EK's "Soft-Landing" Pads for Cherry MX

[reaper]

A cloud of......boobs?

Mmmmm.....booooobs

lol I was waiting for ripster to come in with that cloud of boobs comment. =D

[Tallon]

Wow, Tallon, you have really answered and offered some helpful info, thank you so much. The browns I use are PCB mounted but I can see what might be the same and what might be different.

I'm sure this information is helpful to others as well.

No problem! I've learned a ton from this forum, I'm happy to give back when I can. What's really nice - these pads aren't much money, so if you don't like them you won't be set back much . Hopefully you like them as much as I do!

-Tallon

[nocturn4l3030]

No problem! I've learned a ton from this forum, I'm happy to give back when I can. What's really nice - these pads aren't much money, so if you don't like them you won't be set back much . Hopefully you like them as much as I do!

-Tallon

you can sell almost anything on the classified sections too if you're unhappy with the purchase

[Input Nirvana]

you can sell almost anything on the classified sections too if you're unhappy with the purchase

NEED TO GET RID OF ASAP:
Very high quality and well built girlfriend. Kinda beat up, with a few small problems here and there, but still has a few good years left in her. Looks like new. Well maintained, records available upon request. Will throw in extras to make a deal. Upgraded to newer model.

[nocturn4l3030]

NEED TO GET RID OF ASAP:
Very high quality and well built girlfriend. Kinda beat up, with a few small problems here and there, but still has a few good years left in her. Looks like new. Well maintained, records available upon request. Will throw in extras to make a deal. Upgraded to newer model.

trade you for a Model M?  LOL

[panda-R]

Hey it's me the assclown, i like to assclown around because it makes people upset.

I am however very happy to see that the impressions of these pads are so positive.

[mtl]

Can we please find something to complain about with these soft landing pads? This is Geekhack, isn't it?

[godofdeath]

Can we please find something to complain about with these soft landing pads? This is Geekhack, isn't it?

they cost too much

[sordna]

Well, a complaint was said that ideally they should stick inside the keycap stem, not the switch.
I wonder how they compare to the red soft silicone o-rings I found, which are very good to begin with (softer and less noisy than rubber o-rings):
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:8857&viewfull=1&page=4&do=comments#post337573

Only one way to find out, argh.

By the way, with the silicone o-rings, the loudest part of my cherry browns' action now is the upstroke. I bet if the soft landing pads could stick in the keycap, they would muffle the upstroke noise a bit.

[Input Nirvana]

Are you able to post a sound comparison?

I have no idea, but would the silicone o-rings AND the soft-landing pads be used at the same time???

[sordna]

I would need to buy (that's the only way to find out) the soft landing pads to do a comparison. Also, while you could use pads and o-rings at the same time, I'm sure they would reduce key travel noticeably. In a couple keys that did need a thicker cushion (the Kinesis arrow keys) I used a very thin (1/16") rubber washer and an o-ring. A pad and an o-ring would be too thick I think. However if you don't mind reduced key travel, I bet you could use an o-ring to hold the soft landing pad on the keycap stem, like I'm doing with the washer (see pic in the post I pointed to).

[Input Nirvana]

Got it.

I'm curious the sound difference between the o-rings and soft pads. It seems that perhaps neither muffles the upstroke, but both do a fair job with the rest.

[sordna]

Something stuck on the keycap underside will reduce the resonance by a really tiny bit. If you're that paranoid about noise, you could try pouring some silicone adhesive or caulk inside your keycaps, that might help more. Maybe you can use silicone to glue the gray landing pads to your keycaps, that might be the best realistic solution.
But to eliminate upstroke noise (if it's even possible), you would most certainly need to open up and modify the switch itself.

[The Solutor]

Can we please find something to complain about with these soft landing pads? This is Geekhack, isn't it?

 

Already done, the hole is oversized

[gregh]

Well, they should be colored red for maximum gaming performance.

[keyboardlover]

Already done, the hole is oversized

 
That's what he said.

[Input Nirvana]

That's what he said.

Ba-da-BING!!

