>


what is a usual markup from group buy to in-store?

I think it basically depends on the store/group buy; might be able to check the store of whoever you're buying from and look for past GB vs Extras store pages to compare.
What stabilizers does the community recommend right now? I have heard Durock V2s are no longer "the thing" and have heard TX V3s and Staebies come up often. Doing a Mode Sonnet build with tactile switches and a POM plate if that were to affect the answers. >

Honestly there are "it was perfectly fine" and "it was an absolute nightmare" stories for all of those, so my recommendation is get whichever is more accessible/fits your color scheme better and just be sure to balance the wires before assembly + don't over-mod to start (just wire balance+lube is enough in most cases) + test them on the PCB before installing the plate/all the switches. >

Oh wow just looked up wire balancing. Never heard of that, thank you! >

Hi y'all. I've posted about this a couple of times now, and I appreciate the guidance I've gotten so far. I'm looking for a high quality (comparatively), wireless 1800 keyboard that's either prebuilt or barebones and requires only keycaps and switches. I've gone through quite a few, but it's hard to get an idea for the quality of a lot of these, especially when I can't find much coverage on some. Here's my shortlist so far, and I'd love any feedback on these, or additions to them:
​
Keebmonkey 1800 V2.0: Barebones, wireless, backlit, seems to be well made. My gut says I'd prefer something not plastic, but I know that's not necessarily an indicator of quality.
​
Yunzii IF98 Pro: Again, the only knock on this is that it's a plastic body, and I don't know if that should count as a knock. I also don't love the white body, but the others are transparent and that's not my vibe.
​
Ajazz AK966: This one seems good, but it's probably the one I've done the least reading on. Another plastic body.
​
Dareu A98 Pro: I can't find *anything* about this board. It seems nice, and I'm intrigued by the LED screen. Plastic body (I think).
​
Everglide SK98: Another barebones, I think this one ticks all of my boxes, as it's the only aluminum board on my list. But it's more than $200 just for the barebones kit, and that seems pretty steep. I can't find very much about it, but if the quality really is that much better than these other options, I'd consider it.
​
Akko PC98B Plus Air: I know a lot of folks speak highly of the 3098B, and this seems to be very similar. Maybe it's a slightly newer model? Not sure. I like the aesthetic of this better than the non-Air version. Another plastic body.
​
Leopold FC980MBT: This one isn't backlit, which is pretty high on my list of priorities, but I included it because every single person out there says that Leopold makes the best prebuilts. If it's head and shoulders better than these other options, I'd consider it despite the lack of backlighting. 
​
The only other consideration I'm making is that I know I want to install Kaihl Box Jades on whatever board I end up getting, and I haven't confirmed yet whether all of these would be compatible with that. To be honest, I'm not sure how to go about confirming compatibility with switches. Thanks for any insights! >

What about the Keychron K4 Pro? Ticks all the boxes including hotswap, barebones, 1800-layout and wireless to boot. >

I’d looked at that, and the V series as well, but I like the Q series so much better. And I know that if I get something in the range of the K series, I’ll end up being restless and wanting to upgrade sooner than later. I’ll say this, if Keychron would make a Q5 Pro, like they’re currently kickstarting the Q1 Pro, I’d buy that in a heartbeat. >

I wouldn't be surprised if a Q5 Pro came along very soon TBH. Nothing wrong with waiting for what you want to buy if you don't need one right now. >

That’s where I’m leaning right now, actually. At the rate they have been releasing new boards, I wouldn’t be shocked it it happens this year. And it feels like sort of a given that it will happen eventually. >

Hi, new to mechanical keyboards and looking to pick one up that's versatile for work (Mac) and games (PC). I don't plan to go down the hobby rabbit hole.

size: not a concern as it'll stay on my desk, thinking maybe 75% or 80%/TKL, and I figure if I really want a numpad in the future, I could get one separately
budget: ideally the best value I can get <$250 CAD but open to stretching if there are great options
layout: I'm considering a split keyboard but haven't tried them before... was looking at the Moonlander and Dygma Rise but maybe in the future.

