch4Life

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5264 on: Sun, 10 January 2021, 05:52:29 »
filco is overpriced and has terrible typing experience
realforce is ugly
topre is overrated

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Offline yui

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5265 on: Mon, 11 January 2021, 01:33:13 »

Contrary opinion: don't lube at all. Lubing is dumb. If you need to lube, you've picked a dumb switch.
i do agree there, switches should smooth out with time, if you need lube your switch is rather poor, my gat silent reds started off a bit scratchy but after about 2 months of rather heavy use only the keys i use the very least still feel a bit scratchy.
out of that experience i feel like lubing is rather a waste of time, but then in those times peoples do have time to waste.
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Offline moonexe

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5266 on: Mon, 11 January 2021, 16:38:10 »
In wait of the JIS GB, I've been looking at Hiragana alpha kits as they would be partially interchangeable with the real thing. But Katanana is straight up useless and just serves to limit my options.
So I guess what I'm getting at is... Katakana kits are dumb.

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Offline NoteMakoti

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5267 on: Mon, 11 January 2021, 17:21:50 »
In wait of the JIS GB, I've been looking at Hiragana alpha kits as they would be partially interchangeable with the real thing. But Katanana is straight up useless and just serves to limit my options.
So I guess what I'm getting at is... Katakana kits are dumb.
Hiragana > Katakana, I'm guessing kata kits are more common because they're less busy.

Offline avocadosec

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5268 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 13:46:59 »
I don't feel bad if key caps get cloned/ripped off when they were sold as a one-time GB or the secondhand prices are higher than the original cost.

Offline NoteMakoti

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5269 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 15:46:31 »
I don't feel bad if key caps get cloned/ripped off when they were sold as a one-time GB or the secondhand prices are higher than the original cost.
Don’t really mind this either.

Offline yqqdrasil

  • Posts: 48
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5270 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 19:55:12 »
I don't feel bad if key caps get cloned/ripped off when they were sold as a one-time GB or the secondhand prices are higher than the original cost.
Don’t really mind this either.
Yea its not like they have patents on the colourways lol. As long as the keycap set well manufactured I couldn't care less if its a 'clone.'

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5271 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 21:55:04 »
filco is overpriced and has terrible typing experience
realforce is ugly
topre is overrated

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Is this really an unpopular opinion about Filco on forums where people build their own keyboards?

I agree that Filco leaves much to be desired. What is it that you think gives a terrible typing experience with Filco?

Offline Arch4Life

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5272 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 22:12:03 »
filco is overpriced and has terrible typing experience
realforce is ugly
topre is overrated

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Is this really an unpopular opinion about Filco on forums where people build their own keyboards?

I agree that Filco leaves much to be desired. What is it that you think gives a terrible typing experience with Filco?
for me, the costa stabs and the low quality stock keycaps killed it

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Offline mrvco

  • Posts: 106
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5273 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 22:32:00 »
Overlube. Don't listen to what all the pro keeb teachers tell you. Overlube (don't be afraid to use a generous amount). I've spent this whole time following their advice and being very gentle with the lube. Then my switches come out sounding scratchy. So then I say to myself, screw it, and brush a generous amount of lube on them. Lo and behold they're less scratchy, and they haven't become any more sluggish. I think ppl stress too much this "less is more" concept in lubing. Ultimately you'll have to experiment for yourself as this is my opinion, and maybe what I consider to be a lot others might consider just normal. Ofcourse use proper technique with applying an even coating with a brush, but I say don't be afraid to provide a generous healthy coating!

Edit: To actually give an objective observation, what I did was apply literally a double coating of what I normally apply to the stems of my switches. I then compared my single coated switches to my double coated switches. To be honest, many of them still felt the same in terms of scratchiness with the single and double, however there were some stragglers with the single coat that were definitely more scratchy, and overall the double coat feel slightly less scratchy. So it's a safer bet in my opinion to be more aggressive in lubing. There was no sluggishness in the double coated ones compared to the single coated. And I was using very light springs (the gateron clears at only 35g)!

