KMAC LE - Silver 84 key w/ GON PCB

[meow a cat]

My latest build, a winkeyless KMAC LE with GON PCB and GON polycarbonate plate. 62g lubed and stickered ergo-clears, white SMD LEDs, and an MX lock switch. Waiting for a silver-gray USB cable for it, as well as Ivans Miami Odessa keycap set.. or I might put a GMK set on it, not sure yet.

Beautiful board, I'm in love with it. My crap photography skills don't do it justice.

I hope you guys enjoy the photos!

Update October 22nd, 2015. Added a few more photos, managed to borrow a DSLR for twenty minutes.

[andrewjoy]

Not bad. LEDs are a little bright for my liking but its still a very sexy keyboard !

[DanielT]

Not bad. LEDs are a little bright for my liking but its still a very sexy keyboard !

On GON PCB's you can control LED intensity. Not a big fan of lights but the board looks cool. But my all time favourite is the the teal KMAC Photoelectric has restored, sometimes shows up in the DT banner area, it's a beauty.

[meow a cat]

Not bad. LEDs are a little bright for my liking but its still a very sexy keyboard !

In these photos they're at half-brightness through GON's software. I don't like bright LEDs either, they're much dimmer in person than they appear in the photos. Not blinding in any way, just a subtle underglow. They look much nicer than in-switch LEDs, which I normally avoid whenever I can.

Thanks Andrew, it is indeed a sexy board.

[meow a cat]

Not bad. LEDs are a little bright for my liking but its still a very sexy keyboard !

On GON PCB's you can control LED intensity. Not a big fan of lights but the board looks cool. But my all time favourite is the the teal KMAC Photoelectric has restored, sometimes shows up in the DT banner area, it's a beauty.

I think Photoelectrics teal board was actually an LZ-GH, if it's the one I linked below that you're talking about.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2899/139 ... 07f3_h.jpg

[DanielT]

Yep, I think you are right. I always get confused by Korean TKL's , they look almost the same to me, sorry

[meow a cat]

Yep, I think you are right. I always get confused by Korean TKL's , they look almost the same to me, sorry

Haha, yeah they do look really similar. The differences can be subtle, I get confused which is which sometimes too. The teal of that board is an amazing colour, really stunning. I can see why it's your favourite.

[Stabilized]

Great looking keyboard! Love the blue and white keycaps as well
Pardon my ignorance, but what's the differences between using a polycarbonate plate to an acrylic, aluminium or steel?

[meow a cat]

Great looking keyboard! Love the blue and white keycaps as well
Pardon my ignorance, but what's the differences between using a polycarbonate plate to an acrylic, aluminium or steel?

Thanks. Caps are RainDrop R2. I'm waiting to put some nicer thick caps on it.

Polycarb is, I believe, stronger than acrylic. I've never used an acrylic plate before though, but I know the polycarb plate is extra thick when compared to a metal plate, the same way they make acrylic plates thicker. It's much more flexible than alu or steel, kind of feels like a happy balance between PCB mount and plate mount. The board doesn't feel flimsy when you type on it though, it's really solid, but reminds me of PCB mount. It also has a delicious "thock" sound to it that's a lot different than the sound of a metal plate. It's also frosted to diffuse the light from the PCB LEDs really evenly. I like it more for clears than I do steel plates. Steel is more suited to linear MX switches, IMHO.

[Stabilized]

Thanks. Caps are RainDrop R2. I'm waiting to put some nicer thick caps on it.

Just out of interest, what were you thinking of putting on it?

Polycarb is, I believe, stronger than acrylic. I've never used an acrylic plate before though, but I know the polycarb plate is extra thick when compared to a metal plate, the same way they make acrylic plates thicker. It's much more flexible than alu or steel, kind of feels like a happy balance between PCB mount and plate mount. The board doesn't feel flimsy when you type on it though, it's really solid, but reminds me of PCB mount. It also has a delicious "thock" sound to it that's a lot different than the sound of a metal plate. It's also frosted to diffuse the light from the PCB LEDs really evenly. I like it more for clears than I do steel plates. Steel is more suited to linear MX switches, IMHO.