Must have:

Mac and Windows support
swappable USB cord
prebuilt/no soldering required
number row

Nice to have:

hot-swappable switches
Bluetooth/wireless support
detachable wrist pads
RGB
rotary knob
QMK/VIA / doesn't require brand-specific software
white color

I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the options out there so I decided to narrow down by brand instead and am currently deciding among Keychron, Akko, and Nuphy (open to others). I'm currently leaning towards Keychron (Q, V or K Pro). Heard great things about Akko and Nuphy too but heard the software isn't that great, and Keychron uses QMK/VIA which is open source.
Among Keychron's series, I like how Q has knobs and a white option, but no RGB or bluetooth (although I heard it's not great anyways) and a lot more expensive. V and K are cheaper and have RGB, but are kinda ugly -- can I buy other keycaps and switch them? Thoughts on what keyboards to narrow down to? >

the other post mentioned "split 75% doesnt really exist," but depending on how long you're willing to wait the Keychron Q11 is going to be a split version of their Q1, just with an extra knob & some macro keys on the left side. I think slated for Feb or March release?
Q also does have RGB, just not shine-through keycaps ("enthusiast" tier buyers tend to not want those because shine-through plastic feels/sounds bad in comparison generally). For V and K* Pro (and Q), yeah you can definitely change the keycaps. You can even get a barebones version that doesn't come with switches/keycaps to save the trouble of removing them, if you want. 
*I think some of the K series, especially the low-profiles?, may have issues with stabilizers on standard keycaps, but K Pro should be fine except again maybe the low-profile K3 Pro. (You probably want K Pro anyway since it doesn't really cost much different and has QMK support)
Also note that the Q boards have a Shell White option for case/keycap color, it's just somewhat hidden on some models behind picking the right top-level option (like "Fully Assembled Knob" for the Q1).
There's also the current "kickstarter" (really just a preorder) for the Q1 Pro, which is offered in a white case option, that is Q1 but with bluetooth. >

Thanks! Where can I see more about the Keychron Q11? Tried to search but didn't see anything. Macro keys would be useful for me too but I didn't mention that as I haven't seen mkbs with them (besides gaming ones). >

They post upcoming stuff in the discord sometimes, but just there and not like "officially" on the website/social media until dates and such are set in stone (since the general audience is more likely to make angry posts about delays or whatever, which aren't uncommon given the covid situation, chip shortages, etc).
They have some other boards with macro keys as well if you're interested I guess, like the Q10/V10 and Q65. (technically any key/key combo can be a macro key with QMK/VIA, but just speaking about standalone macro keys) >

How do I choose keycaps? Im new to custom keyboards, so I dont really know what I like. I'm planning to get a white monsgeek m1 with alpaca switches, what would be an appropriate budget for keycaps with that in mind? Is there any objectively good things I should be looking for?
I like the look of the YMDK matcha keycaps, as well as the artifact bloom series black on back. Are these valid options?
Thanks :) >

It's all preference and you won't know what you like until you try it. That being said, cherry is a safe profile, it's the most popular for a reason. >

should I buy the Keychron Q1v2 now or wait until the Q1 Pro gets enough reviews and buy it if it is worth it? >

Do you really need Bluetooth? If not, get Q1v2, if yes - wait. >

This is probably a really weird query. I love the layout of a 75% keyboard so much, but I can't work around the the right shift key being smaller from the left.
My muscle memory always uses the right shift, and because of my hand placement I almost  always hit the arrow up key than the shift. Is there or has there been any keyboards in a 75% layour with a longer right shift key? >

Not really, because the arrow keys go there. There were some exceptions tho - Mammoth 75, but it was a GB. I'd suggest either going with TKL or trying to slowly get used to the smaller shift :/ >

