this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023

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Mechanical Keyboards

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Are you addicted to the clicking sounds of your beautiful and impressive mechanical keyboard?
If so, this community is for you!

Here you can discuss everything about mechanical keyboards (and only mechanical keyboards).

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where should i start??? (midwest.social)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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i have a few apple extended keyboard ii that are in good working shape. i have considered purchasing an adapter to use them with usb, because i can remember absolutely loving to use these keyboards.

just happened upon the community, and figured i’d ask. is it more worth it to get something to adapt one of these keyboards?

for reference, at home i have more than enough space on my desk for a keyboard. at work, i wouldn’t mind finding a nice mechanical keyboard, as i type often and a bad keyboard infuriates me to no end, haha.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

the AEK II is no slouch and is still considered one of the icons of the mechanical keyboard world – their only real shortcoming is Alps switches don’t do well with dust and dirt

easiest is pick up a converter as @thejevans mentions
take the time to do a full cleaning – remove and clean the keycaps and open up the switches and clean them out (Alps switches don’t require desoldering to open them up)
if you want to really go deep into the rabbit hole (desoldering and soldering), then try to get one of elmo’s AEK II USB PCBs

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

great response! i think i may continue with cleaning up those keyboards and see what i’m working with. i’ve done some electronics soldering in my time (and built/set up guitar electronics quite a few times) so i’m sure it wouldn’t be too much of a step up if i had to do that.

on another note, any recommendations on what to clean the plastic with? they are quite yellow on the cases and space bar funny enough, and i’d love to see them back to their glory!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

there are two primary plastics when dealing with keyboards, ABS and PBT

ABS is really easy to work with and the first choice for doubleshot keycaps but it’s main shortcomings were yellowing under sunlight as it ages, not receiving dyesub printing very well (if at all), and showing shine after regular use
PBT is very durable and doesn’t yellow with age, but only recently have companies had luck producing doubleshot keycaps, traditionally the legends were dyesub printed onto the keycap (dyesubbing works very well with PBT)

AEK II keycaps were PBT, but the case and the spacebar were ABS (PBT can shrink when molded which can lead to warping in longer keycaps – “banana spacebars”)

for general cleaning

keycaps are best with just warm water, soap, and an old toothbrush
for tough spots, a cloth with isopropyl alcohol will work just fine
isopropyl is also easiest to work with when cleaning switches

for dealing with the yellowing, users on Deskthority came up with “retrobriting” (basically a timed bleaching using a hydrogen peroxide paste) – timing is finicky, best to under do things than over do things – you can usually find more up-to-date videos on Youtube

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I actually have an AEKII adapter that I'm not using any more. If you are in the US I'd be more than happy to ship it to you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yo that would be dope! i’m in the US in tennessee.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I'll have to find it, but as soon as I do I'll shoot you a message.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

You can DIY your own converter:

https://github.com/tmk/tmk_keyboard/blob/master/converter/adb_usb/README.md

Or buy one:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=72052.0

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

great links. thank you!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm loving my Niz Plum 108 for work (programming) and Keychron Q3 Pro for gaming

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

will look into them. thank you!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm by no means a mech keyboard connoisseur. However, I own the Drop Entry and it's a solid keyboard. It's ten keyless (doesn't have number pad). It's also got a metal base, which is supposed to limit typing recoil (I'm a heavy fucking type). I like it. It fits in my laptop bag nicely and I can take it to the office.

Like all things, there are going to be a core group of people who hype up or nerd the fuck out over a given topic; mech keyboards are the same. At the end of the day, a keyboard won't be life changing, but it'll improve your quality of life a tiny bit BC of the amount of time you spend typing

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

yo that’s dope, carrying the board back and forth to work, haha. i can really bang on the keyboard too so i’ll look at the drop entry!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'd suggest getting yourself a switch sampler to see which switches you like best, then go from there. If you like the keyboards you have, just stick with them but otherwise, there are a lot of things to choose from and it's largely a matter of personal preference: Try stuff out and see what you like!

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