Epomaker GK96S: Closer Look

The GK96LS we saw before employed a black ABS case, so I switched things around (get it?) with a white GK96S. This is the kit version, so there are no installed switches or keycaps. What we get instead is a skeleton with some meat on it, and in a 96% form factor, which truncates a full-size keyboard into a single bank of keys. Even without the switches and keycaps, we can see where the numpad comes into play with a shorter 0 key next to the right arrow key at the bottom. We do lose some dedicated keys, including some from the Ins-Pg Dn cluster and one from the bottom row, but the space savings make the 96% form factor quite interesting. The GK96S kit also clearly gets a color-coordinated steel plate with a white powdercoat on my sample. The PCB is included here, as shown by the black layer underneath, and we also see plate-mounted stabilizers to complete the set.


Flipping the keyboard around, this could easily be mistaken for a fully-assembled retail keyboard. There is also the certification sticker in the middle, as well as five rubber pads along the bottom edge and two sets of feet that can be raised for two separate, steeper angles. Both sets have a rubberized bottom for further friction against the resting surface.


There is an inset USB Type-C port in the top-left corner facing away from the user for the cable to plug into, which also charges the internal battery for wireless keyboard connectivity. The cable has a braided silver finish, which I do like, but does not match the white case as well as the black cable that came with the black GK96LS. You will need a spare USB Type-A port on your PC for wired connectivity, and USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data alike, although USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) is recommended. At this point, you can start plugging the switches of your choice in.


I did see screws on the PCB, so I had to see what's between the PCB and case, of course. This kit omits the Epomaker split space bar module that was on my retail GK96LS, so things are simpler with only a short Phillips head screw going from the space bar area to a brass insert, and the other ten screws in black are strewn all over. Take all 11 screws out and you can carefully pull the plate/PCB piece off the case to expose the internal cable from the battery to the PCB for wireless connectivity. We get a relatively large 4000 mAh battery, which was put to good use on the GK96LS before.


The PCB is black, and there are a lot of soldered components, including the USB Type-C connector alongside several tantalum capacitors. We also see Kailh hot-swap switch sockets, which is funny to me given we are again using this with Gateron switches. For lighting customization, each switch also has an SMD 5050 RGB LED.


Here's a closer look at the business end of the Kailh socket, which supports 5-pin mechanical switches. This means you have support for 3-pin switches, as well as the 5-pin Gateron switches we will be using in this article. The stabilizers are lubed at the connector, and you may perhaps want to re-do the application since there is more lube than needed. But lubing components is for another time, with this article meant to introduce the possibilities introduced with a hot-swap switch kit, compatible switches, and keycaps. There is also foam support under the space bar on the PCB.


Powering wired mode is a Weltrend WT59F164 32-bit USB microcontroller placed at a weird 45° angle relative to the horizontal dimension of the PCB. It is based on the RISC microarchitecture with up to 64 KB flash and 8 KB RAM. There are also three separate Shenzhen Sunmoon SM16159 LED drivers to help run all the RGB LEDs on the keyboard. Wireless connectivity is powered by a Cypress CYW20730 Bluetooth 5.1 processor and integrated 2.4 GHz transceiver. All the components, including the sockets, LEDs, and capacitors, are soldered to a multi-layered PCB.