deskthority

Hey guys,

i recently modded my NovaTouch to get it silent like the HHKB Type-S.
Therefore i ordered some lube and soft landing pads from EliteKeyboards, done my homework with the guide from SpiceBar (nice guide btw) and took the NovaTouch apart.

Now there's one problem: 2-3 keys do not want to get silent like every other key. The keys "I", "Z" (DE layout) and "F".
I can reproduce the problem, when not tighten every screw that combines PCB and plate together, then most of the keys are very noisy on the upstroke and downstroke, kind of like a MX-Blue noise.

I tried EVERYTHING to make them silent:
1. Switched the sliders with keys that are perfectly fine a couple of times.
2. Switched the springs of the domes with keys that are fine.
3. Tightened every screw as hard as i can.
4. Tightened them from the middle first and then tighten them like a circle pattern to the edges.
5. Switched the stem (the black plastic things where the sliders go in) with keys that are fine.

Nothing helped, and the noise was exactly the same after all.

In conclusion i think it has to do with the screws. Like if there is too much room between PCB and plate...

I thought of putting some more screws with nuts, kind of like a bolt-mod between PCB and plate to make it work, but therefore i need to drill through the PCB...

Here a picture where i thought of drilling through the PCB:

Best regards,
David

Before drilling ... not sure if you had a chance to read Muirium's review with some insights where the rattle is coming from:
http://deskthority.net/review-f45/a-tal ... t8968.html

and you may consider getting some of these, when available:
http://deskthority.net/help-f53/silenci ... 10051.html

Anyways, just a thought since it'd be disappointing if you drill and the problem is elsewhere. Good luck!

Make a recording of the troublesome keys and their neighbours, so we can tell what the sound could be. I don't know why some keys would be quiet and other ones not. Perhaps there's something wrong with the barrels. Those are removable, much like IBM Model Fs.

Thanks for your answers, but i already fixed it. SpiceBar told me a nice trick where you put some lube between the plate and stem.
Here you can see it: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=70642.0
That worked perfectly fine for me, and now every key is extremely silent!

Thanks though guys.

hammelgammler wrote: Thanks for your answers, but i already fixed it. SpiceBar told me a nice trick where you put some lube between the plate and stem.
Here you can see it: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=70642.0
That worked perfectly fine for me, and now every key is extremely silent!

Thanks though guys.

Great! I bookmarked spiceBar's solution just in case I need it later ... which probably I will