The hunt for keycaps for my logitech has stopped.
Dr macintosh from LTT fourms is sending me his old key caps.
3 Likes
R2-968 Update - Silencing Rings
Silence all the things! 
Deskeys DES Topre Silencing Rings
I received these in, uh, early May?
[Checks date.]
…Was not procrastinating. 
Deskeys DES Topre Silencing Rings - #7 (0.7mm Thickness)
0.7mm was the thicc’est that Deskeys had.
Would’ve gone thicc’er if possible, but alas, no 1.0mm’s. 
R2-968 w/Extreme BKE Redux Domes (90g Bottom Out)
AKA: Keeboob w/90g Erect Nipres. 
R2-968 - Top Case + Bottom Case Removed
Went back to my R2-968 Build Log for disassembly steps.
'Chew recommends keeping a journal of things or daily events. 
Tho, I haven’t kept up with journaling since… high school?
Wow, that’s a long time ago, haha. 
R2-968 - PCB + Rubber Domes Removed
Topre Sliders - Topside
Topre Slider uh, Housings(?) are labelled with letters in the corners (L, I, J, N, P). Not entirely sure what they correspond with?
Housings are also not all aligned/rotated the same way.
They all seem identical, and the Housing’s letter or orientation doesn’t seem to affect typing feel or Keycap/Slider orientation either. 
Topre Sliders - Underside
Sliders can only fit in the Housings in the diagonal-looking pattern above.
They’re also not all aligned/rotated the same way.
Topre Slider - Removed
Small notch on the side of the Slider lines up with the notch in the Housing.
Pop it out from its Housing by pushing the Slider down from the Topside.
TaehaTypes seems to like using the butt (
) of a Sharpie, but fingers + pressure along the notches seem to work as well.
Topre Stabilizer
A bit more finicky to remove, compared to MX-style stabs.
Took a bit of staring and nervous fiddling around, 'cos I didn’t find a guide.
…Also, too impatient to sit through random YT videos. I very dislike watching videos, especially if I can get my info in written (or other) form. 
Topre Stabilizer - Removal
This is a legit Step 1, okay?! 
Stick a long, solid shaft into the hole.
Happen to have two 6.5mm adapters, this is probably the most use I’ll get out of them. 
(Fingers won’t work for Stabilizer Sliders 'cos there’s no notches on these Housings.)
Topre Stabilizer - Slider Removal
Push the shaft against the hole. Expect resistance, but keep pushing – firmly and gently.
Stabilizer Slider should pop out of the Housing.
Please Don’t Ask Why I Capitalize Certain Nouns, My OCD is Annoying.
Topre Stabilizer - Wire Removal
Wire’s held in by two clips, and is easy enough to remove.
Topre Stabilizer - Topside + Underside
Got significantly fewer parts than MX-style stabilizers.
R2-968 - Sliders Removed
All moving parts removed from the plate!
R2-968 - Spacebar
Correction: Most moving parts removed.
Didn’t touch the spacebar wire and side thingymajigs, 'cos it’s irrelevant for Silencing Rings-Mod.
Topre Slider - Silenced + Stock
Silencing Ring goes around the Slider.
Have to pop the Slider out from its Housing precisely because the Silencing Ring is designed to sit between the Slider and the Housing, cushioning both the downstroke and upstroke.
Topre Slider - Ressembly
Simply pop the Silenced Slider back in its housing, bottom () up.
R2-968 - Sliders Reassembled
Enlisted the help of my Nyanbos, 'cos I need the keeb(?) elevated and Sliders hanging downwards for Rubber Dome + Springs reassembly.
R2-968 - Rubber Domes + Springs Reassembled
This is the most time-consuming part.
Nudge a Rubber Dome ever-so-slightly, and there’s a chance the keystroke won’t register.
Off-Screen: Burning that midnight oil, aligning and re-aligning Rubber Domes. 
R2-968 - PCB Reassembled
In the above pic, all the screws are screwed in.
I’d strongly suggest putting in a minimum number of screws and double-checking that all keystrokes register in Keyboard Checker (or equivalent checkers) first.
In the event that not all keystrokes register properly, or if certain keys get stuck or feel off after modding, the fewer screws will make things much easier to get to for re-modding and re-aligning.
R2-968 - Bottom Case Reassembled
Hey, look, I finally found a set of blank keycaps for my Topre board!
…They’re blank, 'cos they don’t exist. 
R2-968
Extreeeme!
Silenced, too. 
Sound Samples
R2-968 w/Extreme BKE Redux Domes
R2-968 w/Silencing Rings (0.7mm) + Extreme BKE Redux Domes
God damn, but modding a Topre keeb is annoyingly time-consuming. Started at 7:00-ish PM yesterday, ended at close to 1:00 AM.
I mean, I love this keeb hecka lots (Extreeeme!!!) – when I’m typing on it. Modding, tho… Modding makes me feel 
alla way thru, lol.
Modding Topres (Silencing Rings and Rubber Dome Swap) isn’t particularly difficult. Doesn’t need any special instruments or techy know-how. Stable hands are recommended for the Rubber Dome replacement. Also maybe needs half a brain. 
Kiiinda was hoping the Silencing Rings would be more… silencing, but, eh, Extreme BKE Rubber Domes are just that violent, I guess. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Silencing Rings might have a more perceptible difference for Rubber Domes with lighter weights, perhaps. 
…Not testing that theory 'cos I’ve lost my patience after a 6-ish hour modding and fine-tuning session, thanks. 