Unfortunately I'm currently doing this experiment with silenced switches, so I can't make strong sound difference observations. They sound the same for silenced is all I can say.
In my experience, you can overlube most parts of the stem, just not the foot of the stem. With heavier lubes it makes the return and bottoming out feel mushy. Overdoing the sides or the top housing can affect the sound and feel in a good or bad way, too.

Yep, I've definitely managed to over-lube Gat Yellows w/ 205g0 making them too slow and sluggish for touch typing at any decent WPM.  Fortunately swabbing them out with a cue-tip gets them back into shape.  I mostly stick with Tribosys 3203/4 now, much more forgiving.

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5274 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 22:34:39 »
for me, the costa stabs and the low quality stock keycaps killed it

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Yes, the Costar stabilizers are frustrating to use with keycaps that aren't the Filco stock OEM profile.

Considering that the entire keyboard is built around Cherry switches, and seeks to be a 'premium' typing experience, the lack of Cherry stabilizers is perplexing. It would make use of Cherry-profile and thick keycaps that much easier.

And yes, the stock keycaps are hollow and don't sound great, and the legends wear off. Doesn't leave a 'premium' feel.

And Costar stabilizers can rattle, and it is annoying. It was an especially noisy board at first, with ping everywhere, until the switches were worn-in.

Offline Arch4Life

  • Posts: 40
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5275 on: Tue, 12 January 2021, 22:35:46 »
Overlube. Don't listen to what all the pro keeb teachers tell you. Overlube (don't be afraid to use a generous amount). I've spent this whole time following their advice and being very gentle with the lube. Then my switches come out sounding scratchy. So then I say to myself, screw it, and brush a generous amount of lube on them. Lo and behold they're less scratchy, and they haven't become any more sluggish. I think ppl stress too much this "less is more" concept in lubing. Ultimately you'll have to experiment for yourself as this is my opinion, and maybe what I consider to be a lot others might consider just normal. Ofcourse use proper technique with applying an even coating with a brush, but I say don't be afraid to provide a generous healthy coating!

Edit: To actually give an objective observation, what I did was apply literally a double coating of what I normally apply to the stems of my switches. I then compared my single coated switches to my double coated switches. To be honest, many of them still felt the same in terms of scratchiness with the single and double, however there were some stragglers with the single coat that were definitely more scratchy, and overall the double coat feel slightly less scratchy. So it's a safer bet in my opinion to be more aggressive in lubing. There was no sluggishness in the double coated ones compared to the single coated. And I was using very light springs (the gateron clears at only 35g)!

Unfortunately I'm currently doing this experiment with silenced switches, so I can't make strong sound difference observations. They sound the same for silenced is all I can say.
In my experience, you can overlube most parts of the stem, just not the foot of the stem. With heavier lubes it makes the return and bottoming out feel mushy. Overdoing the sides or the top housing can affect the sound and feel in a good or bad way, too.

Yep, I've definitely managed to over-lube Gat Yellows w/ 205g0 making them too slow and sluggish for touch typing at any decent WPM.  Fortunately swabbing them out with a cue-tip gets them back into shape.  I mostly stick with Tribosys 3203/4 now, much more forgiving.
I did overlubed my cherry black and then swap the spring for 80g actuation one, smoother and no sluggy at all (krytox205g0), but I dont think it's recommended for people those don't have a taste for heavier spring

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Offline shallot

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5276 on: Wed, 13 January 2021, 04:56:13 »
Costar stabilizers are actually really good. People spend ages tuning their cherry stabs, clipping, bandaid modding, what-have-you. Costar stabs all you need to do is lube where the insert goes into the plate, and lube where the keycap insert goes in, and then where the wire goes into the cap and they just sound and feel fantastic. Less faff for better feeling results.

Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5277 on: Wed, 13 January 2021, 20:52:41 »
They're good when perfect. But easy to bend, especially when you're trying to use thick Cherry-profile keycaps in a keyboard [Filco] that wasn't set up for that.

