Submitted by btgrant76 t3_ycb2l3 in MechanicalKeyboards
Comments
btgrant76 OP t1_itlap12 wrote
Which part do you find the most absurd? F keys instead of a num row? Or the off-centered space bar?
hkzqgfswavvukwsw t1_itlgxa8 wrote
Yes
btgrant76 OP t1_itlkb6y wrote
- F row: I'm pretty comfortable with managing number keys through a layer. The dev tools that I use make frequent enough use of F keys, so that top row is a combination of shortcuts/macros that I use a lot and straight F keys.
- Bottom row: I can't remember why I did this in the first place. I think I felt like I needed a "proper" space bar rather than a single key. Though the next time I do some work on the board, I'm going to take that out and replace it with 2, 1u keys instead.
hkzqgfswavvukwsw t1_itls8yw wrote
That's cool. I've got my fkeys on a layer along with numpad.
Do you have a key map by any chance, since we have similar layouts.
btgrant76 OP t1_itnv3yi wrote
Here you go: https://imgur.com/a/w0kNjtg
My keymap is a little bit all over the place. I started reorganizing around some ideas from Miryoku, though it's still a bit of a work-in-progress.
uberpirate t1_itnyyxr wrote
This is cool to see. I struggled with how to set the layers on my Waka since it's my first QMK/VIA compatible board, and I was really wishing I could see what other people came up with.
btgrant76 OP t1_itr93ne wrote
I learned a lot/got plenty of ideas by browsing user keymaps in the QMK repo as some users commit them to the central repo. For example, you might find some user mappings at keyboards/mechwild/waka60/keymaps/. Folks will sometimes include a nice readme with images of their keymap.
Another fun resource to browse is https://keymapdb.com/
MetaWhirledPeas t1_itqidtp wrote
Hey our layouts are not so different! I mean they are different, but there are some similarities.
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/77abca474c73bf921ca0433720bdc315
btgrant76 OP t1_itqogjj wrote
Mere months ago, I thought the idea of having separate layer for numbers & "symbols" was craziness. And yet, here we are. I'm not sure if it'll be worth it but it's certainly fun to fiddle with!
btgrant76 OP t1_itlt3ex wrote
I’ll take some screenshots from Vial later & share them.
The other boards that are in regular rotation are 40%. For those boards, F keys & the other things I mentioned above are all in layers.
Swizzel-Stixx t1_itlrh8k wrote
The space bar personally. 2u as well
justb0t t1_itm7zpn wrote
I love the spacebar. But it being rightsided freaks me out
tyoprofessor t1_itotmtt wrote
Is ortho easier to use
iwasjusttwittering t1_itpjmoy wrote
Maybe.
There's a learning curve; if you're already used to the standard layout, it's doubtful, whether it's worth the effort, or not, because the alleged benefits are questionable.
A columnar layout (like Kinesis Advantage, Keyboardio etc.) at least has the added value in reflecting different finger lengths.
btgrant76 OP t1_itptgu9 wrote
To further elaborate, I would say that there’s some ease-of-use at play when most reaching from the home row is either up or down rather than almost always angled. But I’m not about to make any claims about it being an unqualified good or anything.
monkeyStinks t1_itp66hi wrote
Just about everything. Where is escape? This keyboard is blasphemy
btgrant76 OP t1_itpvnka wrote
The escape key is the one with the escape symbol on it.
monkeyStinks t1_itpvuf7 wrote
Oh stop downvoting me, escape should be upper left corner like god intended and you know it!
btgrant76 OP t1_itpwwbz wrote
I’m not the one downvoting, but this seems like a weird place to criticize custom keymaps.
monkeyStinks t1_itq36yp wrote
Really? As an answer to OPs comment saying "whats the weirdest mapping"? Sounds kinda like the correct place or you just didnt see what i was commenting to
lampd1 t1_itnfjv9 wrote
mfers use a layout based on mechanical limitations of typewriters that haven't been made in decades and call ortho layouts weird, smh.
doctorclark t1_ito0fp0 wrote
Weird is cultural and personal. Weird is deeply rooted in a lifetime of experiences that can be unique, common, bizarre, or mundane. Weird is a strange thing to be offended by and a strange thing to call out. Everyone is weird to someone else.
