It appears it is a Salmon Alps model. Several years ago I compared Salmon and Orange and I think prefered the weighting of Salmon, if memory serves. But an earlier model with Orange could have been cool too.
Definitely the first time Iâve seen an Alps switch plate this clean in person.
amazing. I own one that is not in the best condition. I hate the space bar on it. Howâs the space bar on NoS?
Rattle is off the charts. Iâve actually never modded a space bar (never had one anywhere near this bad), but if I did this time, Iâd want it to be something that is easily reversible.
Iâm okay with rattle. Mine binds like crazy. Probably just add some thick grease to the stabilizer clips where the wires go should help a lot. Youâll probably have to remove the keycaps on either side of the stabilizer to get in there, and It may feel like youâre going to break something getting the space bar off. Iâve yet to break anything, but I donât envy you. 
Such a lovely board
Ah, I see! No binding at all on mine.
Without doing any hardcore restoration or anything, I wonder if just dusting out your spacebar switch would make a meaningful difference? Iâm sure you already know this but unlike MX, you donât have to unsolder Alps switches to open them, so makes cleaning pretty easy.
Maybe I should try. I donât remember if I ever put much work into it. I canât remember why I originally purchased it. I think it was b/c I was planning to pick up a Lunar65 and I wanted the right shift?? I Feel like someone else was going to run an aluminum alps kit that used the odd layout, as well. Who knows? Maybe itâs time to pull it out and give it some love (TWSS)
An Elytra beta unit. A pre-built wireless alu split, horizontally staggered. Much more info and dissection: Elytra review
not home yet so I donât have a picture, but a Cospad XD24. More for macro, but will have a toggle for numpad.
A care package that includes the final board that Iâll be adding to the collection - a good friend who has sent me stuff in the past sent me another board along with the Bolsalice PCB that he desoldered for me.
The board is an Arc60, along with several PCBs and plates. I love HHKB layouts, so this was an awesome gift. Built it up using Black Lotus switches, split spacebar, and just topped it with GMK Sparta since it was open and had the space bar coverage needed.
This is the final board I am adding to my collection, as I decided to step away from the hobby and move onto other things (and by that I mean I am done buying keyboard / keyboard things, likely still be on r/mk and here, made friends and enjoy Keebtalk especially).
A few PCBâs this time, and 2 sets of switches.
I thought some of the other switches in the Ajazz âDiced Fruitâ series were pretty nice (namely, the Diced Fruit Bananas and Diced Fruit Kiwis), especially for lower cost switches. Itâs kind of strange to see that even the Ajazz website doesnât seem to have any switches for saleâŚ
My family is completely uninterested in my 150 strong keyboard collection, except for the cute froggy themed KiiBOOM Phantom 81 Lite, that I havenât seen since my review as it was instantly grabbed by my older daughter.
Unboxing the KiiBOOM Meow keycaps and the cake themed blue Phantom 81 Lite variant was maybe the second occasion that brought a smile to the face of my little daughter while watching me doing boring keyboard things. [edit: review]
And a Jiffy 75 prototype(?). No product page yet, the launch is planned for February.
A low-pro wireless split with classic staggering but split spacebars/thumb clusters plus two extra columns on the flanks. And another cute hard-shell carry case. From Jezail Funder Studio, the designer of the Cornix and manufacturing partner of the ElimKeys Elytra.
Cool and high-quality alu case as it is expected from JZF. Iâm not a palm rest guy, but these optional walnut ones look beautiful and complement the board well. And even the placeholder silent Kailh Choc V2 Mini Pink Island switches are great. Though the board will come with a custom switch I guess.
Yeap, and it seems that this is another take on the LAK keycaps. After the original uppercase legends of the Cornix and lowercase legends of the Elytra, these are italic, positioned in the bottom left corner. I was told that the Elytra caps will be sold separately, so I guess the same will be the case for this Jiffy set.
Elytra vs Jiffy:
HMX Samples:
In Photo: HMX Jade, Longjing S, Moksae, Yamatake.
Pictured: Longjing S and Yamatake
Before I bias myself by reading recent reviews of these switches, I thought Iâd provide my own thoughts on them:
1. HMX Yamatake
Now these are interesting. Mine read âXLLABâ on the housing.
