For $30-$40, you can get a full-size Inland mech. Inland is Microcenter’s brand name for peripherals. I nabbed a used one for like $15 for my brother and for the price it was amazing.
Or you could just choose a cheap mech off Amazon, they’re mostly all the same quality-wise. You’d have better luck finding smaller form factor boards as well.
For someone who is just dipping their toes into the keyboard water, those are the two places I’d start to figure out what size keeb you want and what switches you prefer. Best Buy and Microcenter both have keyboards on display so that can help you judge what switches suit you best.
Man, group buys have been rough the past two years. All my GBs have been delayed several times. Still waiting on KAT Explosion, KAT Iron, and a Bahrnob 65.
Not that I need any more keebs, but I’m eagerly awaiting more news of the Skillet (an April Fool’s joke of a cast iron case turned actual project). I think it’d look amazing with Phoenician Irons.
It’s been a terrible time for any GBs involving a PCB. I’m surprised they haven’t resolved that issue yet. Is it because China has Taiwan’s nuts firmly in a vice? Covid? Either way, hopefully Intel’s chip plant in Arizona will help…but that’s not slated to start production until 2024
MX browns do not feel even remotely similar to IBM buckling spring switches. The latter are relatively stiff and produce a very pronounced “click and ping” noise. The former are relatively light in terms of actuation force and have a very gentle tactile bump with absolutely zero click sound.
To find a buckling spring is going to be fairly difficult unless you go with that Unicomp that @LinksLegionaire recommended. Definitely good. I personally just want something with a heavy actuation force, so I went with a KeyChron with Cherry MX Blacks. I had a Vortex Vibe but the wife accidentaly bumped the plug a little too hard while cleaning and popped the usb port clean out! Might be able to fix it but she bought me the KeyChron to hold me over. Vibe had MX Clears and was lovely.
If you’re just using it for work, The Unicomp or Keychron are great bets. I would confirm return policies though, as there are QC reports of non-working switches in the KeyChron. (Amazon sells them with free returns, so not really an issue there, and mine was fine.)
Wow, it looks like mech keyboards have evolved as much as yoyos since I stopped paying attention! When I built my first computer I bought a DasKeyboard and it’s still my daily driver. (It was a choice between that and a Deck.) Later I bought a Duckychannel Shine 3, still have that one too.
Now it seems like there are a million brands and options for switches!
Update on using a syringe to lube the Cherry Clear switches as I described back in July. Even though I put that much lube in, there have been no ill effects. The lube response has lasted, and I prefer the feel as well as less sound compared to the same keyboard at home with Cherry Silent Reds.
I can’t make any promises about keeping it in a hot car with the keys facing down, but it’s been fine on my desk.
Curiously, it worked better than I imagined and I loved how much easier it was. Of course, there’s always the option to open all of the switches to lube.
Definitely test out on a switch before doing the whole lot. Also, if you use a higher viscosity lube, test if you can get it through the syringe. I had to put the stuff I used through the back, as I couldn’t draw it up through the tip.
what do y’all think the best stock switch is? I’m using some stock Smokey Durock L3s in my KBD67 R3 lite and they sound so good. I heart TTC Gold pinks are nice stock as well. What switch do you guys find really nice sounding stock?