[MartZink]

Can we please find something to complain about with these soft landing pads? This is Geekhack, isn't it?

They are not pre-cut.

They are not made of gold foam, just foam foam.

[guilleguillaume]

They are not pre-cut.

They are not made of gold foam, just foam foam.

Well, it says detachable so they're suposed to be "pre-cut"

At least is what I understand.

[Tallon]

They are pre cut

[MrSneis]

I would say that the change in sound and feel reminds me of the "mushiness" of the stabilized keys on a Leopold.

[CephalicCarnage]

I would say that the change in sound and feel reminds me of the "mushiness" of the stabilized keys on a Leopold.

Could these be the key to reviving the Leopold's popularity?  I recall so many complaining about the stabilizers.

Just add these, then Leos will have that same feel uniformly across the board eh?

[canon.tk]

I own 3 Filcos and a Leopold and I really like the feel of the Leopold.  The stabilizers don't bother me.

[MrSneis]

I own 3 Filcos and a Leopold and I really like the feel of the Leopold.  The stabilizers don't bother me.

Agreed, I 'm just saying that some have complained about the "mushy" feel of the stabilizers and I feel like adding these pads has a similar effect on the regular keys of my Filco.

[sordna]

dampers/o-rings only take effect at the last 1 milimiter or so of key travel (definitely way after the key registers). The silicone o-rings I tried actually provide a pleasant shock absorbing effect, and the pads will probably have the same benefit. I haven't tried a Leopold keyboard, but I suspect the mentioned stabilizers would affect a much larger portion of the key travel.

[Input Nirvana]

Any linky for the silly-kone O-ring supplier available?

[sordna]

A gotta miny froma oringsusa.com but had to phone them to ask because the silicone 40A durometer ones were not listed in their online store.
Part number is: -008 S40
10c apiece, 250 pieces minimum order. However there are a lot of o-ring suppliers with crappy or no online stores, google and call a few, for example these guys: http://www.alliedmetrics.com/seals/o-rings/ (apart from selling v-rings as well) say they have silicone o-rings starting at 25A duro on their website, however you would need to call them to find if that's an option for the 008 size. Pls report back!

[The Solutor]

the clears are easy to find in places like this.

http://www.steelnavel.com/product.asp?ID=1457&MID=197&MID2=1&A1=10

But for a steal price.

[sordna]

These v-rings look very interesting, I wonder how much they cost.
http://catalog.precisionassoc.com/viewitems/precision-associates-inc-v-ring/v-rings

[elef]

A gotta miny froma oringsusa.com

You clearly need a better keyboard!

[heedpantsnow]

you clearly need a better keyboard!

lol!

[sordna]

I was just replying to "linky for silly-kone", my keyboard works fine thank you :-)
Back to the topic, I found this supplier http://www.mcmaster.com/ that has a huge selection of o-rings and stuff, and a very nice online store that allows you to select and choose dimensions, materials etc. Lowest durometer they have for o-rings is 50 however.

[heedpantsnow]

I've ordered from McMaster before.  They have absolutely anything you can think of, if you can find it in their 800 page catalog or labyrinthine website.

[elef]

I was just replying to "linky for silly-kone", my keyboard works fine thank you :-)

I was just referring to the baffling number of typos in that short sentence. I eventually managed to decipher the content, I know what question you were answering - I was just teasing.

[sordna]

tipoz? waht tipoz?

[Input Nirvana]

...and this is why pictures of cats and misspelled words are so damn funny...

[aynjell]

I just ordered one set of firm and one set of soft. I'll be trying them both on blues and browns and I'll let you guys know what sounds and feels the best. For the blues my goal is to quiet them, for the browns I'm hoping for a posher feel so likely I'll be happiest with soft on browns and firm on blues.

[mrsone]

I ordered and received a set of both the firm pads and the soft pads. I put the firm pads on my Razer Blackwidow Ultimate, and the soft ones on my Filco Cherry Brown. On the Blackwidow the clack of bottoming out was eliminated and the keytravel felt much shorter, however it made it easier for me to release the key right at the point of actuation. The only noise now is from the actual clicking, which is rather quite nice. On my Filco with Cherry Browns again the travel distance was reduced, although not by as much as with the firm pads I feel. It felt initially as if the feeling of the tactile point was softened, but as I got used to the feeling of the modification I was able to feel the tactile point better. It still does not feel as pronounced as before but it seems much more comfy.

