Today I am reviewing a tri-mode mechanical keyboard from the company Huo Ji. Having reviewed over a hundred mechanical keyboards, this is the first time I am reviewing one from Huo Ji.
Huo Ji has been around since 1996 and is a company that makes affordable mouses and keyboards and for some reason, the CQ082 is not listed on the website.
But I will say that the mechanical keyboard which is trimode (Bluetooth, 2.4Ghz wireless and wired) and is hot swappable and has a cool LCD screen, making it one of the company’s more higher-priced keyboards at around $80.
The mechanical keyboard is offered in black, white and gray profile and the linear keys come pre-lubed. The mechanical keyboard also comes in a gasket structure and PCB Single Key Slotting and according to the company, “features four layers of filling silencer around the gaps between the PCB, the positioning plate and shaft, so it counteracts the cavity noise sound of the shaft hitting the position plate and providing a solid feel”.
You get a USB Type-C cable, two extra switches and a keycap puller.
Now there are a few things that the Huo ji CQ082 75% Tri-Mode Mechanical Keyboard offers. One that it features a digital screen (which is becoming the trend for the second half of 2024) and you get the convenient knob on the upper right.
There are a few things that have concerned me about this mechanical keyboard and I figured, perhaps it’s software base.
First, let’s discuss the LCD screen. For one, to get the time working correctly, you need to run the software and it automatically syncs. But the concern I have is how it’s dim the screen is. Sure if you look closely, you can see the time, the battery charge and the date but it’s really dim. Of the many keyboards I have reviewed, colors are vibrant but this is much to dim and I see no way to increase the brightness.
Second, the RGB lights, they are barely seen. Surprisingly, upon connecting the keyboard, there is no RGB lights. I instantly hit FN and then various keys and that got the RGB light to work but again, very dim. So, I used FN and the UP key to turn on brightness. Nada. Just dim.
So, I looked to the software (Firmware V10.0.5 / Software: V2.0.0) and started to test the light effect via the driver and guess what, software is not working. You can select the lighting and make changes, but you see no interaction with the mechanical keyboard. So, no you can’t control the lighting via software. It makes no sense.
Third, the volume knob. Volume knobs should work whenever you need to adjust the volume. But the volume knob requires you to select the volume on the LCD screen and then you can adjust the volume. Granted, it’s extra steps but at this rate, might as well, use the volume slider via your mouse.
As for the mechanical keyboard itself, typing on it works perfectly. It’s smooth and all keypresses work as you would expect. But I do like the feel on the fingertips while typing.
But while the mechanical keyboard works as it should, the other functions are questionable and if the software can’t control the mechanical keyboard, then you start wondering if the customizing for macro will work.
Overall, the Huo ji CQ082 75% Tri-Mode Mechanical Keyboard had potential but I found numerous questionable things about this mechanical keyboard that I’m not sure if I received a lemon or all versions of this keyboard work in a similar manner.
But based on the keyboard I received, while the mechanical keyboard works great for typing, other functions, not so much.
