Signature Plastics did, indeed, have trouble with SA PBT caps. However, that was some years ago and they have since then made new tooling for their SA-P line.
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People have complained about changes in the ePBT manufacturing process a few times recently. I remember hearing stuff about how they shifted from using gateron blanks to a different OEM, and they’ve also gone through a long, painful process trying to get all-over dye sub working well – ever since Kuro Shiro R1. They’ve also gone through some ridiculously long GB times (probably related to the all over dye sub struggles).
The sets that I’ve tried have been good enough and their packaging has gotten great but I think there is a missed opportunity to for them to be the go-to for cherry sets that could be made with dye-sub rather than double-shot. CRP is awesome but they’re not that either, offering retro-type sets rather than mainline enthusiasts type sets. SP’s PBT DCS sets are very nice too but fairly uncommon.
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Have a pretty minor question that doesn’t feel like it deserves its own thread so I’ll add to this one.
What is the silent tactile landscape looking like right now?
I’ve got an unassembled Salvation burning a hole in my workbench but I can’t decide what switches to put in it. I’m a big fan of Gazzew Boba U4s and considering just picking up another set of those, but it’d be nice to try something new if anyone has any recommendations.
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I’ve found “Keeb” to be a pretty interesting site to see what’s available, though it’s not an exhaustive inventory of every product available. There are a good number of silent tactile options listed there.
Personally, I like the Haimu Whisper Silent (which I believe are functionally the same or very similar to Epomaker’s Iceberg Silent Rose Tactile), though I’m not sure if they’re necessarily better than the Boba U4. They have an interesting plastic leaf spring kind of piece that acts as a dampener, as opposed to the usual silicone or other soft plastic dampener. @Deadeye introduced me to these, so @leemu had the right idea!
I haven’t tried it personally, but there’s also a fully silent version of the TTC Bluish White which may be worth consideration.
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There are many good silent tactiles out these days. Thanks for the shout, @leemu - this is one of my favorite branches on the switch tree.
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The (fully) Silent Bluish White @ListlessLlama mentioned is the switch I’d take to an island if I could only bring one. For me, it has the best balance of characteristics. It’s not as quiet as Outemu silents like U4s, but it also has a more definitive bottom-out feel. I like the sound in its own right, a sort of muted thud.
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The Haimu Whisper Silent is also quite good, and I think it makes for an overall more quiet switch than the polycarb Skyloong version thanks to the softer Nylon housing. I think these feel pretty similar to the Bluish whites but might be more quiet on the way down. The top-out is a little more sharp than most silents, but is still plenty quiet.
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Wuque also has a similar Silent Tactile (practical name hey) made by Haimu, which is also Nylon.
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If you like the soft dampening of the U4s, you might also like Outemu Silent Cream Yellows - more mellow tactility and lighter weight but the same dampening, and better tolerances than cheaper Outemu silents like Lemons and Peaches.
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Kailh Silent BOX Browns were my favorite silent before the TTCs came along, and are pretty similar if less consistent - both between examples and over time. BOX tactiles feel “more mechanical” to me by virtue of an extra moving part between the stem and leaf, and this one is no exception. The use case where I’d recommend these before others would be for North-facing boards; I’ve yet to find a keycap that interferes with these.
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Kailh Midnight Pro Silent Tactiles feel very similar to Silent Bluish Whites to me, and might even be a bit more stable / solid - but they damage some keycaps including GMK. If you’ve got some sturdy PBT caps they’ll probably be fine, and the Geon Trimmer tool will shave the stems down to an acceptable dimension for the rest. The process is a pain, but worth it if you really like the switches - these would be tied for my favorites if not for the stem thing.
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Edit; almost forgot: Tecsee Medium Tactiles are silent. They only actually have dampeners on the bottom, but the top housing is so soft it doesn’t matter. These are MX-footprint, MX-compatible switches but are lower-profile and shorter travel. If you’ve got a keyboard where you wish the caps sat just a bit lower, these might be the move.
I’m honestly still not a fan of Gateron or Cherry silents without switching some parts around - and Cherry still only makes silent linears for some reason. Akko (KTT) has just started making silents as well, but I think they’ve also only done linears so far. JWICK has made great tactiles and has dampened switches, but I don’t think they have a full silent tactile yet - when they do it will probably be on-par with the TTCs and Kailhs. Durock has some, but the leaves seem a little crunchy to me compared to the others above.
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@BrickParade that question certainly deserved its own thread!
In fact, I was planing to start a thread about a very similar topic. But that is not of any importance.
What does matter, is that I no longer see this “The Random Question Thread” as a good evolution for this forum. If this thread continues, it will be increasingly difficult for newcomers (like myself) or old dogs alike to locate essential information.
Rather, forum members should be encouraged to overcome their timidity to open a new thread. This may sound radical, but I think this thread should be closed. But of course, that is for the higher-ups to decide…
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I think this site benefits best from reviving old posts with questions and new insights, usually forums are against it but I found it to be working great here, the UI is phenomenal and makes it very intuitive to find your desired info, whatever it’s a previous reply someone quoted or just a random comment.
But new posts imo are also fine if the person happens to find the topic to need a refresh.
I like this way because when comparing it to a site like Reddit (where the biggest MK community exists afaik), searching there for info is a nightmare where here I found it to be significantly easier.
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Thank you all so much! I knew (hoped) @Deadeye would come through with a killer rundown. I’m gonna do a bit of research with all this great info and make my decision, I’m sure you all will be seeing the results in another thread once I get this board built up and on my desk
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Two questions:
- have there been any nice changes in the GH60 compatible PCB scene? I have two cases (a keyboardbelle and a bbox60) that have been waiting for builds. I have a gk64xs to use for one, the other I’m not sure about.
- Do you update your keyboard firmware from time to time just to get the latest changes to QMK? (people that never patch their OS or apps please do not reply
)
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Finally answered my own question via extensive trial and error: they’re 4-pin Mini Micro JST SH female-female cables. Not incredibly easy to find but they’re definitely out there. eBay has them for okay-ish prices and Aliexpress has them for super cheap if wait time isn’t an issue.
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this was for the Cipulot EC Pro 2 pcb right
adding to help this be searchable
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For the EC60 but I know the EC Pro 2 uses the same connector. The EC Pro X may use a Molex but he hasn’t released the production files for that just yet.
They also fit my Had60 so this was more finding out exactly what boards typically use when they say “JST connector” and not needing to buy an entire daughter board as well each time I need a cable.
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I’m a huge fan of the Cascade, BT60v2 (BT), and the BIOI for a bit of bounce. But the latter is best with an ISO Enter due to the way the hotswap socket is positioned. The ANSI sits sideways which makes the keycap fit a bit tight and causes weird stress on the stab stem/housing – especially with off-center key presses.
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4pplet.com have some different 60%.
Personally I would chopshop a Wooting 60HE if I ever would go up in keyboard sizes.
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Dope. Thanks for sharing!
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Oof! That does look fixable, though - looks like there’s plenty of pad left where the contacts pulled up.
If you’re not comfortable trying to re-solder all that tiny stuff (Louis Rossmann makes it look easy with flux), someone who does laptop or phone repair could probably make short work of it.
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In the cheap
Flexy fun and great corner we have this baby :
Keebox Y&R6095 60% Layout Hot Swap PCB Flex Cut PCB Support GH60 Layout Hot swapping PCB
https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0etxTA
Got one and use it in my Prophet, it’s great.
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I also have a millmaxed Had 60 that isn’t being used. It fits standard 60% boards. I’d be happy to send it your way if yours isn’t repairable.
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