All in all I am happy with both sets. They do work and on top of that I finally was able to get over my fear of messing with stabilizers on large keys. I think I may even move up to more serious mods as the extra work involved is worth it.

(Also I wanted to note that installing the firm pads on my backlit Blackwidow Ultimate did not obscure the backlighting much.)

[gregh]

I tried the softpads on my cherry red board (majestouch 2), and didn't like it. I gave it 36 hours and just couldn't get used to the "mushier" feeling. It was less noisy but the change in feel was just too dramatic for me. My reds lost all of their crispness. I do bottom out when I type, so that might make a difference for you.

[mrsone]

They definitely do change the way that the keys feel. I am getting used to them still but so far I like how they dampened the clack of the Cherry blues. On the browns, though I may remove the pads as I do find that the shorter travel distance is a little much for me with a lighter switch.

[The Solutor]

As I said earlier silencing a cherry board is like silencing an Harley Davidson: the noise is reduced, the neighbors are happier, but the keyboard has lost is soul.

You may like it or hate it. It's just matter of personal preferences (as usual).

Bdw the  o-ring mod is less drastic and less mushier, and you can also choose from a vast variety of o-rings with various hardness to meet better your taste.

[aynjell]

As I said earlier silencing a cherry board is like silencing an Harley Davidson: the noise is reduced, the neighbors are happier, but the keyboard has lost is soul.

You may like it or hate it. It's just matter of personal preferences (as usual).

Bdw the  o-ring mod is less drastic and less mushier, and you can also choose from a vast variety of o-rings with various hardness to meet better your taste.

The way you talk about keyboards, you should be wearing horn rim glasses and drinking PBR man. I myself am the exact opposite of your situation, I need to silence my blues to make my neighbors happy, and I want more of a soft feeling on my browns. I don't like the clack at the bottom as much as others, though I suppose it's a distinct possibility the oring mod may be the best option for me.

I will have to try it.

[sordna]

Well, Solutor said you may like it or you may hate it. If you're thinking about o-rings, go ahead and try them, I am happy with that solution, and it's cheap. However don't go with regular o-rings (they are too hard). I recently found that mcmaster.com has AS568A size 008 o-rings, in 50A durometer, which is much softer than the usual 70A durometer, and they only cost about $9 for a pack of 125.

[The Solutor]

The way you talk about keyboards, you should be wearing horn rim glasses and drinking PBR man. I myself am the exact opposite of your situation, I need to silence my blues to make my neighbors happy, and I want more of a soft feeling on my browns. I don't like the clack at the bottom as much as others, though I suppose it's a distinct possibility the oring mod may be the best option for me.

I will have to try it.

 
My message was meant as neutral as possible.

I tried the o-ring mod well before any news about the EK soft landing keypads.

So I'm not criticizing nor backing the silencing thing, I'm just giving an opinion about what happen if you mod the keyboard.

The only opinion I gave is about foam v.s. o-ring, for me the o-ring solution is way better.

Well, Solutor said you may like it or you may hate it. If you're thinking about o-rings, go ahead and try them, I am happy with that solution, and it's cheap. However don't go with regular o-rings (they are too hard). I recently found that mcmaster.com has AS568A size 008 o-rings, in 50A durometer, which is much softer than the usual 70A durometer, and they only cost about $9 for a pack of 125.

You know, I tried o-rings, i like it and i will buy the silicone ones (altough the place you linked has also some 50A nitrile rubber ones).

BTW I'm asking to myself if a meck keyboard with the beige switches and the o-ring dampeners is  just a rubber dome lookalike, likely a durable rubber dome lookalike, but still a keyboard that cost at least 10x the almost equivalent rubber dome one...

