We had it. An interesting thing has been done. People who fly frequently might want to take something small in their luggage.
It’s even fast. Since some tourist flies to the United States, for example, the current for 5 days. And back he could take something like a keyboard)) And then this coronovirus happened.
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Boxes of switches for the switchbox inventory.
I already mentioned the Mute Jades I got in today elsewhere in the TIL thread, but I also got some Matrix Tactiles.
Considering the box arrived like this, I guess I’m lucky all the goodies were still inside:
Dang, USPS, chill
Haven’t mounted them yet, but the Matrix Tactiles raised my eyebrows in a good way.
I remember seeing some folks say they wish there was a non-dampened Bluish White out there - well, this switch has a good chance of scratching that itch. They travel a bit more as to be expected, but they also have a better (and removable) light lens. Unlike the Bluish Whites, Matrices(?) are 5-pin and have all-Nylon housings.
Just in the hand, they sound and feel clean, with that nice, poppy “thwack” on the upstroke I associate with Nylon switches - at least ones with peppy springs or tactile bumps.
For obvious reasons these remind me a bit of Wilds; not only are they both made by TTC, but they were both commissioned by Matrix Lab. (That’s why you might see “Matrix Wilds” for sale.) If these are anywhere near as good in a board as other recent TTCs I’ve tried, well - let’s say I’m looking forward to enjoying them.
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I can only suggest to you how I do it. So that the address on the box does not fall into the photo, and then do not cover up the address on the photo.
Every time I received a package and came home, I immediately cut out the address with a knife. Then a photo or unpacking.)))
There was an old movie - Hackers. Where they were looking for addresses and mail in the garbage. To use later. I got a phobia
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I’d ordered these Akko CS Jelly Blues at the same time as the other Akkos I got recently.
Curiously, these more expensive switches didn’t come in the little plastic egg crate the cheaper ones did, but the rest of the packaging is the same:
Just rollin’ around in there
Feel:
Just trying them in the hand, they feel pretty good. Interesting; neither the bump or spring are particularly heavy, but that bump manages to be very poppy.
That is, it’s kinda light - and surprisingly snappy for being so. These CS (“Custom Series”) tactiles feel different than the other ones without dust shrouds that use wing-latch housings.
The switch has a neat feeling; I wouldn’t say it’s unique in the switch world, but might be for one this light and with normal travel. The bump is more of a catch you break-through at the top before pretty linear travel afterwards, and on the way back up it snaps right back into that catch.
Moreso than most, that top-snap on the way back up is very crisp. You’ll see why shortly.
Minor trivia: the stem shroud is a different shape than depicted on the box and sales pages.
More minor trivia: these use MX-style clips instead of the wing-latches.
More more minor trivia: the wing-latch Akko housings appear related to those used by KTT. Neither are compatible with Kailh, but are compatible with each-other and have matching-style mold markings.
Time to look inside!
Okay that’s different.
Another angle; while the bump profile is very different, it has in common the sort of beveled shaping with the other Akko tactiles.
Check out that tight curve at the top of the bump - that’s where that extra snappy pop on the return comes from. Hmm…
Back to back, belly to belly, a Blueberry stem and an Akko Jelly
Def not the same - but maybe some shades of influence there. The Blueberry doesn’t have that little hook-curve at the top, instead having a flat angled ramp.
Oh, yeah - there’s a long-boi spring in there, too:
Not-quite-symmetrical two stage spring; switch opener keychain for contrast and scale
A peek at the nameplate:
Oh, there’s some shmutz on that stem…
From this angle you might be able to see the outline of the shroud shape depicted on the box; it looks like they modified it to fill-in those corner areas at some point. Maybe it helps with consistency / less warpage?
Sound:
There’s definitely plenty of sound that comes from these - it’s not exactly metallic like pinging or anything, but I think a lot of it does come from the bump-leaf interaction. There’s a bit of spring-wiggle to the sound, which seems typical of the extra-long ones.
Especially for a sharp tactile like this one, I’m impressed with how little ping there is. It’s there, but you likely won’t hear it unless it’s up to your ear or you have these in an all-metal keeb. Not like a clicky mechanism, but there is a sort of “click” (perhaps a “clink”) sound to these as the stem detents release from and re-engage the leaf bumps.
fell down a mini rabbit-hole here and don’t even mind
I really just planned on tossing-up a pic or two and getting into these later, but that stem caught my interest. I look forward to giving these a proper try in a board.
(And yes, if you happen to be wondering - I have already tried the stem in 5 or 6 other housings; so far it feels best in its own, doesn’t even travel in quite a few, and feels kinda shmeh in some random Gaterons.)
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Fantastic coverage!
I love Akko’s line, they know how to make switches.
I think part of the reason their tactiles are so good is that their bottom out force is either the same or lower than the bump peak force, giving the switch a very snappy feeling.
No progressive spring nonsense that makes the bump feel weak and unpronounced (though they have progressive one but it’s not as popular as the rest of the line).
My favorite switch is their Lavender Purple, might no be as high quality as my Boba U4T pack but I like it more.
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I have to admit, that is exceptionally beautiful.
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Another non-keyboard related mailday for now, but i finally got my hands on a Watara Supervision. I put it next to my DMG Gameboy for size comparison. sadly, though, it’s not working right now and the clip of the battery cover is broken off so it will need some love in the future. Overall in really good condition, though.
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This brought back an ancient memory from '89 or '90 when I was a wee lad; some kind of school or camp event that involved making costumes, and somebody was a giant Game Boy. It was a current, novel pop-culture thing to reference. I remember almost nothing else from that day besides the DMG with arms and legs up on stage.
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Wait, hang on…yours didn’t come with the plastic holder for the switches? That’s really weird because mine did. Same story with the Lavenders, but those just came with the plastic, not the box lol!
Very inconsistent packaging with no explanations.
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Very strange, I have 6 boxes of their switches here, and all of them came with both the box and the plastic trays.
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I know I’m not the first, but they have arrived:
I’m most curious now to compare them to the Box Jades in a build… I have another Feker keyboard here that I can do a build in, probably later tonight or tomorrow… That way I can directly compare between them as they will be nearly identical (ie, same case, stabs, pbt key caps… only the switch will be different).
EDIT: just a quick in-hand comparison… I think I’m not going to like these as much. The point of tactility feels more blunted, less crisp than the standard Box Jades.
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Haha!
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Don’t release the key too fast, wouldn’t want to injure anyone.
I’m imagining a whole parody catalog you might find things like that in; “Keeb Things You Never Knew Existed!”
- stems with 1" pole
- 200mm springs
- Big Switch artisans
- keeb-shaped pool foats
- edible keycaps
- space-bar switchblades
- ISO enter torch lighters
I kind of want to make and print some of these for lols
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where did you get that from lol
Got a full set of DCS clear caps including non-standard layouts from Signature Plastics. Also got the non-standard semiotic kit and a 7u space bar. Can finally put these on some of my nicer boards
The clear caps are pretty cool as accents, too.
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Where else, but Etsy: Infrared Super-switch 600gf - Etsy
It’s actually surprising how much Keeb related stuff is there.
@Deadeye I am 100% on board with these ideas, but yeah, you release this switch too suddenly and your keycap is going to be embedded in the ceiling.
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I made one of these and can confirm it launches keycaps if flicked… Lube the stem with krytox and it’ll make Professional Baseball Pitchers go to shame.
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