These are a modern Pro Purple, something comparable to AKKOâs P-shaped switches, maybe the Creamy Purple Pro.
They are:
-light-tactiles. Almost down to Brown strength, but still stronger.
-loud. These have a characteristic long-pole tactile sound. Fairly deep.
-âcleanâ - except for the application of factory lubrication, these arenât scratchy, and they donât âcatchâ
I think they also remind me of Gateron Mini i. The Yamatake arenât as crispy and snappy, though. More of a traditional P-shape.
2. HMX Moksae
âSilentâ tactile
These are dampened, medium-tactiles.
Not quite as intense as a proper U4 Boba or Aqua / Crystal Zilent V2.
And not as overpowered silencing as OUTEMU switches [including U4].
Itâs more of a dampener, as in Kailh silents [Deep Sea, in particular].
I feel as though this is an HMX âDeep Sea Whaleâ tactile.
-bump is about that of an Ergo Clear
-but not Cherry-shaped
-lower volume than non-dampened switches, but not âsilentâ
-reasonable housing collisions [or maybe thatâs the dampening]
-low-pitched
-strong medium bump promote staccato typing
Itâs kind of like a snappier, muffled-sounding AKKO Bittersweet.
It also kind of reminds me of TTC Silent Bluish White.
3. HMX Jade
This is a light-medium tactile. Maybe not as strong as Moksae.
The weight reminds me of the stock Gateron Longjing Tea, being seemingly higher than a Brown.
It feels âslowerâ than some other tactiles, due to the spring and tactile stem.
The housing collisions might be a little stiff.
4. AKKO Bittersweet [for comparison]:
-viscous, like pudding
-âsquishy-sounding,â but also relatively quiet
-the stock spring reduces the impact of bottom-out
-aftermarket Geon 50 G 18mm is a great replacement spring
5. HMX LONGJING S
I find this more interesting than most people would. First, I have a board with Gateron Longjing Tea.
This is definitely a light-tactile. Maybe the lighest HMX tactile I tried so far.
The actuation weight is higher than MX Petal, and maybe 10-20% lighter-feeling than HMX K-01.
It is not as loud as HMX Yamatake. That switch has a nice, loud, crisp smack. Just like the sound tests.
The Longjing S, by contrast, is quieter, thinner, and more plasticy-sounding. At least on a Transition Lite TKL.
Itâs basically a switch between MX Petal / Brown and HMX Yamatake. Closer to Yamatake.
Itâs also similar to AKKO Bittersweet, but noticeably lighter than the stock Bittersweet.
I am tempted to fill a whole board with these, but it does have a thin and plasticy sound.
If it werenât for the sound, this could be one of the best light-tactiles.
I recently got an M2 Mac Mini to play with and use as a home server (Jellyfin, local FTP, Minecraft, etc.). It is replacing a twentyish year old Pentium something that isnât eligible for Windows 11 (could use Linux like my laptop, desktop, and âusedtobea Chrome Tabâ, but MacOS seemed fun). I will be building a case for the wireless 60% PCB I got in Japan, and probably throwing on the Extended-2048 XDA clones Iâve had floating around for almost two years now.
To pair with it, I just got a first-gen Magic Touchpad, the one that uses AA batteries so it should work as well as it ever has. I also got some Epomaker Budgerigar budget tactiles. They are mid-weight, but feel a bit heavier than their specs, and I think theyâll go nice in the build.
Maybe I missed it, but what are those lovely hat shaped caps? They remind me a bit of the Apple II/Snow White caps.
Do you mean the LAK profile? Hereâs a link to the original Cornix sets, but the Jiffy 75 will be released in a few days, with even more Apple-like legends: italic font in the bottom left corner. The Elytra set is already available for pre-order, but with legends in the center.
My second set of URSA caps arrived today. Perfect for my heavy-9!
Gotta love that bottom row sculpt. Thanks again to @Andreas for such lovely keycaps
Amazing, a match made in heaven.
Looks so good and the bottom-row scuplt is amazingâŚI have to figure out how to get these in my rotation - Iâm really new to Topre
