Behind the scenes #175

Keyboard projects, quick news, in the mailbox, meetups, new vendors and discount codes!

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.

• Vacni is Rain2's (aka AffectionateWin) 11th keyboard design – with Canon Cat thumb keys.

• 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

Luminkey Magger 68 HE review

The Magger 68 HE is a solid 65% Hall-effect keyboard, staying true to Luminkey's philosophy of crafting finely tuned, quality products. More for gamer folks, but with the aura of higher-end enthusiast boards.

I absolutely loved the Luminkey80, reviewed earlier this year, so I was very excited to be able to get my hands on the brand's latest Hall-effect model, the Magger 68 HE. The much more expensive Luminkey80 ($275) was apparently marketed toward serious keyboard enthusiasts, while the little brother Magger is geared more toward gamers (RGB lighting, HE switches, fewer accessories). It comes in a relatively stripped-down bundle, allowing for a price of just $99.

Compromises? Sure, but nothing significant. You don't get a hard-shell case this time, nor a coiled cable or aluminum artisan keycap. That said, even after testing the lower-cost, less-frills version (Performance) of the Magger, I still got the hard-to-explain impression that the quality remains consistently superior – for a fraction of the price.

TLDR;

The Magger 68 HE is a really nice and solid 65% Hall-effect keyboard, aiming to strike a balance between being a gamer and enthusiast board. What makes it stand out, and an ideal companion for more serious keyboard fans, is the quality of its aluminum case and the overall build. Gamers will appreciate the customization options and configurability associated with magnetic switches, as well as the RGB lighting. For keymap wizards though, the software lacks several essential features. If you can live without logical layers, the Magger offers great value, starting at just $99.

Disclaimer

I received this review unit from Luminkey. As always, receiving a free sample may introduce all kind of bias (both negative and positive in my experience) – keep this in mind while reading this review! That said, I was not paid to write about this product.

Brand

As a subsidiary of Createkeebs, LUMINKEY stands apart by focusing on fine-tuning mechanical keyboards to a state of perfection. Whether you're an experienced enthusiast or a newcomer of custom keyboards, or simply seeking a superior typing experience, LUMINKEY caters to all these needs! – Luminkey.com.

Options

No barebone option this time, you can choose from the pre-built "budget" Performance ($99) and Professional ($129) versions. I have to stress that the cheaper version is just as high quality as Luminkey's other keyboard models.

The Professional variant has a slightly more intricate case design with some tapering here and there, and also weights matching the case color.

The cheaper alternative has no bottom weight and the shape of its case is a bit simpler. I have to confess that I like this clean and simple design even more.

Both options are offered in three fancy colorways: Ano-Champagne Gold, Ano-Black, and E-Milky White. Well, I could translate these as silver, black and white, but as you'll see next to the e-retro white Luminkey80, the shades are really different.

Coming with three different keycap sets, while all options look gorgeous, it was an easy choice to go with the e-milky white case, paired with dye-sub caps featuring Hiragana sublegends and translucent amber accents.

Contents

So the tested sample was a fully built e-milky white Magger 68 HE with the matching keycap set and Gateron Magnetic White Pro switches.

The board came in a nice cardboard box with a minimal set of accessories: instructions, cable, combined keycap and switch puller, and an extra switch.

Specifications

• 68 keys, 65% layout, wired
• Layout: ANSI (with signs of ISO-readiness on the PCB)
• Switches: magnetic, hotswap
• Adjustable actuation: 0.1mm-3.5mm
• Typing angle: 7deg
• Per-key RGB
• Polling rate: 8000Hz
• Dimensions: 319x110x16.5mm
• Weight: 1180g

Appearance & first impressions

While Luminkey's choice of wording – using "e-milky" white rather than "e-retro" white – is certainly intentional, this specific color option of the Magger still evokes the essence of the '80, at least in my opinion. Maybe it's just me, but the amber accents complementing the beige base color remind me of the distinctive amber plasma displays of that era.

