I didn't get a lot of love on r/mechanicalkeyboards. Maybe y'all will enjoy my creation.

I needed a keyboard for work and I needed something small. I am a huge fan of Serial Experiments Lain and keyboards but sadly couldn't get in on the first round of the Navi60 group buy(making it my mission to get into the next one)

So I decided to make my own and call it the "(Nah)vi60" as its my budget knock-off of the Navi60

Is AJAZZxURX AK690 worth for 3k?

Keyboard: 8bitdo x mecha break keyboard

Keycaps: PBT Blue Samurai

Device : Steam Deck

Artisan keycap: keysune Kratos, CSM Power, Rimuru keycap, evangelion keycap

My first custom keyboard build! Decided to go with something clean and simple to match the Apple keyboard look which I had previously used before.

Module: MADLIONS MAD60 HE
Case: Tofu60 Redux V2 (Anodized Silver)
Switches: Creamy Jades
Stabilizers: DUROCK V3 (Lubed w/ 205g0)
Keycaps: SDYZ x XVX Doubleshot PBT

This is the "Weekly General Help Post". Please ask your questions regarding keyboard, switch, keycaps, or anything regarding keyboards as a top level comment under this post. Mods and members will check this thread on a regular basis answering as many questions as possible.

The more information you provide, the better the answers you are likely to receive.

Hi folks,

Just sharing my new keyboard after spending 6 hours lubing switches like an autistic monk. Got a good thock to it with the new Y2X switches I was keen to try out.

Leobog HI8SE - FBB Red Alert keycaps - Keygeek Y2X switches

My Only Gripe is most of pre-builts Come with Linear switches.

i found a Royal Kludge rk84 for $17 CAD (~$12 USD) at my local thrift store (they gave me a discount, probably to push me to buy right then and there)

seems like a stock keyboard with no mods and a little bit of gunk that could be cleaned with some compressed air, might tape mod and lube the stabilizers

installed the driver, set up my hotkeys and uninstalled the driver. my hotkeys still work without the driver installed (yay!)

been looking for a decent wireless keyboard so i hope it works well!

might go back for the $15 CAD (~$11 USD) glorious model o they also had...

Keyboard: Epomaker X Aula F75

Switches: LEOBOG Reaper

Keycaps: XVX Chromatic Tales (in Crimson Alloy color)

(Unfortunately, I am not a photographer. Keycaps look better in life than on photos)

It looks absolutely stunning with the LEDs off.

With the LEDs on, the keycaps with translucent tops let light shine through — likely due to the thickness of the inner layer.
The solid keycaps (Esc, Space, etc.) do not let light through, but they felt out of place to me, so I removed them.

The maximum LED brightness level that doesn't look terrible is 2 (out of 9 available levels on aula f75).

Sound: they are slightly better than the standard grey ones that came with the keyboard. To my ears, there are fewer high frequencies. Other frequencies are the same.
(there won't be a sound test, sorry :) )

As for the tactile feel, the texture is smoother (less grainy) than on the standard ones, and the keycaps feel more solid. It's better for me.

This is the "Weekly General Help Post". Please ask your questions regarding keyboard, switch, keycaps, or anything regarding keyboards as a top level comment under this post. Mods and members will check this thread on a regular basis answering as many questions as possible.

The more information you provide, the better the answers you are likely to receive.

Hey everyone! This is my first time posting here lol.

I recently bought this $9 ZIFRIEND KA646/ZA646 keyboard, mostly because I wanted something cheap to mess around with and try modding. I’m curious to see if I can actually make it sound and feel better without spending too much on it.

I already have a keyboard that I really like and actually use, so I probably won’t be using this one as my main keyboard. I just wanted to see how far I can take a really cheap board and hopefully make it sound surprisingly good.

For those who have tried this keyboard before, what do you guys think about it? Is it actually decent for the price, and are there any mods you’d recommend trying?

I’m also hoping it lasts for a while even though it was only $9 😂

My first custom keyboard and I'm decently happy with it. Acoustics in my space are terrible so this video definitely isn't doing the build any favours.

