CLOSED: [2021-02-21 Sun 17:30] SCHEDULED: <2021-02-21 Sun>
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED:  [2021-02-18 Thu 08:32]
:ID:       2021-02-21-switch-tester
:END:
:LOGBOOK:
- State "DONE"       from "STARTED"    [2021-02-21 Sun 17:30]
:END:

This article is part of a current project of mine to re-think keyboard
haptics, ergonomics and efficiency:

1. [[id:2021-01-30-keyboards][Keyboards]]
   - Basics of (Mechanical) Keyboards
   - My Personal History of (Desktop) Keyboards
   - My Personal Desktop Keyboard Requirements
   - My Current Plans for Getting a New Keyboard
2. Keyboard Switch Tester (this article)
3. [[id:2021-03-21-advantage2-plans][Kinesis Advantage2 LF Keyboard: Initial Review and Plans]]
4. [[id:2021-05-23-advantage2-modifications][Kinesis Advantage2 LF Keyboard: My Custom QWERTY Layout, Touch-Typing, Dampening, Switches]]

If you have read [[id:2021-01-30-keyboards][my article about keyboards]], you have realized my interest in ergonomics and other details of keyboards.
You have also learned that there are many different mechanical switches.

Since the haptic experience of pressing a switch is difficult to
describe and even more difficult to imagine, I have decided to buy a
switch tester.

I was lucky to find an offer of a large switch tester which is brand
new and which was bought accidentally twice. I got it for about 50€.

-------------

Here are the all the switches:

#+CAPTION: Switch tester without caps.
#+ATTR_HTML: :align center :width 630 :linked-image-width 1200
[[tsfile:2021-02-08T14.13.19 Kbdfans Switch Tester - rohe Switches -- acquisition hardware publicvoit.jpg][2021-02-08T14.13.19 Kbdfans Switch Tester - rohe Switches -- acquisition hardware publicvoit.jpg]]

Fully assembled, the tester holds 72 switches in an array. Rest
assured that this is by far not the entire selection of switches
available on the market.

#+CAPTION: Switch tester with default switches and caps.
#+ATTR_HTML: :align center :width 630 :linked-image-width 1200
[[tsfile:2021-02-08T14.39.24 Kbdfans Switch Tester - mit allen Switches -- acquisition hardware publicvoit.jpg][2021-02-08T14.39.24 Kbdfans Switch Tester - mit allen Switches -- acquisition hardware publicvoit.jpg]]

Fortunately, the seller was that friendly to add three additional
switches to the package: Zilents V2 62g and 67g as well as
Glorious Panda.

I also have spare switches from my Z-88 keyboard which are Outemu brown.

For direct comparison, I switched four switches with those:

#+CAPTION: Switch tester with custom switches and caps.
#+ATTR_HTML: :align center :width 630 :linked-image-width 1200
[[tsfile:2021-02-08T17.29.45 Kbdfans Switch Tester - mit adaptierten Switches -- acquisition hardware publicvoit.jpg][2021-02-08T17.29.45 Kbdfans Switch Tester - mit adaptierten Switches -- acquisition hardware publicvoit.jpg]]

At the moment, my favorite switches are:

| clicky  | Kailh Speed Bronze |
| tactile | Zilents V2 62g     |
| linear  | Gateron Silent Red |

Stay tuned for updates on my new mechanical keyboard which I'm already
typing on at the moment. Soiler: it did come with switches that are
not part of that top three list above.