UHK 60 v2 - first impressions

12 January 2023

# Intro

I have become a proud owner of the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard 60 v2. It is an ergonomic, split, mechanical keyboard. In this post, I will describe my first impressions of this fancy device.

# Order

In August I placed the order for the UHK 60 v2 and palm rests. I received the package in December. The Knowledgebase section on the main website was very helpful when I wanted to find some useful data about the product before purchase. There were no problems with the payment and the company was active with updates about the production process.

When it comes to details, I have chosen Kailh Red Box switches. This keyboard has hot-swap sockets but for now, I am not planning any changes in this area.

At first, I was thinking about the Blank ANSI layout but I changed my mind and clicked the US layout. Now, after some binding changes, keycap side descriptions do not match the key functionality. A US set without side descriptions could be a nice option.

# Unboxing

Here I want to place my first, small complaint. In my opinion, the main box was not super securely packed - just a few small foams inside. However, after unboxing, everything was in perfect state.

By default you get the following extra items:

Palm rests do the job. Everything looks solid and pretty - awesome!

# Software

The UHK team and community created an awesome app called Agent. It is open source, multiplatform and a good-looking piece of software.

After the first run, I saw a notification about new firmware so I proceed to upgrade. Everything went flawless - it is deffinetely not another “download this firmware-v2-final.exe from our Google Drive” approach :)

In Agent, you can modify LED brightness, create or edit various keymaps and also play around with advanced macros. By accident, I have discovered that you can modify the ID of each keymap which is visible in a small LED display. After testing FOO, BOO and a polish swear word with a spelling error, I have settled down with simple HEY as a QWERTY representation. Worth mentioning is the mouse layer which positively surprised me! I’m still struggling a little bit with the “hidden” arrow keys - my previous daily driver was 65%.

The Agent demo version is available on the web.

# Usage notes

Flip-out feet

Flip-out feet are great, but the angle could be a little wider. Sometimes my right keyboard half collapses. It happens very rarely.

Connectivity

Once I spotted that the LED display blinked and I was worried a little bit… I have checked the braided bridge cable with a multimeter and it seemed fine. In the Knowledgebase I have found a dedicated troubleshooting guide for this case. I stopped using the USB hub immediately. Moreover, I spotted that in the bridged cable socket, I had a little hair-like object. I have simply removed this intruder. Since then, I did not spot the flickering but I will keep my eye on this.

Stabilizers

There are not many stabilizers in this keyboard but a lube is definitely needed - my right Control makes sad noises.

# Summary

In my opinion, the UHK 60 v2 is an excellent product. The customizability is beyond my expectations - I am still playing around with various configurations. Some people may say that the price is too damn high. Well, it is high, but you get well made, customizable and repair-friendly device with 2 years warranty. I’m happy that I can support this project :)


UHK 60v2, BM65 and my mess
UHK 60 v2, BM65 and my mess