Mechanical Keyboard Autism Thread - Because Cherry MX switches get you laid.

Blue switch master race here, nothing more chad than keeping your neighbors up at night while you type autism online.
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I wonder when/if a Cherry MX keyboard for the Amiga will be available? This one for the A500/A600/A1200 was at pre-order stage in late 2018 (archive), but it appears as though nothing has happened since.
 
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So, what do you boys think about opto-mechanical keyboards? It feels like I'm committing keyboard blasphemy just talking about them.
 
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So I've been looking at getting a new keyboard and was hoping to try something a little different. Right now I have a logitech g610 with cherry browns. Is there any switch types that will give me a brown experience with perhaps a little more click but not the all out clickiness of cherry blues? Sometimes I'd like to try out a blue switch keyboard but the sound is just too loud for me. Anyways thanks in advance.
 
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Clown College said:
So I've been looking at getting a new keyboard and was hoping to try something a little different. Right now I have a logitech g610 with cherry browns. Is there any switch types that will give me a brown experience with perhaps a little more click but not the all out clickiness of cherry blues? Sometimes I'd like to try out a blue switch keyboard but the sound is just too loud for me. Anyways thanks in advance.
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You might want to try some O-Ring Switch Dampeners on your switches. It will make the sound softer.
 
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So it looks like "Alice" style keyboards have been rising in popularity.
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I see why honestly. They look pretty comfy and kinda ergo without being a monstrosity like most ergo mechs are. God they are expensive though unless you want to take it upon yourself to 3D print one. Anyone have experience with these? Worth the price?
 
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That ergonomic keyboard looks a bit stupid and haphazard, like they broke a regular keyboard into that shape. Q W, A S, Z X does not look comfortable and is upside-down-shift meant to be space? If someone built it themselves I can understand it.
 
Smaug's Smokey Hole said:
That ergonomic keyboard looks a bit stupid and haphazard, like they broke a regular keyboard into that shape. Q W, A S, Z X does not look comfortable and is upside-down-shift meant to be space? If someone built it themselves I can understand it.
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from what I understand, it started as an 'open source' keyboard (that being, the plans to print and manufacture it were on github) and it was meant to be made from parts that were a bit jank so that a home user could do it.

Then large companies started picking it up and producing CNC metal versions. The shift/insert thing is because spacebars of that size are very hard to find. Despite being manufactured, this is still a custom build that doesn't come with any switches or caps.
 
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Smaug's Smokey Hole said:
That ergonomic keyboard looks a bit stupid and haphazard, like they broke a regular keyboard into that shape. Q W, A S, Z X does not look comfortable and is upside-down-shift meant to be space? If someone built it themselves I can understand it.
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the problem with ergo keyboards like that is you'd need custom keycaps as well. you can make it work somewhat since there are low profile ones, but you'd still have to mix and match.
but yeah, not a fan of the design either. it really shouldn't be hard to properly design one and then just kickstart the production.
 
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ZMOT said:
the problem with ergo keyboards like that is you'd need custom keycaps as well. you can make it work somewhat since there are low profile ones, but you'd still have to mix and match.
but yeah, not a fan of the design either. it really shouldn't be hard to properly design one and then just kickstart the production.
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I agree that it looks janky, but I'm really unsure what I'd change about it. I don't think much can really be done about the key shape because in the customs scene they have to fit standard key layouts. The options that force you into a specific keycaps set are usually pretty unpopular (for good reason).
 
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ZMOT said:
the problem with ergo keyboards like that is you'd need custom keycaps as well. you can make it work somewhat since there are low profile ones, but you'd still have to mix and match.
but yeah, not a fan of the design either. it really shouldn't be hard to properly design one and then just kickstart the production.
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The "alice" style ergo keyboards are made with standard keycaps in mind, which is why they have numpad 0 and long Shift keys for the spacebars, as extras from a standard keycap set that are the right size for those keys. It seems like that form factor is popular because unlike other ergo keyboards, you can use whatever keycap set you want.
 
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Rusty Crab said:
I agree that it looks janky, but I'm really unsure what I'd change about it. I don't think much can really be done about the key shape because in the customs scene they have to fit standard key layouts. The options that force you into a specific keycaps set are usually pretty unpopular (for good reason).
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There's probably models for a 3D printer out there, problem is that those are so fucking slow that I have a hard time thinking that some dude would produce them for sale and creating injection molds for a small project like that makes no sense financially.
On the other hand not all keys need to be printed just the Q W, A S and Z X (plus the other side and some other bits and pieces). I don't know what the other alternatives would be, buying sacks of keys from Alibaba?
 
