Best 60%?

[KaminKevCrew]

I'm looking for a 60% board that has (roughly) the same amount of customization as something like an ergodox infinity. I would really love something in the $150-$200 range (not really sure what 60% goes for..) and I would love it if there was a secondary layer that either comes set as, or is changeable to have full media keys (Yes, I mean something that includes a Stop button, not just play pause. Foobar2000 runs WASAPI, so nothing else can play unless I hit the stop key.)

Also, something with browns, blues, greens, or clears. I'd really like something with greens or clears, since I've never had one before, and I've got browns, and used to own something with blues. I don't particularly care about backlighting, but I definitely wouldn't knock a board out of consideration for having/not having it. Same thing for NKR, although at least the basic 6 key is a must for me, so no 2KR from things like Model M...

Also, if anyone wanted to trade one for an MX Board 6.0... PM me! (Just got one, but I'm not really a fan of reds; I can't get used to them for typing, and I do more of that than I thought...)

Thanks! Oh, and if I'm breaking any forum rules with the MX board thing, please let me know and I will remove it!

[sth]

HHKB + Hasu's TMK controller

[trenzafeeds]

You'll have a tough time finding a 60% that has programmable media keys, usually the most they support in my experience is volume controls. In my opinion, the best pre-built 60% on the market is the Pok3r, which is available with your switch preferences, but will not have backlighting. If you want backlights I would go with a Poker 2, a KBP V60, or wait until the backlit Pok3r hits the market (should be happening this year).

[trenzafeeds]

HHKB + Hasu's TMK controller

Of course my suggestion would get totally outclassed while I was typing it. Just a wee bit out of the pricerange though lol.

[sth]

HHKB + Hasu's TMK controller

Of course my suggestion would get totally outclassed while I was typing it. Just a wee bit out of the pricerange though lol.

used HHKB + hasu controller can be had for not much more... you are right about the pok3r but let's not kid ourselves, nobody here just spends money on a keyboard once without wasting tons of money on other things.

get the hhkb first, then waste money on other keyboards before selling them off and sticking with the hhkb )

[KaminKevCrew]

HHKB + Hasu's TMK controller

Can you tell me what Topres feel like? I've never had the opportunity to try them and I'm a little leery to spend that much on a non cherry switch I've never tried. Also, what's the 'S' type about? I assume it stands for silent, but how loud are Topres to begin with?

Of course my suggestion would get totally outclassed while I was typing it. Just a wee bit out of the pricerange though lol.

Will the Pok3r be programmable or would I have to hack it as I would with the HHKB? (Oh, and if possible, I'd like to avoid the possibility of breaking my keyboard, but I'm not too bad at soldering, so no biggie, I suppose...)

[trenzafeeds]

Will the Pok3r be programmable or would I have to hack it as I would with the HHKB? (Oh, and if possible, I'd like to avoid the possibility of breaking my keyboard, but I'm not too bad at soldering, so no biggie, I suppose...)

You don't have to do anything to the Pok3r, it has built in programming functionality. As I said though, you won't have media keys, only volume keys.

[azhdar]

There is no out of the box fully programmable 60%.
That will require modding on your side or to pay someone to do it.

First link, is a DIY kits
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73666.0

Second link, allow any board to be programmable, so you could possibly buy a basic 60% and program it through the convertor.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69169.0

[sth]

HHKB + Hasu's TMK controller

Can you tell me what Topres feel like? I've never had the opportunity to try them and I'm a little leery to spend that much on a non cherry switch I've never tried. Also, what's the 'S' type about? I assume it stands for silent, but how loud are Topres to begin with?

no, i can't tell you because i can't describe a qualitative experience (what does blue look like?) very well )

i can tell you that i enjoy it and so do a lot of others. i can tell you that it comes with good keycaps and that modding to hasu's tmk board is pretty trivial if you can use a screwdriver.

i can tell you that it's not a good idea if you're more interested in modifying your keyboard than using it because you'll never have back lights, it will be time consuming and expensive to use more than a handful of available key sets  and there aren't fancy cases you can drop it into.

but it is a great board if you're not looking for all of that and you just want a particular keyboard that is well-designed and has been vetted by a lot of people, compared to a lot of small-scale cherry MX keyboards.

hhkb is not that loud but type S does make it quieter. i modified my non-Type S with dental bands to make it quieter but it does change the feel of the board (something i actually prefer but many others may not) - this is due to some construction differences between the sliders of the Type S and the regular topre sliders.

good news about hhkb: if you don't like it you can always sell it for pretty close to what you paid (or if you buy it used, just sell it for what you paid, they don't really lose value once they're used).

