Just reiterating what I said in the video - This is my friend's BakenekoGO, and we recorded it at her house, so I didn't have the mics and keycaps/switches/supplies I usually have to make a sound test with a bunch of different plates, switches, configurations, and with various mics. I'll be borrowing this video in the near future for an updated "60% O-Ring Boards And Why I Love Them" Part 2 video (both a sound test compilation and a voiceover video like the Part 1 videos) though, so expect a bunch more different configs and mics as per my usual sound tests when those videos come out!
Overall, I think that the board is a decent case base, but it begins to suffer from a few shortcomings right from the bakeneko design not being changed a whole lot. Something I don't think a lot of folks mention is the placement of the RGB LEDs in relation to the bottom part of the case. There are two select spots where you can notice dimming, and this has to do with the placement of the daughterboard and the battery effectively blocking the LEDs. While the battery has some reflective material to compensate for its blockage of the LED, the same cannot be said of the daughterboard. All in all, this leads to a dim zone on the left hand side of the board on the front region. Something that could be done about the design is to have a dedicated channel for the battery to slot into such that it does not directly lie under the RGB LED and adjust the wire as necessary so it can connect to the PCB. And, to adjust the spacing of the LEDs to have two that surround the daughterboard instead of having the single LED lie directly above it. This may incur an additional cost of making an additional LED onto the PCB, but it heeds attention to detail and gives the product the finishing touches it should have had before being released. As for ZMK, I think that the lack of a GUI environment like VIA was a mistake for this product being the first notable release in the community. It needed some more time in the oven for that VIA-like environment to come about. I do, however, think that ZMK is an interesting project on the technical side on account of its dependencies (Zephyr Project) being backed by companies in the business of microcontrollers and wireless comms devices. I think we're just paying the price of early adoption and things should look up for ZMK come this time next year.
There are definitely some QoL improvements that can be made. I'm glad that there is now a cheap PC case that fits Bakeneko-style PCBs for sure though that are pretty substantial both with the walls being thicker than expected, and with what comes with the kit itself. For people that don't care about RGB/turn it off, or buy the brushed black variant, the aesthetic cons may not be as big of a deal, and since ZMK Studio will be released in the near future/August (until we hear otherwise), that will definitely make changing the keymap less of a hassle than it is currently. I'm just glad Upas and Co. made a guide that even a caveman like me could follow 😆 I think I'm impressed enough/aren't concerned about anything other than the fact that I can house my other 60% o-ring PCBs in here and it not costing over $100 shipped to pick one of these up myself in the future!
100%. I'm excited for when I do get a chance to get an in-depth look at this board, because I have a feeling that Nixies or something similar may sound really great in this
Wow your friends nekoGo came in fast. Mine was suppose to come today but got delayed. Hopefully tomorrow. NGL, sounds pretty good with the roses. Nice eclipse btw. was thinking about picking one up when it was on sale last month but I was able to score a Navi so ended up not getting it. I heard its a it a bit hollow, only reason I didn't pull the trigger on it
Aww, well, hope it arrives today! Yeah, it was a complete shot in the dark because she didn't have any switches or keycaps, and all I brought over were KTT Roses and DCX Garnet, but at least it doesn't sound terrible haha. Plus, she liked the combo, so it is what it is! I think I'll also be picking one of these up in the future after I make some more room in my collection. Yup, you're right on the money. I know it may be "sacrilegious to force break an expensive keeb" , but doing so eliminated all (or close to all) of the hollowness to the point that my friend enjoyed the board (also her board too LOL. A bit of a CannonKeys fan I think)! Very nice picking up the Navi. Such a unique and cool looking board (the Navi)
@@HubertTheMad Thanks, yes the Navi is nice and love the unique shape. Was kind of why I wanted the eclipse as well. and of course, i replaced the plate with a unikorn style aluminum and running it full Gummy O-Ring mount now lol. Gonna plop it right into the BakenekoGo when it comes in.
You know, if you had told me that it used the same daughterboard, I wouldn't have blinked twice. I didn't bring over any DBs from my collection when I drove over to her house, but it seems to be compatible with the unified DBs we all know from an eye test. Once I borrow this board in a few months, I'll definitely know for sure. Honestly, this exceeded my expectations and I did NOT expect the polycarb to be as thick, both in the side walls, and overall. Has a good heft to it and seems very substantial. Not as heavy as an aluminum case obviously, but definitely more than I expected
Just reiterating what I said in the video - This is my friend's BakenekoGO, and we recorded it at her house, so I didn't have the mics and keycaps/switches/supplies I usually have to make a sound test with a bunch of different plates, switches, configurations, and with various mics.
I'll be borrowing this video in the near future for an updated "60% O-Ring Boards And Why I Love Them" Part 2 video (both a sound test compilation and a voiceover video like the Part 1 videos) though, so expect a bunch more different configs and mics as per my usual sound tests when those videos come out!
