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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: derpdederp on Thu, 13 February 2020, 03:36:39
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What is the single product you can buy in order to test the largest variety of keyboard switches? I'm trying to figure out what switch I want in my custom build, so best to try many first. Is there a sample board that even includes optical switches and topre switches?
Thanks!
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I have this one from KBDFans : https://kbdfans.com/collections/switches-tester/products/kbdfans-72-switches-tester-all-in-one (https://kbdfans.com/collections/switches-tester/products/kbdfans-72-switches-tester-all-in-one). It has 72 switches (71, really, because the switch labeled kbdfans.cn is just a random switch. On mine it's a duplicate.
There is also this one from KPRepublic: https://kprepublic.com/products/130-switch-switches-tester-with-acrylic-base-blank-keycaps-for-mechanical-keyboard-cherry-kailh-gateron-outemu-ice-ttc-ormon-ysa?_pos=4&_sid=843d07a20&_ss=r (https://kprepublic.com/products/130-switch-switches-tester-with-acrylic-base-blank-keycaps-for-mechanical-keyboard-cherry-kailh-gateron-outemu-ice-ttc-ormon-ysa?_pos=4&_sid=843d07a20&_ss=r). It has 130 switches.
Edit: I don't know of one that has Topre or optical switches. If your custom board is MX compatible, those wouldn't work, anyway.
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Edit: I don't know of one that has Topre or optical switches. If your custom board is MX compatible, those wouldn't work, anyway.
As long as it's just for testing the feel of different switches there's no reason you couldn't add Topre slider/spring/housing with different domes to a switch tester. Just like the two switch testers you linked two which don't "work" anyway.
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What is the single product you can buy in order to test the largest variety of keyboard switches? I'm trying to figure out what switch I want in my custom build, so best to try many first. Is there a sample board that even includes optical switches and topre switches?
Thanks!
I think the best one that could test out cherry mx like switches would probably be... glorious gmmk full size.
You could swap an unique switch for each keycap if you wanted.
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Surprisingly none with Topre... Would be good to have one with more exotic switches like optical too. I guess going to some keyboard meetup is the only way to experience them all cheaply.
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I guess going to some keyboard meetup is the only way to experience them all cheaply.
Definitely - while you can feel how each switch works in isolation a tester is far from experiencing typing on a board full of them. Can your pinky handle the heavier springs your index finger easily can, at full typing speed? You could rearrange the tester so each switch has it's turn on the edge and pretend to type something but even then you won't be sure if the switch activates as there's no output to see.
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There is also this one from KPRepublic: https://kprepublic.com/products/130-switch-switches-tester-with-acrylic-base-blank-keycaps-for-mechanical-keyboard-cherry-kailh-gateron-outemu-ice-ttc-ormon-ysa?_pos=4&_sid=843d07a20&_ss=r (https://kprepublic.com/products/130-switch-switches-tester-with-acrylic-base-blank-keycaps-for-mechanical-keyboard-cherry-kailh-gateron-outemu-ice-ttc-ormon-ysa?_pos=4&_sid=843d07a20&_ss=r). It has 130 switches.
I ordered one of those sets back on January 8th. 4 days later, they emailed telling me that they were out of stock and would not be able to ship until after the Chinese New Year. I have heard nothing since.
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I guess going to some keyboard meetup is the only way to experience them all cheaply.
Definitely - while you can feel how each switch works in isolation a tester is far from experiencing typing on a board full of them. Can your pinky handle the heavier springs your index finger easily can, at full typing speed? You could rearrange the tester so each switch has it's turn on the edge and pretend to type something but even then you won't be sure if the switch activates as there's no output to see.
Exactly. Switch testers are ok at best. They don't give you the feel of typing for extended periods of time, nor do they give you an accurate representation of how it feels to type.
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I guess going to some keyboard meetup is the only way to experience them all cheaply.
Definitely - while you can feel how each switch works in isolation a tester is far from experiencing typing on a board full of them. Can your pinky handle the heavier springs your index finger easily can, at full typing speed? You could rearrange the tester so each switch has it's turn on the edge and pretend to type something but even then you won't be sure if the switch activates as there's no output to see.
Exactly. Switch testers are ok at best. They don't give you the feel of typing for extended periods of time, nor do they give you an accurate representation of how it feels to type.
Or the sound in a board.
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I guess going to some keyboard meetup is the only way to experience them all cheaply.
Definitely - while you can feel how each switch works in isolation a tester is far from experiencing typing on a board full of them. Can your pinky handle the heavier springs your index finger easily can, at full typing speed? You could rearrange the tester so each switch has it's turn on the edge and pretend to type something but even then you won't be sure if the switch activates as there's no output to see.
Exactly. Switch testers are ok at best. They don't give you the feel of typing for extended periods of time, nor do they give you an accurate representation of how it feels to type.
Or the sound in a board.
Yes, that too. Some switches are louder or quieter in boards than in the switch tester. The sound also depends on the materials used to make the board and its construction.
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Ha, well, KPreublic now tells me that their 130 switch tester won't be available until March. Nothing like waiting a full 2 months for your purchase just to begin the Chinese customs quagmire and begin its long journey on ye olde three-masted frigate across the Pacific.
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Ha, well, KPreublic now tells me that their 130 switch tester won't be available until March. Nothing like waiting a full 2 months for your purchase just to begin the Chinese customs quagmire and begin its long journey on ye olde three-masted frigate across the Pacific.
Christopher Columbus moment