[KaminKevCrew]

no, i can't tell you because i can't describe a qualitative experience (what does blue look like?) very well )

i can tell you that i enjoy it and so do a lot of others. i can tell you that it comes with good keycaps and that modding to hasu's tmk board is pretty trivial if you can use a screwdriver.

i can tell you that it's not a good idea if you're more interested in modifying your keyboard than using it because you'll never have back lights, it will be time consuming and expensive to use more than a handful of available key sets  and there aren't fancy cases you can drop it into.

but it is a great board if you're not looking for all of that and you just want a particular keyboard that is well-designed and has been vetted by a lot of people, compared to a lot of small-scale cherry MX keyboards.

hhkb is not that loud but type S does make it quieter. i modified my non-Type S with dental bands to make it quieter but it does change the feel of the board (something i actually prefer but many others may not) - this is due to some construction differences between the sliders of the Type S and the regular topre sliders.

good news about hhkb: if you don't like it you can always sell it for pretty close to what you paid (or if you buy it used, just sell it for what you paid, they don't really lose value once they're used).

Awesome! I'll probably get one then. As far as the case goes, I have a friend with a machining shop, so I could probably buy some billet aluminum and have it milled to the proper shape without much hassle.

Never say never about the backlighting! it may happen if someone gets really, really creative

hmmmm... It's tough to say what I would want, S or non S... Is the non S comparable in noise to something like cherry reds? (even if it's a different frequency, I'm just curious, not that it matters much. I could easily use Cherry blues, which I assume are louder.

[sth]

no, i can't tell you because i can't describe a qualitative experience (what does blue look like?) very well )

i can tell you that i enjoy it and so do a lot of others. i can tell you that it comes with good keycaps and that modding to hasu's tmk board is pretty trivial if you can use a screwdriver.

i can tell you that it's not a good idea if you're more interested in modifying your keyboard than using it because you'll never have back lights, it will be time consuming and expensive to use more than a handful of available key sets  and there aren't fancy cases you can drop it into.

but it is a great board if you're not looking for all of that and you just want a particular keyboard that is well-designed and has been vetted by a lot of people, compared to a lot of small-scale cherry MX keyboards.

hhkb is not that loud but type S does make it quieter. i modified my non-Type S with dental bands to make it quieter but it does change the feel of the board (something i actually prefer but many others may not) - this is due to some construction differences between the sliders of the Type S and the regular topre sliders.

good news about hhkb: if you don't like it you can always sell it for pretty close to what you paid (or if you buy it used, just sell it for what you paid, they don't really lose value once they're used).

Awesome! I'll probably get one then. As far as the case goes, I have a friend with a machining shop, so I could probably buy some billet aluminum and have it milled to the proper shape without much hassle.

Never say never about the backlighting! it may happen if someone gets really, really creative

hmmmm... It's tough to say what I would want, S or non S... Is the non S comparable in noise to something like cherry reds? (even if it's a different frequency, I'm just curious, not that it matters much. I could easily use Cherry blues, which I assume are louder.

it's nowhere near cherry blues I have an mx clear board at my desk and it is much louder than my diy-silenced hhkb, but even the non-type S is pretty quiet. it's probably pretty similar to mx red. maybe someone else can elaborate??

if it's an issue of cost i would say don't bother with the Type S.

and you're right, you probably could engineer some kind of lighting using low profile LED strips or something. same goes for the case, but the reason nobody has done one yet is that the barrels that hold the switch sliders are actually molded into the case.

i have had some ideas about making an enclosure for a hhkb similar to this: http://i.imgur.com/xyzeEaE.jpg but i think it would require removing a lot of plastic from the top case. the way that case works is you remove the top case from the realforce (which is possible because the barrel plate is not part of the top case) and then that big black plate sandwiches the keyboard in... but i digress. if you manage to make a case for your HHKB you will be a celebrity around here )

[KaminKevCrew]

it's nowhere near cherry blues I have an mx clear board at my desk and it is much louder than my diy-silenced hhkb, but even the non-type S is pretty quiet. it's probably pretty similar to mx red. maybe someone else can elaborate??

if it's an issue of cost i would say don't bother with the Type S.

and you're right, you probably could engineer some kind of lighting using low profile LED strips or something. same goes for the case, but the reason nobody has done one yet is that the barrels that hold the switch sliders are actually molded into the case.

i have had some ideas about making an enclosure for a hhkb similar to this: http://i.imgur.com/xyzeEaE.jpg but i think it would require removing a lot of plastic from the top case. the way that case works is you remove the top case from the realforce (which is possible because the barrel plate is not part of the top case) and then that big black plate sandwiches the keyboard in... but i digress. if you manage to make a case for your HHKB you will be a celebrity around here )

Well, I have pretty much nothing but time for the next month or two... I'll try getting some money together, and getting started on that! (I'll get around to posting it when all of this happens, which may be a couple of weeks out, especially with how long it might take for shipping, and everything else!

[deci]

HHKB with hasu controller.

In the long run you'll be saving yourself money.

