Modding a $99 beauty into a (typing) beast

[@IOSam]

For a limited time, Amazon US has this board for an even lower $79.99 with a click-on-coupon (amzn.to/3xBt07L ). Which makes this a seriously good deal for any prospective keyboard modder out there! Get yourself 2 packs of nice Akko CS switches (amzn.to/3BvSGUG ) and you'd have a hefty alu/wireless keyboard with pretty good keycaps for less than $110.

[@AureliusAmbross]

As a newcomer to the hobby, I appreciate how comprehensive yet easily digestible your videos are. Thanks for the great content!

[@IOSam]

Thank you for the awesome feedback Aurelius!!! You cannot imagine how reading this makes me happy! This was my MAIN objective when I created this channel.

[@47AK.]

Been waiting patiently for another one of your videos. Thank you. Hoping you do a video on a keychron keyboard.

[@IOSam]

Thank you AK!!! I really appreciate you my friend! Gosh I'm so late with the video projects I had in mind a year ago... Truth is, I bit more than I could chew with life, work and KZbin bubbling over in the last year and 1/2. And that is why my Q1 video never came out. Now that Keychron has released like another 100 keyboard models since the Q1 😂, I'm having to change the focus of my upcoming Q1 video, which will be more a modding guide than an actual review. But fear not! The Keychron Q1 video is happening (definitely before this year is over)!

[@grizzlypear__6443]

Another killer review Sam! Keep it up!

[@IOSam]

Thank you Sir!!! 👊

[@KatsuCovers]

Bem porreta o video. Always learn a lot from a new Sam video.

[@IOSam]

😂 Valeu meu caro!!! I always try to make my videos to be more than just a keyboard review. So I'm glad you appreciate this!

[@kemovekeyboard]

I really like your explanation. Really professional! Thank you very much! Your channel will get better and better! Best wishes!

[@IOSam]

Thank you team! Appreciated!! I had a lot of fun working with this keyboard and I hope you can use this video's criticisms as feedback for your next designs. I, for one, will always get behind any production keyboards company striving to bring to market good quality and good typing experiences for reasonable prices! 👍

[@rydmerlin]

Suggest you try Gateron CJ. I think Purpolch would probably look good ion that keyboard too.

[@IOSam]

I already have the CJs here! :) Amazing switches!!! They are going into a very special TKL that I'll show here very soon!

[@pranze3484]

The Akko keycaps praise about being "compatible with anything" was a bit funny given they don't do ISO (that's 3 or 4 extra keys so...)

[@IOSam]

You are correct sir! Thank you for pointing that out! While I was referring to different layout sizes (such as 60, 65, 75%, TKL and Full-size), I should have mentioned that was ANSI only. Specially considering that I’m a former ISO user (when I lived in Europe years ago) who had to move to ANSI precisely because of the lack of options in the market… (it doesn’t help that the Asian countries where these products are manufactured mostly use ANSI as well) So, I stand corrected. Having said that, Akko does offer ISO compatibility on their backlit series of ASA keycaps. But while those are still very high quality, they don’t come in as many different color schemes, nor do they have the same fancy packaging as their opaque keycaps.

[@pranze3484]

@@IOSam I know right, I made the move to qwerty from azerty because there was just like 3 keycaps available to me, and now I want to punch myself for having 3 iso keebs, wish I had everything unified to ansi, price and choice wise there's no match.

[@yllib2012]

Great review as always. I'd buy it today if it didn't have the branding visible. I'd want the silver case and the black branding really hurts the looks. Hopefully, they move it to the bottom on future runs. It ruins the aesthetics for me.

[@IOSam]

Yeah... An unforgivable sin they committed there indeed... But I will investigate my options to remove this logo (even if I have to paint over it 😆) and report back here soon!

[@floffice976]

@@IOSam did you ever try anything to remove the logo? 😊

[@creativitybytrisha6819]

This was neat to watch. Not going to lie. Those stock Gateron red sound just as horrible as stock outemu reds.

[@IOSam]

😂... If not worse! But considering you can get one of these for an incredible $79 on Amazon US today, it seems pretty clear Kemove could not afford to put better switches in these boards at this price range (they might be losing money on this product as it is). But even if you spend $27 on 90 awesome Akko CS switches (amzn.to/3BvSGUG ), you'd still be under $110, which is kinda crazy if you consider the quality of the case (plus the Bluetooth PCB and the nice PBT caps).

[@josephdu1952]

new comers to the hobby sure are lucky with all the available entry options these days

[@IOSam]

Right?!!! Man, I remember paying $168 for my Vortex KBT PURE Limited Edition 10 years ago... One of the first 60% boards with an aluminium case, with no wireless, no plate, regular Cherry reds, and thin laser etched ABS caps... And I was happy as a clam! 😆 The fact we can thumb our noses at keyboards like this Kemove today for less than $100 (going for $79 today on Amazon US with the click-on-coupon!), shows how far we've come!

