A Tale of Two Switches: The Cooler Master NovaTouch

[Muirium]

Introduction

Sometimes, something comes along to shake up the status quo. It doesn't always work. Changing things is tough. You need guts to challenge the rules. And you need more than just a little luck. But when you do succeed, you've done something that matters: you've made the world move on.

The Cooler Master NovaTouch is one of those times. It's a challenge to the world of high end keyboards. The hint is right there in its name. But is it a success? Well, let's take a look.

Stock Oblique.JPG (215.72 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

The Problem

There's no doubt which switch sits at the heart of the keyboard community today. Mechanical keyboards are practically defined by Cherry MX. People often say they like reds or blues, without needing to mention they mean MX. You just take it for granted. Memorising the MX lineup is a rite of passage into keyboard culture. Everyone knows their clear from their brown, or their black from their blue. MX is everywhere. But why is it so?

Convenience. Compatibility. Ubiquity. So long as you stick to the same switches as everyone else, you can use the same caps, too.

There's many fine boards out there in every flavour of the MX family's wide line. There's a whole world of its own in mods specifically for MX. Some of us even build our own keyboards right out of metal or acrylic, and we use MX. Those switches are everywhere, and really pretty good. There's nothing else with the same breadth of feel and weight available today.

And yet there are better switches out there, if you care to find them.

I'm an IBM afficionado. Buckling spring (and lately even beam spring) is my thing. They are the king of click. You'd do well to prise my SSK from my hands. All those one liners about using IBMs as lethal weapons on intruders are 100% accurate with my all-metal Kishsaver. These boards are glorious. MX blue (and green) come nowhere close to their sound and fluid feel. Buckling spring is sharp. MX's click is a clunky kludge in comparison.

But when it comes to tactile switches, someone else has the lead. Someone high end, hard to get hold of, and thoroughly Japanese. I'm talking Topre.



The Promise

Topre's switches are a dream. They have a force curve that is literally that: a curve, not a kink. This speaks volumes when typing. What you get is a smooth, flowing tactility that's as different from MX brown (let alone clear) as I can hope to describe. Topre falls down, politely, when you press it. Tactile MX clunks about, like a jammy latch, on the way.

In fact, typing on Topre has a swing to it. You feel something similar to the mechanical keyboards all of ours are descended from: the typewriter. Each key has momentum. They fire near the top so you're on your way to the next as each swings towards the bottom. Only IBM's beamspring has a similar sense of motion as you go, of all the ones I've tried.

I like Topre a lot. But they have their downsides, of course. Topre keyboards are fairly hard to find around the world, and they're always priced at a premium. The switches come in a smaller family than MX: the only choices you've got are between a handful of weights and whether you want silencing. Every Topre switch is tactile.

But that's all nothing compared to MX's biggest advantage of all. Topre can't play with all those sweet, sweet MX caps. All those group buys! Denied. Round 4 SPH? No. PBT Granite? Nuh-uh. DSA Dolch? Don't think so. Round 5? No ducks for you, alas.

Well, until now. The big idea behind the NovaTouch is very simple: MX compatible stems on a Topre switch. The best of both worlds! So, did they pull it off?



Think Inside the Box

The NovaTouch ships inside a surprisingly big, black, quite luxurious box which looks fairly elegant in itself. Undo the magnetic latches, and inside a great chunk of protective foam lurks the beast. The first impression is positive: sleek, black, and free from flashy, tacky distractions. This is one tight little TKL.

Boxed.JPG (219.29 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Also in the box is a fancy braided USB cable, a good keypuller and a bag full of o-rings.

Box Extras.JPG (472.26 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Interesting, the manual doesn't even mention the o-rings. Or indeed Topre! CM calls this keyboard's switches "hybrid capacitative" every time it comes up. Didn't Topre allow them to use their name? Maybe CM didn't want to. Confusing corporate politics…

Hybrid.JPG (171.66 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

But make no mistake: there is Topre inside the NovaTouch.

Pulling the keyboard out from its comfy home, it's a fair slab of tough and thoroughly modern TKL. The case is smart and small, albeit covered in a slightly rubbery finish that's not quite my style. Still looks good though, after a lot of use. It's a similar but improved design to CM's popular QuickFire Rapid TKL, with less rubber and less branding. The fold out legs, smartly, have rubber where you really do want it: on their feet. Nice touch. Many boards forget all about stability when their feet are extended.

