POLL: Do all your Cherry MX Blue or Green clicks?

[BucklingSpring]

Cherry MX Blue or Green: Do all your keyboard keys click?

Bought in 2012-2013 : Yes all keys were clicking when new
Bought in 2012-2013 : Some keys didn't when new
Bought before 2012 : Yes all keys were clicking when new
Bought before 2012 : Some keys didn't when new

Click here -> <- to vote
Click here -> <- to see results

Happy polling

[BucklingSpring]

Could sound like this:
Mr.Green Part I (PG-13)

(First attempt didn't show video - Quick search on the forum to find the answer - Woot, I pass the idiot filter )

Mr.Green Part II (Rated G)
Part one was showing a nipple and offended some viewers. So I made a Rated G sequel with no naked parts exposed. Joke aside, apparently part one was misleading due to trivial sound physics. It was like taking the body out of a guitar (the body provides the resonance that shapes the tonal qualities of the instrument). Someone could probably win a case in court with a solid argument like that. So enjoy this new unbiased video and try to figure which keys are not clicking.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

The video is completely misleading — keycaps affect the click sound. If I pull a keycap on my Filco, the click sound is reduced greatly, exactly as your video depicts for the switch with the keycap removed.

I did notice that the click sound on many of the switches on my 2010 Majestouch 1 has become indistinct, loose and rattly. I've got a brand new MX Blue and the click is similarly erratic and poorly defined, compared to the sharp, precise click of loose Futaba, KPT, Omron, Alps, Fuhua, Xiang Min and APC switches. The new MX White barely clicks at all — I'm not quite sure why Cherry even bothered making it.

[BucklingSpring]

Well - I just wanted to show the switch under the key.

With or without the keycap really didn't make any difference since that (V) key is not clicking.

If your new MX Blue does similar erratic and poorly defined clicks. Then Vote "some keys not clicking"

As the video is showing - when these Greens click... They really do - sharp and precise.

[7bit]

I own one blue board and it is quite some time old, but unused. Some keys do not always click. The clicking is also not constnt. One thing why I really don't like blues. Greens click more precisely and usually don't fail to click, but are quite heavy. The lighter whites do a less pronounced click and are otherwise similar to the blues.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

With or without the keycap really didn't make any difference since that (V) key is not clicking.

If I remove a keycap from my MX blue Filco, I get the exact same sound as your clearly-is-clicking switch — a much fainter click. I only hear a sharp click with the keycap fitted. The difference is really quite surprising.

To be sure what difference you're trying to highlight to us, you need the keycap on the switch.

(I wish I had an MX green to play with. If keyboardco or QWERkeys stocked them I'd have one already.)

[rknize]

Sorry...this is a cross post from GH, but there is a similar thread going on over there, so I thought I'd share my observations. Blues/greens can stop clicking for a few different reasons that I have seen. While investigating what makes white switches different, I did some experiments with blues (swapping sliders with whites and so forth).

The tactility comes from the slider being flung down the stem faster than the stem is coming down into the switch body. The click comes when the tab on the stem hits the end of the groove on the slider. Whites are different partly because Cherry puts a very small dab of grease into this groove, dampening its movement and reducing the sound of the click. The amount of grease required is very touchy and the consistency is not great. Increasing the tension of the leaf spring can improve a balky switch, as it will push the slider down harder once it starts moving.

If a blue/green feels linear, it's likely because the slider is seized to the stem or hardly moving at all. If it's a new switch it is a defect. Probably a burr or something. If it's an old switch, it is most often caused by debris getting in there and jamming the little tabs that guide the slider. That's where the compressed air trick comes from.

If the switch is tactile but not clicky, it's because the slider it not making it to the end of it's movement. Stopping just short completely silences the click. Slowing down before the end muffles it. It's actually quite delicate and I am not surprised at all that the quality is all over the place. Again, a new switch exhibiting this is probably a manufacturing defect or contamination during assembly. An old switch is likely foreign debris/dust.

[BucklingSpring]

If the switch is tactile but not clicky, it's because the slider it not making it to the end of it's movement. Stopping just short completely silences the click. Slowing down before the end muffles it. It's actually quite delicate and I am not surprised at all that the quality is all over the place. Again, a new switch exhibiting this is probably a manufacturing defect or contamination during assembly. An old switch is likely foreign debris/dust.

