Aliexpress is selling lots of what they at least claim are new switches as prices that don't seem entirely unreasonable.
This switches are from the same family as the more famous 'Monterey' alps mount switch, but I'm having trouble finding much information about them. They appear to come in both linear (orange) and clicky (white) varieties, but are the clicky ones as good as the alps mount version? I really have no idea.
While the keycap mounts may be Cherry compatible it should be noted that the switch housings are not. So you can't just throw these in a Cherry board. I think an alps-style board will work, though I haven't actually tried it yet...
They do have two big advantages over the alps mount version which is why I'm interested in them. The first is that obviously since they support Cherry keycaps you will have a whole lot more options available for keycaps in today's market. The second even bigger advantage is that you can actually buy them. Aliexpress is selling lots of what they at least claim are new switches as prices that don't seem entirely unreasonable.
So building a board with these switches seems sort of appealing...that is if the quality of the cherry mount switch is on par with the alps mount. Does anyone have experience with these switches?
Thanks for the great info guys. So from what I'm reading it sounds like while you do need a special PCB the switches will actually fit in a standard MX-style mounting plate. Could be a lot worse. It sounds like if I bought the TKL PCB from LFKeyboards there ought to be a lot of options for plates and cases.
It would be a fun project. There's something appealing about sticking a somewhat obscure but high-quality vintage switch into a modern case design ;)
It would be a fun project. There's something appealing about sticking a somewhat obscure but high-quality vintage switch into a modern case design ;)
Mwuahaha! It's coming along.Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/cdPOfoC.jpg)Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/wTdHyJ4.jpg)
Now I need, like, a case...and keycaps.
Bent wire stabilizers don't work. They collide with the body of the switch. Straight stabilizer wires work though.
The is what I meant. The ones that are bent off axis do not work as they collide with the body of the switch. Took me a while to find the stabilizers I needed, but all finished now.Bent wire stabilizers don't work. They collide with the body of the switch. Straight stabilizer wires work though.
You mean for costar stabilizers? They work fine if you get the kind where the bend is 180 degrees from the hooks. That's what I'm using in fact. But the "Filco-style" where the bend is 90 degrees will not work.
Sorry to revive this thread but does anyone know if I can put the click leaf in the orange linear variant?
I've only managed to find the orange linear one and the clicky Inverse cross mount, so I was wondering if maybe I can get both and put the click leaf of the clicky in the orange one to get a clicky cherry mount
SMK second generation switches are available in both clicky and tactile variants. These are differentiated by two changes in the internals:
1. Clicky switches have a right-angled edge on the base of the slider where it engages the click leaf; tactile switches have this edge chamfered off
2. The tactile leaf in tactile switches has more prominent engagement hooks — swapping in a click leaf still generates a click sound, as the more angled hooks are required in combination with the chamfered slider to keep the leaf spring from clicking