Stock Caps Profile.JPG (177.44 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

The NovaTouch's stock caps are, well, okay. Nothing great here. They're not horrible, and I do like the choice of Futura for the legends, but the alignment is puzzling and they're far from the dyesubs or doubleshots a caps snob like me is accustomed to. They're nowhere near as good as the stock caps you get with a Topre Realforce or HHKB, either. The very first thing I wanted to do, naturally, was pull them right off.

And when you do, the NovaTouch truly shines.



Dressed to Impress

As forum regulars have noticed well by now, I've been testing a NovaTouch prototype for months. It is, without any exaggeration, the best canvas for showing off caps that I have in my possession. The NovaTouch is very well designed to generate envious drool in onlookers! It gets out of the way and just lets you focus on your glorious caps. My goodness, have I done some of that!


Round 4 SPH with limited edition Ducks.


Ducky's thick PBT blanks.




PBT Granite, with Round 1 exclusive Cyrillic.

The final production model is just as handy.

DSA Dolch Front.JPG (159.97 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

DSA Dolch.

DSA Dolch Texture.JPG (219.6 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

My prototype is ISO layout, while my final model is ANSI, so you know. I prefer ANSI in general, for caps as well as feel, but the NovaTouch comes in whichever one you want.


The NovaTouch keeps its branding low key. It's all about the caps.

Fortunately, CM bundles the right kind of keypuller with the NovaTouch. You get a proper wire keypuller (as you'll find with Filco and Ducky) instead of one of those cheap and nasty plastic "ring pullers", or Topre's own metal pincer; both of which just love to scrape a cap on the sides. A good wire puller is essential equipment for anyone into keyboards. And the NovaTouch makes sure you use it! Again and again, for every change in suit of caps.

Anyone into Topre is forgiven for being confused at the sight of these stems. Purple? They're Type-S! Well, no, they're not. Only the highest priced of Topres have that damping, and the NovaTouch definitely does not. These are regular weighted 45 gram plain Topre switches, with MX compatible stems. In purple. Because it's CM's favourite colour, apparently.

Shiny ANSI Stabs.JPG (219.93 KiB) Viewed 24919 times

Swapping caps is very easy. The NovaTouch uses stabilisers which are similar in simplicity to Cherry stabs. You simply pull the space bar or the other large caps off, and replace, without any fuss about separate inserts. Fantastic!

Spacebar Spring.JPG (197.27 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Watch out for that spring beneath the spacebar. It's a classic Topre addition, to give the spacebar a bit more weight. Don't lose it! Or if you really prefer to go without, mine went flying and I've still not found it.

If you're into photography and aftermarket cap sets, the NovaTouch is amazing. Full stop. Sleek, simple, and in the ideal colour that goes with everything. It is the little black dress of keyboards.

I appreciate what CM has done with the look. Compared to other Topre switch keyboards, the NovaTouch is a marvel in minimalism. Topre's own Realforce line takes a lot of space above the function keys, and looks quite dated as a result. No such problem with the NovaTouch. This one's as tight as anything with MX inside. But we know better than that.

So, enough about looks, how does it feel?



Shake, Rattle, Roll

See, here's the thing. So far, everything's been coming up NovaTouch. It looks good, it takes my favourite caps, and with CM behind it this keyboard has better distribution around the world than Topre has ever reached before. And yet, the NovaTouch does have some rough spots. They might be more than enough to turn you off.

My fellow beta tester Matteo (who I thank for getting me invited, too) made this excellent video comparison of the NovaTouch and his Leopold FC660C, another Topre switch keyboard he favours for its feel. Remember to check out his review.

Can you hear it? Because that makes all the difference. The NovaTouch rattles. Doesn't matter what caps you put on it, because they aren't at fault. It's the sliders. Topres are meant to "thock". Not clack.

Here's some videos made by Studiosushi of most kinds of Topre keyboard you can find. I like his work, because he always shoots the same way. What you hear is what you get.

Typically, the sound of Topre is one of the sweetest in the keyboarding world. A melodic clop. But what the NovaTouch does is rattle instead. Especially if you type heavily. I'd been typing on MX reds for a few weeks straight when my prototype first arrived, and the first day I had with the NovaTouch was just great. I was typing lightly enough to suit the NovaTouch quite well. Go as light as you like, though, it still didn't sound the same as a Realforce or an HHKB. I don't own either and I didn't notice, at first. Matteo, a Topre stalwart, was the one to point out the difference to me; and once your ears get a taste of both, side by side, there's no mistaking it. The NovaTouch rattles, and the harder you hit it, the worse it gets. Especially on the space bar and the other keys with stabs.

But can you feel it?