Embrace the weird, enjoy it, and celebrate it in others!
btgrant76 OP t1_itl3cpo wrote
Clacky, tactile switches are my favorite, but not great for the office. Here’s what I’m using now:
- Board: MechWild Waka60
- Mods: switch & bottom plate foam; tape mod
- Switches: Durock Silent Shimp, stock
- Keycaps: MT3 2048
thisshiteverytime t1_itl7t5q wrote
Can I use the same switches for my RK61? Sorry, I'm new.
btgrant76 OP t1_itlahxx wrote
In general, that should work just fine. The RK61 uses MX switches and the Durock Shrimp are also MX. The big question is whether the RK61 is a hot-swap board. If it is then, it's a simple matter of removing the current switches & swapping in new ones. If it's not a hot-swap board, you'd need to desolder the old & solder the new.
As soldering goes, removing & adding new switches is pretty straight-forward.
AllThatTaz t1_itlodjv wrote
Pretty sure all the Royal Kludge boards are hot-swappable, don't quote me. Should be just fine removing the switches and replacing with preferable ones for sure.
Swizzel-Stixx t1_itlrdyw wrote
Most are nowadays, yes. With the exception of their ‘standard orthodox’ tkl and full size offerings. They seem to be more focused on compact.
hey_vmike_saucel_her t1_itmab77 wrote
theres another MechWild board called the Clunker that is made specifically for work! i heard it is very quiet and much better than the Waka
[deleted] t1_itlzivh wrote
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btgrant76 OP t1_itm6m2w wrote
As far as I know, it's the same one that would have shipped with the Waka. I keep telling myself that I'm going to shop for some fancier ones, but that hasn't happened yet.
jibjabmikey t1_ito2dxv wrote
I love the keycaps! Where did you get them?
btgrant76 OP t1_itpuyj5 wrote
I got them off eBay, but they’re MT3 2048 from Drop.
jibjabmikey t1_itpxwip wrote
Ah! Drop they are. Thanks!
RD-Espresso t1_itl7hgf wrote
I'm rocking Boba U4s in my office board, gotta keep it quiet or face a horde of angry coworkers...
btgrant76 OP t1_itl9ws8 wrote
I have heard good things about those, though I think I was having a hard time finding them. I am really enjoying the Shrimp. They have a good, strong tactile bump and, while they are not perfectly silent, they're plenty quiet for my needs.
YourMatt t1_itmeauy wrote
Personally, I think the U4s are effing awful. I run them on my office board, so I only have to endure them for one week per quarter. They're quiet enough, but there are regular tactile switches that are quieter. One coworker has commented that while you can hear them just fine, they're not annoying.
The tactility is weak and they're scratchy. It feels like they have sandpaper in the stems. I didn't lube them since they were advertised as pre-lubed or not needing it or something. I think if I did pull them and lube them, I'd end up not feeling the tactile bump at all. There are much better options for silent linears, so I'll go that route later on.
I like my Zilents a lot, but they're louder than the U4s.
moonmanxviii t1_itmmq9k wrote
How do the zilents compare to the shrimps? Trying to find a deep tactile, I hate the halo clears because they have a scratch to them no matter what
YourMatt t1_itmohsx wrote
No idea. I never heard of shrimps until this post. Not sure what you mean by deep tactile. I don’t get a deep sound from mine, but mine are on brass.
Crocktodad t1_itowp4l wrote
> I think if I did pull them and lube them, I'd end up not feeling the tactile bump at all
If you don't lube the leaf on tactiles, you're not reducing the bump
Ctrl-C-C-C-C t1_itpsna5 wrote
I’d argue that it would still feel less tactile because the slider goes down easier than stock.
