Apparently this is the first one of these in North America...don't worry it's nothing special. Don't bother.
It is however, capacitive sensing.
DSC_0260 by triplehaata, on Flickr
DSC_0261 by triplehaata, on Flickr
So...cheap...I should stick to vintage keyboards
DSC_0262 by triplehaata, on Flickr
Yep, it's a dome.
DSC_0264 by triplehaata, on Flickr
DSC_0265 by triplehaata, on Flickr
They're definitely not Fülhen me
DSC_0268 by triplehaata, on Flickr
A million cheap screws later...
DSC_0270 by triplehaata, on Flickr
DSC_0271 by triplehaata, on Flickr
Now this is interesting, domes over membrane...but isn't this supposed to be cap sense?
DSC_0278 by triplehaata, on Flickr
LOL, so they used a membrane instead of using springs (like Topre), foil (like Keytronic, Alphameric, etc.) or capacitive flippies (like IBM Model Fs).
DSC_0288 by triplehaata, on Flickr
DSC_0289 by triplehaata, on Flickr
DSC_0292 by triplehaata, on Flickr
Ugh, was this hand soldered...terribly?
DSC_0281 by triplehaata, on Flickr
At least the soldering job on the RGB leds looks good, because we all know these are the most important part
DSC_0280 by triplehaata, on Flickr
DSC_0307 by triplehaata, on Flickr
As for the scan rate, I did some basic scoping. At best the scan rate is 5.25 milliseconds (not including overhead from the controller). Not bad. A Model F is around 16 ms. Though not quite the 1 ms (1000 Hz) that marketing likes to throw around.
Conclusion:
Crap keyboard, feels like a normal rubber dome. Basically the only reason for the capsense here was to cheap out on diodes and get more durability over a metal contact dome switch.
Still, it's neat to see a some new attempts at doing cap sense. I've never seen the membrane over pcb method.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triplehaa ... 763091475/
Hopefully I'll start posting lots of pics again in the near future, lots of inventory to go through...
Fülhen FL8000
- HaaTa
- Master Kiibohd Hunter
- Location: San Jose, California, USA
- Main keyboard: Depends the day
- Main mouse: CST L-TracX
- Favorite switch: Fujitsu Leaf Spring/Topre/BS/Super Alps
- DT Pro Member: 0006
- Contact:
- Daniel Beardsmore
- Location: Hertfordshire, England
- Main keyboard: Filco Majestouch 1 (home)/Poker II backlit (work)
- Main mouse: MS IMO 1.1
- Favorite switch: Probably not whatever I wrote here
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
Considering that I barely understand normal capacitive, and two or three layer membrane gives you ca. 0.7–0.9 mm travel …
- Halvar
- Location: Baden, DE
- Main keyboard: IBM Model M SSK / Filco MT 2
- Favorite switch: Beam & buckling spring, Monterey, MX Brown
- DT Pro Member: 0051
I don't get it yet. How is a membrate with a conductive dot on it that's exactly the size of the inner contact on the pcb like the spring in Topres? The PCB contacts seem unisolated, so when the membrane is pressed down, there should be full contact between the membrane and the inner dot contact on the PCB. How is that capacitive? I assume the outer circle on the PCB is supposed to be the other electrode, but I don't even see how the capacitance should be increased by much.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
"Some gamers must like it." This is the only logic I can think of for all the keyboards with that style of typeface. Copying the other guys…
Looks like they reused normal membrane components to make this. We need to see how many layers there are in the membrane (if it's all 3, then engage suspicion!) and what's actually hooked up to the circular sense pads.
Looks like they reused normal membrane components to make this. We need to see how many layers there are in the membrane (if it's all 3, then engage suspicion!) and what's actually hooked up to the circular sense pads.
- Daniel Beardsmore
- Location: Hertfordshire, England
- Main keyboard: Filco Majestouch 1 (home)/Poker II backlit (work)
- Main mouse: MS IMO 1.1
- Favorite switch: Probably not whatever I wrote here
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
Then there's those weird yellow things under the keycaps.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Cheap / light rubberdomes are generally quieter than any mechanical, even the damped ones like (super expensive) Topre Type-S. So you're probably right!
-
- Location: geekhack ergonomics subforum
- Favorite switch: Alps plate spring; clicky SMK
- DT Pro Member: -
Tried this yesterday. Feels pretty much like Topre. :p
(Just kidding. It’s similar, but not exactly the same. The extra spring in the Topre switch is pretty noticeable. This switch is more tactile than Topre but doesn’t give you as much resistance on the way down or bounce on the return stroke. To be honest I’m not a huge fan of either one, but I can understand why some people like Topre switches.)
Overall this is pretty nice for a rubber dome I thought. But nothing to write home about.
(Just kidding. It’s similar, but not exactly the same. The extra spring in the Topre switch is pretty noticeable. This switch is more tactile than Topre but doesn’t give you as much resistance on the way down or bounce on the return stroke. To be honest I’m not a huge fan of either one, but I can understand why some people like Topre switches.)
Overall this is pretty nice for a rubber dome I thought. But nothing to write home about.