Author Topic: Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic  (Read 2597 times)

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Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« on: Sun, 14 June 2009, 22:32:42 »
I just used this on my endurapro key stems.  I swear the resistance of the key on the downstroke is reduced atleast 5 grams. Its quite noticeable.



Amazon $7 bucks free shipping.  Its a "dry" spray, not oily, not greasy, just teflon powder that sprays out and the alcohol that its in evaporates in a few seconds, leaving teflon powder. Super slick stuff. I applied it to the four corners of the bs stem (which are the corners that make contact on the slide downwards when you press the key). It super-slickened the downstroke. I applied it by spraying a lint-free cloth with it, then wiping the cloth while damp (it gets slightly damp for about 10 seconds) around the four corners of each stem on the key.

As ya'll know, I've done four 'mods' to my BS switches in the endurapro so far, to make them somewhat quieter and somewhat faster:
-First off I'm using unicomp which (I believe) is lower resistance to begin with than the original M, by about maybe 5gm.
-Second I've greased the springs with silicon grease to lower or "tune" the sound level to something more acceptable in my cramped apartment building.
-Third I've put rubber washers around the bucket receptable on the keyboard which dampens the bottoming "clack" of the key as well.
-And so fourth, I've now put the "dry teflon spray" shown above on the stems (the four corners of the square stem, which make contact on the slide downwards), which has noticeably reduced resistance.

So these BS switches are now somewhat quieter (they sound "thocky" like the topres, tho slightly louder than torpres), and somewhat faster (almost as fast as cherry browns, I'd say, without the excessive lightness of touch).

They're still unmistakably BS switches, they're meaty, they click and you can feel the buckle on your finger tips as normal, and all the rest of the good stuff. They're just more civlized, and way faster, BS switches. Really enjoying them.
« Last Edit: Sun, 14 June 2009, 22:36:22 by wellington1869 »

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3

Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 14 June 2009, 22:50:49 »
(btw, I tried this once before with silicon grease on the stems, but this teflon spray works much better, since its dry and not viscous on the stem).

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3

Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 14 June 2009, 23:21:26 »
Quote from: ripster;96364
Now I got to get two things at the hardware store - rubber washers and teflon spray.



:)
Get some extra washers, btw, they tend to randomly break now and then. Not so often that its a pain, but often enough that you'll want some spares in the drawer. Maybe like one per month will break. You'll notice the key clacking and you'll know.

Also FYI, teflon spray is different from silicon spray and graphite spray (both of which can be oily). Teflon spray is specifically a so-called "dry" spray.

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3

Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 14 June 2009, 23:54:58 »
Quote from: ripster;96370
What, WHAT?!  Your mod is not perfect?  


lol. maybe those O-rings will last longer, i was eyeing those to try out. They seem more like latex which might be more flexible than straight rubber washers.

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3

Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 15 June 2009, 00:08:07 »
Quote from: ripster;96375
Actually O rings tend to be pretty stiff.  And I'm not going to talk about Latex in a post that my wife may accidentally see.


stiff and longer lasting. hmmmmm.

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3

Offline mmgoose

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 15 June 2009, 01:53:04 »
i'd love to hear how it sounds
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Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 15 June 2009, 05:58:41 »
Quote from: mmgoose;96383
i'd love to hear how it sounds


http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?t=4992

:)

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3

Offline wellington1869

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Lowering BS switch resistance: more fun with the classic
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 15 June 2009, 10:19:49 »
update after 24 hours -- teflon is holding up really well. Still super slick. Its made a considerable difference I think. I mean totally noticeable.

I think resistance measurements are a bit like shoe size (or handle size for tennis racquets), I think they're actually a really important part of finding one's perfect board, I think one has to have a rough idea of the resistance measurement range that one likes while typing, in order to know what brands and types of switches to focus on.  

The ripOmeter is one quick way to estimate that, which is nice.  Wish there were a more accurate way to measure it in the home though.  

seems like my ideal range is 55gm to 65gm. I'd probably find 55gm (topres for instance) to be light sometimes. And I do occasionally find 70gm (M model) to be slightly too heavy. If unicomps are at 65gm, with teflon I think they're closer to 60gm, which is maybe why I'm pretty happy with this endurapro now.  Too bad it didnt come like this out of the box ;)   But thats why I think i'd probably be okay with the topres (even though they're probably too quiet for me, sometimes quiet is good).

"Blah blah blah grade school blah blah blah IBM PS/2s blah blah blah I like Model Ms." -- Kishy

using: ms 7000/Das 3