[@ChubiPanda]

it's a striking design. definitely not the "rectangle on a Wedge" we see so often. it's a bargain at that price too.

[@IOSam]

It's a polarizing look... I'm not gonna deny it! 😆 But... For anyone who likes this spacecraft shaped board, the quality of the case (+ Bluetooth) alone is worth it's current pricing in my opinion.

[@floffice976]

Looks pretty damn cool IMHO

[@ennanco]

Thank you for the analysis of 60% wireless keyboards! One question here, do you know if the the Gummy O-ring mod could be applied to this board. As I see it has the same space and distribution of my Kemove Shadow 61, but would love to know if you have tried. Thanks again

[@IOSam]

Hey Enrique! Thanks for dropping by! As for the gummy o-ring mod, I don't believe that would be possible with the Ares61 case for three main reasons: 1) the case does not have a screw post on the extreme center-left side of the case to support the gummy O-ring (like you usually do on 60% boards that conform to the popular Vortex 60% standard); 2) for the gummy O-ring to work well, you either need a daughter-board for the USB socket or a very large USB port cutout (which the Ares61 offers neither), since with an on-board USB port you'll have a lot of vertical movement of the socket as the PCB flexes up and down in a gummy O-ring mod; 3) The lack of attachment points between the hot-swappable PCB and the Plate could cause the PCB to start detaching itself from the switches (and thus the plate), with the excessive PCB flex of a gummy O-ring config, in a situation where the PCB has no support from the case, like you have here with the Ares61. Usually, the 60% cases that can work well with the gummy O-ring mod (and standard 60% PCBs), are the ones that follow the Vortex “Poker” standard with large USB cutouts.

[@ennanco]

@@IOSam Thanks to you. In fact, non long after asking in the last video for a couple of doubhts about 60% wireless mechanical keybords, this video was a complete surprise.

[@IOSam]

​@@ennanco Yeah, it was a happy coincidence, since I had been working on this Kemove board for a while now... Always nice to know my videos were well timed and useful! 😁👍 At any rate, the things I did to this board could be easily emulated in basically any 60% keyboard in the market (with slight changes here or there).

[@floffice976]

your content is top notch

[@IOSam]

Thank you!!! A lot of work is poured over my videos, so your nice words are very much appreciated!

[@floffice976]

@@IOSam it is very evident

[@AmartharDrakestone]

So basically it's a $99 case and PCB.

[@IOSam]

Yeap... Pretty much... But considering how much we're used to pay for good aluminium cases + wireless PCBs out there these days, this one is not a bad deal for $99 (actually $79 today on Amazon in the US with the click on coupon, which is kinda crazy...). For anyone who likes its crazy looks and is willing to put in the work, I can recommend it 👍

[@AmartharDrakestone]

@@IOSam Considering that a not-always-in-stock barebones Tofu 60 from KBDFans with just a plate and PCB is $170 this does sound like a pretty good deal. Too bad they don't make it in other sizes (I'm more of a 65% guy).

[@IOSam]

​@@AmartharDrakestone Kemove is pushing hard their new K68 “Butterfly” (amzn.to/3R0dQ30 ), which is a 65% also going for a very aggressive $69 (with a click-on-coupon on Amazon today). But that one has a regular plastic case and uses low profile switches, which pushes it into another niche in my opinion. I know for a fact that it is not cheap to make CNC cases like this (the KBDFans Tofu is a great example as you pointed out), which means Kemove is probably losing money by selling this board for less than $100. So, this means once they clear their inventory of these Ares61s, it is unlikely they'll come up with another "risky bet" like this again any time soon...

[@rydmerlin]

You think there’s a way to remove the branding?

[@IOSam]

Removing the logo through any "mechanical" way, would end up damaging the anodization underneath it. And I suspect the same would be true of any chemical process to remove paint (since anodization also carries a dye that would be removed by the same chemical). But I will investigate this possibility further and report back here.

[@floffice976]

@@IOSam Acetone or paint thinner would damage the anodized finish?

[@jammies701]

Nice vids

[@IOSam]

Thank you!!!

[@PCBWay]

nice sharing!

[@IOSam]

This channel (among so many of my favorite KZbinrs :) owes a lot to PCBWay's support!!! Thank you!!! 🙏

[@joeykenoy]

A new video and I didnt get a notification. :( The evening program is save.

[@IOSam]

Yeap... You know... The pains of a small KZbin channel... 🤷‍♂️ I guess it is not an exaggeration to say we don't get a fair treatment in the platform. But we soldier on nevertheless! :) Thank you for sticking with us through these "growth pain" times though! Extremely appreciated my friend!!!

