Author Topic: CM Storm Trigger pinging (Read 8295 times)

variant · « **on:** Wed, 20 June 2012, 23:43:49 »

I just got the CM Storm Trigger with brown switches as my first mechanical keyboard and it pings. I understand that it doesn't seem to be uncommon to have pinging in mechanical keyboards, but I notice that some keys like the 'J' ping much more loudly than others. Some of these keys are really loud and I have been ready to RMA it, but I worried that all of them might be like this and I will just end up wasting my time. I am still unsure what causes it. The loud keys like the 'J' ping even if I don't activate them, but slightly press it down and let go. They also ping if I bottom it out all the way and barely let up so it doesn't reset before pushing it back down. Is there anyway to minimize the pinging without violating the keyboard's warranty? Will o-rings, dental bands, or EK's soft-landing pads help reduce the amount of pinging? I don't care if I completely get rid of it as most of the keys aren't very noticeable, only a handful and I want to get those down to how the others sound.

Any help would be appreciated.

stingrae · « **Reply #1 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 03:08:14 »

Ping is a product of encasing, the metal plate and the spring. It does also depend on temperature and your desk surface.

I don't know how 'loud' it is but well i'd return it and decide whether or not you want to /risk/ another mechanical. Personally my keyboards ping rarely and only on the right side of the keyboard and it really isn't loud at all, of course I can hit a key super hard and make it ping but that's silly.

variant · « **Reply #2 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 03:24:00 »

All of them ping, but most aren't noticeable unless I put my ear near it. It is the few that are scattered throughout the keyboard that are loud.

kalrykh · « **Reply #3 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 05:52:07 »

Ripster would have a field day with this. I think I'm just too old to notice any ping.

shogrran · « **Reply #4 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 06:03:30 »

I have the quickfire rapid and was previously using a different mechanical keyboard. I have never heard the keys ping. Not even if it try and make the keys ping by pressing off center on the keys and letting them snap back up. If you hear a ping when you type and you don't even need to put your ear close to your keyboard. I believe you have every right to inquire to the retailer where you got it from.

If it is going to be too much of a hassle though... e.g. if you bought the keyboard from a website and had it shipped... you might just try and live with it. Who knows maybe the ping is just something experienced with new keys and would fade when the switches have been used frequently.

variant · « **Reply #5 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 15:36:04 »

Quote from: shogrran;618529

I have the quickfire rapid and was previously using a different mechanical keyboard. I have never heard the keys ping. Not even if it try and make the keys ping by pressing off center on the keys and letting them snap back up. If you hear a ping when you type and you don't even need to put your ear close to your keyboard. I believe you have every right to inquire to the retailer where you got it from.

If it is going to be too much of a hassle though... e.g. if you bought the keyboard from a website and had it shipped... you might just try and live with it. Who knows maybe the ping is just something experienced with new keys and would fade when the switches have been used frequently.

I can hear it even when the keyboard is as far away as my arm will allow away from me. My biggest problem is basically that. Some of the keys have a really loud ping compared to the other keys. So when I type, I get sporadic pinging.

I've read twice that pinging can go away with time. I wonder if anyone else has had any experience with that.

Lighthouse1 · « **Reply #6 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 17:07:57 »

I notice the space bar has a slightly higher pitched sound than the other keys on my Storm and it sounds very slightly higher pitched all round than my Filco at home (which also has brown keys) but I don't notice it much.

The space bar was really quite different to start with but after a few days with it at work I either have stopped noticing it or it has gone down a bit.

variant · « **Reply #7 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 17:13:47 »

I don't notice anything with the sound of the space bar. The issues are with some of the letter keys. I do notice with the space bar that it feels kind of at a wrong angle compared to keyboards I've owned in the past. I hit the corner of it more.

variant · « **Reply #8 on:** Thu, 21 June 2012, 17:40:44 »

I have decided to RMA it after trying to write with this pinging, the question is whether I should get a replacement or just my money back.

