Hello world!

[clankgy1]

I'm kind of new to the entire mechanical keyboard scene, yet I have already managed to purchase an HHKB Pro 2 (and immediately regretted the color I chose), destroy a Novatouch trying to hypersphere it, and am talking with Miya about getting a customized Varmilo TKL.

What the hell have I got myself into?

[jjanssen1]

Welcome to the forum 
-Joshua

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have had a number of unfortunate experiences.  Did you get black or white HHKB?  Either way if it was very recent, you might be able to return it and swap it for the colour you want.  Or gather a few more posts, sell it in classifieds for about what you paid, and then buy the other one.

How did you destroy the Novatouch?  There's a thread for that too

[clankgy1]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have had a number of unfortunate experiences.  Did you get black or white HHKB?  Either way if it was very recent, you might be able to return it and swap it for the colour you want.  Or gather a few more posts, sell it in classifieds for about what you paid, and then buy the other one.

How did you destroy the Novatouch?  There's a thread for that too

I don't mind the experiences as long as I learn from them.  So far, I have.

I originally bought a white HHKB Pro 2 as the contrast in my eyes is poor and I'm not good with blanks.  But I really wanted black frame/white keys, so I drove over to elitekeyboards last week (we are both SoCal US) and bought a black one w/blanks.  Below is the end result after the keyswap:



I'll be selling the top one sometime in the next few days when I get back in the office.  Feedback on the white frame/black blanks has been positive so I will post it close to retail and offer to pay freight to move it quickly when I can (or do it immediately at reddit).

The Novatouch mod was an interesting disaster.  I decided to hypersphere the board.  I got the thing apart and promptly had the domes separate from the PCB (topre spring scavenger hunt on the floor!).  I also probably didn't get the sliders out properly as they aren't nearly as sturdy in the board now that I have put them back with the rings.  When I tried to get the DSA keys back on the board after assembling it, the first one pushed the slider out of position (meaning I'd have to disassemble the board again to pop it back in).  I kinda lost interest that that point and bought the HHKB as I love the feel of topre.

Thanks for the Novatouch thread.  I'll have a look at it to assess that boards future.  I've already purchased a custom Varmilo TKL from Miya and will be using that at home so I can send the Razer into retirement and unload Synapse.  The Novatouch is either an ongoing project or an as-is listing for sale at this point.

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have had a number of unfortunate experiences.  Did you get black or white HHKB?  Either way if it was very recent, you might be able to return it and swap it for the colour you want.  Or gather a few more posts, sell it in classifieds for about what you paid, and then buy the other one.

How did you destroy the Novatouch?  There's a thread for that too

I don't mind the experiences as long as I learn from them.  So far, I have.

I originally bought a white HHKB Pro 2 as the contrast in my eyes is poor and I'm not good with blanks.  But I really wanted black frame/white keys, so I drove over to elitekeyboards last week (we are both SoCal US) and bought a black one w/blanks.  Below is the end result after the keyswap:

Show Image

I'll be selling the top one sometime in the next few days when I get back in the office.  Feedback on the white frame/black blanks has been positive so I will post it close to retail and offer to pay freight to move it quickly when I can (or do it immediately at reddit).

The Novatouch mod was an interesting disaster.  I decided to hypersphere the board.  I got the thing apart and promptly had the domes separate from the PCB (topre spring scavenger hunt on the floor!).  I also probably didn't get the sliders out properly as they aren't nearly as sturdy in the board now that I have put them back with the rings.  When I tried to get the DSA keys back on the board after assembling it, the first one pushed the slider out of position (meaning I'd have to disassemble the board again to pop it back in).  I kinda lost interest that that point and bought the HHKB as I love the feel of topre.

Thanks for the Novatouch thread.  I'll have a look at it to assess that boards future.  I've already purchased a custom Varmilo TKL from Miya and will be using that at home so I can send the Razer into retirement and unload Synapse.  The Novatouch is either an ongoing project or an as-is listing for sale at this point.

EK sell HHKB keycap sets - you could have bought a white printed set (if they are in stock, which they seem to be at the moment) rather than a whole other HHKB!

The link is not exactly a Novatouch thread, but you'll find out when you click it :p

[clankgy1]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have had a number of unfortunate experiences.  Did you get black or white HHKB?  Either way if it was very recent, you might be able to return it and swap it for the colour you want.  Or gather a few more posts, sell it in classifieds for about what you paid, and then buy the other one.

