What do we know about the Leopold "Star" switches?

So basically a Leopold 980M using SP star switches with a small LCD display? Pretty cool stuff! Hope they make their way over to the states cause I’d buy one for sure! Almost tempted to Superbuy one LOL!

2 Likes

Hard same :eyes:

2 Likes

if it had sp-star momos i would def buy and you can play snake or pacman on the screen

1 Like

Taobao actually will ship to the US, it’s just really annoying to do because you have to copy paste text and feed it to a translator. I’ve done it a couple times. You basically buy it and pay like a dollar or two in shipping to ship it to a warehouse somewhere, which will take a few days, and then once it gets to the warehouse you have to log back in and you get to find out what shipping is from the warehouse to the US (I think it was like $15 last time) and then it takes a long time (I think it was ocean shipping) and eventually shows up to you.

I’m actually kinda tempted to get this one too, if I do I’ll document how I do it.

I think there was a guide on /r/mk I used the first time, this was like 3 or 4 years ago now though

3 Likes

@dwarflemur @Rob27shred @iaman
I know a guy who does proxies from china that´s cheaper and faster then taobao if you guys are interested.

3 Likes

shipping is 41 in a haul.

I like the mild tactility of the SP Star Meteor or “Polar” switches.

They’re like smoother MX Browns, without the scratchiness.

However, I find that the long stem pole and loud noise is a bit much.

So I replaced the Meteor stems with MX Brown, using everything else stock with even the spring.

It’s actually pretty nice. A smoother MX Brown? A better MX Brown? The Meteor’s leaf is better than Pewter, IMHO, so it should be evaluated.

I dunno. I might build these. Even without the Meteor stem, though, they’re still a little clackier than I’d like. But there’s potential here.

I also made one with an Everglide Jade stem and 60 G TX [14mm] spring. It’s a punchy but still light switch, thacky noise could become grating over time, though.

1 Like

These are definitely JWK’s. I recently received an SP Star Kon Momo, and the housings look identical to a “V2” / “B” housing T1 I have.

T1 on the left, SP Star Kon Momo on the right:

8 Likes

I have some of the NANA switches and they aren’t like any JWKs I’ve ever had as far as overall feel. Maybe that’s just because of the unique soft plastic they use though. Your photos certainly look to show identical switches.

2 Likes

Because of your post, I just placed my NANA sample in my KBD67 Lite, and it’s the best-feeling switch on that board. Sounds alright stock, too.

Now I may have to buy 70 of them. Anyone know a place cheaper than AliExpress?

Okay, somebody remind me, how do I order from this place:

I believe thats merely a post. You could try looking on taobao.

1 Like

Turns out that SP-Star manufactures their own switches. Sam from KumaMech works directly with them and SP-Star confirmed they manufacture their own switches. The marks on the switch are from using a mold made from the cherry switch mold.

5 Likes

I’m a bit skeptical that these aren’t JWK’s since these have features consistent with JWK V1/V1.5.V2 mold differences. E.g. the SP Star Kon Momo that ChromePcok sent me has features consistent with JWK V2 (two-digit number bottom housing mold code in an identical size, typeface, and spacing as JWK’s, tapers on the bottom of the stem), the stems look identical to the T1’s I have, and the force curve looks almost identical to a JWK Koala (a T1 recolor). The SP Star Purples that Aiwanei sent me have features consistent with JWK V1.5 (lettered bottom housing mold code, non-tapered stems, and 6 circular ejector pin marks on the top of the bottom housing). The leafs and the insides of the bottom housings also look identical to V1.5 Koalas that I have.

3 Likes

Sold out. Bummer. I’ll add this shop to our list though.

@HungerMechanic if you’re still interested.

I swear this count was more than 10K a few days ago.

Doesn’t this always happen? Once people find out a switch is decent, it’s gone!

1 Like

Everytime I read Leopold Star Switches, I want to say Star Empire

1 Like

Don’t sleep on the Meteors, either. Meteor orange has a good force profile. Cherry-like stem and spring weight, but smoother and less scratchy.

The problem (subjective) is the loud sound caused by a long pole. They wanted to make baby Pandas or something.

With a tighter housing and quieter bottom-out, these could easily be ‘better Browns.’

1 Like

Just clip the excess off the bottom of the stem. I am not a fan of long pole stems either & have had great success clipping Halo stems before. I’ve also experimented with a few of the other long pole stems switches I have & clipping the excess off the stem doesn’t have any ill effects.

1 Like

Interesting…how much do you clip off the stem and what tool do you use?

[I wonder if the Meteor sounds weak without the long stem - maybe they put it in there to compensate for a lacklustre sound.]

1 Like