J2

There is no such thing as "qmk launcher". Qmk is a set of C programs that provide keyboard services to a keyboard. A qmk-based keyboard uses qmk firmware to do all the keyboard stuff. You configure a qmk keyboard through a web application... either VIA or VIAL. Keycron's keyboards are based on qmk f

It's only a different front end to QMK, and QMK has no native support for more than a basic set of canned modes. I haven't played around with them much, I'm not a real backlight fan, but I thought they had more than a couple of modes that supported custom hues. I have modified my Keychron J2 to supp

Gamepad emulation (the part you describe as "The harder I push, the more input") is available only on a few boards besides Wooting and all of them over your budget. The closest one to your budget with such functionality is Keychron K2/J2 HE, but I'm not really a fan of Keychron HE boards sinсe you c

You need to use tap-dance, but that requires building new firmware with the tap-dance codes built in, and then entering the hex for the code using ANY. Theoretically you could convert it from VIA (Launcher) to VIAL but that's a bit fraught because the Keychron code base has changed a lot. It should

The Keychron Launcher is just a port of VIA with the keymaps for the Keychron keyboards built in so you don't have to install the JSON files. It also has prettier keyboard pictures, but it's functionally identical for everything that their regular QMK firmware supports. Launcher also has code for th

Yeh, that's actually pretty typical shipping charges for keyboard manufacturers. :( There are so many great 75% boards, with QMK firmware. You lose about three keys and they're mostly ones I can't remember using since I was using MS-DOS 5. I don't know how many of these are available where you are b

Keychron K2, whether HE or not. Also consider the J2 if that's available where you are. Just make sure you get a hotswap version. Wooting are pricey but allegedly have better software. Ajazz and Aula are meh proprietary boards. Steelseries and Razer are gamer-bro brands, overpriced, underfeatured, a

Seriously, I would open the case and examine the row for physical damage to the sockets and traces. A detached or semi-detached socket or diode or pull-up/down resistor can screw up a whole row like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mYfXfj-nJQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMat-5V5J10 https:/

That looks like what they have been selling as the Jamesdonkey J2 for as little as $30 on Amazon, but they seem to have emptied their Amazon warehouses at that price. Only the soldered (non-hotswap) board is available from Amazon now, and a soldered board is kind of awful these days. It is rather a

The J2/J8 HE aren't even ZMK, they're completely proprietary. :( This seems to be the case with the HE 8K boards, too. It's a massive bummer. It's also baffling, because Keychron is stacking up a bunch of tech debt by not just sticking to one system. ZMK is cool, because it lets you store layouts on