Keyboard Builders' Digest / Editorial
Behind the scenes #175
Keyboard projects, quick news, in the mailbox, meetups, new vendors and discount codes!
Published September 27, 2024
Hey, what's up everyone!
Welcome back for another weekly recap and behind-the-scenes write-up.
If you are new to kbd.news, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.
Some posts worth sharing
- The Magger 68 HE is a solid 65% Hall-effect keyboard, staying true to Luminkey's philosophy of crafting finely tuned, quality products. Magnetic switches and features are more for gamer folks, but the Magger still has the aura of higher-end enthusiast boards.
- This Bird, a monoblock split trackball keyboard by Protieusz, is a modification of the Crowboard, originally designed by Alex Miller.
- Andreas Tacke shared his Nomad, a 7x5 keys low-profile split with per-key RGB.
- Rasmus Koit's Pipar is a wireless split keyboard that uses a dongle while running ZMK.
- A wireless monoblock split by seblov: the 40-key MonoSeb40.
- Solanum is a 34-key diodeless split keyboard designed by Travis Mick.
- The Hammerhead42 by Armin Anderson is a unibody split keyboard with a 40mm trackpad and a joystick.
- OverLord is another monoblock split keyboard by Protieusz – with 2 trackballs and 2 MCUs on a single PCB.
- Ken Choi's Treble is a 42-key low-profile wireless monoblock keyboard.
- Signature Plastics is to be acquired by a Portland-based investment group led by fellow keyboard enthusiast Will Clark. AMA with Will on r/mk.
Will Clark and his fellow investors bring decades of experience in technology, e-commerce, and the mechanical keyboard community. Will, a Signature Plastics customer since 2016, has already joined our leadership team to oversee marketing as we move towards finalizing the acquisition in early 2025 – SP.
- The Big Black Compensator is a Compensator (design by vk.works) built by LightningXI.
- MBK Hypersonic & alu Corne case by typeractive.
- 30wide by Mangokitty27.
This was made as a joke but honestly it's not so bad. The mx purples i used, on the other hand, are ??-- Mangokitty.
TIPS
- Moeetech has launched a free umbrella program. :) This may seem a pretty uncommon swag or slightly unrelated, but you can practically get a nice and free Glitter umbrella. This means that its cost will be refunded if you join their discord and post a photo on social media. That's it. But check out my review too, I loved the anodized purple Glitter65 R2.
- 1.5u THT low-pro caps by Tai-Hao?
Closed-source, WIP, etc.
- A custom Sculpt-inspired split by thykeebs.
- An offset ortho by mnapoli. And another one by OI_Andy aka Aged Anderson.
Keyboard art
- Seigaiha metal artisan keycap set by TerraKeycaps. Yay! You know I have a penchant for Japanese culture, but it turns out for stunning nickel plated & polished zinc alloy too. ;) (Now 20% off with the KBDNEWS coupon code! Just like all the other gorgeous stuff from Terra.)
- kiboorou's Bunny in baby blue (Matrixlab Magic3 WKL).
- I can't get enough of the Qazimodo. New prototype posted by CloffWrangler.
- Ancestors in the Wooden Age. Mixed media by John Frank Sabado (2008), BenCab Museum. Posted by VioletAxle.
- Alpenglow Cygnus by CaptLynx.
- Custom aluminum GH60 case by FlashyBalance.
- This rather strange layout will probably shock some keymap wizards out there – image posted by dstarr3.
In the mailbox
I received a package with MoErgo's Cherry Blossom silent linear (Choc) switches. It's based on Kailh's silent switches, with 30gf actuation. That makes it similar to the 35gf Ambient Twilight but a bit lighter. In addition, the housing is clear policarbonate – with per-key RGB in mind –, and it has a "deeper sound signature compared to the Ambient series. Less clacky." I don't have any Ambients so can't compare these models.
As far as I can tell, the switches are not available yet, at least separately:
We are making a limited quantity of Glove80s with the Cherry Blossom switch as a production trial – MoErgo.
Donations
- New donations from Keebhut and Cromulus. Thank you guys!
- That said, a long-time supporter canceled his recurring donation. If you think kbd.news is worth a few bucks, this is the right time to donate and boost my morale.
- As always, many thanks to my awesome regular supporters and everyone who helped this project thus far.
For all the donation options check out the donation page!
Meetup database
Upcoming meetups
- AMKE Actuated Mechanical Keyboard Expo 2024, September 28, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
Recently added
- SFxMK - 2024 Autumn Meetup, October 12, San Francisco, CA, US
As always, this meetup database serves as both a calendar and an archive, so feel free to send me upcoming events or even ones from the recent past to make this collection as comprehensive as possible.
Vendors & Discounts
Feel free to use the KBDNEWS discount code at 162 keyboard shops! And do not hesitate to report any issues.
New shops and updates to the database of keyboard vendors this past two weeks:
- Terra Keycaps (UK) added, use the KBDNEWS coupon code for the 20% discount.
- YUZU Keycaps is a collaboration of FK Caps, Keyreative, and Max Voltar – on-demand dye-sub keycaps through an intuitive interface.
- Typebuilders is a shop in Poland. 10% off (KBDNEWS).
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That's all for today. Thanks for checking by. As always: Keep learning and building!
Until next time,
Tamás
Published on Fri 27th Sep 2024. Featured in KBD #175.
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