Offline yqqdrasil

  • Posts: 48
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5278 on: Wed, 13 January 2021, 21:57:11 »
Costar stabs are a nightmare. I'd rather use unlubed Cherry than Costar.

Offline hwood34

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5279 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 00:54:38 »
Overlube. Don't listen to what all the pro keeb teachers tell you. Overlube (don't be afraid to use a generous amount). I've spent this whole time following their advice and being very gentle with the lube. Then my switches come out sounding scratchy. So then I say to myself, screw it, and brush a generous amount of lube on them. Lo and behold they're less scratchy, and they haven't become any more sluggish. I think ppl stress too much this "less is more" concept in lubing. Ultimately you'll have to experiment for yourself as this is my opinion, and maybe what I consider to be a lot others might consider just normal. Ofcourse use proper technique with applying an even coating with a brush, but I say don't be afraid to provide a generous healthy coating!

Edit: To actually give an objective observation, what I did was apply literally a double coating of what I normally apply to the stems of my switches. I then compared my single coated switches to my double coated switches. To be honest, many of them still felt the same in terms of scratchiness with the single and double, however there were some stragglers with the single coat that were definitely more scratchy, and overall the double coat feel slightly less scratchy. So it's a safer bet in my opinion to be more aggressive in lubing. There was no sluggishness in the double coated ones compared to the single coated. And I was using very light springs (the gateron clears at only 35g)!

Unfortunately I'm currently doing this experiment with silenced switches, so I can't make strong sound difference observations. They sound the same for silenced is all I can say.

honestly I'd just assume that you were seriously under-lubing before, because you can absolutely can over-lube switches and make them sluggish
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Offline whezil

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5280 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 01:29:01 »
1. I hate spacebar. In particular the size of it. Anything greater than 2.25u is just a waste, I want to use my thumbs for more than occasionally tapping spacebar.
2. I think the feel of a keyboard is way more important than the sound of it(for home use), since I almost always have my headphones on, the only thing I notice is the feel of pressing a key down. So smoothness > sound when it comes to switches.
3. I do not like the function key row.
4. I love SA profile keycaps, it feels so natural as opposed to something like DSA which has no 'tactility'/feedback so my fingers feel blind typing on them.
   

Offline mode

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5281 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 01:56:08 »
Costar stabs are a nightmare. I'd rather use unlubed Cherry than Costar.

Pretty sure that is for some reason a popular opinion given cherry seems to be by far the most popular choice.

I don't see it myself, costar has the best keyfeel, I don't care about rattle.

Offline bkrownd

  • Posts: 282
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5282 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 13:31:51 »
1. I hate spacebar. In particular the size of it. Anything greater than 2.25u is just a waste, I want to use my thumbs for more than occasionally tapping spacebar.


  I'm also puzzled by the massive spacebar.  3u would be a perfectly adequate spacebar size, IME.  However, I do need my function keys - I don't do layers. 

Offline ActualDinosaur

  • Posts: 2
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5283 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 15:57:16 »
I'm not sure it's wise to out myself like this on my very first post, but here we go:

- PBT caps are overrated and chalky, broken in ABS shine is pleasant to use
- Tactile and clicky switches are both closer in feel to rubber domes than linear
- Complicated Alps really don't offer anything special over simplified Alps, and are prone to issues with key chatter that nobody likes to talk about
- The clean, crisp bottom out is one of the major benefits of mechanical boards and orings completely, totally ruin it
- Topre is an okay switch, but a realforce really shouldn't sell for even a penny over $80
- A little bit of keycap wobble actually makes for a more forgiving typing experience
- Any keyboard smaller than a 60% is a cruel, claustrophobic joke to see how many less switches you'll still pay actual money for
- Packing a separate keyboard to use with your laptop is cringey and not worth the backpack space



Offline bkrownd

  • Posts: 282
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5284 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 17:43:41 »
- Packing a separate keyboard to use with your laptop is cringey and not worth the backpack space

  My computer bag has about 8 to 10 times the volume of my laptop and could easily hold all 3 of my quality keyboards in addition if I so desired.   