Great, thanks for the info
When you say stronger I assume you mean that it is less prone to bending while typing?
Nice that you liken it to a 'happy balance' between PCB and plate mount, could you explain that a bit more? What are the differences like between the two for you?
Also interesting about the sound difference, I never knew a plate would make so much difference!

I have to admit that I have played around with different case materials, but mainly without plates. Just got first acrylic cased keyboard (with acrylic plate) and I am seriously in love with the way it feels and sounds, but struggling to think which part of it I really like as I want to make sure to nail that each time I buy a new keyboard!

[meow a cat]

Thanks. Caps are RainDrop R2. I'm waiting to put some nicer thick caps on it.

Just out of interest, what were you thinking of putting on it?

Polycarb is, I believe, stronger than acrylic. I've never used an acrylic plate before though, but I know the polycarb plate is extra thick when compared to a metal plate, the same way they make acrylic plates thicker. It's much more flexible than alu or steel, kind of feels like a happy balance between PCB mount and plate mount. The board doesn't feel flimsy when you type on it though, it's really solid, but reminds me of PCB mount. It also has a delicious "thock" sound to it that's a lot different than the sound of a metal plate. It's also frosted to diffuse the light from the PCB LEDs really evenly. I like it more for clears than I do steel plates. Steel is more suited to linear MX switches, IMHO.

Great, thanks for the info
When you say stronger I assume you mean that it is less prone to bending while typing?
Nice that you liken it to a 'happy balance' between PCB and plate mount, could you explain that a bit more? What are the differences like between the two for you?
Also interesting about the sound difference, I never knew a plate would make so much difference!

I have to admit that I have played around with different case materials, but mainly without plates. Just got first acrylic cased keyboard (with acrylic plate) and I am seriously in love with the way it feels and sounds, but struggling to think which part of it I really like as I want to make sure to nail that each time I buy a new keyboard!

For caps, probably Ivan's Miami Odessa from his R4 Imsto GB.



Still waiting on the GB to ship, should be sometime relatively soon. I prefer ABS caps to PBT though, so I might wait for an exciting GMK GB to come up so I can replace those later on too.

That's tough to describe, I'm not really sure how to describe it to be honest. The PCB mount board I had was a Poker X, and it had a lot of flex to it as you type. Felt nice with the clears I had in that board, but blacks didn't feel so great. PCB has that give to it when you bottom out, it's not so solid and unforgiving like steel. Polycarb has that same soft feel to the bottom out, but feels solid like a plate mount board. It probably feels much like your acrylic plate. Steel has a nice sound that really compliments linear switches, and kind of adds to the linearity.. if that even makes sense. Absolutely no flex to it. I also had ping in my QFR with stock MX reds, and when I swapped the stock plate to a steel uTKL plate, the ping was gone. Just nice sounds.

When I say polycarb's stronger, it isn't prone to cracks the same way acrylic plates are - something I've heard a fair bit of, especially with Sprits plates. I think polycarb is less brittle, but uncommon because it gives off noxious fumes when you laser cut it, so it's harder to produce. I'm no expert though, take what I say with a grain of salt.

Which acrylic board do you have? A winkeyless.kr board? Sprit board? GON board maybe? If it's a 60% you could easily try putting it into some different cases, to see how the sound of the board changes. Plates make a big difference to me, I've kind of done the opposite during my keyboard travels. I've built a Phantom with a steel plate, one with an alu plate, and a QFR with a steel plate, all in plastic cases. Different sounds between the plates, especially between the custom plates and the stock QFR plate (which felt like crap). Settled on steel for linear and polycarb for tactile as my favourites in sound and feel. No preference on clicky MX plates, because the only clicky switch that I like is buckling spring.

My favourite mod for sound is the shelf liner "mod". I have all of my boards cases lined with foam, really changes the sound for the better, to my ears at least

[quochung1989]

Nice silver board Polycarbonate is amazing, I can't see plate for the first time

[meow a cat]

Nice silver board Polycarbonate is amazing, I can't see plate for the first time

Thanks quochung! I quite like it. I wasn't sure about the polycarbonate plate before I built the board, but I love it. The sound , lighting, and feels are awesome! I have the original alu KMAC plate as well, but I don't think I'll be using it.