Overall, I think that the board is a decent case base, but it begins to suffer from a few shortcomings right from the bakeneko design not being changed a whole lot.
Something I don't think a lot of folks mention is the placement of the RGB LEDs in relation to the bottom part of the case. There are two select spots where you can notice dimming, and this has to do with the placement of the daughterboard and the battery effectively blocking the LEDs. While the battery has some reflective material to compensate for its blockage of the LED, the same cannot be said of the daughterboard. All in all, this leads to a dim zone on the left hand side of the board on the front region.
Something that could be done about the design is to have a dedicated channel for the battery to slot into such that it does not directly lie under the RGB LED and adjust the wire as necessary so it can connect to the PCB. And, to adjust the spacing of the LEDs to have two that surround the daughterboard instead of having the single LED lie directly above it. This may incur an additional cost of making an additional LED onto the PCB, but it heeds attention to detail and gives the product the finishing touches it should have had before being released.
As for ZMK, I think that the lack of a GUI environment like VIA was a mistake for this product being the first notable release in the community. It needed some more time in the oven for that VIA-like environment to come about. I do, however, think that ZMK is an interesting project on the technical side on account of its dependencies (Zephyr Project) being backed by companies in the business of microcontrollers and wireless comms devices. I think we're just paying the price of early adoption and things should look up for ZMK come this time next year.
There are definitely some QoL improvements that can be made. I'm glad that there is now a cheap PC case that fits Bakeneko-style PCBs for sure though that are pretty substantial both with the walls being thicker than expected, and with what comes with the kit itself.
For people that don't care about RGB/turn it off, or buy the brushed black variant, the aesthetic cons may not be as big of a deal, and since ZMK Studio will be released in the near future/August (until we hear otherwise), that will definitely make changing the keymap less of a hassle than it is currently.
I'm just glad Upas and Co. made a guide that even a caveman like me could follow 😆
I think I'm impressed enough/aren't concerned about anything other than the fact that I can house my other 60% o-ring PCBs in here and it not costing over $100 shipped to pick one of these up myself in the future!
The alphas sound good but the mod keys are a bit thin for my preference.
100%. I'm excited for when I do get a chance to get an in-depth look at this board, because I have a feeling that Nixies or something similar may sound really great in this
Wow your friends nekoGo came in fast. Mine was suppose to come today but got delayed. Hopefully tomorrow. NGL, sounds pretty good with the roses.
Nice eclipse btw. was thinking about picking one up when it was on sale last month but I was able to score a Navi so ended up not getting it. I heard its a it a bit hollow, only reason I didn't pull the trigger on it
Aww, well, hope it arrives today! Yeah, it was a complete shot in the dark because she didn't have any switches or keycaps, and all I brought over were KTT Roses and DCX Garnet, but at least it doesn't sound terrible haha. Plus, she liked the combo, so it is what it is! I think I'll also be picking one of these up in the future after I make some more room in my collection.
Yup, you're right on the money. I know it may be "sacrilegious to force break an expensive keeb" , but doing so eliminated all (or close to all) of the hollowness to the point that my friend enjoyed the board (also her board too LOL. A bit of a CannonKeys fan I think)! Very nice picking up the Navi. Such a unique and cool looking board (the Navi)
@@HubertTheMad Thanks, yes the Navi is nice and love the unique shape. Was kind of why I wanted the eclipse as well. and of course, i replaced the plate with a unikorn style aluminum and running it full Gummy O-Ring mount now lol. Gonna plop it right into the BakenekoGo when it comes in.
@@versecuratedOooh, do let me/us know how the BakenekoGo sounds like with those internals!
we have the opposite problem lmao mine came last friday and i've been wanting to hear other peoples sound tests so bad.
@@zscept mine came in yesterday and recorded some sound tests with various switches. Will post it later today. I have mix feelings about this board😅
Not a fan of PC spacebar buuuut this one pairs really well with the alphas
Ye, gimmie a oil king please
I dont think the PC is CNCed, i believe it is injection molded.
@@vishweshmashruwala9307 Thanks for catching that mistake! I'll update the title and description
Did you figure out if original internals like the daughterboard can be used?
You know, if you had told me that it used the same daughterboard, I wouldn't have blinked twice. I didn't bring over any DBs from my collection when I drove over to her house, but it seems to be compatible with the unified DBs we all know from an eye test.
Once I borrow this board in a few months, I'll definitely know for sure. Honestly, this exceeded my expectations and I did NOT expect the polycarb to be as thick, both in the side walls, and overall. Has a good heft to it and seems very substantial. Not as heavy as an aluminum case obviously, but definitely more than I expected
@@HubertTheMad Very cool. I would have been way more interested in this if I still enjoyed my ciel65 lol
That Enter key sounds horrible.
It was a combination of not seating the key fully with the stabs and switch, but thankfully we took care of it after the recording!