  However, my keyboards already each have their own protective carry bags anyway.   :thumb:


Offline jamster

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5285 on: Thu, 14 January 2021, 20:04:12 »
- Topre is an okay switch, but a realforce really shouldn't sell for even a penny over $80

The pricing is probably a side effect of being made in Japan, which contributes noticeably to the the product experience. Even the made in China EC boards are around the $100 mark.

Offline mode

  • Posts: 315
Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5286 on: Fri, 15 January 2021, 00:45:42 »
- Packing a separate keyboard to use with your laptop is cringey and not worth the backpack space


Yup. Despite being into keyboards, probably over half my typing is on a macbook pro keyboard. It's not even the backpack space argument, it's just a horrible user experience to use a separate keyboard with a laptop without external monitors.

Offline yui

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5287 on: Fri, 15 January 2021, 01:02:21 »
- Packing a separate keyboard to use with your laptop is cringey and not worth the backpack space
depends on the computer, an old (10 and 9 years for mines) HP with a good keyboard, yeah totally useless to pack an extra board with it, a newer Dell though, that is an other story. those are my 2 main experiences with modernish laptops, i do not know what recent HP keyboards are like, just that my old elite and pro books have pretty decent keyboards, and that the dell i have to work with at work have bad enough keyboards that everyone that got one want an external keyboard after one week of use, and none of them are keyboard enthusiast.
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Offline NoteMakoti

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5288 on: Fri, 15 January 2021, 01:35:42 »
Wanting a great laptop typing experience on the go is another great benefit of 40% keebs.

Offline yui

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5289 on: Fri, 15 January 2021, 01:57:24 »
Wanting a great laptop typing experience on the go is another great benefit of 40% keebs.
either you laptop is very rather small. or anyhow your keyboard is smaller than your laptop by a rather large margin, my 60% is about 5cm less wide than my 15" laptop, so a 40%... and to me i already would like to have one or 2 more keys on my 60% so i can't imagine using a 40% to be particularly better than a laptop, although for 2 different reasons mind you.
although for typing on English only maybe 40% is enough. i dunno as i need to type in 2 language + code
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Offline Arch4Life

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5290 on: Fri, 15 January 2021, 02:10:31 »
Wanting a great laptop typing experience on the go is another great benefit of 40% keebs.
either you laptop is very rather small. or anyhow your keyboard is smaller than your laptop by a rather large margin, my 60% is about 5cm less wide than my 15" laptop, so a 40%... and to me i already would like to have one or 2 more keys on my 60% so i can't imagine using a 40% to be particularly better than a laptop, although for 2 different reasons mind you.
although for typing on English only maybe 40% is enough. i dunno as i need to type in 2 language + code
for me a 65% is perfect (specially a thin tray mounted one)

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Offline whezil

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5291 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 10:01:45 »
1. I hate spacebar. In particular the size of it. Anything greater than 2.25u is just a waste, I want to use my thumbs for more than occasionally tapping spacebar.


  I'm also puzzled by the massive spacebar.  3u would be a perfectly adequate spacebar size, IME.  However, I do need my function keys - I don't do layers.

I guess it depends what you are using your keyboard for. Personally after discovering custom keyboards and finding out layers are a thing, I love them. I prefer re-using keys that are easy to access like binding stuff to home row as opposed to stretching all the way over to function keys. I also dislike how far the backspace key is which is where my hate for spacebar stems from and love for Alice layouts begins. A good few buttons for my thumbs to use to participate in typing. I like minimal movements and remembering which key combos to press to achieve something rather than having a dedicated key on my board.
   

Offline Learis

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5292 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 15:19:38 »
I'm saying this more to vent than as an opinion. But I really wish engineers would just re-invent the stabilizer. I feel like we can do better than what we have. It is so frustrating to be putting in a ton of dialetric grease only to have my stabilizer still making ticks and rattles, meanwhile my switch has become extremely mushy. Then I have to try straightening out the wire to see if that's the cause... then maybe try putting random pieces of bandaid or foam inside the stab housing and mess that up... and then 15 other tricks people have tried to remove rattle. Or I just hit the jackpot and a stabilizer works for no apparent reason on the first try.

