I think SwitchOddities still has some samples!
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Good mail day, bad Photo, as usual. 
OLD-DG switch sample pack. Manufactured by Lichicx, as far as i know, with 2 of them being linears and one of them being a light-medium tactile. First time trying Lichicx (weird for me not to have a set yet, i know, but soon, maybe.) and they are quite good. A little scratchy and pingy, but the stem wobble is quite good. I’m sure with some lube they would do quite well.
Also a big single tester by Outemu. They included anything from their regular base switches to some low-profile switches up to their newest stuff like Hani and Dragonfruit. Their newest switches, with the LED condensers, are incredible. One of the least wobbly switches through out the entire key travel that i’ve ever come across. Most switches tend to wobble a lot more the further down you go, these don’t. Probably because of their thick stem pole, but it feels quite weird, in a good way.
Also a big win for one of my Orders. I originally ordered 100x LED condensers but the store decided to send me a pack of Switches WITH the condensers instead. They are Maorbeng Cinnamon Blue, made by Huano. Usual long pole POM stem, PC top, Nylon bottom combo, but very nice. The condensers are semi-universal, meaning they fit some switches out there. But you can increase the compatibility by a lot by just sanding/filing the condensers down to make them a little bit more slim. I’ve got them to fit on Haimu, Kailh and Outemu that way.
Also the newest Huano mouse switches. Lemon green, Sweet orange and Grape Purple.
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MechKeys sent me this Weikav Record, along with some caps and switches.
While I’m not especially fond of the dye-sub caps with translucent front legends, the board itself is great with the leaf-spring mounting:
Btw, the deskmat is Coral Black by zuiver.one.
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Where can I see your reviews? You seem to get some interesting items sent to you.
Mostly on my blog at kbd.news, e.g. this DaringRun DR-70F review is the most recent one.
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GATERON Smoothie Switch
• Type: Linear
• Operation Force: 40±10gf
• Pre-Travel: 2.0±0.6mm
• Total Travel: 3.6mm±0.2mm
• Housing: Full POM material
• Spring: 22mm double stage gold-plated
• LED Support：SMD
• Pre-lubed: Yes
• Pins: 5-Pin
The only thing I’ll add is the sound of printing or even just a single press. Personally, for my taste and hearing, the ABS keycap is better. And among abs keycaps, GMK is better.
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Thanks, I recall you posting here when you got it and I was just recently wondering if you’d reviewed it yet.
Aspect ratio is exactly the right term, by the way.
Picked up x20 of these small plastic organizing containers for keycaps, as well as a mini label maker.
The results:
Another two stacks behind what’s shown. One small box can fit a whole keycap set. A few extended sets I have needed two boxes, but most fit in just one. Really happy with how it turned out! Was using mesh bags prior to this, but may just use those other electronics I have laying around that I also need to organize.
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Second jar for 70 pieces.
But Chinese sellers are very generous as always.
They put +2 extra inside in the bag) Thank you!
Detailed photos are already in this thread. Didn’t bother posting it again.
新版二色PCB卡扣
1. This product has been upgraded in every aspect: all the parts where the steel wire and plastic parts come into contact are made of elastic PVE material, so the product does not produce the noise of steel wire. The axle is made of PC+TPU and the base is made of POM+TPU.
2. This product is lubricated before leaving the factory, and all the long steel wires are adjusted straight, so it can be used immediately. Advantages for beginners, an indispensable thing for the lazy.
More photos under the spoiler.
Posted a video on YouTube. They lubricated them with a little grease at the factory. But I wiped it away. To show that even without lubrication they are very good.
The wire in the video is a little crooked. I also didn’t bother making it even to show everything as it is out of the box.
Added another video
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A pack of black LCET top housings, supposedly made of PC. I already have a bunch of stems from other random aliexpress-taobao purchases, now i just need black LCET bottoms to match.
Also a pack of “14mm” stems. They are technically 14mm, i guess. But not in the way one would expect, or want. They are only that long because the cruciform is extended, not the stem pole. Weird form of bamboozlery but it’s not as bad as some others, at least they are all functional and usable.
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Got my batch of Gateron Smoothies & my first SM cap in today! Also got a bonus Haimu Sky sample with my Smoothies! I really love how Ck has been throwing in sample switches with their orders. Not only is it a really nice touch, but it let’s us try out switches we may have never even considered otherwise. On a quick hand test the Smoothies seem to be a really good switch! Ultra smooth stock, a super consistent factory lube job, very low stem wobble, & very balanced bottom out/top out sounds. It is a little on the higher pitched & louder side, but that is not a drawback for me & a good hand lube job will most likely quiet them down some. The only thing I can point at that is not top notch with these switches is the housing wobble, it’s not terrible by any means but will definitely benefit from filming. That is to be expected with Gateron switches IME though. Think I might use these for my MX build for my TKL One!
The Haimu Sky is pretty nice as well, I’m probably gonna end up ordering a batch of them. Very smooth stock, sits in the middle sound wise (not too bright or too deep), & has around 3.8mm travel. I can’t speak on how consistent the factory lube job is with them with just one, but the one I got is very lightly lubed. I would consider them to need hand lubed if they are all like that. The stem & housing wobble is a little bit of a let down with them, especially the stem as usually box style stems are very low wobble. The top housing is fairly soft which makes me think they’ll definitely need filmed after opening. Will report back about them when I grab a full batch.
Also finally got a win in a Cysm raffle today too!
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This Yunzii AL71 in pink with Outemu Crystal Whites
It’s got:
- Aluminum
- Argie Bees
- Switches
- Stabilizers
- Gaskets!