The sliders are still in contact throughout the keystroke, adding lube to it will definitely be felt.
My only gripe with silent tactile, especially no pre-travel switches, will feel like a membrane keyboard after some time. But oh well, better than angry co-workers!
mynameisWei t1_itlav8m wrote
Ringerkeys.com consistently has them in stock
btgrant76 OP t1_itlcqkd wrote
Thanks for the tip!
TeachDazzling3996 t1_itp4wku wrote
I use Boba U4T in my office, never heard my coworkers complaining.
I am also using active noise cancelling headphone btw.
madbrewer t1_itma0nd wrote
Half of my office runs clicky blues, we just embrace the chaos!
Beautiful little board there.
btgrant76 OP t1_itn8un9 wrote
Thank you! If everyone is good with clickies, I’d be down with that, too.
The place where my team sits has a mixture of devs & business types. The place where I sit is a mixture of devs & non-devs. I’m also new to the team & felt better about keeping things quiet for at least a little while.
WobbleTheHutt t1_itowujj wrote
Bust out kalih thick clicks or a model M, go as loud as possible!
plazman30 t1_itmjfer wrote
The guy at the office most likely to complain about how loud your keyboards is, is the dick that will take all their conference calls on speaker phone while pacing around at their desk.
Back when I went into the office, I brought in a Model M. I got zero complaints. I was only in 2 days a week. Whenever I would come in, I found people were using my desk when I was not in, because they liked my keyboard and mouse better.
amuro_rei t1_itnnrqh wrote
I have someone complaining that the brown switchs were too loud. I slap on two o-rings on each switch and no complaint no more. :p
plazman30 t1_itnqvi4 wrote
That is bullshit. I've used rubber domes louder than Brown switches. People need to get over themselves. You get some guy complaining about brown switches in your office. Meanwhile, I use a Model M and nobody gives a shit.
You should have brought in a Beamspring keyboard with the solenoid on.
Keyboard noise complaints are complete bullshit.
if you're that worried about as user, buy a Matias Quiet Click. It's quieter than a rubber dome keyboard.
SamirD t1_itp123g wrote
Yep, if it's not clicking, your heart isn't ticking. :D
fffffffuuuuuuuuug t1_itlc0b7 wrote
Haha, funny that a silent board came up on reddit right when I was waiting for staebies to come in to finish my silent work keeb.
You ever hear of haimu heartbeats? Apparently they measure -10 decibels. I've only got them on a numpad for now, but holy are they quiet.
Inconsistent factory lube tho
btgrant76 OP t1_itlclfc wrote
I have not heard of those. I can't say I did a ton of research on silent switches. I bought some that I found on sale to test with earlier in the year & I did not care for them.
This last time, I just searched on Reddit for opinions about silents & that's how I ended up with the Shrimp.
SIPRgov t1_itlgesa wrote
The Haimu heartbeats are linear, so if you were researching tactile switches that’s probably why you didn’t see them.
I saw the same videos and I’m interested in them, but waiting for some more reviews and hoping for Black Friday deals
fffffffuuuuuuuuug t1_itldiyv wrote
Oh I didn't do a lot of research either lol. The youtube algorithm was just scary good at finding out what I wanted at the time.
But yeah, instead of using rubber stoppers on the stem to accomplish silence, they made it so that the stem itself has a horizontal cut at the bottom, resulting in a sort of plastic spring.
Or at least that's what I remember about them from my adhd addled head lol
EuphoricMomento t1_itlfrcj wrote
Looks great! Is there a particular meaning to the keycaps on the bottom row, or are they mostly for aesthetic?
btgrant76 OP t1_itlmdgz wrote
The ones on the left side of the board are basically what they appear to be: Control, Browser Back, Option, Command, Raise Layer. After that, aside from other layer keys and Browser Forward, things get a little iffy & I may or may not have configured them to be anything particularly useful.