All keys on my keyboard feel tactile - By "not making it to the end of its movement", do you mean top end or bottom end?

[rknize]

The bottom end, I think.

If you look at a blue stem, the white slider (as I call it) is what deflects the leaf spring and opens the switch. When the stem is up, it has pulled the slider into position where the leaf spring is resting in that little depression on the two fingers that hold the switch open. When you first start pressing the stem down, the slider is still being held in position by the leaf spring. Then the top of the stem bumps the slider down and the leaf spring rides the little ramps on the slider, accelerating it downward. The click happens when the slider goes as far as it can on the stem. The contacts closing suddenly might also contribute...I am not sure. If you press one very slowly, you can feel these stages happening.

The animation we have our wikis doesn't really convey this all that well, but you get the idea. If you interpret the animation in real time, the slider is moving way too slowly once it is free. However if you interpret it as a rapid key press that has been slowed down, it might more indicative.

I generally don't like blues or greens. I'm a buckling spring guy and I find that they sound cheap and annoying. The feel is OK, though. I did find that I kind of liked MX whites, but didn't like their weight. I made "ergo-whites" for a Poker and I find that I sort of like them. Once you get the grease dampening to be consistent, they are quieter and don't make random rattly noises.

[BucklingSpring]

The video is completely misleading — keycaps affect the click sound. If I pull a keycap on my Filco, the click sound is reduced greatly, exactly as your video depicts for the switch with the keycap removed.

If I remove a keycap from my MX blue Filco, I get the exact same sound as your clearly-is-clicking switch — a much fainter click. I only hear a sharp click with the keycap fitted. The difference is really quite surprising.

To be sure what difference you're trying to highlight to us, you need the keycap on the switch.

Mr.Green Part II (Rated G)
Part one was showing a nipple and offended some viewers. So I made a Rated G sequel with no naked parts exposed. Joke aside, apparently part one was misleading due to trivial sound physics. It was like taking the body out of a guitar (the body provides the resonance that shapes the tonal qualities of the instrument). Someone could probably win a case in court with a solid argument like that. So enjoy this new unbiased video and try to figure which keys are not clicking.

[/quote]

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Now I'm curious to know what the good ones are like with caps removed ;-) Weird that the sound with the keycap on is the same as with it off when there is no click. Also interesting how much sound you are getting from a dead switch, since with the cap removed it's almost as loud as my working clicky blues. But that might just be due to the spring being stiffer and forcing more sound out of a dead switch.

But yes, your evidence is now satisfactory :P Switches confirmed DOA.

(Where's my ISO MX greens board?!)

[BucklingSpring]

Now I'm curious to know what the good ones are like with caps removed Weird that the sound with the keycap on is the same as with it off when there is no click. Also interesting how much sound you are getting from a dead switch, since with the cap removed it's almost as loud as my working clicky blues. But that might just be due to the spring being stiffer and forcing more sound out of a dead switch.

But yes, your evidence is now satisfactory Switches confirmed DOA.

(Where's my ISO MX greens board?!)

"Now I'm curious to know what the good ones are like with caps removed "
I don't like where you are heading Forgive me if I don't comply to this request.

"But yes, your evidence is now satisfactory Switches confirmed DOA."
Thank you your honor. Case closed.

If MX Greens were easier to get - I would even dare to replace the defective one myself.

"since with the cap removed it's almost as loud as my working clicky blues."
Well to validate this, we would have to record both with the same instrument in the conditions. I can tell you that the keyboards I own with MX Blue switches are making louder clicks than those DOA Greens. You'll have to take my words on this cause I'm not making another Mr.Green sequel (The sky is Blue and hell is Green. )

Btw, There is probably not much missing for those DOA to perform normally.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Where I'm heading? The pursuit of truth? ;-)

I meant, if I pull a keycap from an MX blue switch, the sound is similar to your dead MX green.

With the keycaps on, your working switches sound louder than blues, which makes sense as my spacebar has a sharper, deeper, and slightly louder click. Much nicer sound.

I'm allowed to be interested in Cherry, although I should really avoid it and concentrate on other switches …

[rknize]

I fixed the 2 or 3 non-clicky blues in my old Poker by taking them apart, running the back of an exacto through the grooves on the slider and cleaning up an burrs on the tabs of the stem. This fixed all but one, which took a bit more effort to fix.