That's a subtler point. I didn't, when I switched straight across from super light MX red. All I felt was the Topre curve. And I've got to say I like it! I've borrowed a couple of Topres, including the generous 002's touring Realforce, so I knew the feel but not as well as an owner. The NovaTouch immediately reminded me of them. So much better than tactile MX! If the landings were hard, I wasn't feeling it. Not until I was told.

Type harder. You'll notice. Blast! Something's just not quite right.

Here's where that bag of o-rings comes in. CM doesn't mention them in the documentation, but you can guess why they come as standard. We testers mentioned we were using our own to attempt a fix. Because if you pop o-rings on your caps, there is a difference. It depends on the caps, but you can get some edge off that rattle.

Conveniently bundled…

Lord of the Rings.JPG (206.44 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

The bag has more than enough rings for the entire keyboard. So when I put on my DSA Dolch set, I went a bit agressive. After putting an o-ring on every key besides the function row, I stacked two o-rings under all the mods, and no less than four under the rattliest key of all: the space bar. Two went on the middle, and one on each of the stab mounts. DSA seems to be a great profile for trying this, as it's been quite successful. I'm still short of the choral Topre thock on my NovaTouch, but it sounds much sweeter to my ear than it did with no rings at all. The space bar's actually quite nice. Well, if you're used to MX and not a Realforce.

To be fair, this is all subtle stuff. But then we are keyboard conoisseurs! As I have my NovaTouch right now, the function row has no o-rings at all and even those keys are more pleasant to me than MX brown or clear. (Or blue or any other MX switch in all honesty.) Yet they feel a bit lacking compared to the ringed keys, and sound it too. And surely all the more compared to native Topre boards. This all seems a bit odd on a high end keyboard.

O-rings are definitely a hack. But at least they come for free.



The Details

The NovaTouch is a Tenkeyless layout keyboard, obviously. Something IBM did when they invented the form factor, with the legendary Model M SSK, was to hide an embedded version of the missing number pad right behind the alphas. Press Shift + Num Lock on an SSK, and you enter number entry mode, where the keys below 789 become 567 and 123 instead of UIO and JKL. Topre does something similar with the Realforce TKL, which has subtle secondary legends on those multipurpose keys much like IBM did. No such luck on the NovaTouch, though. That numpad is nowhere.

The NovaTouch does have a basic set of media keys. These work just fine on the Mac and everywhere else, no drivers required, as they are standard USB definitions. You access these shortcuts by the Fn key (left of the right side Control key, where it is on many boards) and the function row. You can alter sound volume and skip songs just as you can on the QuickFire Rapid.

But the the other five functions on that row are quite confusing, if like me you're using the keyboard for typing instead of gaming. Fn + F9 disables the Windows key, so to save gamers from the age old curse of a start menu popping up and ruining their play. On OS X, all this does is disable the Option keys. It's not helpful here. One to really surprise the unready is the rapid fire controls on Fn + F1 to F4. An example:

Fn + F1: The quick brown fox
Fn + F2: jjjuummpps ooovvveerr tthhee
Fn + F3: lllaaaaazzzyyy dddooogggg
Fn + F4: wwwwwwhhhhhaaaatttt tttttthhhhheeeee ffffffffffffffff?????

Press Fn + F1 to return to sanity.

CM advertises this keyboard as n-key rollover: on Windows. It's 6KRO on my Mac. That's fine by me, in practice. But I will point out that NKRO over USB, on Mac and Linux as well as Windows, is far from an impossible feat. Soarer's Converter does it just fine, so I have NKRO on this beast, and so does Xwhatsit's controller, making this little guy an NKRO monster too. I'm not so sure what good unlimited rollover would do while breaking bones with those slabs of steel, but it's always nice to have. But yes, the NovaTouch loses nothing in NKRO's absence. Every possible combo of mods works without a flaw.

Speaking of mods, the NovaTouch behaves quite nicely on a Mac, with a tweak. The one thing it's missing is a set of DIP switches underneath, so you can't swap the mods around in hardware. Instead, off you go to the Keyboard panel in System Preferences:

Mac Mods Config.png (220.42 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Command and Option are reversed. PCs like to put Alt either side of the spacebar, but Macs keep that spot for the all important Command key. Flip 'em and you're done.

That's fine on OS X, which will remember your settings between different keyboards. But iOS lacks such a feature, so if you do hook up a wired keyboard to your iPad, you'd better watch out. It does work perfectly well within such mobile hardware's tight power draw limit, unlike the surprisingly hungry HHKB. Sometimes it helps not to pack a hub.