The Mammoth 75 is EXACTLY what I was imagining. Aw man. >

See r/mechmarket, might get lucky and find someone selling one >

akko has their own software to program the keyboard. i haven't used it myself yet so maybe someone can confirm;   i'd imagine download this and you will find the options your looking for >

big tip: check your stabilizers of they lubed em from factory. 
I thought my Enter button keycap/switch was defect, but it was too much lube on the stabilizer that was making it mushy.
Removed a bit of lube with paper & a world of improvement. >

Did you have a question? This is a questions thread. >

What are the differences between stabilizers? Are some better when used with certain switches? >

not switch related. but the quality of the stabs make a huge difference. some of the most popular ones right now are:   aeboard stabies, tx stabilizers and owlstabs >

Hi everyone,
I am looking to build, yet another, keyboard. I am looking for an ortholinear (or staggered from left to right, not sure the terminology for this) keyboard with “ergonomic” form. Unfortunately the person I am making it for will not go with what I think is superior, a split keyboard. I have not been active in the keyboard making world so I no longer know where to look for a PCB with the layout I have in mind.
Could someone mention some PCBs I should look for? To be clear, I am thinking something like the Malicious Ergo but with ortholinear instead of the standard keyboard stagger. 
Alternatively could someone tell me how difficult it is to make a split keyboard into a single board?
Let me know if I could be more clear somehow.
TDLR; Where to buy PCB like the Malicious Ergo but without standard stagger. >

Planning to build my second keyboard, which switches should i choose?
My first keyboard have Holy Pandas X hand-lubed, which i really like (much more than the blue cherry MX, which were my first)
The options are:
Drop + Invyr Holy Panda,
Everglide Aqua King,
Drop Halo,
Gateron Oil King >

I love the Oil Kings, Im planning on getting some soon. I tried them at a keeb store a while back and liked them immediately >

Are they more Thocky or Clacky? >

Thocky >

Wanting buying advice on switches and brand, low profile.
I'm daily driving cherry blacks from almost a decade ago. I think they're pretty good, but interested in moving to some low profile mechanical switches to reduce strain on my hands. I notice I enjoy typing on my 2021 14" macbook pro more than my desktop.
I've tried almost all the cherry switches. I think I'd prefer a tactile bump if it was very gentle and quiet. Browns are okay, but I'd prefer less bump.
What I'm looking at most right now is keychron's low profile switches.  I appreciate that their keyboard's are mac friendly, (as I may daily drive a mac) but I will be using this keyboard on a PC for gaming, video editing, and 3d software rendering software. Budget $80-140, but if the value is there I'd go higher. >

I've personally tried the low profile Keychron and it was decent. The flexibility across wired/wireless and operating systems was very nice. Heard good things about the Nuphy Air too which might be closer to what you'd like with flat keys. 
Alternatively have you tried spring swapping your MX Blacks to a lighter spring? >

Is there anyone here who happens to be aware of some software that would let me record and play back strings of keys on the fly?
I'm trying hard to ween myself off that Logitech goodness, but i'm hard-pressed to find anything that will allow me to use macros as powerfully as the logitech software does.
With logitech using macros is so simple; Hit record, hit the button to assign it to, do your thing, hit record again. Now the assigned key plays back whatever you recorded. No opening an app, no popups, just on the fly, anywhere anytime. Why is there no such thing for 3rd party use?
As a last resort, is there perhaps a way to 'spoof' a logitech keyboard so that I may use a nice mechy like a Keychron Q6? >


As a last resort, is there perhaps a way to 'spoof' a logitech keyboard so that I may use a nice mechy like a Keychron Q6?

