Soldato
Quite possibly very boring for some, but I don't see many threads on here with people making custom kbs etc. This is sort of going to be one of those lol. I'm not quite at the point of paying out the backside for a fully personalised keyboard, so you will have to bear with me. I'm also a bit of a tight arse, so you will need to remember that too. However, what I will end up with is a killer little board for not that much money.
For years now I have been buying Razer boards. Mostly because I couldn't be fuffed messing around. However, their keyboard and mouse firmwares are now loaded with botulism, and I am tired of having to refuse it. They are also terribly unreliable. And their warranty is among the worst I have ever seen. So congrats to them on that.
I also realised recently my time on the PC actually typing is now far lower, due to being back into games in a big way. I am also about to do a full desk revamp and project at home, and I want more space. You will see that this winter.
First up was making a nice compact keyboard but making it not suck as much. I firstly realised that the last couple of boards I bought were with red switches, and I have learned to hate them so. They are FAR too easy to press, and that means I end up making mistakes in games. And it is annoying. This was compounded more recently by getting a board with some odd switches I had never heard of, and realising they have a much higher actuation force. And when you are a heavy handed "I grew up on rubber domes" ***** like myself you soon realise it is for the better.
So the first thing I did was looked at a F ton of switches. And I settled on these, with a 50g actuation and 60g to bottom out. Ph33r my uranium rod fingers.
They are from a diced fruits range labelled only as "kiwi". They are also pre lubed, and not terribly expensive. £32 for two tubs which will give me more than enough.
I then needed a keyboard. So, I got one here from the MP that had a liquid spill and the RGB is a bit off. That doesn't matter, I will just find a colour that works. Probably red to match my rig.
It's a gorgeous little board. On the outside lol. On the inside it has red switches *gob spit* that I hate so much. So those will be desoldered one by one and replaced.
So that was those sorted for less than £70. Which is less than half of the RRP of the Falchion alone. I then ordered some caps, but not just normal ones. I see they now do clear caps. And I don't mean pudding caps either which are opaque, I mean like, crystal clear. Due to this they are expensive, and a full set (which I want, I don't want dodgy wrong row keys) is an eye watering £50. However, I lucked out. I found a "Opened never used" set on a certain warehouse, and they were £21. So I was now armed with all of the ingredients.
Switches.
If you ever buy any of this range make sure they are sealed. Apparently people like to buy them, nick a few and then send them back.
Here are the caps. All four layers of them.
And like I said, they are completely crystal clear.
I have always loved transparent electronics. From my first Imac in 98, to my sorta clear red N64 (strawberry). It's like adult entertainment for me to see inside things, but then I was totally a 90s sorta person. We need more of it, basically. I did open that to check they were all there (again, people looking for free key caps) and they were, so that was awesome.
Opened up the keyboard to test it.
You would be forgiven for thinking it was upside down. It isn't, that is a full dust cover. Amazing. This means when not in use I can put that on and won't have to clean it out anywhere near as often. You can flip it and put the keyboard inside it, but I don't think I will bother doing that. All works perfectly.
So it needs packing away to be transported home.
The final things needed were supplies. I got some 99% isoprop for the obvious reasons, as well as this.
And these.
And two reels of wick. That ought to do it. More soon !
For years now I have been buying Razer boards. Mostly because I couldn't be fuffed messing around. However, their keyboard and mouse firmwares are now loaded with botulism, and I am tired of having to refuse it. They are also terribly unreliable. And their warranty is among the worst I have ever seen. So congrats to them on that.
I also realised recently my time on the PC actually typing is now far lower, due to being back into games in a big way. I am also about to do a full desk revamp and project at home, and I want more space. You will see that this winter.
First up was making a nice compact keyboard but making it not suck as much. I firstly realised that the last couple of boards I bought were with red switches, and I have learned to hate them so. They are FAR too easy to press, and that means I end up making mistakes in games. And it is annoying. This was compounded more recently by getting a board with some odd switches I had never heard of, and realising they have a much higher actuation force. And when you are a heavy handed "I grew up on rubber domes" ***** like myself you soon realise it is for the better.
So the first thing I did was looked at a F ton of switches. And I settled on these, with a 50g actuation and 60g to bottom out. Ph33r my uranium rod fingers.
They are from a diced fruits range labelled only as "kiwi". They are also pre lubed, and not terribly expensive. £32 for two tubs which will give me more than enough.
I then needed a keyboard. So, I got one here from the MP that had a liquid spill and the RGB is a bit off. That doesn't matter, I will just find a colour that works. Probably red to match my rig.
It's a gorgeous little board. On the outside lol. On the inside it has red switches *gob spit* that I hate so much. So those will be desoldered one by one and replaced.
So that was those sorted for less than £70. Which is less than half of the RRP of the Falchion alone. I then ordered some caps, but not just normal ones. I see they now do clear caps. And I don't mean pudding caps either which are opaque, I mean like, crystal clear. Due to this they are expensive, and a full set (which I want, I don't want dodgy wrong row keys) is an eye watering £50. However, I lucked out. I found a "Opened never used" set on a certain warehouse, and they were £21. So I was now armed with all of the ingredients.
Switches.
If you ever buy any of this range make sure they are sealed. Apparently people like to buy them, nick a few and then send them back.
Here are the caps. All four layers of them.
And like I said, they are completely crystal clear.
I have always loved transparent electronics. From my first Imac in 98, to my sorta clear red N64 (strawberry). It's like adult entertainment for me to see inside things, but then I was totally a 90s sorta person. We need more of it, basically. I did open that to check they were all there (again, people looking for free key caps) and they were, so that was awesome.
Opened up the keyboard to test it.
You would be forgiven for thinking it was upside down. It isn't, that is a full dust cover. Amazing. This means when not in use I can put that on and won't have to clean it out anywhere near as often. You can flip it and put the keyboard inside it, but I don't think I will bother doing that. All works perfectly.
So it needs packing away to be transported home.
The final things needed were supplies. I got some 99% isoprop for the obvious reasons, as well as this.
And these.
And two reels of wick. That ought to do it. More soon !
