geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: br4n_d0n on Sat, 23 April 2016, 18:40:34
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Is there anyway to try out the different types of keycap profiles without blowing tons of money on this curiosity?
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What profiles are you interested in?
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Sure. Find a local meetup of keyboard fans.
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I'm interested in trying as many as I can whether it be SA, DSA, DSC, etc.
As for meetups, I don't think there are any near me.
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If you want to try different keycap profiles, and can't get to a meetup, about the only way is to buy some sets.
Or see if you can participate in one of the occasional keyboard tours - generally only a single keyboard but at least you could cross one off your list.
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Dang. Well, would there be a super cheap way to buy some then? I'm trying to figure out which keycaps I want for the board I'm making, but don't want to spend tons of money on trying to find the right keys.
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Last year I made some little props for demonstrating keycap profiles: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=68550
As far as basic typing comfort is concerned, you can’t go wrong with Cherry or DCS profile. I also think Tai Hao keycaps are fine. I’m not a big fan of DSA, SA, “OEM” profile, because I don’t think any of them are aggressive enough with their sculpted shape, but some folks like them. YMMV.
If you care about the wear resistance/shine, printing options, color scheme, other aesthetic considerations, or sound, then you might care about keycap thickness, type of plastic, etc.
Summary pic from that linked thread:
(http://i.imgur.com/kFxqOm8.jpg)
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I actually saw your post (on a couple of sites) about the different profiles and thought it was really cool; I even bookmarked it. It was what sparked my interest in trying out the different kinds.
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Another option to try DCS, SA and DSA would be to grab a bunch of random keycaps from an SP crap bag. They might not match colours, and you might or might not have a full keyboard's worth of each profile, but there should be enough there to give you an idea.
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I looked into that, but they sold out hours before I even knew they had a sale.
Spamray was kind enough to try and help me out, but I may have upset him so I don't want to bother him just in case.
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What I have found is that keycap sets, the more desirable ones at least, hold their value, or if they are highly desirable, will only raise in price in time. If you can afford to buy a set you think you might be interested in, you really shouldn't lose any/much money selling it again. You may even be able to trade it for a different profile set.
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A lot of grab bags have been sold recently, maybe you can ask someone that has a couple different profiles to send you some? (I guess that's mainly SP profiles) but maybe you can ask em to add a few others as well.
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A lot of grab bags have been sold recently, maybe you can ask someone that has a couple different profiles to send you some? (I guess that's mainly SP profiles) but maybe you can ask em to add a few others as well.
Yeah, I picked up my grab bag to check out how DSA and SA felt before any of my SA group buys came in/so I could decide if I ever want to hop on a DSA buy. Haven't bothered sorting a DCS set yet though since I figure it's close enough to OEM and it's not like DCS is a common profile anyway.
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A lot of grab bags have been sold recently, maybe you can ask someone that has a couple different profiles to send you some? (I guess that's mainly SP profiles) but maybe you can ask em to add a few others as well.
Yeah, I picked up my grab bag to check out how DSA and SA felt before any of my SA group buys came in/so I could decide if I ever want to hop on a DSA buy. Haven't bothered sorting a DCS set yet though since I figure it's close enough to OEM and it's not like DCS is a common profile anyway.
DCS is closer to Cherry profile, and is very common!
All of the keycap sets were made by SP and most were DCS profile before GMK was "re-discovered", and before JTK came along.
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You should look on ebay for Leopold keycaps. They don't name the profile, but it's quite similar to Cherry or DCS. They are roughly 1.5 mm shorter than OEM keycaps. It's difficult to explain, but having your fingertips closer to the stem of the switch changes the feel of every keystroke. I just don't think that taller keycaps are desirable in anyway. This is of course highly subjective. They are inexpensive too. I see some sets going for 90 dollars or more. These are 40 dollars plus 10 dollars shipping.
Also to me, radical stepping between rows is awkward. These are only slightly contoured. The model number is LEO-KEYCAPS-PBT-LAS