- The “th” word that isn’t the or that
In seriousness, though - I’m kind of amazed how decent this is for less than $100 built and shipped. Yes, there are already a dozen things I could pick at - but they all seem kinda minor in context.
This keyboard is everywhere under a few names, and I bought this one to customize and sell (which it already has) - but I’m going to review it first. It’s been a minute since I’ve done a deep dive on anything, so I think that’ll be a fun thing to get into in the evenings.
My first impression is that this is a wildly good option for someone to see what the whole “mechanical keyboard thing” is about. It’s ubiquitous, comes in many flavors, isn’t expensive, but also has some premium features. I do hear that the finish isn’t so durable - so putting that to the test (and replacing it) will be part of the review.
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I have a batch of Skies I’ve been testing and like them a lot, though I still prefer rails bottom out.
I also got a Haimu Sky sticker in a recent Gat Yellow Pro 3.0 order, which is neat! The sample toss-ins are a good idea.
I think your characterization of the lube is accurate, but I do like them as-is. I can see there is a little space between the top and bottom, but I curse the process of filming, so I will probably just leave them as-is overall 
Will see though.
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Got a USB A to USB C coiled Lindy cable for my keebs. Been wanting a Lindy cable for awhile but didn’t want a detachable one. Was looking for uncoiled cable like this, but all the straight uncoiled Lindy cables I could find were black. Finally found this one on Amazon sold by KP Republic for $9.
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I bought the same one last year and I haven’t switched it out since haha. Great cable
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Does the 6-key cluster in the top-right of the layout seem odd to anyone else?
It’s kind of annoying that “Home” and “End” are diagonal to each other, and the “Delete” key feels out of place too.
Is the board remappable? I would personally want it like this:
Delete, Insert
Home, Pg Up
End, Pg Down
and maybe just replace “Insert” with “Print Screen” or “Lock”.
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I’m with you there - it’s kind of an odd arrangement, and I would prefer Home and End be in-line.
As far as I know there’s not any software that would let you re-map this keyboard. I think that’s one critical thing that keeps it from fully competing with the territory its otherwise encroaching on with that lovely sound and feel. It’s a stratospheric upgrade from a Dell dome board, but enthusiasts will be left wanting features they’re accustomed to.
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A bit of a wip purchase today. Here was my thinking:
-
SA Silent assassin has promise and I haven’t seen it around.
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It’s currently slightly discounted through Apos, who is selling some Kono stuff for free shipping.
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I have a few reddish boards that it might pair with.
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SPKeyboards now sells some affordable WoB double shot kits that I could mix in (since Silent Assassin uses stock SP white and Black)
There is also a standalone alpha kit that has traditional alphas.
So, it’s nice and unique. But the red is odd. I couldn’t figure out what it reminded me of.
But then I figured it out.
Much more brown than I had anticipated. I don’t think I’ll have any keyboards this color matches. But that’s okay. It looks good on other colors.
Here are some comparisons. I screwed up because I thought that GMK Panels used RO2 from GMK but it apparently doesn’t. GMK Panels is slightly lighter than RO2. Silent Assassin uses SP RAC for the deep red.
The set exhibits the usual marbling you see in darker resin from SP. I quite like it. It appears in the photos that some of the red modifiers (like “DEL”) are almost underfilled on the black… a bit sunken in maybe?
One key was scuffed. A random 1u shift key in the compatible kit. No biggie. But the whole thing came in a padded mailer. No box at all. Luckily they arrived in good shape. That’s free shipping I guess. 
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Got my Gateron Melodic switches. Take a good whiff when you open the bag. I dare ya. These might smell fishier than creams. Must be the lube. I suppose the stems are POM, but man… they stink. It fades fast, thankfully.
first impressions here
Just finished typing on them for a while. I like them, but I’m not ready to say I like them 100% better than my box pinks.
My take at the moment is based off of SA keycaps. I figure most people use cylindrical profiles, so I will try that out later.
I remember the very first time I saw a set of SA keycaps on Geekhack. I knew I had to have them. I imagined what they felt like (which was wrong, b/c they looked glossy, cold, and heavy but IRL they are quite matte, dry to the touch, and not all that heavy). I imagined what the keyboard would feel like when pressing. I imagined cumbersome but satifying. Clicky. Maybe heavy. This is something I’ve always wanted to recreate in a way that was pleasing.
To this day, I’ve tried most clicky MX switches out there. Box pink clicky by Kailh have been the only one that comes close to what I imagined. I can’t do Jades or Navies. They feel awful to type on.
I was planning to maybe build something retro inspired with hi profile caps and clicky switches for my raw steel Saturn60. But I want it to be pleasing to use.
The Melodic switch is close. However, I think the Box Pink may be even closer to what I want. Truely I think the perfect switch is somewhere between the two.
I prefer the sound of the click on the Gateron switch. It sounds like something is triggering and then it’s followed by a thocky bottom out. But I like the feel of the Box Pink because it feels like the clicking sound isn’t really impeding the keypress. It’s just “enhancing it.” I really like the springs on box pinks, but they are a teeny tiny bit too heavy. Maybe 3-5g too heavy.
Maybe a slightly heavier spring on the melodic switch is what I need. Or maybe a different length spring. I need to play around.
TLDR:
I remain unfulfilled when it comes to finding a clicky switch that I could see using on a daily basis. Just can’t quit the linear life yet.
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Quite right. The maddening thing is that it takes less than 2 seconds to see that is the optimal arrangement.
This Yunzi is the near identical board to the Womier S-K71 and the Womier/XVX site has software that allows a surprising amount of customisation, including tap functions and an extra custom function layer.
If this board had QMK/VIA/L and the PCB was drilled for stabs it would be close to perfect for under $100.
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