Well I fell down the custom keyboard world.

What are people's thoughts on the Wooting 80HE? Is it any good?

Worth it as a daily driver over something like a Keychron Q3 HE?

Shame that Wobkey Crush 80 doesn't come in ISO. Well not without a third party ISO plate anyway.
 
Had a quick skim read of the past few pages and noticed some people having problems with the Keychron Q6 Max.

Mines a 100% board running the Gateron Jupiter Bananas. After 6mths of perfect use I started to get keys not registering, specially in the middle of the keyboard. Re-seating the switches would fix it for a day or so, then it would go again. A search on Reddit confirmed that there's many people with the same problem, and Keychron have confirmed it's a design issue. Essentially the gasket design is allowing too much flex in the plate & PCB, causing the switch pins to become disconnected from the PCB even when properly mounted onto the plate. Someone mentioned that the pins on the Gateron switches are shorter than other switches, I measured and compared them to various other switches I've got, and although they're only 0.2mm shorter, they're still shorter. I swapped the banana's out for some Everglide Aquakings and it's been fine every since.

TLDR - If you're getting key registration issues on the Q6 swap the gateron switches out for another brand with longer pins.
 
It's been years since I bought my Mr Suit. I paid a lot for it then, not market price though. And yet I'm still using it.

It's not the most beautiful TKL but it sounds insanely great to me still. I always liked the marbly-PE foam sound. And not changed my mind on that yet.

I've got plenty of GMK sets that have stayed sealed in the meantime. Analog Dreams r2 hasn't left it since it went on.

Since I've had children, I've lost interest in keeping up beyond a casual level. Plus, the market changed completely in terms of supply so that made it less interesting to buy stuff.

I don't know what's the premium king any more or the budget one.

I'm sure the Mr Suit is worth naff all now too :D
 
Boxfreshchris said:
Had a quick skim read of the past few pages and noticed some people having problems with the Keychron Q6 Max.

Mines a 100% board running the Gateron Jupiter Bananas. After 6mths of perfect use I started to get keys not registering, specially in the middle of the keyboard. Re-seating the switches would fix it for a day or so, then it would go again. A search on Reddit confirmed that there's many people with the same problem, and Keychron have confirmed it's a design issue. Essentially the gasket design is allowing too much flex in the plate & PCB, causing the switch pins to become disconnected from the PCB even when properly mounted onto the plate. Someone mentioned that the pins on the Gateron switches are shorter than other switches, I measured and compared them to various other switches I've got, and although they're only 0.2mm shorter, they're still shorter. I swapped the banana's out for some Everglide Aquakings and it's been fine every since.

TLDR - If you're getting key registration issues on the Q6 swap the gateron switches out for another brand with longer pins.
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Thanks for this.

I've found the info you refer to. It's cool you have managed to find a workable solution but it isn't something we should need to be doing.

It also limits future switch options to those that have long enough pins and/or a strip down and rebuild with harder foam etc.

Or solder the switches in which defeats the object.

I'm thinking I might just avoid Keychron for the time being and maybe revisit them if there's confirmation the issue has been engineered out. Having seen they have owned up to the problem but then tried to shift finding the solution onto their customers (refusing refunds) just leaves me feeling a bit meh towards them.
 
Yes what they should have done is acknowledged the issue, engineered a fix going forward, and done a recall/offered existing owners a discount on the fixed version. Instead they just created a website showing users how potentially solve the problem by stripping down the board and adding extra foam.

Another easy solution for them would be to ship the boards with other switches besides Gateron
 
mattpj said:
It's been years since I bought my Mr Suit. I paid a lot for it then, not market price though. And yet I'm still using it.

It's not the most beautiful TKL but it sounds insanely great to me still. I always liked the marbly-PE foam sound. And not changed my mind on that yet.

I've got plenty of GMK sets that have stayed sealed in the meantime. Analog Dreams r2 hasn't left it since it went on.

Since I've had children, I've lost interest in keeping up beyond a casual level. Plus, the market changed completely in terms of supply so that made it less interesting to buy stuff.

I don't know what's the premium king any more or the budget one.

I'm sure the Mr Suit is worth naff all now too :D
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My Mr Suit is my fav board also, it ends up back on my desk more often than any other, second to that are my Frog TKLs. They sound great and are amazing quality.

I missed out on Analog Dreams and can't find a set used anywhere, but I'll get a set one day.
 
Well I've decided to buy a Monsgeek M1 V5 with piano pro switches. Got it pretty cheap in the sale and managed to get an extra 10% off with a discount code as well.

Also bought a set of Rosewood switches and Creamy Cyan switches so I can try some different switch profiles. I think the Rosewood will be for me but there wasn't any stock of the board with Rosewood switches installed so I have bought them separately.

Now on the lookout for a colour matched, hot swappable, VIA compatible, RGB numpad/keypad that won't break the bank.

There just doesn't seem to be any stock anywhere for the Weikav Stars21 Plus in black.

I'd also ideally want it pre built rather than kit.

Open to further suggestions!
 
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BuffetSlayer said:
Well I've decided to buy a Monsgeek M1 V5 with piano pro switches. Got it pretty cheap in the sale and managed to get an extra 10% off with a discount code as well.

Also bought a set of Rosewood switches and Creamy Cyan switches so I can try some different switch profiles. I think the Rosewood will be for me but there wasn't any stock of the board with Rosewood switches installed so I have bought them separately.