RotaryFist · « **Reply #9 on:** Fri, 22 June 2012, 12:48:16 »

I have a CM Storm trigger so I guess you should get a replacement if it really bothers you, because mine does the same thing. At first I didn't really know what exactly pinging sounded like until I started typing on my keys really hard. NOW I CAN'T UNHEAR IT! I don't really hear it unless I tap the keys hard, but I still do hear it occasionally on random keys--so yes, all keys do this, the only reason why you hear it often on some is probably the angle or force you use to strike the key.

variant · « **Reply #10 on:** Fri, 22 June 2012, 20:03:40 »

Quote from: ikayama;619596

I have a CM Storm trigger so I guess you should get a replacement if it really bothers you, because mine does the same thing. At first I didn't really know what exactly pinging sounded like until I started typing on my keys really hard. NOW I CAN'T UNHEAR IT! I don't really hear it unless I tap the keys hard, but I still do hear it occasionally on random keys--so yes, all keys do this, the only reason why you hear it often on some is probably the angle or force you use to strike the key.

When testing each key I definitely make sure the angle and force are the same. On the loud keys if I hold the key down and release it, it pings quite loudly. The 'J' key is one I use an example of this. So I get a slight ping when I bottom out and then a louder ping when I let go of some of the keys, resulting in two pings that kind of mix together when I type quickly and make an even louder ping.

didjamatic · « **Reply #11 on:** Fri, 22 June 2012, 21:08:10 »

Here's where Ripster and I definitely differed in opinion and I base it on hearing. My ears are highly sensitive, twice that of normal ears according to hearing tests, so I pick up on things like this more than most do.

But when I posted about it, I called it plate reverb since it only happened on plate mounted boards and "pinging" wasn't yet used on the forum. I've yet to find a plate mounted MX blues keyboard that I could use because of it.

It improves slightly with thick walled caps like vintage Cherry doubleshots and seems to be lessened by browns or blacks compared to blues.

didjamatic · « **Reply #12 on:** Fri, 22 June 2012, 21:10:09 »

Quote from: variant;619946

When testing each key I definitely make sure the angle and force are the same. On the loud keys if I hold the key down and release it, it pings quite loudly. The 'J' key is one I use an example of this. So I get a slight ping when I bottom out and then a louder ping when I let go of some of the keys, resulting in two pings that kind of mix together when I type quickly and make an even louder ping.

It can be affected by position on the keyboard, size & weight of key cap on the switch and how it's oriented into the plate, some might be looser than others in the plate, or where it's soldered/mounted to the PCB on the back of the switch.

variant · « **Reply #13 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 02:18:57 »

Quote from: didjamatic;619980

Here's where Ripster and I definitely differed in opinion and I base it on hearing. My ears are highly sensitive, twice that of normal ears according to hearing tests, so I pick up on things like this more than most do.

But when I posted about it, I called it plate reverb since it only happened on plate mounted boards and "pinging" wasn't yet used on the forum. I've yet to find a plate mounted MX blues keyboard that I could use because of it.

It improves slightly with thick walled caps like vintage Cherry doubleshots and seems to be lessened by browns or blacks compared to blues.

Quote from: didjamatic;619982

It can be affected by position on the keyboard, size & weight of key cap on the switch and how it's oriented into the plate, some might be looser than others in the plate, or where it's soldered/mounted to the PCB on the back of the switch.

I know there are people out there that can't even hear the high frequency ping. I allowed two other people to listen to it in person and one could, the other couldn't. I've considered getting earplugs that block solely high frequency. I am curious what frequency the ping is on.

What are the odds of exchanging it and getting one that doesn't have the same issue? Would you recommend it or just send it back? I am not sure what keyboard I could get to minimize it or get rid of it other than going back to rubber dome. What keyboard do you have?

urbanus · « **Reply #14 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 04:19:53 »

Quote from: variant;618397

Any help would be appreciated.

I'm using one of my silver labels (the 1390131, '86 vintage) at work at the moment, and it pings like a mofo. It's glorious, I love it!

What did you need help with again?

didjamatic · « **Reply #15 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 09:52:21 »

Only unusable to me, most seem to be perfectly fine with it.

