I haven't seen a filco numpad dissected online before so here we go...
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While I like the concept of brown switches (quite tactile), in reality I find them rather wanting and I think "dirty reds" is an excellent description. Enter the ergo clears!
Korean 65g springs from originative (and I magically got my order shipped before Sherryton went completly MIA). Knowing that SA profile caps can't be o-ring dampened I went with internal dampening instead. I couldn't find any silicone rubber without buying massive sheets of it so I went with 1mm thick neoprene rubber instead. Rather stiff compared to silicone but with good age resistance etc. Even developed my own patented dampening installation tool
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I have always found the standard blue filco LEDs to be annoyingly bright so I changed it to a red instead (better fit for the red escape keycaps as well). For the numpad this was a rather simple job - just replace a normal resistor (in my case the stock 330Ω was replaced by a 470Ω) and the led it self. I also ordered a set of braided cables from Pexon. He was kind enough to make a special one for the numpad. Closeup:
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Now - How does the keyboard feel? Well. The switches are far more tactile and a little bit stiffer then before. Rather reminds me of logitechs "perfect stroke" switches but these are of course full stroke length. I like em' a lot. The action is rather smooth and the sound has changed a bit. Volume is reduced and clickety clack has been replaced with more of a thock (no idea how a topre switch sounds like so don't go too far in your imagination...) The ringing of the board is also reduced quite a bit and almost not noticable. The internal dampening seems to be working rather well, but a slight note on green switches: At least the ones I got have a longer internal stem then the clears so on the green switch the reduction in key travel from the rubber pad is rather noticable.
To finish up my longest post on DT so far here are some parting shots: mandatory switch art and final keyboard.
Part two will follow once the TKL is finished - don't expect it to be soon