Yo!
First up, love the artwork on the boxes, so props to whoever did that.
And today, we have 2 RAMA KARA’s, which are currently on pre-order ending on the 31st,
so nice and tight on timing again.
I have the Soya and Iced versions, and these are prototype units, so things may change
for the final, but probably not much, because this is slated to be delivered in Q1 of 2021,
so if you want some quick turnaround mech stuff, then this may interest you.
In typical RAMA WORKS fashion, we get the nice box for the keyboard, and another box
for the accessories.
We get the classic RAMA stickers, always nice.
A keyswitch puller.
A 1.5m USB C cable, and a bunch of screws and tools.
Our long rubber feet.
And the PCB.
I was also given the internal dampener, which is not included with the board, but is an
additional 45 bucks, which is a decent chunk of money for a silicone piece, and we’ll
check that out later.
Alrighty, here’s the Soya case, with this creamy colour, and clear backplate.
This is injection moulded ABS plastic, just like most of your keycaps, and probably most
plastic products you have around.
We’re seeing a couple injection moulded plastic custom mechs coming up as a kind of
cheaper alternative, and just a different kind of keyboard which is cool to see.
Here’s the Iced version.
The RAMA WORKS branding is actually visible on the bottom, unlike the Soya one.
And another thing of note is that all the standoffs and screw holes are metal inserts,
instead of just tapped plastic, so they should be pretty durable.
Here’s the 1.5mm polycarbonate plate, which is the default plate.
However there is also an aluminium plate available, but it is not an option that you can change
to, rather, it is another add on.
Alrighty, let’s take this thing apart.
There’s 4 Torx screws in the corners.
Beautiful custom screws by the way, just like with their other boards.
And then in the top housing, we can remove the backplate, and this is yet another piece
that you can swap out with the other colours to spice it up a bit, and make it your own.
This is an integral part of the board, and is quite unique actually in how the keyboard
itself is mounted.
Here’s the KARA PCB, designed by the ever dependable Wilba.
And there is just the one version, with Kailh hotswap sockets in the HHKB layout.
So no other layouts available, and no solderable version.
It supports 5 pin MX style switches of course.
Has per key RGB backlighting as we can see.
And hanging off of it is the USB C daughterboard.
And first thing as always is to install the stabilisers.
These are not included with the kit, however they do sell a KARA starter kit which includes
the required stabilisers and some switches.
But yeh, you only need 2 2u stabs, and 1 7u stab.
And of course make sure you lube them up nicely.
Then we install our standoffs which fasten the PCB to the plate.
This is just to give it more support because it is a hotswap board, and I’m sure they
want to reduce potential issues.
However it isn’t totally necessary, as the switches can hold everything in place just
with friction.
I’m gonna use them though, but in theory, by using them, you’ll make it stiffer, and
therefore potentially harder and a little harsher in sound and feel.
Then we install our mute piece, which is a piece of silicone that goes between the PCB
and the plate.
And this is necessary for the build, as it is integrated with the mounting, just like
a bunch of their other boards, which is pretty unique.
It’s not just like an optional mid layer, which also has its downside, as you don’t
have that option to leave it out and give the plate more give.
But that is the special thing about it.
Okay, switches!
Let’s go with Kiwi’s for tactile, and OA’s for linear.
One tactile, one linear.
These are both JWK switches, so pretty common and easily obtained.
The OA or Original Aspiration switches come in this cool package, really really cute stickers
as well, love stuff like this.
They are completely unlubed.
So I lubed them with some good old Krytox 205G0, and used 0.18mm Laser_Ninja films.
So that should make em nice and smooth and dampened.
The Kiwis are also 67g, but are tactiles.
And I lubed them with Tribosys 3203, which is a thinner lube, and is often preferred
in order to keep the tactility of the switch nice and strong.
As always with hotswap builds, it is of utmost importance to make sure that the pins are
straight.
Otherwise you run the risk of damaging or breaking the hotswap sockets or switches.
So just be careful and be gentle.
In the official build guide video, they say to put the keycaps on, so I’ll do that.
Classic thanks to my buddy Jono for letting me borrow the caps as always.
Legend.
And keep in mind for this sort of layout, you will need some sort of proper extended
set, because like a cheap 108 kit won’t fit.
So 7u spacebar, 1.75u right shift, all that sort of stuff, so double check.
Alright, so we have the top piece, and we just push the subassembly into it, it’ll
also kinda snap into place.
And we can kinda see again that the silicone piece is touching the plastic.
But then we grab the backplate, and here we can clearly see that this basically presses
down on the silicone piece, and that’s what holds everything in place.
And I’m just going to assume the bottom piece applies some pressure for the lower
bit.
But yeh, it’s that unique mounting system that these RAMA boards have.
It’s not like a gasket mount, the plate isn’t screwed to anything, and it’s mainly
attached via the silicone piece.
But it’s still only just extending past the plate and PCB, so it’s not like flexible
or anything, like a leaf spring mount or something.
I received the silicone dampener, so I’m gonna use it.
It will add another 104 grams, and supposedly helps with the boards acoustics.
I’ll do sound tests with and without, so we’ll see.
Before using the board, I’m just gonna change a few things in VIA, where it is fully programmable,
which is especially important with this kind of board.
And you have several layers to play around with.
First, I’ll change the intense RGB lighting.
Then chuck in caps lock because caps lock is best.
I also chucked in a windows key in there after.
Aaand you should test beforehand, but because of lazy, I don’t.
My K key isn’t working, so we have to pull it out, and it’s just a bent pin.
I use tweezers just to straighten it, and you can put it back in.
And here it is, the RAMA WORKS KARA.
And it’s bringing the plastic aesthetic to their familiar bold designs.