Now on the lookout for a colour matched, hot swappable, VIA compatible, RGB numpad/keypad that won't break the bank.

There just doesn't seem to be any stock anywhere for the Weikav Stars21 Plus in black.

I'd also ideally want it pre built rather than kit.

Open to further suggestions!
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I hope you will be pleased. I have several of these ISO keyboards. Very pleased with them.
 
Jenz said:
I hope you will be pleased. I have several of these ISO keyboards. Very pleased with them.
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I guess time will tell, but I'm content that it's cheap enough to be a spare board if I don't like it. Or something to experiment with modding. It seems to be highly regarded and I like how easy it is to open up and play about with. Also the RGB seems to be quite impressive considering it hasn't got shine through caps.

Now I just need a numpad but it seems the entire planet is sold out at the moment, lol :p
 
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I could do with some advice from those in the know.

I'm trying to source a number pad to go with my recently ordered Monsgeek M1 V5.

Want it to be black, hot swappable, RGB, VIA compatible and ideally with black/grey keys but would go with any colour keys or a bare bones if it is in stock.

My current findings:

Keychron keypad is way too expensive in my view. Can't find it for less than £125!

The Weikav Stars21/ V2 PLUS is out of stock pretty much everywhere other than a 1 particular retailer that sells bare bones only and has low stock. Tried registering for an account to take a punt and buy it but my account was instantly disabled following registration.

I've found one Epomaker example (EK2) on the rainforest but I've read bad things about them. They only have one in stock and there's also a disclaimer to say "item will come on original packaging. Packaging will be damaged". This does not fill.me with confidence.

Glorious Numpad Prebuilt. Expensive at £120. Not hot swappable. No VIA support that I can see.

So I'm really struggling and would be grateful for some advice!

Is it just bad timing or are these number pads just as rare as the proverbial rocking horse (or ridiculously expensive)?
 
I can see Black Stars21 on AliExpress?

Also you could consider the Zuoyo GMK26 which is slightly cheaper, has macros and a knob. Also on AliExpress.
 
Well after a painful amount of faffing and tomfoolery I have managed to register an account on AliExpress and order a Weiklav stars numpad .

All being well it will be delivered without issue!

Watch this space! :p
 
I'm on the lookout for a new keyboard, currently have a black Ducky Shine 3, The year of the snake one, I'm looking for a white one of some description. Anyone have any recommendations? I have no clue what is good and what isn't anymore!
 
Really struggling to get used to my new split ergo keyboard. A huge change after so long of typing on a regular keyboard, and learning on a typewriter. Not helped by the fact I can't really use it during the day for work hours as I literally type about a word a minute at times.
 
V_R said:
I'm on the lookout for a new keyboard, currently have a black Ducky Shine 3, The year of the snake one, I'm looking for a white one of some description. Anyone have any recommendations? I have no clue what is good and what isn't anymore!
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I'm not really any kind of authority on the matter being new to the custom keyboard world myself, but I suppose it depends on what you want to do with it?

What size are you looking for? I remember having a Shine 3 way back when and it was a 100% board as I recall but I think they also did a TKL version too. Are u looking for a 100% or something smaller?

Have you thought about what sort of switches you want and whether your want a hot swappable board and RGB?

What is your budget?

There's plenty of boards out there for a range of prices, layouts, switch types and key profiles.
 
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Yes, I've had the Shine 3 for a very long time, its full size and has red switches. That's a point, I need to read up on the new switches, there must be lots more by now. I WFH so want something that is great for typing on, but also good for gaming.
 
V_R said:
Yes, I've had the Shine 3 for a very long time, its full size and has red switches. That's a point, I need to read up on the new switches, there must be lots more by now. I WFH so want something that is great for typing on, but also good for gaming.
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Back in the days of the Shine 3, the mainstream choices were black, red, brown, and blue switches.

These days there are switches of every colour you can think of with a huge range of activation forces and sound profiles.

Generally, they are split between linear, tactile and clicky activation and then within that there are various activation forces, switch travel.distances and sound profiles. However, sound profile is to some degree affected by the chassis construction of the keyboard.

The cherry red switches that were in Ducky keyboards back in the day (~2013) have the below profile:

Activation Profile
  • Type: Linear
  • Actuation Force: 45 cN
  • Pre-travel: 2.0 mm (distance the key travels before the keystroke is registered)
  • Total Travel: 4.0 mm
If this has worked for you for many years, then perhaps look for similar. Many people who are doing a lot of typing at home opt for a linear silent switch so it is less of a noise hassle but still works well for gaming.

Hot swappable boards allow you to swap out your switches to try different types and profiles.

You can often order a test set of switches that includes maybe 6-10 types of switch in a plastic housing so you can get a feeling for their activation and sound.

Many websites also have sound examples of switches in use so you can get a feeling for their sound. Or Google them and there is usually a YouTube video of them being used.

I suppose it is also worth thinking about whether you want customisation options or are happy to have soldered switches and minimal customisation..

There is pros and cons for both, but if you have an issue with soldered switches you either bin the board or strip it down and try and find the problem then remove solder and redo it. So how happy you are to do that may have a bearing on your choices.

My personal experience with the Ducky Shine 3 is that after a few months use multiple LEDs were out and it looked crap. The keycaps also wore through during use. But it was hammered with several hours of gaming most days!
 
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