The USB cable CM supplies with the NovaTouch is quite dapper. A nice thick braided, gold plated, weighty cable which puts many a standard plastic one to shame. It's micro USB, and pops right into a socket flush on the back right corner of the NovaTouch, without any external stress relief or cable routing channels. I like the simplicity. One curious choice is that the micro USB head is angled 90º. This leads the cable to the left, away from your likely mousing hand.

The prototype had the same cable, but the port was flipped, and we testers soon complained! I'm glad CM caught this in the test phase. Although they didn't catch everything.



Arrested Development

Having been a beta tester since March, I got an insight into the development process behind the NovaTouch. My prototype board has a few differences from the final product. Most of these are for the better, but not all! I'll get onto those in a bit. But the prototype's most important flaw: its clattering sliders, are identical in sound in the prototype and the final version as far as I can tell.

What?

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

Topre.JPG (197.38 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Topre sighted at last!

I don't know the inside story of its development, but I can see the result. The rattling didn't get any better, despite our feedback. Given how long this board has taken to ship, there was time to do something about it. I really expected the final version to be reworked. Because, if not for that clatter, the NovaTouch would be a nigh perfect keyboard! The case design is sterling. The prototype had every element of potential greatness about it. If only they'd improved it to the final release, the NovaTouch would be that champion I considered at the start of this review. But it ain't quite so.

The sliders did improve in one respect. The prototypes could be a loose fit with some MX caps. The only problem I encountered with mine was the S key being loose with SA profile caps, so it could fall out when the keyboard was upside down. But others reported trouble with entire sets. My final model holds on to all my caps quite well. I've tried DSA, SA and OEM profile caps in ABS and PBT plastic, of various thickness and weight. Although I still haven't got a Cherry set, so you'll have to take someone else's word on that.

The one thing that got worse was the lock lights. The NovaTouch smartly goes without a dedicated area on the top to display them, like many larger boards. Instead, on the prototype anyway, the NovaTouch has lock lights tucked down with the keys. So the Caps Lock indicator lives under the Caps Lock key, just where it should. Great. They were blue LEDs, but they hid away under my fancy caps quite nicely, with just a glow creeping out around the edge. I could see when I'd accidentally hit Caps Lock, that most useless of keys. I was pleased.



Pleased until the lights plain vanished on the final model! CM just removed them. You can still even see the footprints for the LEDs. I'm told this was because they weren't happy with the 3 transparent caps they were using on those keys: Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, and F9, the Windows key lock lock mode I mentioned on Fn + F9. The prototype warns you with a blue glow when they're engaged. But the final NovaTouch keeps it secret. The first you realise you hit caps lock IS WHEN THINGS TURN SHOUTY!

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Here's a quick picture of the prototype's stock caps. The translucent trio weren't great, but c'mon!

QWERTZ.JPG (355.96 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Since when did those stock caps matter so much? I understand why CM, rightly, wants a keyboard complete and ready for use, straight out of the box. But scrapping those LEDs was a big daring leap into dumb, in my opinion. Lock lights are the ideal use for LEDs on a keyboard. The NovaTouch's were discreet, well out the way, and yet still visible enough to warn the unsuspecting when they've hit Caps Lock YET AGAIN. Ugh. This is a strange step backwards. I really do prefer them on the prototype than the ever dark final NovaTouch. Perhaps I should install my own LEDs, the holes and PCB contacts for Caps Lock are still right there! Maybe a red one would go nice…

One thing I can't help wonder is who owns the MX mount Topre sliders. Could Topre be working on its own MX compatible Realforce? Your guess is as good as mine.

Shiny Stems.JPG (177.94 KiB) Viewed 24919 times

Tear Down

Dissatisfied to merely strip a keyboard naked, I took both my prototype and final NovaTouch apart for, ahem, keyboard science. The tight case design doesn't make this too easy. Neither does the big sticker on the bottom, which obscures a vital screw.

Sneaky Label.JPG (252 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

First of all: take off all the caps. And be careful with that space bar spring! Mine flew off somewhere… It's optional, but as someone who likes a heavier space bar than the rest, I'm missing it already.

Prise the top shell off with something plastic like an old credit card. It hooks into the main chassis with a whole load of little clips, each of which wants jimmied out once or twice.

Naked Branding.JPG (220.64 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

I must admit I like it better with the lid off.

Watch out for the internal USB cable. The little micro USB socket is well anchored in the case, so even nasty tugs on the outside cable won't harm the NovaTouch within. This is how CM flipped the socket around so easily, too.

Socket and Controller.JPG (290.28 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Here's the vital capsense controller, dwarfed by the hookup to the off-board USB port. It's tiny. So much smaller than the 1980s hearts of my old IBMs, but the same fundamental idea.

