First time building! Need advice :)

Just a quick question regarding the “foam”. Is that something that just affects the sound and I guess up to personal preference?

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Yep. “Foam” can refer to a handful of different materials, but what they all have in common is a propensity to dampen sound reflection.

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Putting it below the PCB in the case can help mitigate sounds like ring and ping. Between the plate and PCB (around the switches) can take the edge off of sharp, resonant clacks. A thin sheet on the PCB (under the switches) can also help with that, with the added effect of dampening the vibrations that come back up through the switch as well - this is the only one that affects feel a little bit, I believe.

Adjacent; the “tape” and “force break” mods. “Tape mod” is just putting a layer of something like masking tape on the underside of the PCB - this reflects sound and can make the board sound more “poppy”. The “force break” mod also uses masking tape or something similar, but as a kind of gasket between case halves or the case and plate - this can really help mitigate ping or ring.

It really is all preference - and I’ve found my preference varies from chassis to chassis - I just try stuff until I like it. :slight_smile: Some of my keebs have every possible open space filled with some kind of foam - others just have the PCB sheet or some between the switches, when I found case foam to hush things up too much.

On the expensive end you can get specially cut kits of high-density foam meant for specific keyboards - on the cheap end you can use pillow stuffing and the sheets of foam that would otherwise get discarded from electronics packaging. The latter is what most folks use for PCB foam nowdays, and it also works as case foam when there’s not much room below the PCB. When using as PCB foam, you can just sit it on the pcb and stab the switch pins right through it - just keep in mind some builds might have tolerances tight enough to not allow room for it - but most of the time it’s a non-issue.

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Heya!

I’m writing on the new keyboard! And everything works suprisingly well for being my first keyboard :slight_smile:

However, how do switch the keys in windows ? For example my “home” key is no longer the home key.

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Probably https://www.caniusevia.com/

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Also, much help with VIA/QMK is available here and elsewhere if you run into trouble with it. It’s pretty powerful.

Yeah I have run into some problems!

I know this is super super super late reply and the keyboard has worked great! Exepct for one key that won’t register as the correct one on caniusevia.

Not sure what the issue is.

Which key is it? Does it register as the wrong key or doesn’t register at all? Does it work normally elsewhere, like typing in the reply box here or in email?

It registers but as the wrong one.

I have used a couple of different online sites to change it but it’s never correct.

The one that I want it to be is a “less than, greater than” combined key.

Currently it’s a “;”

I hope you don’t mind if I pop a question in here. A few of you suggested TX AP rev3, which I think is a clip-in. Is this better than the TX AP screw-in?

TX AP stabs are their v4, so they are newer than the v3 stabs. TX makes them in both clip-in as well as screw-in.

Some people ran into issues with the v3 stabs with wire fitment and wobble, if I recall. I have only tried the v3 stabs once or twice and had no issues with them.

I have a couple boxesnof the TX AP screw-in stabs that I have yet to test out, but folks really seem to like them.

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Can confirm both points; I liked the V3s but they did have almost Durock levels of wobble / play. AP thickened-up the stem and I think the tolerances are a lot better. Mixed reports on wires but all of mine have been perfect so far.

I think I do prefer the screw-ins just because I don’t like having to use those little shims or having stabs pop out with my keys - but I can’t say I’ve ever had any issues with the clips outside of having to push them back in when switching keycaps.

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Search the QMK docs for NONUS codes.