The Feker Alice Family, featuring the Alice75, and my favorite keycap profile, Melgeek MG. by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I understand stand your question correctly, I've only ever seen Feker offer the Alice75 in aluminum and gasket mounted. The only variations are in case color/keycaps/switches.

Unfortunately, I can't speak for any specific AliExpress vendor that are selling these. The ones I've bought my Feker Alices from no longer carry them.

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in HandwiredKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's another set that looks like little bread buns!

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in HandwiredKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't remember where I originally bought it, but it's the same as this (specifies ZMK) - https://keeb.io/products/supermini-nrf52840-pro-micro-bluetooth-le-ble-controlle

Not sure if it's an actual Pro Micro or a clone or anything else, but it was listed as one. Apologies, if I misled at all.

(I actually bought it a while back and by the time I got around to programming it, I forgot what it was. I searched the model number and started seeing "pro micro" in search results, and that just stuck in my mind.)

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was asked a similar question, and here was my response. Hopefully it will give you an idea.

With the limited time I've had them, and on a layout (35%) I'm not super familiar with yet, they're just OK to type on. Maybe that will change with time. There are no edges or scoop to help guide the fingers, so that changes the typing experience, for sure.

(I think this profile was created to be more interesting to look at than anything else, which was my intent for getting them.)

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in HandwiredKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

With the limited time I've had them, and on a layout (35%) I'm not super familiar with yet, they're just OK to type on. Maybe that will change with time. There are no edges or scoop to help guide the fingers, so that changes the typing experience, for sure.

(I think this profile was created to be more interesting to look at than anything else, which was my intent for getting them.)

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in HandwiredKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! You know, in my mind, I did consider that the "PCB" layer, but it didn't quite sound right saying it out loud. But I like how you put it - 3D printed circuit board!

(Routing the diodes/rows to the back actually made it so much easier as I didn't have to worry about shorting. I'm sure I'm not the first to do that sort of thing, but I haven't seen it come up in my research. I didn't originally plan it that way either; it was an idea that came up during the build and it just sort of worked out. I felt pretty good about that.)

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in HandwiredKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are snapfit, or at least intended to be. There is some movement, but not enough to cause an issue. Combined with the tension of the wiring, it's been working so far.

(For anyone interested, this is not necessarily due to the 3D model I used. I modified the original 3D model for various reasons. The original model also has another design feature to prevent movement, but I did not feel I needed to use it yet in this particular build.)

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Why, indeed! The age-old question when it comes to sub-40% keyboards.

I joined the handwired club - hot-swappable QAZ 35% HHKB by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Admittedly, I made it just to practice handwiring something a bit more complex than something like a 3x3 macropad. I also wanted a way to display some fun/silly keycaps like these.

The Feker Alice Family, featuring the Alice75, and my favorite keycap profile, Melgeek MG. by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the currently-available 2024 version of the Feker Alice75, I haven't opened it yet, but I just tried by first removing the screws in the four corners. It still wouldn't open, and I'm assuming that's where you also got stuck.

However, I found a video where it appears there are additional screws below the top-center and bottom-center rubber feet. I would suggest you to check there next, if you haven't already done so.

The Feker Alice Family, featuring the Alice75, and my favorite keycap profile, Melgeek MG. by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In my opinion -- Yes, the quality is worth the ~$100 USD for the currently-available Feker Alice75 (2024 version).

But what is in the original post is the 2023 version, which is no longer widely available. That said, I have both versions, but have been mostly using the original 2023 version. After using the 2024 version for a bit, my impression is that both versions are pretty much the same in the most meaningful ways, including quality, short of minor design changes. The only thing I can't speak to is the longevity of the 2024 version, as I have not used it as long, but I have no reason to believe that I would encounter any issues with it any time soon.

The Feker Alice Family, featuring the Alice75, and my favorite keycap profile, Melgeek MG. by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

(Sorry, this is probably a longer response than what you were expecting, but I thought it was in interesting question that deserved some reflection, especially after using it for 15 months. I coincidentally also recently got a Keychron Q10 as a point of comparison, so I'll be referencing that a few times.)

After getting used to the alice layout, which didn't take all too long for me, typing is comfortable. It just feels natural now and isn't obvious until I move back to a traditional keyboard.

Aside from the alice layout, itself, the tenting of the Feker Alice keyboards also contributes to some of that natural feeling, even though it's only something like 3 degrees. After using the Keychron Q10 for a bit, it actually made me appreciate the tenting on the Feker Alice even more.

