Interesting Finds & Heads-Ups

Marketplace Sharing fun finds
3210

I have a Salvation. I agree with a full plate it’s similar to a Bakeneko (which I have), perhaps a little more lively. Nice feel and great sounding, especially the spacebar. You can type on it very hard and get essentially the same experience as light typing on a firmer gasket mount board, so it can be really comfy.

If you want it livelier in plated config, you can move the pads under the leaves. I still would not describe it as bouncy in that position, but it does give it more feedback than a Bakeneko. A config I liked for a while was just the spacebar-adjacent supports in the standard position and the rest in the bouncier position, preserving the punchiness and sound of the spacebar.

However, my main build is plateless with a Hiney H60, and it really does vibrate significantly without a plate. Very different experience and much more vibration than a Bakeneko. I don’t think I’ve tried a board considered bouncy with switch plate or PCB leaf springs, so it’s hard to compare. I wouldn’t descrdibe it as bounce, but it does give a lot of feedback, much more than plated.

Haven’t tried it with the flex-cut PCB. I assume it will be a fun novelty but not the way I’d normally want to type.

It’s a neat board, not world altering, but I enjoy it, and it is unique. Definitely worth the low-$200s sale price if you have a use for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they still have some next sale.

@pixelpusher I’m unclear if you’re using both the “standard” and side screw mounts, but you only need to use the screw mounting holes at the Tab-Q and \ positions, if they are there on your PCB. The ones on the edges are only provided in case the PCB lacks those two. I think it would make it stiffer than it needs to be or noisier to use all four.

EDIT: You know, after writing this, I went to type on it, and I’m finding it vibrating less than I remembered even with no plate, more like an o-ring board. I recently switched keycaps back to NK PBT, which are beefier than the caps I’d had on recently. I think things that affect vibration transfer to your fingers make an extra difference on this board.

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3211

Is this another of the rare full-travel long poles? It looks long to me… a bit surprising from Haimu?

(Image from T Goat’s Kinetic Labs article)

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3212

Not that I need more liners, but I decided to pick up a couple of packs of these when I saw them drop. Honestly it might have been because it seems almost a novelty for a new switch to have 4mm travel these days. I’ve tried many long pole switches, linear and tactile alike, and I can’t get down with them. Even something with a slightly shorter travel like a JWK P3 stem are no bueno.

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3213

I have the same preference, though I found one I like, the Haimu Skies. They’re 3.8mm travel. On an aluminum plate, they were fun but still too abrupt for me long-term, but they’re perfect on an FR4 plate.

In general I feel like you’re right about the ubiquity of long-poles, but the Theremin Goat chart I linked above shows a few manus who are still mainly below his long-pole length definition, such as Gateron and Momoka. I’ve been using Yellow Pro 3.0s a lot - not a completely new switch, but basically perfected.

2 Likes
3214

I realized that I had never tried my salvation without a plate. I don’t usually use hotswap PCBs without a plate because, depending on the switch, they can move while typing. And they will always pull out if you try to swap keycaps.

IMG_5739
IMG_57394032×3024 1.33 MB

But yes, the foundation feels more unique without a plate. I do like it better. Perhaps I’ll solder something in here when I find the best switches.

These are Huano Caramel Lattes.

Botanical desert looks handsome on this case.

IMG_5740
IMG_57404032×3024 1.25 MB

9 Likes
3215

Looks great. Glad it’s an interesting change. If you solder a H60, at least, be aware the Avocado USB port sticks out farther. I find a regular cable limits PCB movement on the left side with the H60. Ymmv whether it’s really noticeable in use. This may just vary by PCB broadly. I got a cheap cable with a long plug on Amazon to mitigate this. It looks kinda crappy but works. Georen at Dispatch Cables also told me he has some options to help with this for a custom cable.

5 Likes
3216

Thanks for the heads up on this! I missed the NovelKeys sale but snagged a Lightning Silver case from AshKeebs. Used a @dovenyi discount code and shipping was just under $14 to the mid-Atlantic, so managed to get the case, delivered, for $195!

I figured I’d use other 60% PCBs I already own and may live to regret that, but we’ll see…

3 Likes
3217

Great price! You’ll be fine without the weirdflex PCB IMO. Especially if you want to run it plateless, a solid universal 60% with no flex cuts is the way to go there. Unless you’re looking for a super bouncy/flexy build in it.

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3218

That’s really reassuring to hear! I’m mostly just looking for a really nice 60% case with a better typing feel than your standard tray mount, so this sounds like I’m in a good place here.

