Switches! And keycaps!

[DanielOh]

Hey guys! I‘ve got some questions about switches and keycaps!

Currently, I‘m looking for new switches, few months ago, I first bought 70g novelkeys box swithes(burnt orange) I‘m kind of like them as a macro board. I‘m currently using HHKB, and us 70g macropad in addition.

At this point, I got free planck keyboard plates, and plan on making a secondary keyboard. Because I‘m new to keyboard world I have no idea which switch is good or not. So I need some recommendations on switches, and keycaps( if possible)!

I personally love my HHKB and found out 45g ~ 60g is working best for me! Which switch would work best for me? Or, should I buy original cherry red, or fancy Novelkeys switches or Zealios switches?

Also, How do you think about Big bang keycaps?
I found out those are few keycaps that are on stock always, I originally planned to buy SA keycaps but it was really hard to find decent, cheap(under 100dollars), and ortholinear one... I would love to use SA profile keycaps if any were available..

Big Bang keycap - https://www.1upkeyboards.com/shop/keycaps/big-bang-mda-keycap-set/

Thanks for your attention and help!

[nevin]

switches... it's all a matter of personal preference. what aspects are you looking for in a switch? tactile, clicky, super smooth, light, stiff, LED compatibility, etc.., etc...

one thing with ortho keysets, almost all are uniform profile keys (MDA, XDA, DSA, single profile SA row 3), so you can easily put them where you want without having to worry about profile mismatch. just something to keep in mind and bring to your attention if you didn't already know.

if you are a proficient touch typist (or want to become one). what about blank keys? there are a lot more options if you go blank, and blank sets are cheaper.

i was not a good typist by any extent of the imagination, but about 4 years ago i got a thick PBT blank keyset and have been using blanks ever since. it's not as scary/daunting as you think, especially if you are going with a familiar layout. one thing that can help with blank key sets is varying colors to help identify certain keys. (modifiers, fn keys, numbers 5-8, etc...) as long as i have been using blank keys, none of sets are uniform profile. i rely on the row differences to help identify where i am on the board. i also typically rest my fingers in-between keys instead of on top of the home row keys, again relying on the row differences. i'm probably no faster then i was years ago, but i no longer look at my keyboards when typing.

a member of the forum here "Chyros" has a youtube channel and reviews all kinds of switches and keyboards.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Chyrosran22/videos

[DanielOh]

First of all thanks for your comment!

One thing I didn't mention was that I'm currently using Blank HHKB.  The only reason me looking for keycaps with some latter on it is that I wanna try some new style of keycaps(with printed latter). Well, i could just use blank, but I have no Idea where i can but some....

For switches, I'm just looking either linear or tactile, which I guess is most similar to topre.
So, I'm really confused between cherry red, and novelkeys cream, and still have no idea why cream switches are way more expensive. if it's clone of cherry switches

[nevin]

prices vary widely on specialty or rare variants of switches. the cream ones are made out of POM (a different type of plastic than typical MX switches) and are about the middle of the road price wise for what new switches go for.

apologies, i was wrong, the Big Bang MDA are not uniform profile.
better post/info about set: https://www.massdrop.com/talk/3464/mda-big-bang-ortholinear-keycap-set-in-stock

[DanielOh]

I guess I'll just go with cherry red..

and I also found a site where you can buy blanked not plat SA keycaps

https://ohkeycaps.com/collections/sculpted-ortho-blank-kits

[nevin]

ooh, good find. thanks.

[DanielOh]

Sorry, but one more question

For u2 space bar, I found out there is two verion, one has 3 insert points, and the other only has 2. for my plate i need a one with 3. However, its really hard to find which is which. Is u2 key with 3insert point normal, or specially for planck and few other?

[nevin]

3 post - normal 2u key


use with stabilizer (this is cherry stab)


2 post - 2u POS mount key (used to mount over 2 switches)

[nevin]

are you getting a pcb or going to do hand wire?
if no pcb, you'll want to get plate mount stabs (stabs come in 2 varieties: plate or pcb mount)

plate mount left      pcb mount right

[DanielOh]

Thanks! I'm planning on handwriting(at least now)! And also just decided to use black XDA keycaps. Found out its only 21 dollars on aliexpress!

One last question!(or maybe not.. ) i
Is it possible to use hot swap in the hand-wired keyboard? Found out soldering is too permanent...