Of course most seem to be fine with run of the mill speakers but I can't handle those either. In case you're wondering, The English build some of the best speakers in the world, but can't build a reliable 100k mile car to save their lives.

RotaryFist · « **Reply #16 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 13:19:55 »

On my earlier post I meant to say "shouldn't" which means get a different keyboard. I notice it with mine. I guess I never noticed it before because my case fans are loud and I am usually listening to things on my computer or playing a game. I also tried tapping the keys hard and crazy on a steelseries 7G keyboard and it doesn't make a ping as loud as the CMStom Trigger. If it doesn't cost anything (or much) to return your keyboard, try a different brand. When I have time later I might try to cover the whole plate with gaffers tape...or get different keycaps.

variant · « **Reply #17 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 17:13:08 »

Quote from: ikayama;620330

On my earlier post I meant to say "shouldn't" which means get a different keyboard. I notice it with mine. I guess I never noticed it before because my case fans are loud and I am usually listening to things on my computer or playing a game. I also tried tapping the keys hard and crazy on a steelseries 7G keyboard and it doesn't make a ping as loud as the CMStom Trigger. If it doesn't cost anything (or much) to return your keyboard, try a different brand. When I have time later I might try to cover the whole plate with gaffers tape...or get different keycaps.

Not sure what brand to try that has the features I want. The Gigabyte one is coming out, that looks interesting.

The pinging noise is the first thing that I noticed after how nice the keys felt when I started typing.

RotaryFist · « **Reply #18 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 17:38:29 »

Are you talking about the one in this article? http://techreport.com/discussions.x/23082
That thing looks rad. Especially useful is that usb3 connection. I might keep an eye out for this!

variant · « **Reply #19 on:** Sat, 23 June 2012, 17:41:59 »

Quote from: ikayama;620431

Are you talking about the one in this article? http://techreport.com/discussions.x/23082
That thing looks rad. Especially useful is that usb3 connection. I might keep an eye out for this!

That's it. I want to avoid the clicky MX blues and I think the MX blacks take too much force. So I think I am left with reds or browns.

Those macro keys on that keyboard have to be in the most worthless spot though.

TexasFlood · « **Reply #20 on:** Sun, 24 June 2012, 01:03:59 »

Quote from: QuickBrownFox;620688

I already did under one of my sock puppets.

Watch it there bub...

variant · « **Reply #21 on:** Sun, 24 June 2012, 06:05:38 »

Would red switches or black switches reduce the pinging effect?

stingrae · « **Reply #22 on:** Sun, 24 June 2012, 07:40:09 »

Quote from: variant;620802

Would red switches or black switches reduce the pinging effect?

Not likely Cherry mx switches are very similar overall...

1. You either got really unlucky
2. As you/others stated you hear that tone more than other people

variant · « **Reply #23 on:** Tue, 26 June 2012, 00:14:01 »

Quote from: stingrae;620821

Not likely Cherry mx switches are very similar overall...

1. You either got really unlucky
2. As you/others stated you hear that tone more than other people

How are ML switches?

Lanx · « **Reply #24 on:** Tue, 26 June 2012, 02:51:16 »

ml switches suck, when directly compared to mx (they are good i have 2 of them, for htpc and fiance') if using for a daily driver, just stick with mx. You just can here the pings that others can't, eh try other boards.

SirHobo · « **Reply #25 on:** Thu, 19 July 2012, 11:04:39 »

Well I recall seeing something about this on geekhack's old server, and I ended up managing to dig up a post by ripster, although I would still try any of these solutions at your own risk.

Quote

So far the confirmed fixes are...

1. Spraying Insulation Foam.
2. Desoldering switch, opening, and resoldering.
3. Dental Floss mod.
4. Grease Spring Mod. Unconfirmed though if it worked.
5. Fuggedaboutit like Geekhack did in 2010 and 2009 and 2008 and....

If you bought it from Amazon RMA it.

If not, good luck. "

Thats my two cents about your issue

News:

Author Topic: CM Storm Trigger pinging (Read 8295 times)