Hall effect switches

General
1

I was wondering if there was anyway chance that there would be a Hall effect version with mag switches

2

I’m sorry to say it’s not planned because the demand doesn’t justify it.

3

Does the PCB have the ability for community firmware to support Hall Effect switches though?

4

No. Hall effect switches require a completely different design.

5

There for sure is a hole in the market for a Split Ergo keyboard with tenting features and a normal staggered (not ortholinear) layout that has Hall Effect switch support.

I haven’t even seen a split keyboard with HE switches yet, much less an ergonomic one.

6

I am curious as to what people would want to achieve out of hall effect switches.

1 Like
7

I’m gonna assume most people want them for snap-tap related functions. Let’s be real, how realistic is using variable actuation height for anything irl? Even trying to use a keyswitch in a game for something like variable speed (walking/running or vehicle acceleration) would be REALLY difficult. There’s just not enough travel distance to be useful.

If people want to use it to make tapping keys more/less sensitive, I guess I can see that, but still… Derp.

1 Like
8

Let me elaborate. Split mechanical keyboards are a niche market. Analog keyboards are also a niche market. The intersection of the two is an ultra-niche market. On top of that, analog would probably make manufacturing a lot more difficult and even more expensive because, unlike binary switches, hall-effect switches demand much higher assembly precision and more expensive components. So, realistically, I don’t think we’ll ever create such keyboards.

2 Likes
9

That’s exactly it, it’s been a big thing in gaming industry for some time now. E.g. counter-strafing should be quicker with HE switches. No first-hand experience though.

10

I still haven’t tried any HE switches either. They may be nice, but it seems mostly kinda gimmicky to me.

When I first heard about magnetic switches, I got super excited because my immediate hope was that someone figured out a way to make them with variable physical resistance on-the-fly. If someone finds a way to make that a reality with the simple tap of hotkey, etc., I’m all-in!