The touch and feel, all those little design choices like the shape of the screw holes, the perfect weight of the keyboard, was familiar from the Luminkey80.

Layout

The good old – nice and compact! – 65% layout. No F-row, no numeric pad, arrows and four keys of the navigation cluster snapped to the right of the board. I personally like it better when there's a minimal offset to or at least a tiny gap next to the arrows, to aid repositioning your right hand. Just like e.g. the Luminkey65 has it. (Who uses the right Ctrl anyway?) But no problem, there's SpaceFN for the rescue!

Well, not really. Spoiler alert: I wasn't able to make it work with the Magger. Third-party options may be the solution.

Structure

Since the Magger comes pre-built, let's walk through the components in the order of disassembly.

Keycaps

I'm not a big fan of the rainbow caps (the other options) so was revealed when Luminkey sent me the gorgeous milky white case with the matching keycaps.

PBT, dye-sub, translucent amber accents and Hiragana sublegends. Don't mock me, I know these sublegends are controversial, but I actually type in Japanese every now and then so I'M FULLY AWARE that it's done using Latin characters. 🤣 Anyway, the alphas are a bit thicker than usual, and the Hiragana is an unusual variant, but I like the overall look and feel – a lot actually!

By the way, one benefit of magnetic keyboards is that you don't really have to remove keycaps or switches, e.g. in contrast to Moeetech's Glitter65.

Switches

According to the product page, the pre-built board comes with Gateron Magnetic White Pro switches (Jade Pros for the Professional variant), linear of course. However, there's "EverFree" indicated on the top housing, which I thought was a sub-brand of Gateron.

Luminkey helped me out with an explanation:

The switch is actually a custom design we developed in collaboration with Gateron. Initially, we called it "EverFree," but later, since it was an upgraded version of the White switch, we decided to name it "White Pro."

Anyway, these are decent linears, pre-lubed, with transparent top housing for better RGB and Gateron's dual-track magnetic design.

While the white one is allegedly 30±10gf, it felt much heavier until I realized that the default actuation travel was set to 3.00mm, which is huge. Bottoming out every time contributed to the heavy feel. Fine-tuning the actuation point should result in a typing experience tailored to your personal preferences.

Plate

Hard matte black aluminum plate. No fancy flex cuts. It comes with plate-mounted stabilizers already installed.

Gasket mounting

Gaskets integrated into the thick silicone sandwich pad run all along the perimeter of the aluminum plate. These are gaskets on steroids.

PCB

Well, HE switches are "hotswap" by design, which means really nothing in terms of PCB design: given they are snapped into the plate, the switches could work without the two plastic pins being in contact with the PCB. If you are curious, here are some shots of the PCB stripped down:

ANSI layout, but there are signs of potential ISO support – at least the PCB has the required holes.

Sound dampening

As already mentioned: thick silicone sandwich pad, with gaskets almost all along the perimeter.

Plus a thick bottom silicone pad with cutouts for the electronic components of the PCB.

LEDs

Luminkey took RGB very seriously. There's an independent lighting control chip to ensure that "performance remains unaffected even when RGB lighting effects are on".

Per-key RGB, plenty of colors, animations and config options.

Firmware

Magnetic switches pretty much mean custom software, unfortunately. In this case it's called Luminkey HE, and it caused me some headache even to start it up properly. The level of your pain may depend on your system and language. If the software starts up without any labels, you may try to install it with your antivirus software disabled (yikes):

If it still looks funny, try to set it to English blindly. Look for this part (again, imagine this without any letters or even icons displayed):

The custom software works, it has a bunch of magnetic features. To remap the keys you have to drag and drop them istead of simply clicking the appropriate character/function as usual.

Macros, the color and animation of RGB can be easily set up here too. However, I couldn't make SpaceFN work.

You can definitely set up an alternative FN layer, you have double-function tap-hold (MT) option too, in theory. But the two doesn't seem to work together, so if you rock your own custom keymap with more than one custom logical layer, this board won't work for you, sadly.

