Damped NovaTouch vs. Topre Realforce and HHKB

[zslane]

Yeah, I guess it's a real pain to do such experiments given the degree of disassembly involved.

Out of curiosity, do Hall effect switches have the same damping needs? Or was there something special about their design (and implementation) that inherently reduced noise?

[Muirium]

No, Honeywells top out real loud as I recall. I've recorded mine, but looks like the recording never made it to the thread I thought:

http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/chr ... t9497.html

Dropbox is useless for archival anyway. Guess I'd better up them all to YouTube. Ungh… something about that doesn't seem right!

[Hypersphere]

I have done a rather exhaustive R&D on materials and dimensions in order to optimize sound damping while minimizing effects on key travel. I believe I have come up with a design that is as good and perhaps better than the solution used in the factory-silenced versions of the Realforce and Type-S HHKB. The material is a thin composite of an impact-absorbing micro-cellular foam bonded to a harder polymer backing; it is then laser cut to the correct dimensions. Of course, just as there are more ways to generate light from electricity than by using a tungsten-filament bulb, there are other ways to damp the clacking sound from a Topre-switch keyboard, but I am quite satisfied with the Silencing Rings until I or someone else come up with something better.

[zslane]

Is there a thread or post that goes into detail regarding switch silencing, how it works, how to perform the operation, how it differs for different switch types, etc.?

You see, I am unclear just what parts of the switch and/or keycap are crucial to the silencing process, and rather than ask a bunch of questions that I figure must have been asked a million times before, I thought I'd ask if there's a thread that is basically an Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Switch Silencing central repo of knowledge and wisdom.

[Hypersphere]

Silencing mechanical keyboard switches differs according to switch type. Moreover, some types of switches are inherently quieter than others and/or designed specifically to be quiet.

You can Google with search terms such as "keyboard switch silencing" and look for promising hits.

You might start with the O-ring guide for Cherry mx switches provided by WASD Keyboards:

http://support.wasdkeyboards.com/custom ... -dampeners

This type of silencing is applied to the stem of the keycap and it damps the down-stroke noise arising from bottoming out. It does nothing to silence the return-stroke "clack".

Topre switches are relatively quiet on the down-stroke, and the "thock" sound that they make is considered desirable by Topre fanciers. However, the return-stroke "clack" is considered by most to by annoying, and this is what is addressed by silencing rings for Topre switches, which are installed inside the switch, requiring dismantling the keyboard.

You can find numerous threads on DT, GH, and reddit on various silencing methods for different types of switches, and there are web sites outside of these forums with guides on silencing.

As I mentioned at the outset, some switches are designed to be quiet, or quieter than others, such as the Matias Quiet switch and a new one being produced by Cherry for Corsair keyboards.