I recently found an old '84 Wyse terminal board that came with vintage mx blacks, so I used the keycaps to finish this build, and salvaged the switches for my next build. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough caps of the right size and profile to finish it off properly (check windows key), and obviously the 10u spacebar is practically unusable, so I might go with a different keycap set in the future, but I'm absolutely loving the typing feel so far.
Detailed Specs:
- KBDFans aluminum case and plate
- GK64 RGB PCB
- Kailh hot swap sockets
- Kailh x NovelKeys Box Noble Yellow switches
- Signature Plastics doubleshots from a Wyse ASCII WY-60.
The only clicky switches I could compare the noble yellows to are buckling springs and MX blues. That said, the tactility and overal feel is very similar to my IBM Model M, only with a lighter feel, especially after the actuation. It feels way smoother than an MX Blue and a lot less tactile as well. The spring force is lighter throughout the entire travel of the switch.
Acoustically, I'm a big fan of the click bar sound, and I'm very curious as to how they would compare with the Jades and Navies, which have the thicker click bar. I've recently replaced the WYSE keycaps with some thick PBT keycaps, and I have to say that they sound way fuller with the PBT set, as opposed to the thinner ABS doubleshots shown on the picture. Also, the switches that are closer to the edge of the keyboard case sound a lot thockier and fuller, while the alphas in the middle seem to lose a lot of bass and the sound of the click bar seems to be more dominant over the sound of the keycap bottoming out. I suspect this is is because of the construction of the aluminum case and the lack of contact between the plate, pcb and case in the middle of the board. I'm curious to see whether a soldered pcb would fix the "issue".
