Favorite rubber dome keyboard?

davkol · 05 Aug 2014, 17:51

Doesn't the new macintrash look like a bin? They're already one step ahead!

Daniel Beardsmore · 05 Aug 2014, 20:47

Muirium wrote: ↑Chicony's still around, huh? Easy to forget some of these guys still make keyboards.

Yes they are — after all, they confirmed to me that "Monterey" switches were from SMK, remember? ;-) Also, they provided the identity of the manufacturer of the Cherry MX clones they used (Yali AKA Aristotle, who were only able to tell me that they no longer manufacture those switches).

I dropped a message to my contact there in the hope that they might still have the part numbers for the little Mitsumi switches (KLT-11/KLT-II/KLT-2, depending), but I've not heard back, nor did I hear back from Mitsumi.

I assume NMB still make keyboards, too, and Silitek/Lite-On. I'm more curious who Dell's "secret" OEMs are (e.g. who made the Dell L-100 keyboard?) Dell currently have Primax as one of their keyboard OEMs (another company from Dongguan in China), which is a new name to me, and the Primax-made OptiPlex keyboard isn't bad at all. (Not to be confused with Primark.)

abhibeckert · 11 Aug 2014, 02:23

I really like Apple's current generation scissor switch keyboards when they are brand new. In fact, I like them better than the mechanical keyboards I've tried (haven't tried many).

But they quickly deteriorate into something horrible and buying a new keyboard frequently is outside my budget range.

So I only use their bluetooth keyboard for my tablet. And I generally only use the tablet for stuff that doesn't involve much typing. Honestly I just use the touchscreen keyboard most of the time.

Muirium · 11 Aug 2014, 13:12

I used to like scissor switch boards before I got into mechanicals. They feel too THUMP THOMP THOMP to me now, with their immediate hard landing. Especially the shallower ones Apple uses on Mac laptops nowadays. When it comes to saving space (and actually getting into laptops) they are a winner, and the backlighting is better than any mechanical's, but everything else is compromised and that's the stuff I really care about.

Touch screen typing is an odd one. I do a lot of it as well. More effective than it should be. A keyboard which takes no physical space at all has the supreme advantage of always being there, no matter what. And, honestly, I'd rather type on an iPad all day than most cheap keyboards!

neverlast74 · 11 Aug 2014, 13:30

Cherry eVolution STREAM XT - very silent light, smooth feeling. Good affordable keyboard with scissor switches.

stratokaster · 09 Nov 2015, 18:22

Muirium wrote: ↑I made the mistake of buying one, sight unseen. They were not cheap (yet). And my first impressions were: whoah, look at that thing, it's so white and clear and shiny! And heavy! But once I had it out the box, it turned into the biggest dirt magnet imaginable. I've seen cream topped trifles with better staying power after a few days.

But the real problem was using it. The case was okay, as there's quite a lot of plastic there (albeit quite the worst choice for transparency), but the feel was dead trout on slimy newspaper. I wanted to like it, but soon enough I hated it so much that I have it to thank for waking me up to keyboards in the first place. I never realised they were important before I got sore hands from one, and a sick stomach whenevr I saw it in daylight.

I concur. The Mitsumi-made white Apple keyboard is definitely the worst keyboard I have ever owned. Mushy and squishy and just downright awful. BTW, I have an old Mitsumi-branded keyboard with tactile buckling rubber sleeve switches and it's miles better than this Apple-branded piece of junk.

(Sorry for necroposting

)

seebart · 09 Nov 2015, 18:33

Favorite rubber dome keyboard?

Any Topre keyboard.

Muirium · 09 Nov 2015, 18:53

The opening post:

nathanak21 wrote: ↑100% rubber dome. not topre.

seebart · 09 Nov 2015, 18:57

Muirium wrote: ↑The opening post:
nathanak21 wrote: ↑100% rubber dome. not topre.

Oh but I could not resist, sorry.

Chyros · 09 Nov 2015, 22:15

If it counts; my BTC 5130 (conductive dome with slider over PCB). If really only just rubber dome over membrane counts; my Olivetti.

XMIT · 09 Nov 2015, 22:31

seebart wrote: ↑
Muirium wrote: ↑The opening post:
nathanak21 wrote: ↑100% rubber dome. not topre.
Oh but I could not resist, sorry.

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Sony_BKE-2011 ?

andrewjoy · 09 Nov 2015, 23:34

The novatouch!

Muirium · 09 Nov 2015, 23:41

Uh huh…

Muirium wrote: ↑ The NovaTouch is a joint development between Cooler Master and Topre. Here's the PCB.

Topre sighted at last!

keycap · 14 Nov 2015, 18:55

I remember using KeyTronic domes for almost my whole life. Very acceptable dome board. I've also acquired a few flimsy, cheap office keyboards a while ago and one of them just so happened to be a midnight-grey Dell keyboard. The domes weren't too bad at all. The keyboard's construction was horrible, though. Even pressing down on a key made it creak, and the stabilizers were made out of cheap plastic.