No. >

Greetings swell folks,
I am looking around on Drop and see that they have the Preonic available and in my favorite color way, orange. There is no information on the key caps that come with the set though. Can anyone here help me discern the differences?
TIA! >

accute keycaps are the colored ones with legends in the pics on the site the other two options are pretty straight forward as they r both blanks with no legends one is black in OEM profile the other is beige in XDA profile . u can google what those profiles are but both will be blanks >

Ty >

Was the nk87 supposed to support vial out of the box? I believe it was via only, either way you can port it into vial or compile your own from the vial repo >

I just purchased a tokyo60 from a friend but don’t know what website would be good to get key caps can anyone recommend me any? >

Do you have experience with cannonkeys.com? If so, how is their customer service? Are they reliable with fixing orders? 
I just received my Zoom65 and it came with the wrong weight. I ordered the gold mirrored one but they sent me the black one. I just sent an email with pictures attached. >

Cannonkeys is pretty well known for their keyboards and their customer service so I think you shouldn’t have a problem with them. >

Thank you! >

Hi, does anyone have any views or experience with the bubble 75? There seem to be so many posts about the Mode Sonnet, but very little about the Bubble 75, which appears a similar keyboard at a similar price. Thanks. >

Any recommendations between purchasing the new Zoom65 v2 or the Mode Envoy? >

Both are overpriced and not very good, so I'm afraid it will be hard to get any recommendation for either in this sub >

If I compare for example the Keychron K6 for $99 with the keychron Q1 for $179 I really start to wonder what is so much better on the Q1. Barebone does not include switches and keys and it's still so much more expensive. I know the build quality is better and all that, but so is the build quality of the more expensive keychron keyboards but that's still cheaper than getting the barebone, switches and keycaps separately.
Am I missing something here? >

Basically for the Q series the case is a huge chunk of aluminium and that costs money to make. A lot of people really prefer that heavy premium feel. If you don't, that's what the V or K Pro series is for basically. 
Comparing to the K6 in particular (which isn't entirely fair because K6 is a smaller layer and thus needs fewer switches/caps/etc), it's also hotswap (extra labor and materials) and gasket mounted, and comes with various pre-installed mods to improve the sound. It also comes with more tools (switch puller, L wrench, C to C USB cable with C to A adapter, etc), which is minor but adds a bit. Plus QMK support, of course (which requires a more powerful and specific chip). >

The K6 has pre installed mods, hotswappable keys, qmk and tools but the only reason it's cheaper is because it's less aluminum and a handfull less keys/switches? Sorry, just making sure I understood what you meant :) >

Please don't be intentionally obtuse to strangers. Obviously "it" refers to the other object of comparison—the Q1 you were asking about; there would be no point of comparing the K6 to itself. >

Where can I get Kailh Silent Box Brown switches in Europe at a decent price? >

Candykeys has them in stock >

What keycaps do I need to buy to replace stock ones on a K6 Pro? >

Cherry mx compatible ones. Besides that, make sure whatever set you buy has support for standard 65% keyboards. (mostly the 1.75U shift)
SA, XDA, Cherry, MT3, KAT, DSA, or any other profile will work. >

Which ones do I need to look for to make the keyboard sound thocky? >

Keycaps have little to no effect on keyboard sound. >

Smoothest stock Akko linear switch? >

Weird question, but I'm still relatively new to the hobby - is there any unintuitive or surprising way I might be screwing up connecting a small 5-pin flat/ribbon cable in my QK75? 
Context, I got my kit, tested all the keys on the PCB and everything seemed to be working great, but I haven't been able to get the rotary encoder to work at all. It looks to me like the cable is installed correctly on both ends (image), and I've tried replacement cables, a replacement encoder, flashing firmware, and nothing seems to work to get their software or my pc to recognize inputs from the knob. 
They say the next thing to try would be to send back and swap out the entire PCB, but given my lack of experience with these components, I just wanted to ask if there was some common rookie mistake or something I might be making on my end but not realizing before I go through with that. Thanks so much! >

I'm considering going with the Keychron Q5 after the Nuphy Air96 is nog longer an option for me (No ISO layouts) . However I'm worried the Q5 might be too tall for me and fuck up my wrists. Is there something similar that isn't as tall? Currently using a Logitech K520 on it's last leg. >

get a wrist rest! I got a KC Q1 and ran into the same issue, got myself a wrist rest and I love it now >