[mrsone]

That o ring mod sounds neat. I'll have to give that one a try in the future. That may be what I am looking for. I don't mind the clacking on my Filco but on the Blackwidow it is pretty loud. I am still trying the foam pads but I will order a set of the o rings and give that a try to just for comparison.

[nhwhaup]

For those of you that have tried both the o-rings and the pads tell me a little more how the feel and sound differs.  I have the firm pads now and really like them.  I have them on my Cherry Reds which are pretty quiet to begin with but the pads really stop any chance of bottoming out noise.  It's funny how most on this forum really like the loud clicking of the mx switches.  I don't so much mind the clicking but for me much prefer a deeper or lower sound if I'm going to have any sound at all.  My first preference would be for a very light touch keyboard with tactile or linear feel that was totally silent.  So for me the Cherry Reds with the linear quiet and now with the pads is the closest I'm going to get.  My other favorite is the topre switches which are not quiet but do have a much deeper thunking instead of clicking sound.  

For those that have tried a few different o-rings - what size and material has worked best to accomplish the most silencing and still leave a good feel to the stroke?

Thanks,
nhwhazup

[KikassAssassin]

I received and installed the firm (gray) pads on my Filco with cherry browns.

It definitely changes the feel of the keys, and it's going to take a little getting used to. I'm not sure if the length of the keystroke has been reduced (looking at two keys side by side, one with a pad and the other without, I don't see any difference in their height when I press them both down), but there's definitely more resistance near the end of the key stroke that makes it feel like the keys aren't going down as far while I'm typing. It does almost give it a sort of a rubber dome feel, so if you can't stand the feel of rubber domes, these pads may not be for you. I need to spend some more time with them before I make up my mind on whether I like the feel of them or not.

As far as its stated purpose goes, it definitely does the job it sets out to do. My keyboard is MUCH quieter now than it was before. The keys make very little sound now on the downstroke (and what sound there is is more of a dull "thump" than a sharp "clack"), so the upstroke is now by far the largest source of sound coming from the keyboard. If only Filco had used thicker key caps to help reduce the upstroke noise, this would be a truly silent keyboard. As it is, it's still quieter than even some rubber domes I've used.

I might look into those o-rings and see how they compare to the pads. I'd also like to hear some suggestions for which ones to try from people who have used them.

[mrsone]

I just got some o-rings and tried them on both my Razer Blackwidow Ultimate and my Filco Cherry MX Brown. On the Blackwidow Ultimate it worked well, but I ended taking the o-rings off because of the sound of the rings hitting the little LEDs above the switch. Surprisingly enough it did not block the backlight on the Blackwidow, but it added an annoying "ching" to each keypress that I didn't like. On the Filco the o-ring mod is perfect. It dampened the clack without changing anything else about the keyboard. My Filco is pretty quiet now except for the pinging of the metal backplate. I am very satisfied with the mod, however. I used the same ones that sordna suggested, the 50A durometer AS568A size 008 o-rings in Buna-N and they fit spectacularly. So thanks guys, for the suggestions. Anyone have any ideas on how to stop the clacking with a similar mod for backlit keyboards like the Blackwidow Ultimate?

[elef]

I used the same ones that sordna suggested, the 50A durometer AS568A size 008 o-rings in Buna-N and they fit spectacularly.

Anyone have a link to these from a company that ships to Europe? I know it'd be sort of daft to buy this sort of stuff from overseas instead of picking it up from a local brick and mortar store, but I don't feel like spending hours and hours looking for the right stuff.

[sordna]

Actually, the 008 o-rings are ~ 1.6mm in thickness, and this reduces key travel somewhat. Also the inner diameter is tighter than it needs to be. You can get metric o-rings in Europe that are 1.5mm thick (and with 5mm inner diameter) which in my opinion would be better than the american ones! I suggest you go to a hardware store and buy a few o-rings with the following specs to try, they should be a few euro cents each!

Inner diameter: 5mm
Thickness: 1.5mm (This means the outer diameter would be 8mm)
Material: doesn't matter.
Durometer (hardness): get the lowest you can find, 70 is the standard, but 50 or lower would be better (softer).
 
Report back. We might be asking you to ship us some :-)