New Mechanical Keyboard Hobby

 Ok so this is probably going to get out of hand, but I have been "collecting" mechanical keyboards, and Hall Effect keyboards.. and well you'll see soon!  I love sounds and nuances in sound, so this has been a very satisfying experience for me.  It costs a bit, but not really that much, and there are so many cool things you can do that cost practically nothing to improve your keyboard use experience.  There are also quite a few things that are surprising to see in how keyboards are made, marketed and sold, which is really interesting because it's all very subjective and based on individual people's preferences. For now all I will say is: THOCK!!!! YUM YUM!

Have a listen here --> A surprisingly thocky Hall Effect keyboard

So quick things I learned but maybe didn't want to learn:

1.) Gamakay's TK75 HE keyboard switches are physically compatible with the Akko switches on the Monsgeek M1W, but they don't completely activate so either the Gamakay magnets are weaker or the hall effect sensors on the Gamakay board are more sensitive.  Installing an Akko switch into the Gamakay keyboard also proved weird because the key was essentially "pre-pressed" by 0.2mm because of either the stronger magnet in the switch or the more sensitive detector in the PCB of the Gamakay keyboard.

2.)  Monsgeek I think produced a bunch of incorrectly aligned  metal top cases  where the hole for the knob did not quite line up with the knob potentiometer on the PCB so they had to create an "oversized" knob that is only oversized on the top, while being undersized on the bottom so it could fit through the top case of the keyboard!  The Gamakay knob I think was the correct size knob to fit on the Monsgeek M1W HE, (and it is the same size as the knob on the M1W normal keyboard) but since the hole on the Monsgeek M1W HE case is mis-aligned, they couldn't use the smaller knob..

3.) Hall Effect switches themselves are not inherently "chattery" as Hipyo tech complains in his videos, but only Gamakay seems to make a magnetic switch where the stem is adjusted so as to not make any sound when either bottoming out or letting go of the switch stem.  I don't think Hipyo has tried a Gamakay TK75 HE with the Silent Phoenix switches, but once he does he'll realize he can't just group all Hall effect keyboards into the "chattery" sound group.  The Gamakay magnetic silent Phoenix switches are *REALLY* silent!

4.) Even though the Monsgeek driver software and Gamakay driver software UI look very similar, almost identical in fact, the Gamakay has an extra "Snap Tap" option for SOCD (Simultaneous Opposite Cardinal Direction where can hold the "a" key and then when you press the "d" key, the a key is automatically released) input while the Monsgeek driver does not.  And with the Gamakay, you actually need to download the firmware to see the function in software, the software doesn't actually detect it needs a new version of firmware, you just have to download the Chinese "V200" firmware from gamakay's website.

5.) The hall effect keyboard sound can be dramatically altered by just adding silicone rings to the keycaps. This is especially true on the spacebar where a single silicone ring makes the difference between an ugly "clack" sound and a deep THOCK on the Gamakay keyboard.  On the Monsgeek it changes it from a metallic kick the can sound to a throaty spring sound.

6.) "Force breaking" the Monsgeek really helped get rid of the "ping" sounds of the keyboard, though I used most of the force break tape in the keycaps so get a better "THOCK" in the keys.  

7.) Unfortunately the Monsgeek M1W is missing "Snap Tap" and the Gamakay TK75 HE is missing 8k polling, so neither keyboard is the "end-all" Hall Effect keyboard... Monsgeek could pull it off by updating its firmware, or Gamakay could do the same maybe if the firmware allowed the controller to update faster as well.  I have a Keychron K2 HE on order, which has both (8Khz polling and Snap Tap or they call it LKP (Last Key Priority), and from the videos I've seen the Keychron's sound profile is also very consistently thocky.

8.) The Monsgeek build quality seems top notch except for the fact that the volume knob hole isn't machined correctly, but the other weird thing about it is that different keys have different sound profiles even for the same silicone ring keycap configuration.  So the "F" key will always be "thockier" than the "O" key, and the "P" key will need more silicone rings on it than the "J" key.  It's really weird, some keys just clack more and some thock more even keys that are right next to each other!  This is a weird characteristic that I haven't seen on any other keyboard - Aula, Yunzii, Gamakay, Epomaker EK98, Cherry MX 3.0...

KEYBOARDS TRIED AND TO BE TRIED!

So here is now a chronological list of the keyboards I've tried and tried and a couple that I have yet to try but are on their way:

1.) Brother manual typewriter
2.) IBM Selectric
3.) Brother Electric
4.) TRS-80 Model I
5.) Commodore PET 2001
6.) Apple II
7.) Commodore 64
8.) Atari 400
9.) Atari 800
10.) Atari 1200XL
11.) Atari 520ST
12.) IBM PC
13.) IBM PCjr
14.) Apple Macintosh
15.) Apple Lisa
16.) Apple IIgs
17.) HP-UX 9000
18.) NeXT Cube
19.) IBM AIX RS-6000
20.) Sun Sparcstation (1/5/ipx)
21.) Silicon Graphics Indigo
22.) Dell and HP Apple desktops - I can't count how many
23.) I won't even count the number of laptop keyboards
24.) And now for the modern keyboards: Steelseries Apex Pro TKL (2023)
25.) Epomaker EK98 (Dawn Pink switches)
26.) Cherry MX 3.0S (Silent Cherry MX Red switches)
27.) Yunzii X75 (Haime Silent Heartbeat switches)
28.) Aula F98 (ICE Crystal linear switches)
29.) Monsgeek M1W HE (Akko Creamy Yellow V2 switches)
30.) Gamakay TK75 HE (Silent Phoenix switches)
31.) Keychron K2 HE (Gateron Orange Double Rail switches)
32.) Evo80 (OAT switches)

The most memorable keyboard I've used has to be from the NeXT cube which used "ALP" switches which were made in Japan and apparently are collectors' items.  I remember that was the first keyboard that I really just loved typing on.  The keys felt just soft enough for really fast typing and also somehow felt very well built like it would last forever.  The original Sparcstation keyboards had a similar feel, until they got dirt and grease in them and the keys would then get stuck to the board and they'd be a nightmare.  The newer low profile WYSE terminals in the UC Berkeley library were also a joy to type on, though I suspect those aren't there anymore either.