Anyone know of a way to make Cherry style keycaps sit a bit higher on the crucifix? I added three new keycaps and they sit lower than the rest. Thanks! >

What makes a good cable? Why do people need custom cables? And which do you recommend? >

A good cable is a durable one, that doesn't break in a couple months. Custom cables are (90% of the time) purely cosmetic. >

How do people feel about NovelKeys? Specifically interested in the GMK Notion set whenever it’s back in stock. I currently only have the stock ABS keycaps that came with my Keychron C1 so I don’t know what to expect. >

I like NK a lot and feel that their pbt caps are a great value for the expansive kitting. You will much prefer them to the stock keychron caps >

Somehow when assembling my Zoom65 I managed to pull the two cables for the battery out of their plastic housing. I got them back in the housing and the keyboard was working but after a day of use the battery has stopped providing power.
If I power the keyboard using the USB C port it connects wirelessly but powers off and disconnects as soon as it's unplugged.
I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to electronics like this. As I understand it the connector is some kind of 2 pin JST connector and the battery is 3.7V with 2250mAh capacity.
Pictures of the battery are here. Approximate battery dimensions are: length: 105mm, width: 41.6mm, thickness: 3.6mm.
I was wondering what I might search to find a replacement as I haven't had much luck with the information printed on the battery itself?
Any names for the connector or possible specifications for the battery would be appreciated. >

Are there any good tools for keycap planning? There are a few sets I’m interested in but don’t know if they would remotely look good together. >

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. >

Keychron K3 Pro or NuPhy Air 75? Not sure which one should i choose. >

both very nice. for me qmk would probably be the deciding factor >

I'm looking for a first keyboard and looking at Keychron, Akko, and Nuphy. I'm leaning towards Keychron because of the QMK/VIA support as opposed to the proprietary Akko/Nuphy software. But do I even need software to use the keyboards? Can't I just plug in and use it assuming I'm getting a 75%+ and not using layers? >

It'd work fine without software. However, to re-keybind, use macros, etc. you need the software. Qmk/Via gives you a lot more freedom than proprietary software. >

Anyone can tell me if i can buy the akko 5075S knob in any other color than gold ? Do all akko keyboards have the same knob ? >

the sites says they all have a case color matching knob with a gold knob included in the box >

Omg what, i don think thats true in m case >

Is it possible for Keychron V4 leds to be configured to change colors based on layer? Based on my research so far, I'm thinking the leds aren't compatible with that type of config. Can someone help me if this is possible? >

there a way to do it in QMK not in VIA though . does require some research in program code >

Currently using Akko's ASA profile keys and considering adding some accents (Enter, Spacebar, and Esc) to my set. Obviously the ESC key doesn't matter as much, but if I were to get some MT3 caps from drop, would the Enter key and spacebar be noticibly too high? I can't seem to find a direct comparison of the two. >

I could be wrong but from the comparison of both profiles to standard cherry it definitely seems like MT3 keycaps are around 4 mm taller than asa. So a Cherry profile keycap is closer to asa than asa is to mt3 there would be a noticeable difference. >

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. Currently have a OEM keycap on the enter key and it's ever so slightly smaller, and I'm happy with it. Any reccomendation on where I can purchase quality PBT OEM single caps? Looking to do the spacebar, escape, and enter in red to complete a dolch colorway with the Akko Black & Silvers. Preferably with a font style on the enter key that plays well with the Akko or blank. >

I have two wyse-120 terminal with cherry black keyboards I believe. Still works. They feel fantastic. Is there a modern equivalent switch with ps/2 port? >

cheery black are still made but those are probably vintage blacks . cherry hyper glide blacks would prob be closest . but i am not sure if anyone still makes kbs with PS/2 port cables as that tech is rarely found on hardware these days its 20 years retired as the standard >