Hypersphere · 14 Nov 2015, 20:21

Ages ago I had an AST rubber dome keyboard that I rather liked. I recall that it had deep-dish homing keys. Perhaps one influence on my positive memory of this board is that I am partial to brand names that have three letters (AST, HAL, IBM, NEC).

courtesi · 15 Nov 2015, 16:06

My favorites have been aluminum chassis scissor switch models: Enermax Aurora Lite and Siig Premium Aluminum.

Absolute workhorses for environments that demand silence.

shreebles · 16 Nov 2015, 16:41

I have a mech at work but have a Cherry G83 / RS 6000 as a backup. In brand new, these feel quite nice, definitely better than the worst mechanical keyboards. But if I actually used it it would probably feel pretty meh after a while.

At least it has full travel and the keycaps have the same profile as Cherry MX keycaps. And a rough texture, unfortunately with laser infills which fade so quickly. I think Cherry has almost ceased making these in favor of more "modern" (=cheap and flat) designs.

stratokaster · 17 Nov 2015, 16:31

This week I helped a friend of mine with his Mac. He uses Logitech DiNovo Mac Edition, I must say it's really good for a rubber dome board. Looks pretty sweet too.

Samir · 31 Dec 2015, 16:39

keycap wrote: ↑I remember using KeyTronic domes for almost my whole life.

I used one of these early on as a replacement for a Model M for a 486 build back in the early 1990s. While it was no M, it was quite nice. I actually still have it (and the 486) and even have a newer model of the same keyboard with the windows keys. The newer one seems to have less key wobble and more 'snap' in the keys.

Keytronic is still around and all their keyboards come with a lifetime warranty, which is pretty neat imo.

courtesi · 23 Feb 2016, 15:03

courtesi wrote: ↑My favorites have been aluminum chassis scissor switch models: Enermax Aurora Lite and Siig Premium Aluminum.

Absolute workhorses for environments that demand silence.

I want to add one more to my previous suggestions: Cherry Evolution Stream XT (G85‑23100EU‑2).

If you were late to the party and are unable to track down an Enermax Aurora Lite or Logitech Ultra-X the G85-23100 is what you want. In fact I prefer it to the easily available Siig Premium Aluminum.

Surprising that Cherry's scissor switch implementation is more satisfying to type on than their MX line!

seebart · 23 Feb 2016, 15:41

Olivetti ANK 25-101.

wiki/Olivetti_ANK_25-101

scottc · 23 Feb 2016, 15:52

Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro 1...

Chyros · 23 Feb 2016, 18:30

I was going to say that too xD .

In a more classical sense, BTC dome with slider keyboards; 5140, 5130 etc.

courtesi · 23 Feb 2016, 19:01

Chyros wrote: ↑I was going to say that too xD .

In a more classical sense, BTC dome with slider keyboards; 5140, 5130 etc.

I need to find a clean BTC some day. So many folks have said nice things about them.

keycap · 02 Mar 2016, 21:54

My absolute favorite rubber dome keyboard looks very generic and it's not even too old. It's an HP model no. 5187 keyboard. The keys are fairly rattly, the case construction is average, and the keyboard barely weighs anything... but the tactility is nothing short of surprising for a keyboard that looks this mediocre. Very clean, smooth and snappy tactility with no noticeable binding or scratchiness. The keyboard itself isn't even in good condition either, it's quite dusty and has a few yellowed key caps.

I have absolutely no clue why it feels so good. Opened it up and the dome sheet looks average at best, nothing out of the ordinary as for the design of domes. I did find out that the stabilized keys use built-in sliders, but every other key is mounted into a plastic barrel like usual. If the keys weren't as rattly and the overall construction was better, I'd put it ahead of most mechanical keyboards that I've tried.

fohat · 02 Mar 2016, 23:47

Not sure whether that HP came after the merger with Compaq, but I felt that Compaq keyboards from the late-1990s-early-2000s were very nice and I used them for several years after getting an SK-2800 with a Compaq system about the time that XP came out.

snuci · 02 Mar 2016, 23:52

Haven't seen this thread before. My favourite all around is my Sun Compact 1 keyboard. It's an uncommon tenkeyless version because it came with a Sun Voyager portable computer. It's also in the Smithsonian with the Sun Voyager they have there so "Go Rubberdome!"

: Sun Compact 1.; Sun Compact 1.JPG (332.38 KiB) Viewed 5334 times

keycap · 03 Mar 2016, 00:00

fohat wrote: ↑Not sure whether that HP came after the merger with Compaq, but I felt that Compaq keyboards from the late-1990s-early-2000s were very nice and I used them for several years after getting an SK-2800 with a Compaq system about the time that XP came out.

Definitely came after the merge with Compaq. Its FCC ID dates from around 2005.