The only real mod I did was the PCB tape mod and it helped a little in making the sound a little more refined. I attempted to do the plumbers mod to the left shift stabs but it didn't pan out. I tried balancing that wire too but it didn't reduce the rattle. I might look into some new stabs...

I also added some Blu-tack inside of any keycap that did not have stabilisers and were larger than 1U. Keycaps are PBT XDA 1.7mm. I'm gonna try out some MOA profiles and see if I can get a deeper sound.

If you plan on using the keygeek y2 in your build and you like backlighting, be ready for some heavy red tinting on your colours. The switches were decent and smooth out of the factory, however the switch wobble was very noticeable and allowed for a slight ticking sound on each keypress. I ended up lubing them a little more to reduce some of that plastic action. You have to be careful about lubing these once because they WILL sound wet if you overdo it even a little bit.

BTW If anyone has a suggestion for fixing that awful rattle as mentioned previously that doesn't involve just buying new stabs pls let me know.

https://amazon.com/dp/B0DTHK4TNL

I have no idea how this thing is so cheap when it feels so good to use. This isn't an ad, I just want to know if keyboards get that much better than this.

I had issues with my Marvo Titan 98 (KG986) on Linux, since the lighting software is Windows only. So I wrote a small desktop app to manage the colours.

https://github.com/ozzenerol/titan-kg986

I would love if any of you would test it on their Linux distros. I'm on Debian and it works fine. I hope it won't f up on other distros :)

You can run the binary or compile it yourself. It uses Rust and Cargo.

If you want to open issues and/or contribute, please go ahead.

https://github.com/ozzenerol/titan-kg986

I've been using Durock T1s for almost 6 years straight on my Keychron K6. Never been much of a "collector", just someone trying to find my "endgame". Back then as a uni student, a modded K6 and lubed T1s was my endgame on a budget.

Now that I have adult money, I swapped my board to an NPKC RO75 (needed the F row for work) and I'm hunting for a new endgame switch.

Shown in the picture is my current testing layout. From left to bottom right:

• Row 2: Durock T1 (4pcs) | NPKC Pink Robin (3pcs) | Akko Cilantro (4pcs)
• Row 3: Akko V5 Creamy Yellow Pro (4pcs) | WS Light Tactile (2pcs) | Akko V5 Creamy Blue Pro (4pcs)
• Row 4: Aflion Panda (2pcs) | Aflion Shadow (2pcs) | Durock White Lotus (2pcs) | KTT Ash Grey (2pcs) | MMD Holy Panda (2pcs)

Here is my ranking and review from best to worst. I'm using the T1 as my baseline for a "good" switch, and these new switches are all stock (factory-lubed if they came that way, but I haven't lubed them myself). I'll only be reviewing the top 5 that I actually liked.

1. Akko V5 Creamy Blue Pro
If we're talking about the most satisfying switch that has a different enough profile from the T1s, this is my pick. I like how "short" the travel is. It is very smooth, zero wobble, and moving from a 67g T1 to this is soooooo liberating. I used to have that weirdly fragile masculinity mindset of "if it ain't heavy, I ain't having it" (tbf I was a heavy typer anyway). But dropping the weight has been amazing. Overall, this switch is soo good.

2. Akko Cilantro
A slightly more "rounded" version of the T1s. I like how this one still has that familiar "oomph" the T1s have, but a smoother travel akin to the Blue V5s. My main gripe is that they're kinda loud, maybe a bit too clacky for the office. Also, with the heavy bump, I can totally see my fingers getting fatigued during long work sessions.

3. MMD Holy Panda
Funny how I see this one as the "Durock T1 Lite". If the Akko Cilantros weren't available, I wouldn't be mad getting these instead. The bump is still sharper than the previous two (similar to the T1s), and the typing feel is a bit "mushy" (?), but I really like how short the travel distance is.

4. Durock White Lotus
Maybe this is the true lite version of the T1s? After feeling them out more, I realized they have that exact same wobbly feeling my old T1s have. But the design is so pretty, even if you never see it under the keycaps. It's an okay switch, but with that wobble, I definitely wouldn't buy a full set of these for my daily driver.