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The PCB is well attached, to put it lightly. Two different families of screws hold it down, in their dozens. Make sure you've got a good little screwdriver. It's in for a workout.

PCB.JPG (203.2 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Those circles are the capacitance sensors which make every Topre tick, one dedicated for each key. The controller probes all of them for changes, at 1000 Hz.

With the screws all removed, now you peel the PCB up from the chassis. It's not flimsy, by any means, but you'll see.

Underneath the PCB, you finally get a sight of Topre's secret sauce: the domes. The rubber sheet sticks to the underside of the switches, and you may well have a shower of springs when you peel them free!

Domes and Spacebar Stab Wire.JPG (261.18 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Topre switches are that most elusive of things: a premium rubber dome. The feel comes entirely from those domes. The cone shaped springs are just for electronic sensing. In fact, I kept the spring out from the Insert key on purpose, and it feels just the same as the rest; but never fires a keystroke.

Topre feels so good because they don't cheap out on the dome material, and more important still: the switches fire near the top of travel. You don't have to bottom out like you do on traditional, cheap, rubberdome membrane keyboards. Topre is capsense: the spring inside each switch sits above a circular sense pad on the PCB which measures its capacitance a thousand times a second. Once a threshold is reached, the key fires. You don't have to bottom out to press it. In fact, these are among the highest firing switches in existence. Brilliant for flying around lightly on the keys.

"A feeling of oneness with cup rubber", as Topre puts it, rather mysteriously. Trust me, you might just find out what they mean!

The NovaTouch differs from other Topre boards in its sliders. Here they are, viewed from underneath.

Undergrid.JPG (210.97 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

The stabs are rather smart. Like Cherry stabilisers, the wires lie underneath and you don't have to worry about installing inserts when changing caps.

Understab.JPG (212.97 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

The stabs under the Shift, Return and Backspace keys are essentially just larger sliders.

Stab Slider.JPG (246 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

The spacebar's stab is very much like a Cherry stabiliser. It's the loudest of the bunch, unfortunately.

Spacebar Stab.JPG (224.86 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Cheating Your Way to Type-S

I took my NovaTouch apart because I had a mod to try. Cookie sent me some "Ghetto Topre Type-S silencing rings". Simply put, they're a quick hack to add the damped, silenced, Type-S premium Topre feel to regular Topre switches. He uses them on his HHKB, and saved a pretty penny!

Frilly Collared.JPG (156.76 KiB) Viewed 24922 times

Finally the purple slider doesn't lie. This chap is now one silent switch.

Installing these dampers is a little fiddly, as you have to prise the sliders out of their housing while squeezing a little catch on every switch. A fair old bit of effort then, yet it does help quite a bit. I only have a handful, so I couldn't silence the entire keyboard, but the thin foam circles are very effective under regular sized sliders. They work a bit on stabilised keys, too, but not the space bar. I need to devise a different shape for that.

Since CM is generous with o-rings, I even tried one of those instead! A rubber ring is much thicker than a foam pad, and the right Shift key is visibly shorter now that it's installed. I wouldn't advise this as a real fix, but it's a harmless experiment to try if you do delve inside. And I'll empathise if you'd rather not.



Conclusion

So the NovaTouch really is a story with ups and downs. This is no ordinary keyboard! What Cooler Master has done is launch a brilliant concept with a flawed, very first generation, feel to it. The NovaTouch is a pleasant keyboard to type on. I prefer it to every MX board that I've ever tried, or built! It only truly falls short when compared to its closest brothers: fellow Topres.

And this is the bit that hurts.

The NovaTouch costs $200. So does the base version of Topre's own Realforce TKL. For the same price, you get a set of significantly superior PBT caps with the Realforce as standard. Even better if you go for one of the white models, whose dyesub caps are sublime. And the Realforce has a subtly better key feel and a noticeably better sound. The NovaTouch wins on looks, in my opinion, and is lightyears ahead in what caps you can put on it. But that is the key in choosing which one, if any, makes sense for you.

Are you a caps lunatic? Join the club! This is hands down one of the best keyboards to showcase your collection, and even just to type! It's a stunner.

Do you want a premium, ideal experience right out of the box? Then the Realforce is a legend, and one of the greatest keyboards money can buy. That hasn't changed. It is complete, and all-rounded, in a way the NovaTouch is not.

What has changed, though, is the monopoly Cherry MX switches have on the liveliest, broadest, and most downright lustworthy realm of caps in the world. The NovaTouch is an important keyboard. It's not perfect. But it's a contender to the prize of best MX compatible board on the market today. If they had made it any better, it would be unstoppable! The NovaTouch puts tactile MX to shame.

