Simple Questions, Simple Answers (FAQ in the OP)

[hking0036]

I'm gonna get a 60% and I was looking at browns because they have a silent bump, I don't think I'll be happy with reds because they feel so flat but I don't want blues because I want to take it everywhere without making a ton of noise. However, wherever I go I see people talking bad about browns. Should I just go for blues and say the click is worth it? I love my blues but I just feel like for taking it around in public browns would be the best option. Are clears the better option? I know they're heavier and I have it in my tester but I just don't know if it's the best for regular typing.

[CPTBadAss]

I'm gonna get a 60% and I was looking at browns because they have a silent bump, I don't think I'll be happy with reds because they feel so flat but I don't want blues because I want to take it everywhere without making a ton of noise. However, wherever I go I see people talking bad about browns. Should I just go for blues and say the click is worth it? I love my blues but I just feel like for taking it around in public browns would be the best option. Are clears the better option? I know they're heavier and I have it in my tester but I just don't know if it's the best for regular typing.

Could you tell me a little more about your switch preferences? Do you like heavier or lighter switches? Do you know if you like clicky or tactile or linear? Do you bottom out when you type?

It's hard to say what is best for your use case until there's a little more information. For example, I find that for myself, I always bottom out and like heavier switches. If I were to have a board that I use in public, I would choose a linear switch. Either a stock MX black or maybe something like MX black stems + MX clear springs or 65g springs. I find I type most quiet with linear switches. But to just say, "This switch is bad because I saw it's bad" isn't helpful because I don't know what you like other than you like Blues and don't like Reds.

[hking0036]

I'm gonna get a 60% and I was looking at browns because they have a silent bump, I don't think I'll be happy with reds because they feel so flat but I don't want blues because I want to take it everywhere without making a ton of noise. However, wherever I go I see people talking bad about browns. Should I just go for blues and say the click is worth it? I love my blues but I just feel like for taking it around in public browns would be the best option. Are clears the better option? I know they're heavier and I have it in my tester but I just don't know if it's the best for regular typing.

Could you tell me a little more about your switch preferences? Do you like heavier or lighter switches? Do you know if you like clicky or tactile or linear? Do you bottom out when you type?

It's hard to say what is best for your use case until there's a little more information. For example, I find that for myself, I always bottom out and like heavier switches. If I were to have a board that I use in public, I would choose a linear switch. Either a stock MX black or maybe something like MX black stems + MX clear springs or 65g springs. I find I type most quiet with linear switches. But to just say, "This switch is bad because I saw it's bad" isn't helpful because I don't know what you like other than you like Blues and don't like Reds.

I love click and based off of my tester I like tactile petty well although not as much. I tend to bottom out with my blues unless it's with something like my pinkie with less force. Whenever I feel the blacks or reds on the tester or on demos at a store it just feels a bit mushy to me. I'm no diy wizard either so I don't know how to swap Springs around and make all these wacky switch types, but it might be worth a shot once.

[nubbinator]

Sounds like you need a HHKB.


You might like a board with Greens though.

[hking0036]

Sounds like you need a HHKB.


You might like a board with Greens though.

I do NOT have the money for an hhkb, at least for now.

[CPTBadAss]

I love click and based off of my tester I like tactile petty well although not as much. I tend to bottom out with my blues unless it's with something like my pinkie with less force. Whenever I feel the blacks or reds on the tester or on demos at a store it just feels a bit mushy to me. I'm no diy wizard either so I don't know how to swap Springs around and make all these wacky switch types, but it might be worth a shot once.

If you're really stuck on the stock switches, just keep using Blues. If you want something modded, drhubblephd is still doing free mods.

[sethk_]

If I want to make my own Cherry Corp metallic stickers, do I need copyright permission? And if I plan on distributing them, if I make profit do I need copyright, if I sell them for no profit do I need copyright, or can I not do it at all.

[nubbinator]

I'd e-mail Cherry and ask if you could.  They may say yes, they may say no.  They have been done in the past, but I don't know if permission was asked.  I don't think anyone got any cease and desist letters from them though.

As for the profit issue, things like that are generally less sticky if it's not done for profit.  If they give you the go-ahead, they may ask for a percentage of the profit or they may say it's fine as long as the numbers are small.

[sethk_]

I'd e-mail Cherry and ask if you could.  They may say yes, they may say no.  They have been done in the past, but I don't know if permission was asked.  I don't think anyone got any cease and desist letters from them though.

As for the profit issue, things like that are generally less sticky if it's not done for profit.  If they give you the go-ahead, they may ask for a percentage of the profit or they may say it's fine as long as the numbers are small.

Ok, thanks, because I want to print a couple of colored metallic, vinyl, and acrylic ones, and in case other people wanted some I didn't want to be in a grey area.