[@joeykenoy]

@@IOSam I know the struggle. I saw a test on a channel with 15k subscribers. He made a video with telling to subscribe and one without. It seems to help if you tell the viewers. I am not like that. When I see a video I like, I subscribe. On channels like yours I activate the bell, too. :) You earn that, Sam. Your content is super f*cking great.

[@IOSam]

@@joeykenoy Thanks man!!! Really appreciated!!! 🙏🙏 And yeah... I've debated with myself adding those pledges in my videos before, but in the end, I erred on the side of not doing so (and just use visual FX reminders instead). The reason for that will sound a bit crazy, but hear me out: unlike most KZbinrs who want their channels to skyrocket as fast as possible, I do not seek that for my channel for a few reasons... But the main one is that I don’t want the channel to grow too fast, because that would mean I would get “too much chaff coming along with the wheat”. In other words, I would end up getting a lot of fickle and immature viewers that would litter my comments section with trolling BS and thus making my life much harder to reply to those viewers that I truly care about. So, I make my videos in a way that I actually disincentivize people with shallow ideas and/or too short attention spans from watching my videos (and consequently to subscribe). I know it sounds very counter-intuitive for a content creator to push back such a large swath of the KZbin audience, but I simply don’t have the time to deal with viewers that not only have nothing to contribute to the community I’m trying to build here, but also would make my work more difficult (to moderate comments and fight trolls). So, that’s why I make my video intros the way I do (long and even a bit philosophical) and use the type of language I use here (more professional and mature, with no memes or other similar types of mass appeal senseless jokes). This is a surefire way to ensure dumb and/or mean people will drop out in the first 10 seconds of my videos! (Don’t tell that to all those KZbin content creator education channels that are constantly trying to convince you to shorten and dumb down your content as much as possible to attract as much of the masses as possible!🤣) And I have to say that my strategy has been working fine so far, which is great! I get ZERO trolling on my comments section (I’ve seen much smaller channels than mine having more trouble in this area)! These undesirable people usually just hit the dislike button (which helps with the engagement😁) and leave, while the smart people, that I really want to keep, stick around and, just like you, hit the like, the subscribe and the bell buttons without me even asking them to. In other words, the people who subscribe are much more likely to be 100% onboard with what I do here and that means I’ll have a much larger “yield” of quality followers (over quantity) than the average shallow and meme infested KZbin channel out there… And that is AWESOME!!!

[@ryelo5448]

Wierd to see the glorious numpad instead of the old numpad

[@IOSam]

The old GK21S is still in my desk, but now has moved to my laptop setup (you can see it up there 👉12:29 ). Still not ready to part ways with that one yet... ;)

[@ryelo5448]

@@IOSam fair

[@Human_Evolution-]

Amazing video and amazing quality as always. It's like a big corporation created a KZbin channel, you do a great job. Also,I am not a fan on this keyboard for at least 3 reasons. The switches and key caps are bottom tier for looks and functionality. And the brand name on the case is hideous. I would not pay over $50 for this board.

[@IOSam]

Thanks man!!! (loved the analogy👊😆) As for the issues with this stock board, for the current price I can almost brush the bad switches aside (although the caps are definitely not the worst out there). But the branding is indeed the main problem here... It's just out of touch with good product design. I'd be more receptive if it was just the drawing part, but having the brand name stamped in a product's forehead is just tacky. At any rate, the build quality of the case is so good that I'm willing to figure out a way to remove the logo and keep using this board... I'll report back on this soon! ;)

[@floffice976]

@@IOSam Did you ever try to remove the logo? I did a bit of research and it may be possible by soaking in acetone. I have the keyboard on order so I can't appreciate the finish just yet. I am wondering if the acetone may blemish the CNC finish.

[@IOSam]

@@floffice976 After a bit of research, I found too many contradicting opinions about the effect of acetone in a anodized surface (some people claim acetone can remove the anodized finish, which would ruin the gun metal color of this case). So, for that reason I never pulled the trigger before being ready to pay a local shop to either re-anodize the case or cerakote it, both options which happen to be quite costly for this keyboard’s price. But I guess one could apply some acetone on the inside surface of the case to see if (and how bad) it damages the anodization, before committing to do it on the outer surface.

[@floffice976]

@@IOSam or put your favorite sticker on it! Thanks for the reply and for the great video. I pulled the trigger 🧨 as: 1] I am used to the 60% layout, as long as it has the FN key on the outer corner, for ease of access to the arrow functionality 2] I am hoping the case is as heavy duty as it looks!! 3] I agree with you - it is a deal and price is even lower now - especially if you want to try out some new switches .. & .. 4] I think I can mod the heck out of it ---- looks easy enough. Keyboard on!! Great vid!

[@floffice976]

@@IOSam I'll live with the Kemove branding. I wouldn't have placed it there, but also don't find it offensive.