Author Topic: Canadian fellows...  (Read 1711 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Merranza

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 129
Canadian fellows...
« on: Tue, 01 May 2018, 20:27:54 »
Where do you buy your switches?

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Glorious gaming keyboard... Big linear fan so I want to try Gateron clears. I know it's probably not a top quality board but having the possibility to switch to other type from time to time will make a nice change.

Problem is I'm having a hard time finding a place with decent prices to buy switches since I'll be able to hot swap easily.

Do you have suggestions?

(I also need to make up my mind if I go full size or TKL but that's another debate...)

Offline kiwi99

  • that's a gnarly dookie
  • Posts: 748
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
  • authentic church of halverson member
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 01 May 2018, 21:56:22 »
For Canadian vendors the one that pops to mind is switchsource for plate mount they're only .21c (USD) which is probably one of best prices I've seen around even compared to some international vendors (flashquark, switchtop)

edit: He's BC based too if you happen to be westcoast :)
« Last Edit: Tue, 01 May 2018, 21:58:27 by kiwi99 »

Offline user 18

  • * Senior Moderator
  • Posts: 2231
  • Location: Deutschland
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 01 May 2018, 22:10:35 »
I buy mine from https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/. Comes in from the States, but shipping has always been quick for me. All my boards are Cherry switches though -- it's a good price for those (50c each for 100 MX Clears), but I don't know how it compares for the other switch manufacturers.
Please PM me if you are waiting on classifieds approval or have a question about the classifieds rules. | geekhack Terms of Service

Max Nighthawk x8 (MX Brown) | CM QFR (MX Blue) | CM QFR (MX Clear) | RK-9000 (MX Red) | Model M 1391401 | Model M SSK 1370475 | CM Novatouch | G80-8113 (MX Clear) | 60% (85g MX Blue) | Whitefox Aria (MX Clear) | CL-LX (MX Clear) | Mira SE (MX Clear)
Avatar by ashdenej

Offline Hyde

  • Posts: 2643
  • Location: Toronto, Canada
  • White Tofu Extraordinaire
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 02 May 2018, 13:37:21 »
I just buy from kbdfans from China, I know China shipping takes forever but so far they have the best price I find.

https://kbdfans.cn/

Also I usually just use cheapest shipping but I think they have faster shipping available.......???  (might need to double check on that)

But yeah I haven't had any issue with them at all so far.  :)

Archiss ProgresTouch Retro - Gateron Yellow  |  Topre Realforce 104UW - 45g Silent  |  Topre Type Heaven  |  Beige Filco Ninja 104 - MX Red  |  Das Keyboard - MX Brown  |  Poker II - MX Red  |  Race II - MX Brown  |  Matias Quiet Pro - Matias Dampened ALPS  |  Logitech K840 - Romer G  |  Cherry MX Board 2.0 - MX Red  |  Cherry G84-4100 - ML  |  IBM Model M
Roccat Kone Pure  |  Logitech G203  |  Logitech G303  |  Logitech G302  |  Razer Naga  |  CM Storm Xornet  |  Razer Goliathus Mobile Stealth  |  Razer Goliathus Control  |  Artisan Hien  |  Artisan Hayate  |  Artisan Shiden

Offline Fictiouz

  • That "White" Guy
  • Posts: 465
  • Location: Halifax, NS, CA
  • "You miss 100% of the shots you take." -S. Trooper
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 02 May 2018, 15:00:13 »
For Canadian vendors the one that pops to mind is switchsource for plate mount they're only .21c (USD) which is probably one of best prices I've seen around even compared to some international vendors (flashquark, switchtop)

edit: He's BC based too if you happen to be westcoast :)

Seconded. Mat is super great to deal with and talk to as well!
Halifax, NS Meetup | "I know you'll come back to me, I'm like a good kind of herpes, I'm impossible to get rid of." - 27
67g Zilent V2 M60-A | BKE Redux HHKB Professional 2 | 62g Silent Black Planck | 62g Vint Black Tex Yoda II | Bolt-Modded Model M 1391301

Offline Merranza

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 129
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 02 May 2018, 17:56:22 »
Ah thank you very much for all the nice suggestions! :thumb:

I think I'll take a look at switchsource first! Unfortunately, I'm from the eastern part of the country so no local pickup for me :)

On "hot swappable" keyboards, is it better to go with plate mounted or PCB mounted switches?