PetiteLumiere t1_itmaol0 wrote
Beautiful set up. I too need a silent keeb. I really love MT3 caps. These are beautiful. Did it take time to get used to the layout? How do you like the silent shrimp?
btgrant76 OP t1_itn9wya wrote
I like the Silent Shrimp a lot. They have a nice, pronounced tactile bump & both the bottom-out and return make very little sound.
I should also say that, when I loaded the board up with those switches and did a demo for my wife, they were so quiet that she said, “Where’s the fun in that?” 😄
DeoraaII t1_itnf9ru wrote
I have Gateron Browns on my K6 and I’ve been looking at getting either silent browns but not sure if they would be quiet enough. I wonder if I would like the shrimps instead
btgrant76 OP t1_itn9kwf wrote
I had been using the Mercutio before I started using the Waka so I was already used to working with layers; I basically ported my Mercutio keymap to the Waka.
After that, I think it took a week or so to adjust to the ortholinear layout.
jokerr601 t1_itmbeul wrote
Man I love the look of MT3 keycaps but hate the typing feel on em. Great looking keeb!
EveryShot t1_itmm9yx wrote
Looks dope but damn if that dial smack dab in the middle doesn’t disturb me to no end
btgrant76 OP t1_itnb07w wrote
It’s a funny layout but I like having the knob and that the placement makes the board a little wider.
The more I use splits, the more I find that a wider board is better for prolonged use for me.
Ben-solo-11 t1_itnpgzu wrote
I heard that this keyboard is made of the bones of children and OP has not denied the accusation.
Be safe out there, people.
btgrant76 OP t1_itnsp86 wrote
SpooooOOOOOoooooky!
Ben-solo-11 t1_ito0954 wrote
That’s just the sort of bullshit someone who grinds up bones to make keyboards would say! Disgusting!
camgoesbam t1_itppy05 wrote
I like the Harry Potter scar button
btgrant76 OP t1_itpvt7x wrote
Hah! I’m surprised my wife hasn’t pointed that out to me 😄
JaggyJeff t1_itl4nz0 wrote
Is the rotary encoder accessible enough on this board?
btgrant76 OP t1_itl5d1w wrote
Definitely. It’s plenty tall to clear the surrounding keys.
If I think of it later, I’ll post a side view so you can see.
edit: side view where you can kind of see the encoder knob clearance over the keycaps: https://imgur.com/gallery/Pdo9Gcx
[deleted] t1_itl6mk9 wrote
commenting so i can see how large your knob is.
btgrant76 OP t1_itl6txq wrote
As knobs go, I think it's about average. But it's my knob which makes it special.
[deleted] t1_itl7n2w wrote
it's not about size, its about what you can do with it.
Jokes aside, is the rotary encoder locked specifically for volume up, or have you mapped it to something else entirely?
btgrant76 OP t1_itl7yxz wrote
It is not locked. I'm using Vial with the board right now which allows both directional turns and the press to be reconfigured. Pretty much any key can be mapped to any of those three functions.
[deleted] t1_itl8phu wrote
thats awesome, i’m yet to ascend in the keyboard world but my lurking is becoming more and more progressive since building a new pc, i dont think my wallet is ready for what’s to come
btgrant76 OP t1_itl9cwr wrote
Thanks! While I think your caution is warranted, there are plenty of vendors that sell reasonably-priced kits for well under < $100. MechWild is a great example & they have a number if interesting kits in stock in addition to the Waka.
[deleted] t1_itlblla wrote
thanks for the pointer, i'll check them out now :)
smoochara t1_itn3stu wrote
I second the Mechwild nod, bought one board and after building it up have three more in various stages of built/ordered/GB. Their prices are VERY refreshing for how expensive this hobby gets, and my Clunker sounds amazing for being a simple caseless build Their discord is very getup with build progress advice and quite a few of their boards have case options at p3dstore if you wanted to step it up further
[deleted] t1_itlik3s wrote
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btgrant76 OP t1_itljclo wrote
The simple answer is "yes". There are a few options for how the bottom row can be arranged, so you might want to take a look at that part of the product page to get a better sense of what the options are.