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GMMK Pro finally arrived. By and large I like it. The keys are, as the reviews said, slightly stiff, although nothing really outre which I won't adjust to. It looks good. It's very solid in construction. For the most part it sounds good - the major exception is the spacebar, where there's a bit of a rattle and the sound is quite low-pitched in comparison to the rest of the keyboard. Replacing the stabilisers will help with that. The only real problem I had was due to my own forgetfulness. I thought I had a set of keycaps that would fit a 75% somewhere, but a search of my house only found standard keycaps. So right now my right shift key looks ridiculous, while my right alt, fn and control keys have the wrong legends on them.
 
Pee Cola said:
I wonder when/if a Cherry MX keyboard for the Amiga will be available? This one for the A500/A600/A1200 was at pre-order stage in late 2018 (archive), but it appears as though nothing has happened since.
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With the price of PCB manufacturing these days and considering that you can pull it off with two layers no sweat it wouldn't be expensive or too difficult (if you know how to accurately measure things) to make a keyboard PCB for the Amiga cases. I think the original is only 1-layered paper pcb with metal bridges but don't quote me on this. The only increased difficulty is is the flat-flex connector you have on the A600 and A1200 which wouldn't be easy to replace with something more "human-friendly" on the Amiga-PCBs side because of the spacing of the connector's pins. I'm also not entirely sure you can keycap sets that'd fit a layout, the Amiga had some weird keys. The early A2000 keyboards had cherry switches and keycaps that'd fit but they're probably as rare as hen's teeth these days.

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I'm still using my G80-1800 and the keys have retained their sandy/gritty structure after months of heavy use without showing signs of wear so they're definitively PBT with lasered/filled-in legends. I really enjoy this keyboard, it sits in the right corner of availability, (don't need to do some weird pre-order 24 months in advance, a brand new one is just three clicks and max. 2 days on amazon away) no-BS, (no LEDs, drivers etc.) price, (60-70 Euros new isn't cheap but okay compared to some crazy prices others have IMO) and build quality/usability. As weird corner-case need I have, it also still supports PS/2. No, Cherry doesn't pay me for this. (but if you're reading this, you're welcome to!)

I got curious how SA style keys would be like (only really know something similar from the C64 and some old terminals/typewriters I haven't seen in 30-40 years) and ordered the domikey SA dolch set off aliexpress. They cost as much as the keyboard with the keys it came with and were at the limit of what I was willing to pay to experiment with SA/similar profiles. I also saw the MT3 profile ones on drop.com but it wasn't entirely clear to me if they'd actually support the weird off-center space bar this cherry has and for an experiment, they were too pricey anyways.
 
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AmpleApricots said:
With the price of PCB manufacturing these days and considering that you can pull it off with two layers no sweat it wouldn't be expensive or too difficult (if you know how to accurately measure things) to make a keyboard PCB for the Amiga cases.
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PCB hard membranes are now available for the A500, A600 and A1200. Not sure if it's possible to solder Cherry MX switches onto one of those; even if it is possible, it would be time-consuming.
 
Tom Myers said:
I really want this keyboard: https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

The trackball attachment would make my life so much easier.
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Idk man, I feel like all those half-mice are just an inferior form of proper hotkey configuration.

If you're using the mouse where a hotkey could feasibly be used, set that up.
If you ACTUALLY need to use a mouse, just use the mouse because it's going to offer faster speed and greater precision.

Most of the times I've used those hacky-type mice for extended periods, it just ended up hurting my fingers.
 
Rusty Crab said:
Idk man, I feel like all those half-mice are just an inferior form of proper hotkey configuration.

If you're using the mouse where a hotkey could feasibly be used, set that up.
If you ACTUALLY need to use a mouse, just use the mouse because it's going to offer faster speed and greater precision.

Most of the times I've used those hacky-type mice for extended periods, it just ended up hurting my fingers.
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I had a co-worker tell me about this keyboard. Dude said that it was awesome for whenever he didn't/couldn't use a shortcut and it let him not remove his hands from the keyboard.
 
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