I Think My Switch Is Stuck! - The Tale of Cherry MX Locks
Over the years of collecting mechanical keyboard switches, I’ve been lucky enough to have encountered dozens upon dozens of rare and unique ones that have stuck in my mind to this day. Prototypes, factory errors, and even a few switches so rare that there is literally zero documentation about them anywhere in the world all fill that personal list from top to bottom. However, I realize that talking about switches so far outside of most people’s reaches, and even sometimes my own grasp, doesn’t make for the most exciting of articles about switches. To this newest generation of keyboard enthusiasts, though, there is one pretty rare MX-style switch which has made its way to the top of everyone’s “must try” lists – Cherry MX Locks. These often undiscussed and even more rarely seen switches are something that few people have seen and even fewer have had the chance to try at a meetup before. However, the list of people who really know how these unique Cherry switches work is even shorter...
Jul 23, 2024
I wonder if HHKB users (actually I should use"boards with Ctrl at Capslock position users" instead) want a more detailed bottom row.
Here is what I come up with:
Layout A: this is what I prefer
Layout B: for those who want dedicated arrow keys.
+ why HHKB? some of you may know about the Ctrl at Capslock position (at home row), I tried this and I can't go back. I also found out that if Capslock at position of Ctrl, sometimes I will accidentally press it while pressing Ctrl + Shift (with the pinky finger) though I'm not in favor of the Backspace right on top of Enter, sometimes I press Enter instead of Backspace, maybe I'm not that used to it (I don't have a HHKB)
+ why Home, End, Page Up,... everything is on the left side, are you a lefty? I'm not, though I'm trying to use two hands equally. Also when you're playing game, your right hand will operate the mouse, yeah?
+ there are two arrow clusters? Yes, another thing related to gaming: the cluster on the left is to move/pan the camera, you don't want to move your left hand to the arrows on the right, right? your right hand is with the mouse.
+ your right shift... yes, I feel that the current right shift is not that useful, you will have to move your hand away from the home keys. I do have a prototype board with shift at that position, though it's not as effective as I thought, my right thumb is useless
+ there are numpad keys? yes, I figured that someone would want to use them, for input numbers or use "key strokes" (ex. in Window: Alt + Num 0174 = ®) though I put the numpad 5 at the same position as "J" key, but it's not as effective as I thought, maybe these numpad keys need to be printed :(
+ what is "flip" key? It should "flip" layer of ESC key: - off: ESC, ` ~ (I think you will want dedicated ESC when gaming) - on: ` ~, ESC (for typing, you will want dedicated ` ~, right?)
and Fn + Flip: flip layer of "numpad keys" (this should be Fn + Shift + / on layout B & AB) - off: r t y u i, - + 7 8 9 - on: - + 7 8 9, r t y u i
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Please tell me what you think.
Thank you for reading.