I wanted a new keyboard to replace my aging Razor Blackwidow Ultimate. Something general-purpose, usuable for writing, coding, projects and gaming. Smaller than the current board, but retaining the 10 key for working in tools like Blender. A centerpiece for my desk: sleek, industrial, and coordinated, and compact. After some research, I settled on the YMD96, a QMK Firmware-based board with great reviews.

For finger feel, I decided to compromise with mixed switches: browns (tactile) for the alphabetic keys except WASD, reds (linear, medium actuation) for most everything else. Blacks (linear, heavy) on enter, escape and backspace meant a bit more resistance when I mash on them, and greens (tactile, audible, clicky) on the locks giving me feedback when they’re toggled. Based on many positive reviews, I went with Gateron switches over Cherry MX’s - primarily due to the price difference (roughly 19¢ vs 45¢) and the novelty of having not used them before. I bought a few extra of each color, both to experiment with and as emergency replacements.

Parts List:

• YMD96 Keyboard Kit - $78
  • Hot-swappable, Layout C
• Keycaps - $35
  • Based on the classic T0mb3ry Carbons
• Gateron Switches - $22
  • 72x Red
  • 35x Brown
  • 7x Black
  • 4x Green
• SuperLube Silicon Grease - $10
• DIY cable kit from Zap Cables - $28
  • Including extra USB-A and USB-C connectors and shrink wrap

Shipping was $35 via Fedex from Dongguan (or $28 via USPS). AliExpress didn’t seem to be able to do combined shipping correct, so I contacted the seller and was able to work the combined shipping down. Tax was $15, so this build cost about $223 total.

The Goods

When my packages arrived, I peeled them open.

Front of the case, open.

Accessories included with the kit:

• Aluminum back feet
• Rubber adhesive front feet
• Screws & screw stands
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Keycap Puller
• Switch Puller
• Cherry Stabilizers

At the heart of the board: a gorgeous, jet-black PCB.

The switches were nicely packaged in separate bags per color. Minimal bent pins.

PBT caps with sublimated dye for longevity, with a fantastic slightly-texted matte feel to them. They look substantial and feel solid. Some keys had very slight rough edges on the back face and back under-edge, but it nothing noticable. No blemishes or malformed caps.

Assembly

1. Set up the board. Board came pre-flashed, mapped as described in the item description. Before any assembly, I tested each socket on the PCB with a bent paperclip to verify all transistors were working. The PCB came with two extra transistors, in case any were burnt out, but I didn’t need to use them. Keyboard Tester was incredibly helpful for keeping track of the keys I had already tested.

2. Lubed Cherry stabilizers with the silicon lube. I didn’t have a paintbrush, so I just used a toothpick to apply a thin layer to the outside of the stem and inside of the housing, the portions of wire that would touch the housing, and the inside of the stem where the wire sits. One 7u stabilizer for the spacebar, and 2u stabilizers for each of the shift keys, enter and backspace, and the numpad enter. Don’t use too much silicon, or your keys will initially feel gummy and require some repetitive use to feel smooth.
3. Stabilizers are PCB-mounted, so you need to install them before you attach the front plate. I learned this the hard way: I attached the plate and all switches before getting to the stabilizers. Don’t make the same mistake! Stabilizers snap into the pairs of holes surrounding the sockets for the keys they support. The stabilizers only snap into the board one way as one peg is larger than the other. Be sure to snap the feet completely into the PCB; a couple posts took significant pressure to seat properly.

4. Attached the front plate to the PCB, using the short screw stands. The instructions included with the board were unclear at this point as to which small black screws to use, but looking at the front plate made it obvious: the front screws were countersunk, while the screws securing the PCB to the screw stands from the back weren’t.
5. Loosely screwed the front plate plus the connected board to the rest of the case.

6. Installed the switches. Make sure to consider the orientation of the socket; certain sockets are rotated or inverted!
7. Tested each and every switch. If they didn’t work, I pulled them out, fixed and re-seated them. Again, Keyboard Tester was very useful here. Bent pins seemed quite common… I had to fix a number of switches by pulling them out and checking the pins. They were usually either bent off to an odd angle or, more insidiously, folded tightly over onto themselves.
8. Snugly tightened the case screws on both sides. Done!

At the very end, I made some additions to the keys registered in the function layer and reflashed the board a couple of times, which was made mostly painless by the QMK Firmware Builder and QMK Toolbox. I also noticed one of the backglow RGB LEDs shone brightly through a hole in the PCB between the right ALT and FN keys, so I masked that with a small piece of black electrical tape.

Final Thoughts

I’m very pleased with the final result. This was my first build, and though a few mistakes were made (install your PCB-mounted stabilizers before attaching the front plate!), the finished project came out great. I’d highly recommend this kit to anyone looking for a good starting point to build their own custom keyboard in this 96 key format.