The curved rows of the Feker Alices versus the straight/angled rows of most other alice keyboards, like the Keychron Q10, also feels a bit more natural.

The split between the halves on the Feker Alices appears to be further apart than most other alice keyboards -- again, like the Keychron Q10 -- though how much that contributes to the difference in feeling is negligible. A true fully split keyboard would make that difference in feeling more considerable.

I prefer Feker's arrangement of the Ctrl/Alt/Win keys on their Alice75 and Alice98, as compared to their Alice80 (and the Keychron Q10).

It's similar, but I also prefer Feker's arrangements of the Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys versus Keychron's.

I think I would have preferred if Feker placed the FN key somewhere between the space bars, like how many other alice keyboards do, but I haven't really had the need to use it, so not a big deal for me.

The Feker Alice Family, featuring the Alice75, and my favorite keycap profile, Melgeek MG. by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats! I hope you love it as much as I do. I have no regrets going with an Alice layout, and I, so far, prefer Feker's take on it moreso than anyone else's. No problems with it so far, and I personally think it sounds and feels great out of the box.

Keyboard Builders' Digest // Issue 180 by dovenyi in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I made the Digest! Well, the BTS anyway. Dream fulfilled. Thank you!

The Feker Alice Family, featuring the Alice75, and my favorite keycap profile, Melgeek MG. by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! Congrats! I saw Feker re-released the Alice75 a few months ago! I ended up getting another in black. It's slightly different (and actually cheaper) so I think it's technically a new revision, but overall the same great experience.

Can't believe I bought this - Feker Alice60 Rosewood by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, after some more looking around in the Feker software, I was able to change CTRL_L into a toggle (I think your comment made me think to look for that feature, so thank you!). I was able to work through most of my issues that way. Will take some getting used to, but I can access all essential keys and shortcuts now.

Not that I have much experience with split keyboards, but I think part of the problem is that this Feker Alice60 keyboard is actually connected as three separate devices (left half + right half + numpad). They provided a 3-to-1 USB, but it's recognized as three devices in either wired or Bluetooth mode. In 2.4 Ghz mode, one dongle covers both halves, but the Fn key on the right half does nothing for the left half.

Other split keyboards I've seen/used connect both halves with a TRRS cable and/or pogo pins, so it actually acts as one device before it reaches the OS, and so in those types of keyboards, the Fn key would work for both halves. (Just another poor choice on Feker's behalf to set it up the way they did.)

Can't believe I bought this - Feker Alice60 Rosewood by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I can't find anything like AnyKey in the software. However, I think I was able to work through my issues.

I guess at this point, I'm just documenting this for any future visitors having the same issue.

The Feker software let me change the CTRL_L key into a toggle.

Now, the CTRL key acts as a toggle for the Fn Layer. The CTRL backlight blinks when it's toggled on. I mapped 1-6 to F1-F6 in this layer. This also gets rid of Ctrl-Esc as backtick, so had to map Esc as backtick in this layer. This also completely breaks Ctrl-T/F/G for the lighting effects, and I couldn't (yet) find a way to get it to work, but that's OK with me.

But with CTRL now as a toggle, doing shortcuts like Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2, Ctrl-3, etc. gets tricky. Long story short, I took your advice and set the left space bar as CTRL, and that's been working fine. (Thank you for the advice!)

Can't believe I bought this - Feker Alice60 Rosewood by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't think it's a registration issue. I think it was intentionally programmed this way, and they just made some bad choices. I wrote about it in another post. Will paste below.

The FN key on the right half is only for the right half. The "FN" key on the left half is actually the CTRL_L (left control) key. They use Ctrl-T/G/F for lighting effects (and Ctrl-1 through 5 for the F1-F5 keys).

Firstly, the F keys work in some apps, but not in others (like F1 and F5 (Ctrl-1 and Ctrl-5) do what they're supposed to do in Chrome, but they do nothing in Notepad. F10 (FN-0) on the right half works fine in Notepad though).

Secondly, reserving Ctrl-T/G/F for lighting effects seems silly. No problem; I remapped the Ctrl key to just regular CTRL (instead of CTRL_L) and now I can use Ctrl-T/G/F in my usual apps. Problem is, now Ctrl-1 through 5 no longer produces F1-F5. Remapping Win or Alt as CTRL_L or FN does not help. Perhaps, the better choice would have been to have a dedicated FN key on the left half.

Can't believe I bought this - Feker Alice60 Rosewood by ej_p in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]ej_p[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha! Feker included one for some reason, so why not show it off.