deskthority

If you haven't tried click bar switches yet, they'd probably fit this criteria. I've only used box navies which are both the stiffest and most tactile, but pinks or whites would probably work out better. The actuation and click are both very high up in the key travel, though they're not perfectly in...

My experience is of course anecdotal but this fragility is not an issue on any of the OG Fs I've come across. Even the completely battered and corroded examples still worked fine without needing to fiddle with springs, etc. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsheradin/kb_adventures/master/IBM%20F%20...

I had a keypad from a Texas Instruments adding machine with very similar switches to this, I posted it a while ago but I haven't seen any responses to it. These sliders look a bit different and the one I had used springs instead of rubber sleeves, but that rubber mechanism on the bottom seems very s...

SOTGO wrote: ↑

16 Oct 2021, 19:15

You can reattach the spacebar without disassembly using string, but this requires drilling a small hole and following the process documented here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=41059.0

You could also use this method.

For tactile alps switches, what about putting grease on the back of the tactile leaf? It may be easier than the tape mod. For me medium thick paper or tape works just fine and isn't hard at all after the first few switches you do it to. I feel like grease would eventually displace and mess with oth...

The upstroke click on clicky alps stems from the bottom tabs of the leaf spring having too much play with the top housing. I used tape to cover ONLY the bottom side of the leaf (as not to silence the click) so that it doesn't move, and I managed to fix it. If it messes up with the sound, try reposi...

I just tried using paper on them, even at different heights it just muffles or completely silences the click, downstroke and upstroke.

I have that done on my m0115 but I've never tried it on clicky Alps, ig I'll see what happens.

I recently got a Chicony 5161 with "pine" white Alps, although despite how good of a condition the keyboard appears to be in, the switches must have had something sitting on them or they've been heavily used. A lot of the keys have a very loud double click that overpowers the rest of the sound and m...

I've never seen these switches before, I found them in an old Royal adding machine. I thought they were old Mitsumis at first but they have far more over travel and are much scratchier when pressed on the sides. There's a rubber band like thing above the conductive bit that allows for a lot of trave...

fohat wrote: ↑

27 Aug 2021, 21:46

I posted this years ago but it deserves a bump.

What's with low budget "gaming" keyboards and looking like this. I guess what they can't have in sleek looks they make up for in trying to make the design look as tryhard and gamery as possible, to market to people who think this looks good.

I always noticed that the forks on Unicomp caps were different but I never knew why. The fork probably spreads out once in reaches the bottom because of the slope that the cushion has, this would also explain why the bottom out on Fs and cushionless Ms isn't changed by Unicomp caps.

Oh damn, Interesting. I just tried some F caps on my M, but it was only marginally smoother. That being said, I do hear people confirming, in general, that one-piece caps feel much smoother. I also might've felt a less cushioned bottom-out, but that easily could've been placebo. Can someone confirm...

Ah, so that's why one of my Wheelwriters feels so good! I half-thought it had Model F switches in its keyboard somehow. I've never opened it up, but it must be cushionless flippers. The difference is appreciable! You can see what flippers it has just from looking into the barrel. Only very early Wh...

That being said, it still feels distinctly like a Model M. Expect a subtle upgrade, not a “transformation”. I've never done this with a regular M, in fact this is my first time hearing about people modding cushioned M flippers like this. But I will say that my Wheelwriter 5 which has the cushionles...

hellothere wrote: ↑

12 Aug 2021, 01:30

BTW, amber Alps is also a clicky switch. These were in some Apple IIc computers. I've never tried them, so I don't know what their volume level is or if they are superior to blue Alps.

They're basically just blue Alps but more tactile, I don't think the sound is changed.

I did find one once that was super scratchy and binded to the point of being unusable, so I don't know if it a condition thing or if Smith Corona just had poor quality control sometimes. I wouldn't expect an inherently bad feeling keyboard form Smith Corona as their earlier manual typewriters are so...

I swear there's something up with these switches. Everyone I've seen hates them but mine feel great, they're amazingly smooth and don't bind at all or anything, and it's not a Mitsumi version.

mysticfakir wrote: ↑

31 Jul 2021, 08:29

Will the finished product raise the key height as pictured in the demo?

I don't think it's possible to make this design without raising the height of the keys, based on how regular buckling spring caps work.

Yesterday I found this Smith Corona DX 3600 typewriter at a Goodwill, although unlike most of the ones that I find that come with Mitsumi KKR switches, this one had the infamously bad leaf spring switches. SC_DX3600.png SC_leafspring.png Strangely, it doesn't have any of the traits that I remember t...

The secret to happiness is... (don't read this if you don't really want to know, as you can't unread it after the fact) Lower your expectations to the point they're already met. (someone once told me this is a Buddhist thing, although I can't confirm that) Indeed. I feel like if I don't lower my ex...

1. Get your "white whale" 2. Find out that you don't really like it 3. Take it apart completely 4. Never get around to putting it back together 5. Throw the parts in a closet because you don't know what to do with them and they're making your desk look like a mess 6. Forget about it 7. Come back to ...

I find those a lot at Goodwill but I've never actually bought one. It just feels like a regular rubber dome keyboard from what I can remember, nothing too special.

Those are Acer switches, I think all 6311 keyboards use them. They clip into a plastic plate and use a hammer over membrane design with a click leaf. They're usable but imo the weighting is too light and the tactility is too strong, plus the tactility can be really inconsistent among the switches. B...

Woah, this is unique, the username doesn't follow the usual XxxxXxxxx and the post is a bit different from the original. The bots are evolving!

I think that's some sort of theatre device, or something along those lines. They seem to sell for a lot, although that one looks a bit out of shape.

Only clean them if they're dirty, if they're clean then don't bother. You would probably get more money out of selling the whole thing as opposed to just selling the switches, I don't think there are too many people willing to pay the price of a whole working blue Alps keyboard for 83 heavily used s...

Good review! I was thinking of getting one of these to see what Gateron optical switches felt like, but there were so many negative reviews that I didn't want to take any chances even though it's dirt cheap. I've also been scarred by 60% keyboards, I hate em, I feel sick whenever I have to use one, ...

rpl wrote: ↑

14 Jul 2021, 22:45

3) is there a force diagram for the Selectric ?

There's this one which I think is from IBM themselves, though it's simplified just like most other force curves that companies make.

lisp-machine wrote: ↑

14 Jul 2021, 22:15

So is this a keytop or a lapboard?

lapship