Yet the NovaTouch also costs a lot. That is its greatest weakness. MX isn't trembling at its feet quite yet. But if this is the first attempt at MX compatible Topre, I'm really looking forward to seeing the second, when it's done right.

These streams wanted crossing all along.

[Hypersphere]

Excellent, comprehensive review! I concur with most of your conclusions.

[mtl]

Great review. Very thorough, fun to read and nice pics.

[cookie]

Well written, nice pictures, very good review!
It seems that the dampering rings helped a bit with the rattle.
Those combined with a bit of lube could eliminate the flaws and it will silence the switch in addition

After a few weeks my Pro2 developed a bit of rattle in the stabilizers and I also noticed rattle on the Realforce from the EU tour. I completely eliminated it with higher viscosity lube, I applyed some generously on the stabilizer stems.

I am experimenting with a new material, It should be softer than the foam ring I've sent you but as thin as the silicone sheet (Best of both worlds). Maybe you are interested in such a thing?

I am pretty optimistic that you can handle the rattle with a bit of modification but lets be honest, you definately shouldn't modify a brand new 200€ keyboard to fix that! This in my opinion is inacceptable. I also highly dislike that they removed the capslock led (for what reason ever). If you have capslock on such a prominent place you definately should have some kind of indication that you have (accidently) toggled it. Whole different storry on a HHKB e.g where you access the capslock vial the FN key, chances to accidently press it are almost zero.
Ohh dear... Printed ABS caps, nothing more to say.

The O-Rings are neat but imho not the adequate way of dampering a topre switch. I can tell by the pictures that they will significantly reduce the keytravel and because of that have a negative impact on the key feel. They could have done it better imho.

All in all I give CM respect for what they have done, the sliders are actually a genious move and they make topre wildely available. Also the design and case are very pleasing, not overbranded... pure understatement! I totally love this

I'd pay the 200 bugs if they would fix the rattle issue and put some nice PBT caps on this thing! In the current stat I would RMA it.

Thanks for the Review Mu!

[Muirium]

Glad you guys like it! I went a bit overboard, Especially with the pictures, but this is a pretty photogenic piece of hardware and I had quite a bit to say about it. Seems like I pulled it off!

You're right about the rattling of course, Cookie. For all of the promise in the NovaTouch, it really falls short compared to a fully developed Realforce. It sits somewhere in between MX and Topre keyboards, quality wise, but with that superpower of handling the other guy's caps. Definitely first generation kit.

I'm all ears about your new dampers! I need to get inside this keyboard again, for a few more experiments, including trying an actual Topre slider to see if that makes a difference. Still not quite sure what exactly is slapping what!

And you are spot-on about the caps. If only CM bundled a nice PBT set. That would go a good way to earning the NovaTouch the higher price point it is placed at. We need to get them in on one of our group buys…

[ماء]

How it feels with SA?

[Muirium]

The best, as always! They are my favourite caps. Always nice to be able to use them.

Much like on MX, you also get this effect where the switches feel lighter with taller keys. The NovaTouch feels heavier when I put on short DSA. But in reality, it is always 45g.

[mtl]

Cookie, is the material you're experimenting with anything like this? It appears to be designed for mounting displays in mobile devices and is very thin. I'm trying to duplicate your silencing efforts on a HiPro and have samples of that material coming in 0.1, 0.15, 0.25 and 0.3 mm thicknesses.

[ماء]

this is idea very nice too
http://www.khangfixesit.com/2012/03/mec ... g-mod.html

[cookie]

@mtl What you have posted is very interesting but I think 0,1 and 0,15 could be a bt to thin. I'd go for the 0,3mm thickness tbh. The goal is to to reduce the sound as much as possible without a noticable impact on the key travel. 0,5mm was a nice thickness and I will stick to it for now.
I am experimenting with this:

Spoiler:

These are table tennis sponges, and I am looking for a verry fluffy one.
I am currently in touch with a seller and I asked him for some samples, if you are interested I could produce some "Dampering Kits" for you guys. But we should discuss this in a different thread. I really do not want to highjack Mus awesome review thread for that

@ماء I don't think you will get pleasing/consistent results with this method. Those O-rings look way to thick.

[c137]

You put a lot of work in this one, wow. Great pictures!

[piegoesmoo]

Can you tell me what size LED that is? I'd like to mod mine to have a lock light on it.

[seebart]

great review Mu, my conclusion form your in depth look at the NovaTouch is that this might be a really great keyboard one or two generations down the production line. Let´s hope so!

