Behind the scenes #209

Keyboard Builders’ Digest / Editorial

Behind the scenes #209

Behind the scenes with March’s prime switches, KiiBOOM Phantom 98 and Dareu Cool68 evaluations, open-source and business tasks, keyboard artwork, meetups, new retailers and reductions, and so on.

dovenyi
Revealed April 10, 2026

Hey, what’s up everybody!

Welcome again for an additional recap and behind-the-scenes write-up – with some cool tasks from the DIY keyboard scene, but additionally promising closed-source business tasks.

In case you are new to kbd.information, you’ll be able to learn how this began out and what that is all about these days. Should you like what you see, subscribe to the e-newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to maintain this in any other case free and ad-free undertaking alive.

I am a bit overwhelmed nowadays and have an enormous backlog once more, so the closing date for this problem ended up being someday final weekend.

Some posts price sharing

• March’s prime mechanical switches are right here. As ordinary, I managed to combination the group’s favorites based mostly on actual gross sales information coming from a bunch of good distributors and producers.

• Evaluate: I examined KiiBOOM‘s wi-fi Phantom 98 keyboard. An acrylic magnificence, properly matching the cool Pixelpop Arcade keycap set.

• Additional evaluate: The Dareu Cool68 is a 65% magnetic gamer keyboard with very good housing design, that includes distinctive ambient mild diffusers.

• A 36-key cut up keyboard with rotary encoders and {hardware} debouncing: Cirrus40 by schuay.

• Vostok Labs‘ 20/20 is an ortho cut up keyboard with good handwiring.

• An open-source 58-key cut up with RJ45 sockets: Pando58 by Julian Yap.

• A 36-key unibody ergonomic keyboard: Hole Wooden designed by Mefred.

• The Hector36 is a compact wi-fi cut up keyboard by ezxzeng – with splay.

• A Piantor-derivative by Tom Strowger. 36-key low-pro alu cut up keyboard pushed by wi-fi XIAOs.

• A minimalist 42-key cut up by sshenron: PG1316S switches, single STM32F072 MCU, MCP expander by way of I2C related by a USB-C cable, ESD safety.

• The Roo is a minimal low-pro cut up by Turkish-Movies.

• US8EK. A handwired Purple Herring-like unibody cut up by Jaromír Malenko aka ‘mr_jaro”’.

• The handwired cut up Album by Carl Blumenthal. With customized firmware for the Atmega32u4 MCU.

• Hulk Wooden Bakeneko65. Maple case with purple coronary heart plate. Handpainted illustration with resin coat. Shared by LightningXI.

Within the pipeline: Epomaker Glyph, the large plastic KiiBOOM Phantom 98 Lite(!), and possibly MoErgo’s Go60.

Donations

For all of the donation choices try the donation web page!

Meetup database

The meetup database serves as each a calendar and an archive, so be happy to ship me upcoming occasions and even ones from the current previous to make this assortment as complete as doable.

Upcoming meetups

Initially, be happy to make use of the KBDNEWS low cost code at 194 keyboard retailers worldwide! And don’t hesitate to report any points! 🙂

New retailers and updates to the database of keyboard distributors:

• KeysFusion (CN) added. Promoting primarily anime-based keycaps and artisans. Chase provided you a 5% low cost (coupon code: KBDNEWS).
• Drop.com has gone now. The final date you might order one thing was March twenty fifth. With the location up to date, some configurators have gone too.

Developments

Jeez. As a substitute of creating new options, I have been continually preventing automated assaults.

This week I already had an extended session earlier. Useful resource restrict errors attributable to botnet exercise. Distributed assaults make banning IP ranges cumbersome, so I got here up with a customized answer to sort out these requests as early as doable.

And earlier as we speak, the location was down for about 10 hours for a unique purpose:

Particularly, even Cloudflare was so overwhelmed by the assaults that it let slip by an enormous quantity of requests, triggering the WAF of my host (although CF servers have been whitelisted). Leading to CF reporting timeouts – in actuality it was merely banned. All this in the course of the evening right here, in order that’s why it took so lengthy for me to even understand what is going on on. As well as, my supplier needed to reset every part manually.

However yeah, some new developments:

• Some scripts to make the workflow of the month-to-month swap overviews extra streamlined. I attempt to enhance these every month once I get to this activity.
• Some enhancements to establish malicious requests and cease them as early as doable.
• And I am engaged on a brand new comparability device as properly.

Professional tip

Don’t choose fancy area of interest domains (like .information) for a free undertaking—provided that you’re really earning money.

What I’ve paid per 12 months (2021–2026): 4.66 → 24.66 → 28.16 → 29.16 → 32.16 → 41.68… The will increase are ridiculous—round +30% simply from final 12 months.

—

That is all for as we speak. Thanks for checking by. As at all times: Continue learning and constructing!

Till subsequent time,
Tamás

Revealed on Fri tenth Apr 2026. Featured in KBD #209.

---

Associated

Behind the Scenes of Situation 32

Highlights and private favorites. The cut up database retains rising. Minimizing keyboard-mouse alternation. Plans and priorities.

---

Behind the Scenes of Situation 25

Situation 25, private favorites, new area coming quickly, efficiency tweaks, problem 24 follow-up, new supporters and subscriber report.

---

Behind the scenes #141

Giveaway and introduction calendar replace, fast information, within the mailbox, meetups, vendor updates.

---

---

---