Please engineers... just invent a non-rattling stabilizer. Start from scratch and make a new design. We put a man on the moon, surely this can be done.
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Offline Arch4Life

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5293 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 16:27:47 »
I'm saying this more to vent than as an opinion. But I really wish engineers would just re-invent the stabilizer. I feel like we can do better than what we have. It is so frustrating to be putting in a ton of dialetric grease only to have my stabilizer still making ticks and rattles, meanwhile my switch has become extremely mushy. Then I have to try straightening out the wire to see if that's the cause... then maybe try putting random pieces of bandaid or foam inside the stab housing and mess that up... and then 15 other tricks people have tried to remove rattle. Or I just hit the jackpot and a stabilizer works for no apparent reason on the first try.

Please engineers... just invent a non-rattling stabilizer. Start from scratch and make a new design. We put a man on the moon, surely this can be done.
rattle is like a man's baldness, it's ugly and frustrating but not harming anyone, so yeah, nobody gonna cure it properly

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Offline hvontres

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5294 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 20:17:53 »
I'm saying this more to vent than as an opinion. But I really wish engineers would just re-invent the stabilizer. I feel like we can do better than what we have. It is so frustrating to be putting in a ton of dialetric grease only to have my stabilizer still making ticks and rattles, meanwhile my switch has become extremely mushy. Then I have to try straightening out the wire to see if that's the cause... then maybe try putting random pieces of bandaid or foam inside the stab housing and mess that up... and then 15 other tricks people have tried to remove rattle. Or I just hit the jackpot and a stabilizer works for no apparent reason on the first try.

Please engineers... just invent a non-rattling stabilizer. Start from scratch and make a new design. We put a man on the moon, surely this can be done.

Honestly, I think If cherry had just used dummy switches way back when the MX first came out, we'd be better off. I did a test with a 2.25U key and using a regular switch and a second one with the contacts and spring removed worked pretty well. I could imagine some lighter-than red switches working really well as a stabilizer.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5295 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 20:31:16 »

If cherry had just used dummy switches


I agree. As Occam's Razor suggests, the simplest solution is often the best.

Even the behemoth IBM went from wires to inserts in the early Model M days, but then later sometimes back slid.

I suppose that an inch of bent wire is about as cheap as you can go.

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Offline bkrownd

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5296 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 20:46:20 »
  I'm also puzzled by the massive spacebar.  3u would be a perfectly adequate spacebar size, IME.  However, I do need my function keys - I don't do layers.

I guess it depends what you are using your keyboard for. Personally after discovering custom keyboards and finding out layers are a thing, I love them. I prefer re-using keys that are easy to access like binding stuff to home row as opposed to stretching all the way over to function keys.

  It does certainly depend on your purpose.  Home row is a typing concept that isn't compatible with a lot of games.  I went from being a home row loving VI loving programmer to being a gamer fairly recently, so I only encountered this problem in the last few years.  The "last straw" issue that caused me to ditch my old 65% keyboard was problems using function key layers and n-key rollover limits in some games, as well as using joystick/throttle controllers with games that still needed function keys.  It was really awkward and detrimental for some games to release some actions to do the 2-key "function key" combos.  Just give me a dang dedicated function key row - so much easier!  So now I prefer 75% 84-key boards with handy-dandy function keys. 

Offline Leopard223

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5297 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 03:39:36 »
Probably have been already said, but IMO big ass enter key is the superior enter key

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5298 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 08:01:47 »
I might tend to agree, but it usually comes at the unacceptable penalty of altering the shape of Backspace and/or Right Shift.
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Offline Leopard223

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Re: Unpopular Keyboard Opinions
« Reply #5299 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 19:11:42 »
I might tend to agree, but it usually comes at the unacceptable penalty of altering the shape of Backspace and/or Right Shift.

I'd happily exile the \| button to a different layer for a big ass enter key.
When I think about it, I might be able to alter a Big ass enter key to fit over the \| switch's stem, wish there was a Cherry profile one though.