[Muirium]

Thanks. I've heard a rumour that work is indeed underway on just that. So we'll see!

@piegoesmoo: I've got my NovaTouch stripped down to the PCB right now to investigate this, along with swapping around some of Cookie's dampers. Looks like 2 mm to me, but I'm guessing based on the handful of loose LEDs I have. Apparently blues shine brighter than other colours, so maybe the red one I intend to put in will be a bit dimmer; which is fine by me. Guess I'd better get the prototype stripped down to the board as well, so I can really see the originals.

[chzel]

The led is most likely 3mm. Leds smaller than 3mm (2mm, 1.8mm, 1.5mm, etc) are used in quite special applications and most have square bodies with a cylindrical protrusion, in lieu of a light guide.

[Muirium]

Okay, here's a couple of my LEDs lying next to the prototype's original:

IMG_6295.JPG (333.24 KiB) Viewed 24474 times

Definitely smaller than the large round ones I've got plenty of. And maybe just a little larger than the lonely red 1.8 or 2 mm fella in my random collection. I'm tempted to desolder one of the prototype's less interesting two LEDs, and pop it into the final NovaTouch's empty Caps Lock position. Juding these PCBs, both naked side by side, the other components (resistors and such) all appear to be in place, although things are a little different between the two as one is ANSI and the other ISO. Not identical layouts for component footprints; just similar.

Now, what's the best way to get the polarity right on these wee chaps again?

[Nuum]

If you look trough the transparent plastic head, the side with the big metal "flag" is the negative pole.

[Muirium]

Right, the "big" side is the cathode, I think I've heard of that. Harder to tell with deep coloured ones like my red, though!

I don't have calipers, but here's a ruler:

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IMG_6289.JPG (317.14 KiB) Viewed 24466 times

The scale is half millimeters. And it's dark here, so the little lamp I was using for lighting gets in the way of overhead pictures.

I wonder if it's safe just to pop in my own red one? I would prefer a dimmer, redder Caps Lock on my final ANSI NovaTouch.

[chzel]

Muirium, 99% the red in the pic is 3mm, so I'd think the lock led is just a funky shape.
If you look closely, one of the two metal bits inside the led is larger with a "cup" on top. That is the cathode (-).

edit: in your pic the red's cathode is the top one.
edit 2: crappy cell phone pic for led size
5mm 1.8mm 3mm

Spoiler:

[chzel]

Do you have a multimeter? or a nice pic of the resistor for the led?
Might be safe to just drop the red in, but we need to know the value of the resistor

[Muirium]

I have a multimeter (essential for custom keyboard work) but one of the probe cables is broke so I need to rummage about for a replacement. Anyway, I'll keep these boards apart and take better pictures tomorrow. All the components on the PCBs are very small surface mount stuff, which will give the macro a workout even with real lighting.

Is it possible to simply measure the LED itself? I had heard that blues are lower current (so take a higher resistor) than reds or other colours, so my guess was I was safe to go with red. But I may well be 180º wrong of course!

[chzel]

180º seems about right!
Blues drop ~3-3.6V while reds drop 1.7V. The rest up to 5V have to be "burned" by the resistor.
Most likely though they won't have spec'ed the blue led for 20mA (max) so red should be ok.
Maybe you can make out the markings on the resistor, the code is xyz=xy*10^z (222=2200Ω=2k2).
Realistically it should be sth like 471 or 103 or 331.

[Muirium]

So, here's where I'm at. The prototype's whole PCB is populated with components, while the final model has a trio of empty footprints, one for each of the 3 supported LEDs. These are right beside the internal cable socket which leads to the micro USB port on the back. I measured them at 150 ohms, if I recall.

Here's what my final model PCB looks like just now, as I installed an LED in the Caps Lock position, and tried to graft on a standard sized through-hole resistor of my own. The scale gives you an idea how small the SMD components are! It doesn't work, but that's likely because I used too high a value resistor (>900 ohms I think).

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Looks gnarly, right? But I did test for shorts of course. I likely just need a better value resistor.

IMG_6376.JPG (353.68 KiB) Viewed 24257 times

My brother gave me some surface mount resistors, so I'll measure them and see about fitting one instead.

Quick question: given the same voltage and resistor, do blue LEDs shine brighter or do red? I transplanted a blue LED from my prototype in to avoid making value mistakes. But I do prefer red really!

[002]

I think blue is generally the brightest right? Too tired to look up why but I'm sure I read it somewhere and it makes sense because everyone complains about how bright they are.

[cookie]

I'd put a bridge instead of a resistor and measure the voltage and amperate with an ohmmeter.
After that you can calculate what resistor you need for a certain LED.

