Hello there,
I've been using an ergodox-ez for a few years now, and I really feel more comfortable with chiclet-like switches. So, I've been thinking for some time about making my own keyboard.
So I searched around for switches and keycaps and I've been quite disappointed with how hard it is to get those.
First of all, I'm not particularly interested in mechanical keyboards, standard chiclets are fine to me. What I really want is a low total travel distance (not talking about activation distance), like we have on laptops. So here's what I found :
Kailh Choc V1http://www.kailh.com/en/Products/Ks/CS/321.htmlThey seem to do the job, they're not the best (3mm travel), and they require non-standard keycaps. Not really convinced by those.
Kailh Choc V2http://www.kailh.com/en/Products/Ks/CS/755.htmlThey seem fine, I found two places they sell them (unfortunately for me, not in EU) : mechanicalkeyboards.com and kono.store. The problem is the keycaps, I want low profile keycaps to go with those, like MBK, but I can't find any for the kailh switches. From what I could find on the Internet, normal keycaps are too tall and will hit the keyboard case, so what keycaps are we supposed to buy to go with these!?
Kailh Notebook Switcheshttp://www.kailh.com/en/Products/Ks/NotebookS/649.htmlThese look *really* good. I'd really buy them, but I can't find a single reseller! Does anyone know any (who also sells compatible keycaps preferably)?
Cherry MX low profilehttps://www.cherrymx.de/en/cherry-mx/mx-low-profile/mx-low-profile-red.htmlMeh, 3.2mm of travel, they're the worst of this selection
Cherry MX ultra low profilehttps://www.cherrymx.de/en/cherry-mx/mx-ultra-low-profile/mx-ulp-click.htmlThe only downside for me is that they are clicky, but let's accept that. For these ones too, I can't find a single reseller. Do they only sell them to Alienware? Also, I can't understand what keycaps goes onto them, and there's no technical datasheet showing where the pins are.
So there is a lot of choice, but actually very little of it is accessible. My main questions are:
- Does anyone know how to get the Kailh notebook switches?
- If I can't get those, how to find keycaps for Kailh Choc V2? Do you guys usually 3d-print them?
- What if I want to go with non-mechanical chiclets? Can they be bought? Is there an opensource PCB design I can start from, like I have for the ergodox?
- Are there other options?
Thanks for your help!