How did you destroy the Novatouch?  There's a thread for that too

I don't mind the experiences as long as I learn from them.  So far, I have.

I originally bought a white HHKB Pro 2 as the contrast in my eyes is poor and I'm not good with blanks.  But I really wanted black frame/white keys, so I drove over to elitekeyboards last week (we are both SoCal US) and bought a black one w/blanks.  Below is the end result after the keyswap:

Show Image

I'll be selling the top one sometime in the next few days when I get back in the office.  Feedback on the white frame/black blanks has been positive so I will post it close to retail and offer to pay freight to move it quickly when I can (or do it immediately at reddit).

The Novatouch mod was an interesting disaster.  I decided to hypersphere the board.  I got the thing apart and promptly had the domes separate from the PCB (topre spring scavenger hunt on the floor!).  I also probably didn't get the sliders out properly as they aren't nearly as sturdy in the board now that I have put them back with the rings.  When I tried to get the DSA keys back on the board after assembling it, the first one pushed the slider out of position (meaning I'd have to disassemble the board again to pop it back in).  I kinda lost interest that that point and bought the HHKB as I love the feel of topre.

Thanks for the Novatouch thread.  I'll have a look at it to assess that boards future.  I've already purchased a custom Varmilo TKL from Miya and will be using that at home so I can send the Razer into retirement and unload Synapse.  The Novatouch is either an ongoing project or an as-is listing for sale at this point.

EK sell HHKB keycap sets - you could have bought a white printed set (if they are in stock, which they seem to be at the moment) rather than a whole other HHKB!

The link is not exactly a Novatouch thread, but you'll find out when you click it :p

The smart thing would have been to buy a black frame, white keyset, then sell the black keyset.  Unfortunatly, I bought the white one and used it for a bit before deciding I wanted a tuxedo.  Can't return a gently used board, so I went ahead and bought another one.  Math will work out to be close enough in the end, I'll basically eat sales tax and shipping, and I'll make somebody else (hopefully) happy with a new KB.

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You have had a number of unfortunate experiences.  Did you get black or white HHKB?  Either way if it was very recent, you might be able to return it and swap it for the colour you want.  Or gather a few more posts, sell it in classifieds for about what you paid, and then buy the other one.

How did you destroy the Novatouch?  There's a thread for that too

I don't mind the experiences as long as I learn from them.  So far, I have.

I originally bought a white HHKB Pro 2 as the contrast in my eyes is poor and I'm not good with blanks.  But I really wanted black frame/white keys, so I drove over to elitekeyboards last week (we are both SoCal US) and bought a black one w/blanks.  Below is the end result after the keyswap:

Show Image

I'll be selling the top one sometime in the next few days when I get back in the office.  Feedback on the white frame/black blanks has been positive so I will post it close to retail and offer to pay freight to move it quickly when I can (or do it immediately at reddit).

The Novatouch mod was an interesting disaster.  I decided to hypersphere the board.  I got the thing apart and promptly had the domes separate from the PCB (topre spring scavenger hunt on the floor!).  I also probably didn't get the sliders out properly as they aren't nearly as sturdy in the board now that I have put them back with the rings.  When I tried to get the DSA keys back on the board after assembling it, the first one pushed the slider out of position (meaning I'd have to disassemble the board again to pop it back in).  I kinda lost interest that that point and bought the HHKB as I love the feel of topre.

Thanks for the Novatouch thread.  I'll have a look at it to assess that boards future.  I've already purchased a custom Varmilo TKL from Miya and will be using that at home so I can send the Razer into retirement and unload Synapse.  The Novatouch is either an ongoing project or an as-is listing for sale at this point.

EK sell HHKB keycap sets - you could have bought a white printed set (if they are in stock, which they seem to be at the moment) rather than a whole other HHKB!

The link is not exactly a Novatouch thread, but you'll find out when you click it :p

The smart thing would have been to buy a black frame, white keyset, then sell the black keyset.  Unfortunatly, I bought the white one and used it for a bit before deciding I wanted a tuxedo.  Can't return a gently used board, so I went ahead and bought another one.  Math will work out to be close enough in the end, I'll basically eat sales tax and shipping, and I'll make somebody else (hopefully) happy with a new KB.

That is an excellent and very community-friendly attitude - I wish you well :)