[Stabilized]

For caps, probably Ivan's Miami Odessa from his R4 Imsto GB.

Spoiler:

Still waiting on the GB to ship, should be sometime relatively soon. I prefer ABS caps to PBT though, so I might wait for an exciting GMK GB to come up so I can replace those later on too.

Nice choice, I am waiting for a set from that GB as well, I ordered the Japanese set. Got very excited as someone posted up a picture recently and all previous doubts about my choice were dispelled

That's tough to describe, I'm not really sure how to describe it to be honest. The PCB mount board I had was a Poker X, and it had a lot of flex to it as you type. Felt nice with the clears I had in that board, but blacks didn't feel so great. PCB has that give to it when you bottom out, it's not so solid and unforgiving like steel. Polycarb has that same soft feel to the bottom out, but feels solid like a plate mount board. It probably feels much like your acrylic plate. Steel has a nice sound that really compliments linear switches, and kind of adds to the linearity.. if that even makes sense. Absolutely no flex to it. I also had ping in my QFR with stock MX reds, and when I swapped the stock plate to a steel uTKL plate, the ping was gone. Just nice sounds.

Firstly, thanks a lot for your detailed reply!
I think I know what you mean, and I do find it hard to describe these things too, and I also find it hard to actually work out what is causing the things I like in each of the keyboards I own.
Just from my newest acrylic keyboard, I would say that it feels more 'bouncy' then my metal cased keyboards that I have used before. They were both PCB mount, as I did try a aluminium plate + aluminium case, and I thought it was too much hassle for the amount of work it takes to mod the switches afterwards, especially as I really couldn't feel much difference. I really like the idea of a thick polycarbonate plate or acrylic plate in the future as I like my keyboards as silent as possible, and as I understand, thick plastic plates really help to eliminate noise?

When I say polycarb's stronger, it isn't prone to cracks the same way acrylic plates are - something I've heard a fair bit of, especially with Sprits plates. I think polycarb is less brittle, but uncommon because it gives off noxious fumes when you laser cut it, so it's harder to produce. I'm no expert though, take what I say with a grain of salt.

Which acrylic board do you have? A winkeyless.kr board? Sprit board? GON board maybe? If it's a 60% you could easily try putting it into some different cases, to see how the sound of the board changes. Plates make a big difference to me, I've kind of done the opposite during my keyboard travels. I've built a Phantom with a steel plate, one with an alu plate, and a QFR with a steel plate, all in plastic cases. Different sounds between the plates, especially between the custom plates and the stock QFR plate (which felt like crap). Settled on steel for linear and polycarb for tactile as my favourites in sound and feel. No preference on clicky MX plates, because the only clicky switch that I like is buckling spring

My latest board is a b.Thumb with the BBB acrylic housing. I didn't really realise how much they case and plate could change the feel, but I really like the feel of the new keyboard. I think it's partly the sound dampening qualities of the acrylic, but I do think there is definitely something to do with the plate as well.
I think I will do just that and get my hands on some plastic cases to try out I have only ever used a stock Poker case and they just help amplify the sound, and I kind of wanted to dampen it.
Will have to look into Gon's cases, and I really like the look of Sprit's plates as well. Haha, this is going to be a really expensive journey of discovery!

My favourite mod for sound is the shelf liner "mod". I have all of my boards cases lined with foam, really changes the sound for the better, to my ears at least

Thanks for the tip, but the cases that I am using at the moment don't have enough clearance, and when I try with some thin stuff it didn't seem to make much difference in my metal cased 60s.
I have resorted to just using it under my keyboard now, not sure about how much difference it makes, but it definitely helps any keyboard to stay put while typing.

Thanks again for all the help on this, I haven't been on the forums in a while due to a lack of money and time, and now I feel myself being drawn back in to this money and time sucking hobby!

[DanielT]

Welcome back Stabilized Glad to see you again around here

[meow a cat]

Changed the caps up a bit, and made some layout changes.