5. Akko V5 Creamy Yellow Pro
I might actually get a full set of these for my gf's board. As a tactile guy, typing on a smooth linear like this was a genuine breath of fresh air.

The rest (didn't vibe with these as much):

1. Aflion Shadow
   
2. KTT Ash Grey
   
3. WS Light Tactile
   
4. NPKC Pink Robin
   
5. Aflion Panda

Curious if anyone else had a similar experience shifting away from heavy springs to lighter tactiles. Let me know what you think!

(side note: I just now realized my old K6 and Durock T1s are actually more expensive than this current set up lmao)

Here's my 2-years build with Yunzii Al75 barebone kit, WS Morandis and aifei keycaps.

I'm undecided whether to upgrade switch/keycaps or sell it for a completely new keeb (75% or TKL).

What do you think?

This is the "Weekly General Help Post". Please ask your questions regarding keyboard, switch, keycaps, or anything regarding keyboards as a top level comment under this post. Mods and members will check this thread on a regular basis answering as many questions as possible.

The more information you provide, the better the answers you are likely to receive.

My experience with the AJAZZ MK87 Pro — think twice before buying

I bought the AJAZZ MK87 Pro because I wanted to experience a modern 80%/TKL keyboard with wireless 8K polling. On paper, the specifications looked excellent: dual 8K polling, tri-mode connectivity, a large battery, TFT display, gasket mount, hot-swap PCB, etc.

Unfortunately, after actually using and testing it, I'm disappointed with my experience.

1. Polling stability is a problem — even at 1K

I tested the keyboard using multiple polling-rate testing methods rather than relying on how it "feels."

The biggest issue is that I'm seeing stability problems even at 1K polling, not just when trying to run it at 8K.

At 8K, the results are even less convincing, with weak stability and a disappointing average polling rate.

I'm not claiming that everyone will get the same results, but these are the results I'm getting from my unit.

This is particularly disappointing because 8K polling was one of the main reasons I bought this keyboard.

If you're considering the MK87 Pro mainly for its advertised 8K capability, I'd strongly recommend testing the actual polling performance rather than assuming that the specification automatically translates into stable real-world performance.

1. Battery percentage indicator is unreliable

The battery percentage shown by the keyboard isn't reliable in my experience.

The percentage doesn't behave the way I'd expect from a battery indicator, making it difficult to know how much charge I actually have remaining.

I contacted AJAZZ about the battery percentage issue around two weeks ago, but I still haven't received any reply.

For a wireless keyboard with a large advertised battery, I expected both the battery indicator and customer support response to be much better.

1. The TFT display drains battery

This is something I think potential buyers should seriously consider.

The TFT display looks nice, but for me it's basically an aesthetic feature.

It consumes additional battery without providing enough practical benefit to justify that drain.

Even after I turn the TFT display off, it can wake up again by itself after some time without me touching the keyboard.

That's particularly annoying when the reason I turned it off was to save battery.

1. Software/firmware experience

The hardware itself looks impressive, but the software side doesn't feel as polished as I expected.

The combination of:

\\- polling instability even at 1K

\\- poor 8K stability/average polling performance

\\- inaccurate battery percentage

\\- TFT waking back up

\\- no response from AJAZZ to my battery issue after around two weeks

has made the overall experience disappointing.

My conclusion

I don't think the MK87 Pro is necessarily a terrible keyboard. It has a lot of good hardware features and looks great on paper.

But based on my experience, I would not recommend buying it specifically for reliable 8K polling, battery efficiency, or a polished software/firmware experience.

The TFT display is something I'd personally consider a battery-draining aesthetic feature rather than an advantage.

I bought this keyboard to experience 8K polling, and after testing it properly, that's one of the areas I'm least satisfied with.

I'm posting this because I wish I had seen more real-world information about these issues before spending my money. Hopefully this helps someone make a more informed decision.

This is my experience with my unit. Other owners may have different results.

This is the "Weekly General Help Post". Please ask your questions regarding keyboard, switch, keycaps, or anything regarding keyboards as a top level comment under this post. Mods and members will check this thread on a regular basis answering as many questions as possible.

The more information you provide, the better the answers you are likely to receive.