Very similar to their M60-A on the outside, of course having the same HHKB layout.
Although we now have sloping sides, which still maintains that thick look.
It’s available in a few different colours.
I have the Soya and Iced versions.
It’s interesting with plastic, and I guess it depends on what you want out of it in terms
of looks.
The Soya version has this quite pleasant creamy off white colour, which I like.
Some of you may prefer that opaque look.
The Iced version on the other hand being translucent has a completely different vibe to it as we
can see through it.
It accentuates the plastic, we see the injection moulding, all the ribbing, supports, standoffs,
all that cool stuff.
We also see the RAMA WORKS branding on the bottom which isn’t visible on the opaque
cases.
And if you don’t have the internal silicone dampener, then you’ll see the PCB which
is pretty cool too.
The other thing the translucent cases display is the RGB lighting.
There are no underglow LEDs, these are all upwards facing in-switch LEDs, but with the
clear plate too, it shines pretty bright.
But only above the PCB which does present an interesting look.
Everywhere else is pretty much dark.
Personally, I do like the translucent cases, and the other ones look really cool.
Also, the Iced is pretty far off the rendered version, which looks quite a bit less frosted
I guess.
It’s definitely more white in real life, but they do show that with their colour samples.
One of the defining features of the KARA is of course the layout.
There is only 1 version of it, it’s a hotswap board too, so no variations in the layout
is possible.
And this is definitely something that you will have to take into account.
Everyone is different, and everyone has different use cases and such.
And it’s definitely a layout that you can try and eventually adapt to.
And this is and has been a very popular layout for a lot of people.
However it’s obviously not for everyone.
Even a normal 60% isn’t for everyone, and I personally struggle without dedicated arrow
keys, and all that.
But this is more specialised as we have the corner blockers, and therefore no corner control
keys, which takes a bit of getting used to.
And because I’m special, I need my caps lock, so I’ve relegated the control key
to the bottom corner.
It adopts a split backspace, which is also very popular.
And that actually does make sense.
Gives us an extra key, while bringing backspace closer.
Remember that this is all programmable via VIA, and that you can have multiple layers
with secondary functions and all that.
So obviously to access like the function row and the arrow keys, you gotta have those combo
presses.
So yeh, it’s all personal.
And if you haven’t used something like this, then it will take time, that’s natural.
I do advise having an open mind when it comes to new layouts.
I always get comments that immediately shutdown some sort of aspect of a keyboard without
trying it.
For me, it’s just far from what I prefer.
I mean, I basically use a full size as my daily, but that’s just me.
Alrighty, now to the typing experience.
Let’s have a quick listen.
I recorded both boards with and without the internal dampener.
The OA linear board.
Another JWK linear, and after lubing they feel nice and smooth as per usual.
Although whether it be the spring or the UHMWPE bottom housing, I’m not sure I enjoy them
as much as a typical JWK linear.
They feel and sound a little flat.
The Kiwi tactile board, a C3 JWK switch, strong but rounded tactile bump, nice and pronounced.
Remember, full plastic case and plate here.
And you can definitely feel and hear that.
It’s got a pretty pleasant bottom out, not soft or too thocky or anything, but not too
harsh or stiff.
It doesn’t have that density and tightness of like an alu board, so it has a bit of depth,
that plasticky feel.
It’ll be interesting to see how the alu plate feels.
As we can see, there’s some give around the middle.
But because of it’s design where it’s being held along the top, and along the bottom,
the sides can be pressed down quite a bit, but I didn’t feel that that impacted on
the typing experience.
And that translates to the sound as well.
It’s quite a loud board and you can hear that plastic nature, and it does spill out
onto the desk a bit, so desk material will matter a bit more with this board.
And don’t confuse this with like a higher pitched sounding board, that’s a different
kind of loudness, I just feel like it outputs more sound, but is relatively lower pitched.
Some may be skeptical of the internal dampener, but it actually does make a difference.
And it just tightens that sound up a bit, reduces the reverb, makes it slightly quieter,
filling in some of that empty space, along with its wavey design.
From what I can hear in the sound tests, it didn’t make a huge difference with the linears,
still noticeable.
But with the tactiles, being a louder and more forceful switch, you can definitely hear
a solid difference.
The spacebar especially sounds a little less hollow, and again just overall it sounds more
dense and tight.
Personally, I do prefer how it sounds with the dampener.
But that’s the thing with this board and it depends on how you view it.
It is a cheaper alternative to a custom, a RAMA custom, starting at 160USD.
So 45 bucks seems like a larger chunk of money relative to the board.
And don’t forget, you will require stabs, switches, and keycaps to finish it off.
So it’s still a premium sort of product.
I definitely feel that the board keeps the RAMA quality and feel.
Again the exterior design is very very similar to the M60-A, but in plastic form.
Overtime I’ve really come to appreciate lighter boards.
Like heavy boards are amazing and they naturally exude quality.
But after a while when you come to a light board, you honestly do appreciate just how
easy it is to move around, even just from the desk to the shelf.
I think out of the recent injection moulded customs, this one first of all looks fantastic,
but the feel is quite good.
I felt that the NK65 is nice, but not too far off typical prebuilts that you can buy.
The Mute mounting system is interesting here, especially the way that they’ve had to do
it with this board, I haven’t seen anything really like it before.
So I like how it feels, how it sounds, the only thing really is the layout is not for
me personally.
The RAMA KARA is closing on the 31st, but probably the thing that will tempt a lot of
people is that quick Q1 turnaround, so that’s pretty sweet, won’t need to wait that long.
I think the price is fair.
Adding extras makes it a little pricey, I think the internal dampener is beneficial,
but that’s up to you.
I will be modding these and giving them away to the Australian and Philippine mech communities
for the new year, so if you are part of those, watch out for that.