this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2025
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Mechanical Keyboards
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Ok, so you said put together your own keyboard, that involves soldering. However it's very likely you don't need to.
Finding which switches you like is a good first step, as a general rule I think there's only 3 types of switches you should worry about, let's call them Red, Brown and Blue since that's the colors Cherry MX uses for them so they're sort of the standard. Red are fully linear, i.e. they feel the same from start to bottom. Browns have a small bump midway through (when the switch activates). Blues are like Browns but they also make a click sound. Only choose colicky switches if you have a room for yourself, they can be VERY annoying to other people, be considerate. That being said it's personal preference, I personally like Browns although I have used Reds and honestly I don't feel that much of a difference.
Next important is figuring out the size you want, do you plan on moving it a lot? If so a smaller form size might be better.
Then there are some ergonomics, personally I love Split ortholinear keyboards, you can buy premade ones but for me it was cheaper to build one for myself, but I'm okay with soldering. That being said if you're going to solder, I STRONGLY recommend you get a nice modern USB-C pen style soldering iron, I bought a cheap one from Amazon and it was very difficult to use, didn't heated up properly and had a very large tip (the small one never got hot enough to melt the solder).
Yeah, build was not the right term I see. If one buys a "base set", switches, key caps, and puts them together, what would one call that?
That base set is what's the problem, I don't think places sell that, they might either sell you an assembled keyboard, or the PCB and connectors for you to solder and add your controller, switches, key caps, etc.
Honestly look for something preassembled in the form factor you want with hot swappable switches. For example my old keyboard was a RedDragon k530 with brown switches is an excellent 60% model that you can get with your preferred switches and if you want to change them in the future (I for example changed mine for some silent ones, plus added some padding and o-rings to make it extra quiet).
If you want split ortholineal keyboards the Moonlander is a great choice, although I never got one because they're too expensive and shipping is not great to Europe. Personally I quite enjoyed soldering my own crkbd kit, but I know it's not for everyone.
Ah, gotcha. I'll have to read the product descriptions more thoroughly!
Thanks!