Need help on picking keycaps for Keycool 84 (75%)

[viowastaken]

I hope this is in the correct section...

I need to fill this board with a new set of sexy POM keys.


I'm thinking gray color would look good. I hardly ever use the backlighting so seethrough keycaps is not an issue.

Any suggestions on how i can get a layout of PBT grays to replace every key on this board, as cheaply as possible?

Thanks

[IvanIvanovich]

If you want a lighter grey a hellgrau G80-1800/186* -0/-1 would get you most of the way, then get 1.25 mods and centered caps lock from an 8200 or 8113. It's probably easiest way to have full matching right now as the 1.75 shift is not available yet in aftermarket sets generally.

Otherwise if the matching right shift is not a big issue for you perhaps one of the grey PBT sets from imsto.

[viowastaken]

aah, sorry, i meant POM keys. My mistake.

edit:

But is PBT even "better" ? I don't think I have tried anything except POM/ABS and i DREAD abs.

[IvanIvanovich]

I don't know about better, PBT feels more 'dry' than POM. Either are more resistant to wear and shine than ABS. If you want from Cherry only have black for POM and they will be L models that end in -2.
Only aftermarket POM I know of are the KBC jellies which are like pastel colors.

[viowastaken]

I don't know about better, PBT feels more 'dry' than POM. Either are more resistant to wear and shine than ABS. If you want from Cherry only have black for POM and they will be L models that end in -2.
Only aftermarket POM I know of are the KBC jellies which are like pastel colors.

Hm.

The filco ABS felt quite dry too, I thought. - But sticky dry. Is the PBT a similar sort of stickyness? - That was my main gripe with the ABS caps.

[IvanIvanovich]

No, no sticky. Dry dry, like rocks in the desert.

[viowastaken]

No, no sticky. Dry dry, like rocks in the desert.

awesome.

Thanks very much for your insight and suggestions so far. I'm not dead set on light gray necessarily, I Just thought it would look nice.

Any other more easily, cheaper sets that you know of? as far as I could see there were no deals to be had on the cherry g80 boards with the proper layout. Most cost more than the keycool keyboard it self did.

edit: I'd absolutely consider blank keys too, if that matters.

Thanks again so much for your help, I don't think I'd have ever figured out that that cherry board sports 99% of the keys I need.

[IvanIvanovich]

You could get 2 sets that you need to make one complete in POM for like $40ish off US ebay. Also that is really for 2 keyboards, so you could sell the switches if you wanted and possibly come out ahead. There really aren't good deals for that board sets on PBT at the moment.

[sth]

There really aren't good deals for that board sets on PBT at the moment.

what might work is ordering a blank PBT set from imsto @ $56 (last price i saw) and then getting a set of bottom-row keys from SP in the right sizes in a color close to what imsto has. that way the entire bottom row would be uniform.

[IvanIvanovich]

No need, there would be enough B profile caps for the 1x keys from the numpad to take care of it. Only thing that would be lacking is the 1.75 shift.

[sth]

No need, there would be enough B profile caps for the 1x keys from the numpad to take care of it. Only thing that would be lacking is the 1.75 shift.

ah good point, i forgot those come in 105 sets.

[viowastaken]

Thanks again for the continued suggestions.

I would strongly prefer to have a relatively uniform key layout in terms of color. Do you know if its possible to get that shift key to complete the imsto set? I checked his page but as far as I could see there was no particular store front or anything like that to consult. I guess I'll have to send him an email unless you already know the answer to my question

[IvanIvanovich]

No those 1.75 shift are not available from the Asian Cherry profile PBT. Best would be to steal one from Cherry 1800 it won't be the same color but the profile will match exactly.

[viowastaken]

No those 1.75 shift are not available from the Asian Cherry profile PBT. Best would be to steal one from Cherry 1800 it won't be the same color but the profile will match exactly.

Do you think it's possible to get that profile in a non shift key? I see some using a capslock key instead. I think I could go with a blank one if I can get my hands on one..

It seems like the old cherry keyboards, although really cool looking keys, are rather hard to procure for a fair price at this point in time. I think I might be looking into getting a set from imsto instead or something like that.

But again, I'm a bit curious about this capslock key as use for shift key. Thanks

[IvanIvanovich]

Not really hard to find for good price if you know what you are looking for and are not in a big hurry. Most of mine I paid less than $50 for and some pretty rare ones.
Caps lock is also 1.75 so it fits, but will just have the wrong row profile. You would have to decide if it bothered you to type on.

[viowastaken]

If you want a lighter grey a hellgrau G80-1800/186* -0/-1 would get you most of the way, then get 1.25 mods and centered caps lock from an 8200 or 8113. It's probably easiest way to have full matching right now as the 1.75 shift is not available yet in aftermarket sets generally.

Otherwise if the matching right shift is not a big issue for you perhaps one of the grey PBT sets from imsto.

So I've just bought this G80: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251120544598?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

At 39 usd it was a decent buy but not a total steal. Now I'm just sharking around trying to find the missing shift and 1.25 mods

Thanks again for your help, I'm very excited to get my board rockin' these new caps.

[IvanIvanovich]

11900 are nice boards, but sadly for you the short right shift is a 2.0 units. Also the top 2 rows have the B profile same as home row which may be a nuisance.

[viowastaken]

11900 are nice boards, but sadly for you the short right shift is a 2.0 units. Also the top 2 rows have the B profile same as home row which may be a nuisance.

The right shift was never going to fit either way, as I understood it, and the profile of the top rows should not be a problem judging by past experiences with different key profiles.

[IvanIvanovich]

1800 uses the same 1.75 shift so you can get one from those fitting the Keycool.

[blighty]

The 1800 profile keys work the best on the right row (del, home, pg up, pg dn, and end are all same top row profile). 3000/Filco/Leo/Ducky keys look odd with their standard profiles on the board.