Chinese USB Hall Effect Keyboard - Review and Impressions

[Tjj226_Angel]

I already know the answer to this, but is there any chance we would ever see a 75% keyboard option?

[Rama Dwipa]

all i wanted (or maybe needed) is keyboard that have durabilities, removeable switches, backlighted, can read analogue input signal so i could play racing games, i even think instead use backlight, the keycaps had independed on-screen display that showing the alphabet on each key, but it something state-of-the-art, it would come with high priced of course

[dwolvin]

It's been tried (keycap screens), crazy expensive and not part of this thread at all.

[Thereminz]

since somebody brought the thread back, and i just got R2 version of the board yesterday i thought i'd post my review from reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyb ... _comments/

[mustcode]

I also just got around to use mine yesterday and I can give my take on it since I've seen very few reviews of the R2 outside of Massdrop's discussion thread.

I got the TKL, clicky version of the R2, first impression was the click is really weak, and if I shake the board, I can actually hear the click wire rattling inside the switches. After about 20 minutes of typing, thoughts of removing the click wire came to mind. I also found that a couple of switch could get stuck, and it does come with 3 replacement switches, so I opened up the board in an attempt to replace the switches.

Once I see the inside, I am actually impressed with how "efficient" the design is. The top case, the pcb, and the switches are all held together by the clips on the switches. No screws at all. Everything is tightly packed as there are almost no empty space inside the bamboo case. However, due to the accuracy of how everything clips together, the switches can be rotated a little as the clips and the holes in the case couldn't keep the switches perfectly straight.

Now I also got a good look at the click wire and wow, it is tiny. No wonder it rattles and doesn't have much tactility at all. Seeing the click wire, I decided to remove them and go linear. It's clear that the switch wasn't meant to have the click wire when it was design. I guess linear is better suited for a hall-effect board anyway.

Next I started to pull the caps, and the sliders on the stabilizers came off, stuck to the caps. After close inspection to see how it was put together, I was a little surprised to see how bad the stabilizers are... You can push and click the sliders back in, but if you flip the board upside down and just shake, they'd fall off again. So, I'm not sure if they are designed to come off like that, but at least they can be pushed back in so you don't have to remove every switches every time you change the keycaps.

Halfway through removing all the click-wire, I've figured out why some switches could get stuck... Probably due to inaccuracy in the manufacturing process, the switch housing can sometime has an "overhang" right at the top of the hole that the slider goes in. Depending on the size of the overhang, you could feel a slight bump on the return, or in bad cases, the can slider get stuck. This overhang happens enough that the 3 replacement switch wasn't enough, so I just use an art knife to clear out the overhang and the bad switches are now working smoothly again.

There are other small issues that I fixed, the dampening foam covering the magnet sometimes are placed sideways result in small inconsistency in the bottom-out feel. For these, I use a tweezer to pull them out and put them back properly. Some sliders also have one of the four legs not formed properly, probably due to defects in the molding process, fortunately these doesn't really effect the feel.

The keycaps are alright, the texture is good but overall quality isn't that great so I replaced them with one of those Filco SA set I ordered not too long ago (btw, they the Costar stabilizer mounts are no longer glued in, they came in a separate pack now)

So, with everything put back together, new keycap, the now linear contactless hall-effect goodness does not disappoint. Yes, stabilizer is not great, but beside that, it is a joy to type on. Very smooth, spring weight is not bad, not quite but not too loud either. If there is one thing I wish I could change with this board, it'd be the bamboo. It's solid and does the job well, but it is not really my thing esthetically. In the end, even with all the issues I've mentioned here, non of them are deal-breaker to me. I kind of like typing on it, and it will be part of my boards rotation.

Finally, tons of respect for XMIT and the manufacturer for keeping the hall-effect keyboard alive in this world full of MX switches. Cheers!

[dwolvin]

Very cool- I have a TKL from the first batch (linear, acrylic), and love it but am hoping for a v3 tactile some time. Could you post a photo of the foam cushion arrangement? I've been debating trying something for a little bottom damping...

[mustcode]

It's a piece of cylindrical foam, same diameter as the magnet, about 1mm thick. It goes right over the magnet. The magnet is recessed further in a bit to make room for the foam. The foam is stuck to the magnet with a double sided tape. I'll post a picture when I get back to the keyboard again tonight or tomorrow.

[Elrick]

Just a quick question for the designers of this mint keyboard, why haven't you done an all Aluminium Casing for this baby yet?

Remember that all Aluminium isn't metal it's simply non-magnetic, perfect material for the hard core collector to buy your keyboard when it's shoe-horned into a swish casing.

I would buy it immediately if it was sitting inside some cool Black, Silver, Red or Grey Aluminium Case. People would love it, you'll get an avalanche of orders because we need to bring this tech fully into the upper reaches, instead of doing it on the cheap.

[mustcode]

Very cool- I have a TKL from the first batch (linear, acrylic), and love it but am hoping for a v3 tactile some time. Could you post a photo of the foam cushion arrangement? I've been debating trying something for a little bottom damping...

Here's the foam I was talking about.

20180328_225310.jpg (2.83 MiB) Viewed 4179 times

[dwolvin]

Ah, not sure if that will work on mine, I keep meaning to pick up a bigger size hole punch and just punch a bunch of slightly under a centimeter circles and put them at the bottom of the well (on the HE sensors). But it's not at the front of the list by any means...

smaller.jpg (415.6 KiB) Viewed 4120 times

Whoops- new phone- didn't think about the camera change!
Excuse the dust.

[nickg]

kinda glad i didnt get in on the tactile round, as a suspected nothing can beat my model f, now if we could just get updated linears...