[nevin]

no, the sockets get soldered to the pcb. as far as what i've heard & read. at least one of the versions of the sockets were quite temperamental (not reliable) they may have gotten better since, but not sure.

the olkb plank pcb has hot swap sockets    https://olkb.com/planck/pcb
there's also the JJ40 on ali (not hot swap, but underglow....)

you can do what you want, but if this is your first build, i'd suggest doing pcb with or without sockets (it's not hard to desolder switches with a cheap de-solder iron. i can send you example of the one i've been using)
plates - you have
switches -
caps -
pcb -
stabs - pcb mount (supportd by both olkb planck & JJ40)
case or standoffs for stacked/spaced plate "case"
fun programming the board

and remember this too.... if your plate supports switch opening (and you don't go with something like outemu switches (different latch/top), you don't have to desolder the switch to change it to something different. you can go form linear to tactile to clicky all in the same bottom housing, it's just the stems/springs that change. no need to desolder unless you want to change the whole switch or replace the bottom housing/contacts

unless you really have your heart set on hand wiring. i can send you a couple good links for that as well.

[DanielOh]

Switches opening... Hmm you mean some plates with some dimps on it?
Well mine is just plain square plate so... I definitely need to made those plates next time! Thanks for your tip!

Plates... Honestly, it is so expensive... Since I have all wires I guess I just hand wire it...
I've done this before so I guess I can do that

And I made a list:
Switches: original cherry red
Stabilizer: plate mount 2u
Keycaps: cheap blank XDA from Aliexpress
Controller: I guess I'll use tenssy 2.0 just like my macro pad

Looks good!

Here's the photo of my macropad, which I handwired it few month ago

[DanielOh]

And found a perfect example!

http://www.masterzen.fr/2018/12/16/handwired-keyboard-build-log-part-1/

[nevin]

yeah, i remember that.

Switches opening - yes, some have notches but most don't, some look square but have tiny bump-ins in the corners. easy way to tell is insert a switch & see if you have a little room in the sides where the 4 tabs are from the top housing. again, only possible with cherry & gateron versions. box & some others have a large clip on each side instead of the 4 tabs and can not be opened/serviced "in-plate".

the two in the middle support switch top opening


neat little switch opener tool i picked up a while ago. i was converting a numpad of mx blue's to brown (no soldering).

controller - if you're comfortable with teensy, go with it. pro micros work just as well too just make sure they are the 5v/16mhz ATmega32U4 variant.
there are 3.3v ones as well with a different processor (can work, but you have to change stuff when you build the firmware)

that's an excellent guide.
thanks for the link too, i've been looking for the model# of the ribbon connector he used in that.

[DanielOh]

Great Thank you!

[melgeek]

Hey guys! I‘ve got some questions about switches and keycaps!

Currently, I‘m looking for new switches, few months ago, I first bought 70g novelkeys box swithes(burnt orange) I‘m kind of like them as a macro board. I‘m currently using HHKB, and us 70g macropad in addition.

At this point, I got free planck keyboard plates, and plan on making a secondary keyboard. Because I‘m new to keyboard world I have no idea which switch is good or not. So I need some recommendations on switches, and keycaps( if possible)!

I personally love my HHKB and found out 45g ~ 60g is working best for me! Which switch would work best for me? Or, should I buy original cherry red, or fancy Novelkeys switches or Zealios switches?



Also, How do you think about Big bang keycaps?
I found out those are few keycaps that are on stock always, I originally planned to buy SA keycaps but it was really hard to find decent, cheap(under 100dollars), and ortholinear one... I would love to use SA profile keycaps if any were available..




Big Bang keycap - https://www.1upkeyboards.com/shop/keycaps/big-bang-mda-keycap-set/

Thanks for your attention and help!

you can check in our store MDA BIG BONE AND BIG BANG CUSTOM KEYCAP SET
www.melgeek.com

[melgeek]

prices vary widely on specialty or rare variants of switches. the cream ones are made out of POM (a different type of plastic than typical MX switches) and are about the middle of the road price wise for what new switches go for.

apologies, i was wrong, the Big Bang MDA are not uniform profile.
better post/info about set: https://www.massdrop.com/talk/3464/mda-big-bang-ortholinear-keycap-set-in-stock

yes , MDA profile  big bang keycap set made specifically for ortholinear keyboards.https://www.melgeek.com/collections/new-arrival/products/mda-big-bang-2-0-ortholinear-keycaps-set

More product information , please check on : https://discord.gg/gYvT3fn