I’ve been looking for a hotswap 60% PCB with QMK/VIA that supports split spacebars in general, but would like to pair one with the Salvation case. One of the few I’ve found is this BIO Instruments Quad Flexcut PCB which seems like it would be a trampoline without a plate on the Salvation.

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3219

Depends really, if you use a full plate with that PCB the flex cuts will just affect the sound for the most part. Especially if you use a alum or brass plate. Now running that plateless or half plate, yes it absolutely is a trampoline. Well honestly not that bad, I have my salvation setup with PCB that has the same flex cuts between each row on a FR4 halfplate & it’s surprisingly useable. Although it still is on the more extreme end of the flexy/bouncy spectrum.

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3220

Glad to hear that as well! I’m very excited to try out all of the various config options for this board!

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3221

Hell yeah! I’m glad I got a the random notification from their discord then. Shipping from CA isn’t bad at all. It was always comparable to state-side vendors for me, but I didn’t know if that had to do with only having a great lake between them and myself.

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3222

Interesting read on stabilizer product development

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3223

Holy shit, @norbauer you are a keyboard god! At first view when I seen just a pic of your stab design I thought “well that looks way overengineered”. However now after reading your write up & getting a small understanding of the process you went through to get to that design I can only stand in awe & amazement at the persistence you put into this problem. I’m sure the final product will be expensive, but I’m also sure it will perform in the way you wanted & I am here for it! Truely a huge thanks from me & everyone else in the community is due for your hard work & amount of money you spent on this problem! I honestly can’t wait to try these stabs out & see the Seneca, they are for sure looking like they’ll both be the peak of what they are!

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3224

Oh man, that’s exciting.

Bad stabs have been the bane of my computing existence since I was an actual child, nevermind discovering mechanical keyboards in my late 20s. I remember playing online with my buds and them asking “what’s that noise?” every time I jumped, because it sounded like someone dropping a box of loose parts.

Not sure if I’m cursed, a selective idiot, or just impatient about that one thing - but for the life of me I can’t seem to tune stabs to my own satisfaction without a massive heap of time and luck, and even then only like 20% of the time. I don’t even wanna admit how many dope keyboards are sitting unbuilt in my closet because I can’t seem to tune stabs to sound as nice as my switches.

Ever since @Walkerstop posted a video of stabs he’d hand-modified with little tiny silicone inserts like… six years ago? I’ve been eager to see better stabs made. Recent developments represent real improvements, but none of them that I’ve tried are really there yet.

If anybody can get stabs caught-up with the rest of keyboard innovation, it’s @norbauer, and I’m stoked to see how much thought he’s already put into it. :3

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3225

I’m curious if it will both be silent and have a linear force curve. To my amateur eyes, it looks a design that “wants to spring back” more than traditional stabilizers.

Practically, it looks like a great bit of design, but I worry it means that any time a stab breaks, it’s un-salvageable.

Also, wasn’t this one of the intended advantages behind Apple’s butterfly-design keyboards? Near silence, perfect force curve, basically flat, but the tolerances were so tight in such a small space that any spec of sand sneaking inside meant it instantly broke?

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3226

This looks really cool! Looking forward to when they hit the market. I wonder if they will be an exclusive feature of the Seneca or sold as general part.

So, it seems that he essentially invented two revolutionary new stabilizers: the result of act 2 and the result of act 3. While it appears that the act 3 (“Norbauer-style”) version seems to be the ultimate design, I hope that the act 2 version will also be produced and released.

Any time frame as to when we might see either of these on the market?

3227

New DCX Set from Drop:

More fodder for the Mix and Match thread I think

7 Likes
3228

https://kineticlabs.com/switches/wuque-studios/ws-pom-linear-switches

Looks like Wuque Studio is getting in on the Smoothe train, with their own version of Gateron’s pre-lubed all-POM switch.

Aside from the color, it looks like this switch features a contemporary LED slot instead of a diffuser like the Smoothie and Silver Smoothies have. I’m sure the spring is different, too, but I’m too lazy to compare them directly while I’m at work. :stuck_out_tongue:

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3229

I dunno how common of a gimmick sliders are, but was low enough price ($130 anodized version w/slider) for me to be interested.

It also meets my usual requirement to run QMK. As crazy as it may sound, custom firmware is like 50% of the reason I got involved in keebs. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

EDIT: Oof, watch out for the shipping, though, $49 for me to the US!

3 Likes