Unknown Marquardt switch?

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 00:53

I bought an industrial pad that looked fun from a local classified ad, and it turned out to be something that I didn't expect.

Here is the pad:

Image

Image

Image

The first thing I noticed was how strange was the case. It is made from aluminium but is 90% empty, and the sound when you type on the key is just so weird because of that.

Image

The PCB (and the whole thing) looks old school. The serial connector broke when I opened the case.

Image

Image

Image

Image

The keycaps are dye sublimated, in a strange profile. They feel just like Cherry PBT.

Image

But hey, what are those switches?

I couldn't find any documentation about them. They have a cross mount, are very easy to open and seems overall pretty well designed. You can see the Marquardt logo on the housing.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

The cross-mount is Cherry compatible:

Image

Overall, those switches are really interesting in their feelings. They have a lot of hysteresis, but it personally doesn't bother me. They are really scratchy but much more tactile than Cherry MX switches. I guess that with a small amount of lube, they could be divine.

Their sound is really weird, but somewhat similar to Topre switches in the "thock" when the stem goes up.

Here is a little typing test, with a towel behind the PCB so that the sound is the closest possible from the pure switch sound :
Does anyone have more information about that switch?

User avatar
Chyros

28 Sep 2015, 01:28

Those are tactile? Oo They look and sound just like linear switches oO .

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 01:33

Look the video again, at 0:05. ;)

User avatar
Chyros

28 Sep 2015, 01:40

Yeah I saw that, but it doesn't look like one discreet, well-defined bump there, it looks more like a series of bumps, or a very scratchy keyfeel xD . I have one board with (very bad) linear switches that look a bit like that when pressed.

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 01:54

Bumps are well defined and shared between all the switches at the exact same points. My camera battery is recharging right now but I could make an other video later to show it if you want.

User avatar
HaaTa
Master Kiibohd Hunter

28 Sep 2015, 02:26

Neat! Haven't seen these before :mrgreen:

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 02:34

Oh man, I've found a switch that HaaTa didn't, that's a big step for me here!

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 04:13

Just for Chyros:

User avatar
Chyros

28 Sep 2015, 10:03

Cool :) . I wasn't doubting you or anything btw, I just thought they looked a bit weird. Nice find! Are they reminiscent of any other switches or do they feel quite unique?

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 10:32

I don't know any other similar switch, they seem rather unique to me.

There's still a lot of obscure switches that I never experienced, though!

User avatar
vsev

28 Sep 2015, 12:30

Very nice and insteresting catch here, bravo !

User avatar
seebart
Offtopicthority Instigator

28 Sep 2015, 13:08

When I have time I'd like to add those switches to our wiki. Nice find.

andrewjoy

28 Sep 2015, 13:21

They even sound scratchy. Always nice to see a new switch. They remind me of the MX comparable topre sliders

User avatar
ramnes
ПБТ НАВСЕГДА

28 Sep 2015, 14:15

seebart wrote: When I have time I'd like to add those switches to our wiki. Nice find.
Feel free to use any picture here for the wiki. :)
andrewjoy wrote: They even sound scratchy. Always nice to see a new switch. They remind me of the MX comparable topre sliders
Yeah, I've even tried to put them in a Topre slider actually, but it's not the same diameter. :lol:

And yeah, they really are scratchy. I don't know if it is due to the switch's design or how exposed to dust and stuff the pad was.

terrycherry

29 Sep 2015, 05:14

Great aluminium case and the never seen switch photos. It's tactile not linear.

User avatar
HaaTa
Master Kiibohd Hunter

16 Nov 2016, 07:50

I've added a force curve here -> photos-f62/marquardt-keypad-1989-t15100.html

User avatar
drevyek

16 Nov 2016, 08:24

HaaTa wrote: I've added a force curve here -> photos-f62/marquardt-keypad-1989-t15100.html
What an odd force curve! An inverse tactile bump- a tactile trough.

Post Reply

Return to “Gallery”