deskthority

A redux of my Acer 6310 series review. Ever since the original review over two years ago, I found out loads more about these as they were one of my most common finds in recycling centres. Hope you enjoy the video!

Probably too late now to give you mine, since you may be able to get it working. I've de-clicked it, and it still feels ropey. The click leaves work in Alps SKCM switches, which end up like Cherry MX White: tactile and very slightly clicky.

My feeling is that the versions with the older cases all use a separate plastic mounting plate to allow for case sharing (as seen with the OK-100 series) but from alps.tw's limited photos, I cannot make this determination. Some of the T case variants also appear to have a black mounting plate, and that should be impossible.

I'd not call these @loud@ as such. For an office-friendly, gentle click sound, use Fujitsu Peerless. Acer switch is in the middle, louder than Peerless but softer than full-on Alps or Cherry. That @digital@ feel is why I never got on with them: I feel that a tactile switch should have a good lead-in period to allow you to accelerate the slider to the point that it will pass the tactile peak, instead of having to smash the keys past it.

BTW, I'd say that Acer switches are actually more mechanical than buckling spring. It's not a hammer mechanism: the slider has a cam, and the actuator has a follower arm. As the slider is depressed, the cam position changes, and spring acting on the actuator rotates the actuator until it's pressing on the membrane. This process is fairly gentle, meaning that without the click leaf, the switch is only very faintly tactile, although the tactility is inconsistent between keys.
If anything could be classed as "mechanical", the Acer switch definitely would be.

It's also not what I think of as "spring over membrane" either, as by that I'm thinking of something where a spring is used to provide actuation pressure.

We know that manufacturers such as RAFI use "mechanical" for metal contact; the real question therefore is whether any manufacturers of switches like the Acer switch ever used the term "mechanical".

I quite like the Acers, they were what got me started with the hobby as well. Nice to see them getting some love.
I've got two boards with them, and they will probably confuse matters even more:

1. 6312-K9B from 1996 - wedge-shape case, white sliders, painted metal mounting plate and a metal backplate
2. Canon-branded 6311 (the FCC ID says 6311-K, but the model number does not) from 1992 - dipped-back case, black sliders, painted metal mounting plate and a metal backplate

The 6312 was new when I got it, it feels more tactile, but also pings more. The 6311 sounds deeper though - even if I swap their respective cases. Both have the old style font on their caps.