7 Likes
Yeahhhhh, even with the heavies, it did eliminate some of the clack, but when you’re rocketing a slider back up, there’s only so much you can do without lube lol. Reading this gave me so many flashback lol. I still need to re-re-re-re-mod my FC660C with the Novatouch sliders. Definitely going to lube them this time around. Also got some foam from Norbauer.
3 Likes
picture of my current main keyboard:
It is a Keychron K6 with ISO-DE 
layout, rgb, aluminium frame and Gateron Brown switches. Unfortunatly I the hot-swap option wasn’t available but considering how difficult it is to get 65% mechanical Keyboards with a german Layout, I’m still pretty happy with it. Maybe I’ll write a longer “review”/“my thoughts on it”.
This is just a quick picture I took.
8 Likes
Is it actually usable as a daily driver, or is it more just a novelty to have? I half want one, but the price is just too much for something that I’d only use from time to time for fun.
(It is the Redragon K605, right?)
4 Likes
I’d lose my mind trying to daily it. I can type full speed standing, but it would be a nightmare sitting. It’ll end up in the lobby at my office for the check-in station. It will amuse the front desk and security staff.
I would keep it, but the keycap coating is literal garbage. It was coming off out of the box and attracts fingerprints like crazy. I am 100% certain if this thing got anywhere near 'chew, she’d chuck it right out the window, making sure it hit someone in the head in the process.
5 Likes
Well that’s definitely not great. And given the unconventional size of the keyboard it’s definitely impossible to replace with different keycaps, huh?
Anyway, good to know that it’s not as great as it looks. Will definitely steer clear unless I feel like making bad financial decisions.
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I am literally a bad financial decision.
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Mech: Redragon K605 Giant 60% Mechanical Keyboard with 2x Scale Blue Switches (sound test)
Headphones: ZMF Aeolus in Bubinga Wood (alternate pic)
Pens: Blackbeard Designs Koa & Black Titanium Pens
Seriously. I wonder if this started out as a joke, but they forgot and made it anyway. Then I remember I bought one and yeah… there’s certainly a target audience. People who cannot resist memes. As far as typing experience, I’ve developed a decent speed and cadence using the board. It’s violently loud (check the sound demo) and easily bottoms out. The switches aren’t all that heavy. I think box navy switches have them beat there. The only thing that would prevent me from recommending it (unless you were Shaq) even for memes would be the coating on the keycaps. It’s some textured spray-on stuff that wasn’t all that well applied, and a total fingerprint magnet. If you’ve got a Microcenter near you, they have one on display, but it’s probably gross, lol.
5 Likes
If someone gave me 150$ to spend on a keyboard, I‘d probably take this keyboard 
3 Likes
GMK Lime Keycap Set + Space Cables Lime Custom Coiled Aviator Cable
Controversial Opinion:
- Light Green + Slate Gray don’t work together. Light green doesn’t stand out enough for the legends to be legible at an immediate glance.
- Swamp Green + White / Light Gray don’t work together. IMO, swamp green is the equivalent of diarrhea brown, but for green.
White on Lime Green is 
.
Though, I don’t think I could stand an entire keycap set of White on Lime Green.
Lime in moderation, y’all. 
Also, while I do love me my monotone colors, I feel extremely neutral, borderline dislike for Slate Gray. Particularly shades / renders / depictions of Slate Gray with emphasis on the bluish tint.
Stop stealing muh muh muh trademark you dastards!!! 
Still lowkey searching for a blank, black-and-lime green or fully lime green set of keycaps. Preferably OEM profile, so that I can mix n’ match accent keys with my existing set of blank black keycaps.
MAKE LESS GMK, GIB MOAR BLANK KEYCAP SETS GRRR. 
Though, if others feel differently than I do about the GMK Lime, Group Buys / Pre Orders for the keycap set and accompanying custom cable are now running on Drop.
Go look up the link for yourself, lazy bones. 'Chew is not linking to stuff she dun like. 
6 Likes
All the blanks I’ve come across are always mint green.
This was not what I meant when I said leave all the lime for Den.
Sigh.
4 Likes
Why you gotta do me like that?
You have all the buzz words and a rotary encoder… AND NO F ROW?!
Why on earth would you go full size and NO F ROW?!
F YOU…
It’s so sick otherwise.
Not hot swap, but I would def sit there and solder for this IF IT HAD AN F ROW.
Dangit… I might just do it anyway. It seems like every 1800 project that comes out tries to distinguish itself by removing something. Last time it was the arrow cluster. Sigh.
7 Likes
An Introduction to Custom Mechanical Keyboards - Draft
Comment or browse, if you wish?
There’s been a few changes made after I posted the original on LTT:
- Added Compatibility Check (Section 4.2), Optical Switches (Section 5.0) topics.
- Revamped Vendors List and Artisan Vendors List (Section 6.0), grouping vendors by Region.
- Added more notes on topics after firsthand experiences (e.g. Topres, Stabilizers).
- A more comprehensive list of changes may be found under Revision History (Section 7.5).
Current thread on LTT is still on the [05/27/2021] Revision, not yet updated with the small changes / additions I’ve made to the Custom Mechanical Keyboards - Vendors List thread.
So, the main question is, would peepos like me to port that megathread over to this forum?
- Yes
- No
0 voters
I’m more concerned that it may not be a very “active” thread, or that it won’t be too useful, 'cos a bunch of peepos here already know their way around custom keebs. 
5 Likes