[azhdar]

I'd e-mail Cherry and ask if you could.  They may say yes, they may say no.  They have been done in the past, but I don't know if permission was asked.  I don't think anyone got any cease and desist letters from them though.

As for the profit issue, things like that are generally less sticky if it's not done for profit.  If they give you the go-ahead, they may ask for a percentage of the profit or they may say it's fine as long as the numbers are small.

Ok, thanks, because I want to print a couple of colored metallic, vinyl, and acrylic ones, and in case other people wanted some I didn't want to be in a grey area.

you should contact the Ctr.Alt.io team , they're selling similar stickers , so they probably know .

[nubbinator]

I believe their stickers are from the buy that was run a while ago.  I don't think they made new ones.

[hking0036]

I love click and based off of my tester I like tactile petty well although not as much. I tend to bottom out with my blues unless it's with something like my pinkie with less force. Whenever I feel the blacks or reds on the tester or on demos at a store it just feels a bit mushy to me. I'm no diy wizard either so I don't know how to swap Springs around and make all these wacky switch types, but it might be worth a shot once.

If you're really stuck on the stock switches, just keep using Blues. If you want something modded, drhubblephd is still doing free mods.

So I could get him to swap out the brown stems with clears or something so it feels better? Or is it a spring issue?

[CPTBadAss]

So I could get him to swap out the brown stems with clears or something so it feels better? Or is it a spring issue?

You can ask him what mods he's willing to perform. Then it's up to you to figure out what mods you want. Here's some ideas on possible mods.

[hking0036]

So I could get him to swap out the brown stems with clears or something so it feels better? Or is it a spring issue?

You can ask him what mods he's willing to perform. Then it's up to you to figure out what mods you want. Here's some ideas on possible mods.

I might ask him to hook me up with some Ergo Clears on it like I said. We shall see.

[Merranza]

Quick question on stabilizers:

Are stabilizers supposed to change the feeling of the keypress on mechanical switches? I'm asking this question because I have a K70 rgb with reds and my enter/spacebar/shift keys feel different. They are not as *clacky* when I press them compared to my letters key for example.

[CPTBadAss]

Quick question on stabilizers:

Are stabilizers supposed to change the feeling of the keypress on mechanical switches? I'm asking this question because I have a K70 rgb with reds and my enter/spacebar/shift keys feel different. They are not as *clacky* when I press them compared to my letters key for example.

They're not supposed to be they can. It looks like the K70 has Cherry stabilizers? You can try clipping them. I do this on all my MX boards which have Cherry stabilizers. For some more detailed information about the mod and why it might happen, here's a thread on DT and on GH.

[Merranza]

Quick question on stabilizers:

Are stabilizers supposed to change the feeling of the keypress on mechanical switches? I'm asking this question because I have a K70 rgb with reds and my enter/spacebar/shift keys feel different. They are not as *clacky* when I press them compared to my letters key for example.

They're not supposed to be they can. It looks like the K70 has Cherry stabilizers? You can try clipping them. I do this on all my MX boards. For some more detailed information about the mod and why it might happen, here's a thread on DT and on GH.

Thank you for the information!

I'm trying to find information on the K70 RGB stabilizers. I know the K70 uses Cherry but some have been reporting the RGB variant uses Corsar. Are Corsar supposed to be better than Cherry?

[CPTBadAss]

I'm trying to find information on the K70 RGB stabilizers. I know the K70 uses Cherry but some have been reporting the RGB variant uses Costar. Are Costar supposed to be better than Cherry?

Think you're mixing Corsair the company, and Costar the stabilizers. And if you just pull a cap off your board where the stabilizers are, I can tell you right away what you have. I wouldn't say they're better or worse. Just a personal preference thing. I prefer clipped Cherry stabilizers. Don't need to fumble with the Costar insert and it still feels crisp.

[Merranza]

I'm trying to find information on the K70 RGB stabilizers. I know the K70 uses Cherry but some have been reporting the RGB variant uses Costar. Are Costar supposed to be better than Cherry?

Think you're mixing Corsair the company, and Costar the stabilizers. And if you just pull a cap off your board where the stabilizers are, I can tell you right away what you have. I wouldn't say they're better or worse. Just a personal preference thing. I prefer clipped Cherry stabilizers. Don't need to fumble with the Costar insert and it still feels crisp.

No really, I don't mix them Like I said, it's all report online and nothing official. More like a rumour it has Costar now. Tonight, I will take a picture with a keycap off. Is the spacebar good for you?

And btw, thank you very much for the very clear answers and ULTRA FAST replies

[CPTBadAss]

Tonight, I will take a picture with a keycap off. Is the spacebar good for you?