(Well at least until you end up buying a Type S for a 2nd keyboard)

[Air tree]

it's nowhere near cherry blues I have an mx clear board at my desk and it is much louder than my diy-silenced hhkb, but even the non-type S is pretty quiet. it's probably pretty similar to mx red. maybe someone else can elaborate??

if it's an issue of cost i would say don't bother with the Type S.

and you're right, you probably could engineer some kind of lighting using low profile LED strips or something. same goes for the case, but the reason nobody has done one yet is that the barrels that hold the switch sliders are actually molded into the case.

i have had some ideas about making an enclosure for a hhkb similar to this: http://i.imgur.com/xyzeEaE.jpg but i think it would require removing a lot of plastic from the top case. the way that case works is you remove the top case from the realforce (which is possible because the barrel plate is not part of the top case) and then that big black plate sandwiches the keyboard in... but i digress. if you manage to make a case for your HHKB you will be a celebrity around here )

Well, I have pretty much nothing but time for the next month or two... I'll try getting some money together, and getting started on that! (I'll get around to posting it when all of this happens, which may be a couple of weeks out, especially with how long it might take for shipping, and everything else!

I concur with everyone else, HHKB + Hasus controller is great.


And many people are very interested in the prospect of an aluminium HHKB case, as seen here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=68930.0

It's something that has never been done, and I would love to see. If someone can produce one at a decent price, I'm sure many would be interested. 

And even if only one was made, I'm sure everyone would be eager to see it.

Oh and just noticed you're in Tacoma, I happen to be in spanaway.


I hope you like topre if you are going to get one.

[FuriousGeorge]

The KC60 massdrop ran should be another option for you. The first drop hasn't shipped yet, but based on the popularity of the first drop I'd expect there will be another one once it finally ships. The Infinity was also available pre-built in it's last drop and wouldn't be a bad choice, although it uses the hhkb layout instead of standard if that's an issue.

https://www1.massdrop.com/buy/kc60-mechanical-keyboard

[Defect]

Sprit edition Face-W.  Fully programmable, LED support.  Unsure about media options, though.

[ctm]

IMO the function layer is the soul of 60%, so a good 60% has to be fully programmable.

[Melvang]

Hands down the best programmable 60% would be a Kishsaver with an xwhatsit controller.  I don't remember if it has support for the stop key, but that should be able to be done with AutoHotKey using a key that you don't use.  The controller has support for 4 layers if I recall.

Also wanted to point out that the Kishsaver is capacitive pcb and not membrane so it is NKRO.

The one downside would be lack of custom caps, but there are diy ways around that.

[project2501]

Will the Pok3r be programmable or would I have to hack it as I would with the HHKB? (Oh, and if possible, I'd like to avoid the possibility of breaking my keyboard, but I'm not too bad at soldering, so no biggie, I suppose...)

You don't have to do anything to the Pok3r, it has built in programming functionality. As I said though, you won't have media keys, only volume keys.

So that's kind of true. The media keys are in the same location as they were on the Poker II. When in programming mode the layer key functions are replaced with media keys.

[Oobly]

If you're okay soldering why not get a GoN NerD60 PCB and case and some Zealio switches for it? The Zealios are like "fixed" MX Clears (clear casings, smooth sliders, your choice of 62g, 65g or 67g gold plated springs), the NerD60 is fully programmable and supports backlighting (both in-switch or SMT, and case lighting). Having MX compatible switches means you can change the keycaps if you like, too. Essentially a full Korean Custom.

If you want to make it quieter you can trampoline mod the switches.

Or you could have a board that has no modding options, fixed physical layout (non-standard) and costs about the same... (HHKB with controller)

[KaminKevCrew]

If you're okay soldering why not get a GoN NerD60 PCB and case and some Zealio switches for it? The Zealios are like "fixed" MX Clears (clear casings, smooth sliders, your choice of 62g, 65g or 67g gold plated springs), the NerD60 is fully programmable and supports backlighting (both in-switch or SMT, and case lighting). Having MX compatible switches means you can change the keycaps if you like, too. Essentially a full Korean Custom.

If you want to make it quieter you can trampoline mod the switches.

Or you could have a board that has no modding options, fixed physical layout (non-standard) and costs about the same... (HHKB with controller)

Funny thing is, I'm already working on doing a GoN 60% and I've already ordered some zealio switches

[GL1TCH3D]

HHKB + Hasu's TMK controller

This is thebest answer. Based on your aim to get clears, we can assume that a really solid tactile feel is something you desire and I think the HHKB can deliver.

[Hypersphere]

I've tried various 60% boards, including Poker II, Pok3r, V60MTS, and HHKB Pro 2. I now use the HHKB Pro 2 most of the time for several reasons, including the switches, keycaps, and the layout. I like the layout so much that I do not need to program it to anything else.

[trees]

Ergo-Clear Duck Eagle.

[sth]

I've tried various 60% boards, including Poker II, Pok3r, V60MTS, and HHKB Pro 2. I now use the HHKB Pro 2 most of the time for several reasons, including the switches, keycaps, and the layout. I like the layout so much that I do not need to program it to anything else.

the only things i've ever felt compelled to remap (via tmk) are the power button (to nothing) and right alt to right ctrl for VirtualBox host key. both of those could be changed in software but i'm more familiar with tmk now and it's easier for me to just remap the keyboard firmware )