Board I am using today its Moyu Blacks/Dark Jades with I think 55g progressive springs from Spirt, but I built this board a while ago so I might have put in a slightly different weight. As I like the sound a lot and they represented good value I purchased several batches of these and I have at least five or six PCBs built with them, its fairly typical for me to have more than one PCB per keyboard case.
Very tactile switches and I really enjoy the bottom out sound of these, they are very loud for tactiles and will not be for everyone.
Favorites I have built are either some zealios I put in a long stem and progressive spring or some primekbs (smokes with red stem) that are ball bearing modded. I really like that utlra clacky nature of these three switches.
Where do you like to get your PCBs from?
I normally order extra with whatever GB I picked up the board from. I only use 40% keyboards, so it tends to be rare that they are freely available in a keyboard shop, least of all the UK. Last one I remember was monorail, I purchased three of v1 (direct) and v2 (mechboards) each.
Sometimes you get third parties making new versions that are often re-imagined layouts for the same board or a continuation of an out of print board, for both see monorail for both. Some of the fun ones convert an existing layout into something else, like the wolfjaw xl for the equinox xl. They tend to be advertised by the 40% discord.
If you like a common layout like 60% they tend to be a lot easier to find, as long as its not been heavily customized. Mechboards have a bunch in stock right now
Welp. There does what sounds like a long and delightful branch of my keeb rabbit hole. I am mainly a 96-100% board man myself, however. Except next on the bucket list is an ergo, so who knows what might happen!
Just make that ergo hotswap and its a lot easier to play around with different switch builds.
Switch collecting/modding does pander towards hording tendencies, I have thousands of switches that are in jars so I stopped buying new ones till I cleared out some of my back log.
I am the same. Let me know if you want to trade. I have 110 Gateron Quinns in need of a good home.
I really like tactile switches. Out of the few different brands and types, I tried, the Gateron Baby Kangaroo 2.0 (59 g) are my absolute favourite. I use them with my main keyboard atm.
My portable keyboard has some Banana low profile switches (60 g, also Gateron) and they are great, too. But low profile don’t feel as nice to type for me, as proper switches.
The Cherry MX Browns are a sad excuse for a tactile switch.
I should try Gaterons sometime. I’ve only ever used Cherry MX Brown. Happily using those atm with my second mech keyb, a Filco TKL. First was a Corsair full-size, also Cherry Brown.
And I’ve tried linear in a shop once, but I hate those. Feels empty to me, like there’s no switch and only makes me push into the frame harder.
For my next keyboard, I’d like something programmable (Caps Lock as Ctrl, hjkl with Fn as arrows, etc) and smaller, no need for F-keys and separate arrow keys.
Yeah, I am with you there. My Keychton K7 Pro came with linear switches. Ist is pretty nice for gaming, but writing just isn’t fun with them. There is something missing.
If you are happy with the Browns, that is totally fine. They are okay. Totally usable switches and waaay better than any rubber dome keyboards. They just suck a bit in comparison with better tactiles.