And btw, thank you very much for the very clear answers and ULTRA FAST replies

Whatever is easiest for you. Backspace, shifts, spacebar. All will work fine. And you're welcome.

[Melvang]

I'm trying to find information on the K70 RGB stabilizers. I know the K70 uses Cherry but some have been reporting the RGB variant uses Costar. Are Costar supposed to be better than Cherry?

Think you're mixing Corsair the company, and Costar the stabilizers. And if you just pull a cap off your board where the stabilizers are, I can tell you right away what you have. I wouldn't say they're better or worse. Just a personal preference thing. I prefer clipped Cherry stabilizers. Don't need to fumble with the Costar insert and it still feels crisp.

Yeah it doesn't matter.  If the wire is above the plate its costar, if the wire is below the plate, it is cherry.  If there is no plate it has to be cherry as pcb mount costar does not exist.

[MGH]

What's the formatting to have an image that when clicked, goes to an URL?

[SpAmRaY]

What's the formatting to have an image that when clicked, goes to an URL?

Code: [Select]

[url=inserturlhere][img]insertimgurlhere[/img][/url]

Code: [Select]

[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=40501.msg1612093#msg1612093][img]http://i.imgur.com/vD0IfmW.jpg[/img][/url]

[Merranza]

Tonight, I will take a picture with a keycap off. Is the spacebar good for you?

And btw, thank you very much for the very clear answers and ULTRA FAST replies

Whatever is easiest for you. Backspace, shifts, spacebar. All will work fine. And you're welcome.

Left shift:




I guess the cross is a cherry signature right?

[jdcarpe]

^ those are Cherry plate mount stabs. You can remove them, but you have to desolder the switch first. Then you can clip them, and reinstall the stabs, and finally resolder the switch in place.

[Merranza]

^ those are Cherry plate mount stabs. You can remove them, but you have to desolder the switch first. Then you can clip them, and reinstall the stabs, and finally resolder the switch in place.

Aye. I'm a bit nervous to try my hands on a 200$ keyboard for my first solder job but I'll definitely look into it

[Merranza]

Hell, looking back at those pictures, if it wasn't for those dust particles, they'd make pretty good pictures for some cherry exhibit

Cell phones are taking amazing pictures with the right lighting nowadays

[Blaise170]

Anyone happen to know if the old Hot Wheels keyboards were mechanical? I'd assume not, but I figured I'd check. It's a rebranded LiteOn SK-1100 according to the UL number on the label, but I can't find any information on it. I know LiteOn made one or two mechanicals as well as some with Maxi switches (now owned by LiteOn), but I think the rest were rubber dome.

[Fr4nc3sc0NL]

I'm having an issue with my kbt race II and my hackintosh. I have to reconnect it everytime I restart it. Is there a firmwareupdate for this keyboard, and if so where can I find it? If not, will this be an issue with my macbook pro too?

I can't find if there is a firmware update. You could try emailing the contact information here.

You could just try plugging it into the macbook pro and letting us know. I don't know off the top of my head and I'm curious to know hte answer.

Well, the macbook finally arrived and the keyboard turns out to be fully working!
Probably not interesting for most ppl but I now think it was just a usb driver bug with my hackintosh.

[sethk_]

I emailed cherry and they said that under any conditions, even if I make no profit, I cannot produce stickers since it is a trademark and copyrighted

[SpAmRaY]

I emailed cherry and they said that under any conditions, even if I make no profit, I cannot produce stickers since it is a trademark and copyrighted

This would be why no one has ever asked permission.

[sethk_]

I emailed cherry and they said that under any conditions, even if I make no profit, I cannot produce stickers since it is a trademark and copyrighted

This would be why no one has ever asked.

Yep, I figured the others haven't asked.

[platypus]

What weight of the korean gold springs will feel most like those in  a stock mx blue/red? (which seem to have an identical spring just by comparing them visually)

[CPTBadAss]

I'm having an issue with my kbt race II and my hackintosh. I have to reconnect it everytime I restart it. Is there a firmwareupdate for this keyboard, and if so where can I find it? If not, will this be an issue with my macbook pro too?

I can't find if there is a firmware update. You could try emailing the contact information here.

You could just try plugging it into the macbook pro and letting us know. I don't know off the top of my head and I'm curious to know the answer.

Well, the macbook finally arrived and the keyboard turns out to be fully working!
Probably not interesting for most ppl but I now think it was just a usb driver bug with my hackintosh.

Thanks for the update .

What weight of the korean gold springs will feel most like those in  a stock mx blue/red? (which seem to have an identical spring just by comparing them visually)

55g I believe.

[oledome]

What plastics company does GH use that can produce PBT ISO keycaps? Dyesub, doubleshot options? Where are they based?

How can I search within a thread?