Conclusion

The Magger 68 HE is a nice blend of contemporary keyboard design and classic look (e-milky white). The magnetic options and RGB make this model more interesting for gamers, but given the quality aluminum case and finishing, serious typers should check it out too. Especially for the unbelievable price starting at just $99! Hardcore keymap wizards should choose something else, e.g. non-magnetic keyboard models by Luminkey do support VIA.

Price & Availability

The streamlined bundle resulted in a great price – about third of the cost of my previous Luminkey keyboard. So if you think that the features of the Magger 68 satisfy your needs, feel free to check out the official online store:

• Luminkey Magger 68 HE

Bird

This Bird, a monoblock split trackball keyboard by Protieusz, is a modification of the Crowboard, originally designed by Alex Miller.

Protieusz reworked the Crowboard, designed by Alex Miller aka doesntfazer of keyboarddweebs.com, by adding a 25mm trackball. The Bird features 39 hotswap switches and is powered by a RP2040 Core A controller.

Specs

• 39 keys (3x5+3)
• MX, hotswap
• RP2040 Core A controller
• 25mm trackball (PMW3360 sensor)
• extra keys below the trackball

The author made two cases, a design with the bird kanji and also an Iron Man themed one with the ball holder cover purchased from Aliexpress (originally used for push start buttons for cars).

Resources

Gerbers (no PCB source) and one case only due to a design issue with the Iron Man one:

• https://github.com/protieusz/Bird

Nomad keyboard

Andreas Tacke shared his Nomad, a 7x5 keys low-profile split with per-key RGB.

The Nomad is a 7×5 keys column-staggered split keyboard designed and shared by Andreas Tacke aka fiendie. It is based largely on the Sofle Choc by Brian Low and uses low-profile Choc v1 switches with hotswap sockets, plus features per-key RGB lighting via SK6812 Mini-E LEDs.

I'm a long-time user of both the ErgoDox EZ and the ZSA Moonlander the latter of which I still use as my daily driver. After I took the Moonlander with me on a few work trips I found the form factor a bit awkward at times. […] I would describe myself as an ambitious hobbyist when it comes to PCB design but the first prototypes turned out pretty OK and so the Nomad was born – fiendie.

The Nomad takes its design cues from keyboards like the aforementioned Sofle or a Corne Choc but with a physical key layout you would find on something like an Erogdash, although the column stagger is largely based on the Moonlander.

Compared to the Sofle Choc, the nomad offers an additional thumb cluster key, an additional modifier key in the 5th row and a 7th inner column with 3 keys each. To make the keyboard more compact, there's no option for a rotary encoder.

Specs

• 68 keys, low-pro Choc, hotswap
• reversible PCB
• per-key RGB (SK6812 Mini-E)
• display

Resources

• https://github.com/fiendie/NomadKeyboard

Pipar

Rasmus Koit's Pipar is a split wireless keyboard that uses a dongle while running ZMK.

Pipar is both a split wireless keyboard and a collection of different keyboards and keypads designed by Rasmus Koit aka raks321.

Each PCB in the series has unique features tailored to different needs and preferences. […] This is my first keyboard that I've built and designed – Rasmus.

Specs

• 36 keys (5x3+3)
• low-pro Choc, hotswap
• splay
• reversible PCB
• XIAO BLE + dongle + ZMK

The PCB has also the Piper Flake, an 8+1 key wireless keypad with rotary encoder and display.

Resources

• https://github.com/RasmusKoit/pipar

MonoSeb40

A wireless monoblock split by seblov: the 40-key MonoSeb40.

Skreddvik aka seblov created and shared his MonoSeb40, a nice low-profile monoblock split keyboard.

The MonoSeb40 is a simple board I made mostly to try making a monoblock split and to try ZMK and wireless – seblov.