[deleted] t1_itlze02 wrote
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btgrant76 OP t1_itm6uur wrote
After building the Waka and Mercutio at the start of the year, I never would imagine that the Waka would have won out as my preference between the two.
peacedout t1_itmyk7b wrote
Is there a name for this particular style/kind of keycaps? im unable to find the same ones locally, they look so satisfying to type on.
btgrant76 OP t1_itnor67 wrote
davedicius t1_itn1cpu wrote
Is the learning curve to learn to type let say 60 wpm too tought?
btgrant76 OP t1_itn87jk wrote
If you’re coming from a standard, row-staggered keyboard, I’d give yourself a couple of weeks to work out the kinks. I feel like the stuff that took the most work adjusting to was the bottom alpha row, “z” through “/“. C—B probably gave me the most trouble but that was partially because I used to use B from my right hand.
In terms of WPM, I’m not a fast typist, but I can do around 70 on any of my ortho boards at this point.
ZAX2717 t1_itnmo1w wrote
Eff that, when I go into the office I rock my box jades! Good thing I never go into the office. Nice board!
Tazerboy_5000 t1_itnvhbv wrote
Cool!
DanY4raal t1_itoe6d8 wrote
The spacebar hurts
ConnorLark t1_ittdcdj wrote
i think i’ll start calling split keyboards qwert y keyboards
SirHaroldiii t1_itlcwtq wrote
My office board has Azure Dragons in it, the low thump is pretty acceptable in a cubicle 👌
MargeryStewartBaxter t1_itnftzs wrote
I'm not TOO into mechs, so unfamiliar with what those switches are but just had a flashback to azure drake in Magic the Gathering (in my 30s). Thanks for the nostalgia!
0himarc t1_itm62dy wrote
Is there a sound test?
StuckInPennsylvania t1_itm9eka wrote
Do you have a sound test?
Were you considering any other switches?
I'm looking to build a new keyboard. Used cherry MX silents a few years ago.
Were not that silent.....
btgrant76 OP t1_itnpwxv wrote
It looks like the only other switches I was considering at the time were Boba U4 Silents. As I recall, I couldn't find a source for them.
kardiogramm t1_itnh94i wrote
Ah lucky, I love those keycaps.
techy_witch t1_itnsr1z wrote
If this layout was more readily available, I would already own an ortho linear keyboard.
btgrant76 OP t1_itnsygv wrote
This layout is literally available right now!
Henrithebrowser t1_itnyj9p wrote
You care about the comfort of those around you far more than I do, I just use box jades in all my boards. I mean I work in data centers so the only ones that hear me are racks, but still.
SamirD t1_itp0y8z wrote
Yeah seriously. I brought my Model M from home when I worked in the LG national call center. I had to alt tab to compare pages in pdf files and people thought I was using a machine gun, hahaha! But the tools I was making for them made their job much easier so they knew that it was work I was doing!
[deleted] t1_ito8qbm wrote
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chickenfart5000 t1_ito99ta wrote
why
lxxx_GodKing_xxxl t1_itode26 wrote
Look amazing. What keeb is it?
btgrant76 OP t1_itpuqek wrote
It’s a Waka from MechWild: https://mechwild.com/product/waka/
soundwithdesign t1_itofnmw wrote
I so wish I had those colored caps.
Volnues t1_itoxmu2 wrote
Is that a tiny space bar?
btgrant76 OP t1_itpvjxf wrote
Both keys on either side of the lightning bolt in the middle are space keys.
OlimPather t1_itpgho9 wrote
I appreciate the amount of effort that has put into this keyboard. And the results speaks for itself! I never experience Orthodox keyboard.
What is it like to use a Orthodox keyboard?
Half4sleep t1_itpjkgp wrote
Now this is an interesting keyboard!
baconipple t1_ito1s8t wrote
Go loud. Assert dominance.
HydroHomie3964 t1_itla5ba wrote
That layout is absurd, but pretty cool looking nonetheless