[azhdar]

Since Unicomp takes way too long to respond and someone here probably knows :
when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

[hwood34]

Since Unicomp takes way too long to respond and someone here probably knows :
when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

[fohat.digs]

when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

I have bought several times, and they have always supplied stems with the caps.

[jdcarpe]

Since Unicomp takes way too long to respond and someone here probably knows :
when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

They always have sent me the entire cap, stem piece and all.

[azhdar]

when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

I have bought several times, and they have always supplied stems with the caps.

Since Unicomp takes way too long to respond and someone here probably knows :
when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

They always have sent me the entire cap, stem piece and all.

I'll believe the elders , sry Hwood and thanks guys.

[hwood34]

when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

I have bought several times, and they have always supplied stems with the caps.

Since Unicomp takes way too long to respond and someone here probably knows :
when you buy "buttons" at Unicomp is it the full keycaps (Stem + top printed part) or only the top printed part ?

They're just the little "button" that fits on top of the stem

They always have sent me the entire cap, stem piece and all.

I'll believe the elders , sry Hwood and thanks guys.

Yeah, I'm a little off today. Luckily there's more than just me to answer

[infiniti]

What plastics company does GH use that can produce PBT ISO keycaps? Dyesub, doubleshot options? Where are they based?

How can I search within a thread?

One is Signature Plastics (www.keycapsdirect.com/).

Once in a thread, if you use the search box in the upper right, it will search the thread.  Another (maybe better?) way to search GH would be to add site:geekhack.org to your google search.

[vmod]

Awesome guide. I skimmed through most.
I would read this thread not in a way to get info beforehand but rather a reference thread to get all my questions answered as I get to know more about mechanical keyboards.

So far most my basic questions got answered. Thank you.

EDIT :
@OP
Minor mistake

This question

What are the different keycap material types?

Leads to

Is there a glossary for common abbreviations?

And the FAQ does not answer the material type question ever.

[oledome]

One is Signature Plastics (www.keycapsdirect.com/).

Once in a thread, if you use the search box in the upper right, it will search the thread.  Another (maybe better?) way to search GH would be to add site:geekhack.org to your google search.

Thank you for the quick response, I hadn't realised the forum search was in context with the page being displayed.

[CPTBadAss]

Awesome guide. I skimmed through most.
I would read this thread not in a way to get info beforehand but rather a reference thread to get all my questions answered as I get to know more about mechanical keyboards.

So far most my basic questions got answered. Thank you.

EDIT :
@OP
Minor mistake

This question

What are the different keycap material types?

Leads to

Is there a glossary for common abbreviations?

And the FAQ does not answer the material type question ever.

But this might: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=50532.0

[vmod]

EDIT :
@OP
Minor mistake

This question

What are the different keycap material types?

Leads to

Is there a glossary for common abbreviations?

And the FAQ does not answer the material type question ever.

But this might: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=50532.0

Yes it does but one needs to dig in and read the whole glossary which has abbreviation for everything including the material.
If that was the point of redirect, then well the glossary vaguely answers every question and defeats the purpose of this mega FAQ being so dense.

[CPTBadAss]

Yes it does but one needs to dig in and read the whole glossary which has abbreviation for everything including the material.

If that was the point of redirect, then well the glossary vaguely answers every question and defeats the purpose of this mega FAQ being so dense.

I'm sorry, I'm not following your post. You asked for a glossary and I provided a link to one. Are you suggesting the glossary isn't up to your standards and you'd like more information about something?

If you're suggesting that the glossary doesn't cover keycap materials very well, perhaps this link will help you. I envision this thread as a way to get a quick answer about a question you have and to get your started on your hunt for info. Not a comprehensive FAQ on everything keyboard related like the DT wiki is.

[vmod]

Yes it does but one needs to dig in and read the whole glossary which has abbreviation for everything including the material.

If that was the point of redirect, then well the glossary vaguely answers every question and defeats the purpose of this mega FAQ being so dense.

I'm sorry, I'm not following your post. You asked for a glossary and I provided a link to one. Are you suggesting the glossary isn't up to your standards and you'd like more information about something?

Oh no.... I am saying when we click on the question for keycap materials, we instead get directed to the question of glossary. Get it?
Thats the minor mistake I am trying to indicate. If you want people to read the glossary when they click for keycap material question then I think when we click on it, there should be an answer saying we should read the glossary to get the answer for material type.
I hope that makes my point clear.
 

[CPTBadAss]

Oh no.... I am saying when we click on the question for keycap materials, we instead get directed to the question of glossary. Get it?

Ah thanks for pointing that out. I'll fix that.

[baslo]

Hey guys, which one should i get as a first mechanical keyboard 

CM Storm QuickFire Rapid I
Ducky Shine 3 TKL

both with MX Browns !

Can´t decide