Hard to say without going through your entire keymap line-by-line unfortunately.
What I would do is this: get the base layer, edit it and have no layers. Flash that and verify it works and if it does, add your first layer, flash that and test again.
Rinse and repeat for all the other layers. You should be able to pinpoint what's causing the issue faster this way.
Also, are you flashing the default keymap provided by GMMK or one you obtained elsewhere? >

Thanks. I will try that. I’m using a keymap that somebody else edited based on a file glorious created. But I am pretty sure that my edits broke it. >

Could anyone recommend ZMK controller + shield/PCB with north facing RGB leds, bluetooth? >

I love the keycap sets that have the cadet symbols. How many kits have them? so far i know of these three: Space Cadet, GMK Nuke Data, GMK Euler. Any others? >

crimson cadet >

Are there any good navless keyboards? I'm using an 1800 now (keychron k4) but honestly I never use the arrows or the nav buttons so I'd rather have full width right shift and 0 keys. (by muscle memory I use the numpad for those things.) >

Wind X R2 is going up very soon and at least has the fullwidth zero. (no F row though if you wanted to keep that) 
Otherwise you miiiight be able to find a southpaw board, but those still often have right-side arrows. 
You could I suppose get a TKL and simply rebind the nav cluster to a numpad + backslash key as your zero? (feels pretty similar aside from the missing plus/enter/minus/etc non-number keys)
In general though the options are pretty limited for "has numpad" and "doesn't have arrows/short right shift". >

Yeah, I'm aware it's a niche preference. I'll probably end up settling into a 60% and a separate tenkey at some point, but with so many options out there I figured it didn't hurt to ask. >

looking to replace my 60% with a 65%, currently looking into the keychron Q2 or the zoom65 V2. Any recommendations on one over the other or any other boards over one of those two? >

There's also the upcoming Mode Envoy, Tofu Jr., Tofu 65 2.0, QK65 extras (I think?), Killer65 (gb i think ended but can probably get one in extras when it arrives), Ikki68, and honestly probably several others I'm not thinking of; 65% is a popular layout. >

Looking at building first custom board, what % money should i spend on what?? unsure what is the most important >

It’s preference so there’s no “should” here. I would spend the most on kit itself (case + PCB). Switches usually range between $2 to $6 for a pack of 10. Keycaps can be expensive but you can find great keycaps for around $70-90 and there are some decent/good ones for as little as $25. >

any plate mount stabs should work >

I’ve done some searching and I see people saying specific ones won’t work, some need clipping, etc.
Would you mind sending me a link of just the cheapest stabs I could get to sell this thing? >

I've never had anything but Vortex off-the-shelf. Now I would like to have something that feels a bit more unique and premium. I also don't feel ready to jump into group buys with uncertain delivery times since I would like to use it soon. What are my options right now? 75 or TKL preferred. The rest I don't know yet.
I am eyeing a Freebird TKL for 270€  and GMK retrocast for 130€ simply because it's in stock right now
Will I be happy with this or am I overpaying way too much? Is there any recommendation for a reliable group buy delivering soon where I can still participate? This is in Europe >

You might be able to get a Zoom TKL soon in extras or Assembled Edition; group buy ended a while ago so the timing is possibly good for that. 
I've heard some bad stuff about the freebird's value, but I haven't actually looked into it so I can't say either way.
Keychron Q1/Q3 are of course options as well, especially if you want ISO layout (not a lot of ISO support out there). 
Ripple TKL from cannonkeys is a current group buy that should be pretty reliable. 
Tiger 80, Tiger Lite, Odin 75 from KBD Fans too.
Also Mode Sonnet, and possibly Mode Eighty (though I think the Eighty is maybe getting replaced by another TKL from them soon? not sure).
And honestly probably a ton of other options as well if you're going for something fairly premium, TKL is like a hugely prefered layout for that market demographic so there are toooons. >

what is a usual markup from group buy to in-store? if the zoom tkl is over I will have to probably pay that anyways, right?
The other options ill check out. thanks