That should be the safest way to do this.

[chzel]

Quick question: given the same voltage and resistor, do blue LEDs shine brighter or do red? I transplanted a blue LED from my prototype in to avoid making value mistakes. But I do prefer red really!

Nothing set in stone, there are high/low efficiency leds, so it depends.
As a general rule, greens are the most visible (our eyes' sensitivity peaks at green), and blue/white are the easiest to find efficient ones (needing less mA for a given brightness).
But don't forget, blue leds for indicators are the equivalent of Comic Sans in a formal document!

BTW measuring resistors in situ is not always correct, you could be measuring parallel resistances. Go by the markings!

[Muirium]

Caps Lock LED installed and working! My brother brought around some SMD resistors and kindly installed one with a value of 200 ohms (so a bit higher than the stock resistors would have been) which is marked with the code 30A. This immediately brought the blue Caps Lock LED to life when I tested with the bare PCB hooked up via USB. (You can actually trigger Topre switches with your bare fingers on the capsense pads, without any need for springs. Or mine work at least!) I'm using a bright blue LED, taken from the prototype NovaTouch's redundant Scroll Lock position (ignored on Macs), and 200 ohms works well with it. Could probably even dim it down with a higher value. But SMD is fiddly and I'm fine to leave it at this success!

So: install an SMD resistor (in position R14) and your own LED, and your NovaTouch can indeed have a working Caps Lock indicator. Tada.

[Hypersphere]

Caps Lock LED installed and working! My brother brought around some SMD resistors and kindly installed one with a value of 200 ohms (so a bit higher than the stock resistors would have been) which is marked with the code 30A. This immediately brought the blue Caps Lock LED to life when I tested with the bare PCB hooked up via USB. (You can actually trigger Topre switches with your bare fingers on the capsense pads, without any need for springs. Or mine work at least!) I'm using a bright blue LED, taken from the prototype NovaTouch's redundant Scroll Lock position (ignored on Macs), and 200 ohms works well with it. Could probably even dim it down with a higher value. But SMD is fiddly and I'm fine to leave it at this success!

So: install an SMD resistor (in position R14) and your own LED, and your NovaTouch can indeed have a working Caps Lock indicator. Tada.

Congratulations! A nice piece of keyboard modding/engineering.

My NT did not even have a scroll lock LED. Anyway, if I were going to install a Caps Lock LED, I would want red (or green or yellow; anything but blue or white).

With the addition of some lock LEDs, this adds some points to the NT score. In my case, making it less negative as it climbs its way to zero. I do like the micro-USB connector on the NT, however. Right on the back where it is accessible, and amply protected with a strain-relief cable.

How about some DIP switches next? Programmable controller perhaps?

[Muirium]

Art of the possible, Hyper, the art of the possible! The controller is resolutely integrated into the main PCB on this keyboard, so there's really no way to replace it without swapping out the "sense card" entirely; to borrow IBM-speak. Wcass does just that with his XTant conversion for XTs, but he relies on a separate controller (specifically Xwhatsit's Model F controller, but others would work in theory) hooking up on the back. The NovaTouch's case is too low profile to allow for anything substantial there.

I think that also nixes the possibility for DIP switches. They're an unnecessary hack when you have a programmable controller anyway. They can express so little compared to a real programmable interface.

My final production NovaTouch had no LEDs either, until now. I borrowed the Scroll Lock LED from my prototype, which has all three. That's the reason there's three resistors too. R14 is the one for Caps Lock. R18 and R22 hook up to the other missing LEDs. Although the final NovaTouch has no holes in its case for those LEDs to be installed so easily.

Here's my brother's SMD handiwork, spied by the macro lens:

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The "30A" (aka 200 ohm) resistor he installed is even smaller than the PCB's footprint was intended for. But with tweezers and a soldering iron, he got it in place in mere seconds, on the first attempt.

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The fluxy mess is from removing the gigantine (regular sized) resistor that I'd installed before! That one was just too much resistance. 200 ohms works great.

Meanwhile, as I had it apart already, I installed a genuine Topre slider into the Esc key position on my NovaTouch. The sliders are externally different too! This Topre cap wobbles more than any of the MX ones on the board, and when I reassembled the Topre donor switch (a lonely tester from Mr. Interface's sample kit) that switch has way too much resistance, even without the dome. Looks like Topre / CM had to make these hybrid sliders wider than standard Topre, probably for the MX mount to fit.

[Hypersphere]

Amazing, Mu! Your brother must have the hands and eyes of a neurosurgeon.