And I'll probably try a TKL. I wish they made an hybrid like Coolermaster and their Masterkeys Pro M model. I already have a full size board at home so I'll swap between them for gaming/work (I'm scared I'll get used to the Glorious one and wish I had gone for a full size which will become my main :( ).

Offline user 18

  • * Senior Moderator
  • Posts: 2231
  • Location: Deutschland
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 03 May 2018, 00:56:03 »
Ah thank you very much for all the nice suggestions! :thumb:

I think I'll take a look at switchsource first! Unfortunately, I'm from the eastern part of the country so no local pickup for me :)

On "hot swappable" keyboards, is it better to go with plate mounted or PCB mounted switches?

And I'll probably try a TKL. I wish they made an hybrid like Coolermaster and their Masterkeys Pro M model. I already have a full size board at home so I'll swap between them for gaming/work (I'm scared I'll get used to the Glorious one and wish I had gone for a full size which will become my main :( ).

I personally find that the more firmly the switches are held in place, the better a typing experience I have. If the plate is precisely-made, there is little or no switch movement possible, and the PCB mount legs don't really make a difference. If the plate is less precise, or has cutouts for switch opening, it becomes necessary to have additional contact with the PCB to hold everything steady. This contact may be accomplished using the PCB mount legs, but I also find that once soldered, the switches are held nicely in place. If I'm putting in plate mount only switches though, it takes a bit of extra effort to get everything aligned properly before soldering holds everything together.

I don't personally have the board you're considering, so I don't know how precise the plate is. However, I also don't know whether the board even has PCB mounting holes -- many mass-market boards which include a plate do not include these holes. If you're unsure, and there's not a substantial difference in price, I generally recommend getting the PCB mount switches. The only difference is the addition of the PCB mount plastic pins on the bottom-left and bottom-right of the switch housing, which can be easily removed with some flush cutters if you want to use the switch on a board without PCB mounting holes. I've converted several boards' worth of MX Clears this way, both new and used. If the board does support PCB mounting, you just get a little bit of extra stability in the mounting of the switch, which may be desirable if you don't have the switch itself physically soldered to the board.

Just a note: All of the above is true in my experience for Cherry switches. I've never used the Gateron or other MX-compatible switches. While I believe everything still holds true, I'm not speaking from experience there.
Please PM me if you are waiting on classifieds approval or have a question about the classifieds rules. | geekhack Terms of Service

Max Nighthawk x8 (MX Brown) | CM QFR (MX Blue) | CM QFR (MX Clear) | RK-9000 (MX Red) | Model M 1391401 | Model M SSK 1370475 | CM Novatouch | G80-8113 (MX Clear) | 60% (85g MX Blue) | Whitefox Aria (MX Clear) | CL-LX (MX Clear) | Mira SE (MX Clear)
Avatar by ashdenej

Offline kiwi99

  • that's a gnarly dookie
  • Posts: 748
  • Location: Vancouver, BC
  • authentic church of halverson member
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 03 May 2018, 16:31:21 »
Ah thank you very much for all the nice suggestions! :thumb:

I think I'll take a look at switchsource first! Unfortunately, I'm from the eastern part of the country so no local pickup for me :)

On "hot swappable" keyboards, is it better to go with plate mounted or PCB mounted switches?

And I'll probably try a TKL. I wish they made an hybrid like Coolermaster and their Masterkeys Pro M model. I already have a full size board at home so I'll swap between them for gaming/work (I'm scared I'll get used to the Glorious one and wish I had gone for a full size which will become my main :( ).

Took a minute to look at the specific keyboard you're looking at from a thumbnail it looks like there is no holes for PCB mount switches so you would need to get plate mount switches



Ignore the blue arrow, I was going to mention smd switches but apparently the PCB has been changed to accommodate non-smd housings of any kind.

Offline Merranza

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 129
Re: Canadian fellows...
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 03 May 2018, 21:48:30 »
You guys are amazing. Thank you so much for checking this out for me and for all the information.