Not sure what you mean by standoffs. Are you talking about the standoffs that are sometimes between a plate and a hotswap PCB? Or are you talking about the posts in the bottom of a case for a tray mount? If you have the switches soldered in, there is no way the PCB can move. Likewise, if it’s a hotswap build, there is also an almost zero chance the PCB would fall away from the switches during normal use. Perhaps it could happen if you try to put in a new switch and insert it improperly… That could cause the PCB to drop down on that side of the board.
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So, I have seen several references over the past few months that the keyboard “scene” and the hobby is different in Asia versus NA and Europe. So, is there anyone willing to wade into that minefield and give me their take on the 30,000 foot differences? Obviously, there are going to be all kinds in all countries, but it seems like broader trends are different somehow, but it’s hard to even come up with a good way to search for it.
Found this. I have literally no idea if it’s the original or even reputable, but they are calling it AG1921 by TuT.
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Nice! Looks like it has passed. Hopefully there will be some extras
Speaking of sets, does anyone know what set THIS aliexpress listing is cloning? These XDA clones are one of the better value sets I’ve found for populating some layouts I’m messing around with, due to the numerous glyphs and 1u novelties. I can’t really use sculpted profiles off the shelf for most of them, so while I don’t need any keycaps for now, as long as my dye-sup experiments don’t go too terribly, I keep my eye out for usable non-sculpted sets.
Edit: Nevermind. Looks like they’re clones of NP Crayon from Kbdfans a few years back.
Is there a preferred way to reach out to customer service at MyKeyboard.eu?
I ordered the HSA Beige on Brown/Brown on Beige during their BFCM sale, received the keycaps quickly, but they sent HSA Black on White/White on Black by mistake. I emailed them the day I received them and again just over a week after that, but now it’s been 2+ weeks with no reply.
It’s my first experience ordering with them and has been kind of disappointing so far…
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That sucks. What I have gathered from their discord is either calling them during their business hours or continue to email. They haven’t answered questions in the discord channels for a while
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I had an issue with an order from them in June and emailed support. They replied 7 days later and shipped a replacement.
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They operate from a warehouse in Zeebrugge harbour. I have the impression that they are staffed only certain days in the week with immigrant workers. Right now, is a bad period as many leave on vacation for the holidays. But I am sure, they will come back at you to correct their mistake.
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Glad to hear they were able to resolve your issue!
I’ll try another email. Thinking I’ll start a new thread just in case the first one got blocked for having a photo in it?
I’m hoping it’s just bad timing too.
Thanks all of you for the encouragement and sanity check on this! 
Good day, an unusual question I think. Last week I was shown a pic of a keyboard that had been gifted to someone. The layout was a totally standard 65% but at the top right the 2u backspace was to the right of the 1u “`~” (backtick/tilde) key. Does anyone know what board that could be?
That’s the layout I was thinking of, thanks. I think it wasn’t that board though.
are ya’ll happy with deals on GMK base kits alone? I get a little frustrated sometimes with them because for lots of situations you’re still gonna end up dropping a ton on full-price sub kits for support for your keyboard layout or just the novelties that make the set interesting in the first place.
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Yeah, I hear you. I won’t even buy a set on sale if the child kits aren’t on sale as well. Feel like I’m getting ripped. Kono does this all the time. $99 base set, $79 for 6 novelties
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I go back & forth, some recent base kits have had really nice kitting with Alice support & even basic 40s support. I can get down with just the base in those cases, but I do agree that it is frustrating when a set you’ve wanted goes on sale but it’s just the base on sale & child kits are full price.
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Is there any consensus about what constitutes heavy switches vs. light switches in terms of
- actuation force
- bottom out force
- actuation travel distance
- bottom out travel distance
Or some formula that uses a combination of the above variables? Or some other formula?
Second question: do keebtalkers feel that it would be useful to have a Heavy Switches thread and a Light Switches thread?
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@billy Based on observation, the only real factor in assigning the heavy or light label is the total/bottom out spring force. In the U.S., light seems definitively below 60gf, and heavy is above 65gf. Approx. 63gf is entirely middle-of-the-road, and the range from 60gf-65gf, inclusive, could be considered middle in general, though some think of 60gf as light and 65gf as starting to get heavy, also. It’s my impression that lighter weights are more popular in China, at least, so the scale may differ there. Not sure where other Asian countries’ keeb enjoyers fall on this. I assume Europe and Australia are similar to the U.S.
Then you do see impressions noting subjective variation from the nominal spring weight, so someone may call a switch surprisingly light feeling despite a heavy spring, potentially due to smoothness, short travel, spring variance, or what have you.
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As a general rule I think of heavy switches as anything >60gf; light <45; and I just avoid that middle ground because I’m not sure what’s going on there.
All those force curves make perfect, logical sense, but in practical terms I’ve never really been able to connect them with the physical sensation. Which is great news for the vendors because I have to buy a switch to see if I like the way it feels.
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I also cannot connect a force curve to the switch sensation. I don’t think many brains are wired to do that.
Practically, shouldn’t spring length be factored into the heavy-light categorization? This should impact the amount of work required to bottom out.