Specs

• 40 keys (6x3+2)
• low-pro Choc, hotswap
• Choc spacing
• 2x10 degrees slant angle
• Nice!nano clone
• 3D-printed case

If you want to make this for yourself, be aware that the PCB is wired for a NiceNano clone and I'm not 100% sure if the pinout is the same. Therefore, either get the NiceNano clone or edit the PCB – seblov.

Resources

• https://github.com/seblov/zmk-config-monoseb40

Solanum keyboard

Solanum is a 34-key diodeless split keyboard designed by Travis Mick.

Travis Mick aka le1ca/tmick0 shared Solanum, a 34-key diodeless split keyboard based around Pro Micro compatible MCU modules. Following the author's previous boards (e.g. tamago60, Egg58), the Solanum supports both wired and wireless builds and has been designed to be easily hand-assembled. The PCB is reversible and hotswap with support for Kailh Choc v1 switches.

Just in case you didn't think there were enough 34 key splits out there, I decided to introduce one of my own. This is my first 34-key board, and my first experiment with splay – Travis.

The layout of Solanum differs from the typical 34-key split in that it has only one thumb key, and a reachy pinky key. Nominal key spacing is 19x18mm. All columns feature a slight splay; the pinky columns are splayed more aggressively.

Specs

• 34 keys
• low-pro Choc, hotswap
• splay
• Pro Micro footprint
• TRRS port for wired builds
• dedicated battery JST and power switch for wireless builds
• tenting puck support

The top face of the switch plate features a botanical illustration of Solanum melongena, i.e. the eggplant.

Resources

• Solanum on Github
• Solanum build guide

Hammerhead42

The Hammerhead42 by Armin Anderson is a unibody split keyboard with a 40mm trackpad and a joystick.

Armin Anderson aka Bauns shared his Hammerhead42 – a unibody/monoblock split with a 40mm Cirque trackpad and joystick that functions as a 5-way switch and rotary encoder in one. The design was inspired by Jason Hazel's Bad Wings.

I picked hammerhead as the name because when I was originally designing the handwired plate for the prototype, at one point it looked almost identical to a hammerhead shark's head and I thought it fit – Brauns.

This was originally a handwired build, teased in Issue #168, but now there is a PCB.

Specs

• 42 keys (6x3+3)
• Helios controller
• Cirque trackpad, 40mm
• RKJXT1F42001 joystick (encoder + 5-way switch)
• 24 degrees angle

Resources

• https://github.com/arminAnderson/Hammerhead42

OverLord

OverLord is a monoblock split keyboard by Protieusz – with 2 trackballs and 2 MCUs on a single PCB.

Protieusz keeps adding trackballs to everything he encounters. ;) OverLord is a monoblock split keyboard with 2 trackballs and 2 MCUs on a single PCB, a heavy modification of darakuneko's Noraneko42L.

The layout is referred to as "Lotus", which I wasn't aware of. At first sight I thought this was another board with the willow layout, but on further inspection the columns go the other way around. Interesting.

Specs

• 36 keys (5x3+3)
• MX, soldered
• Lotus layout
• 2x RP2040 Core-A controllers
• 2x trackballs

Resources

• https://github.com/protieusz/OverLord/

Treble

Ken Choi's Treble is a 42-key low-profile wireless monoblock keyboard.

Ken Choi (aka Systemising_Brain/kkckrnz) shared his Treble, a classy monoblock split keyboard design.

The overall design aesthetic is borrowed from Horizon keyboard. The sandwich design using top/bottom plate PCB concept was great. It makes the keyboard very low profile and look more finished compared to bare PCB keyboard – Systemising_Brain.

The board was designed with ergogen after cardboard prototyping. The author followed FlatFootFox's ergogen tutorial. Custom ergogen footprints were used to generate both the cover plate and bottom plate.

Specs

• 42 keys (3x6+3)
• low-pro Choc, sodlered
• Pro Micro footprint
• wireless (optional)
• bottom plate with cutouts a la Horizon

Resources

• https://github.com/kkckrnz/treble