key type questions

[Hofy]

Hi,  I am looking to replace my Focus 2001 before it dies and have a couple of questions about the key types I can not find by searching the forums.

#1 The Cherry ML keys used in the Cherry G84 4100, are they tactile or linear?

#2  The Cherry brown keys, I know are tactile and quiet.  How do they feel?  Do you feel the 'pop' as they are pressed?

Thanks.

[huha]

Hi,  I am looking to replace my Focus 2001 before it dies and have a couple of questions about the key types I can not find by searching the forums.

#1 The Cherry ML keys used in the Cherry G84 4100, are they tactile or linear?

#2  The Cherry brown keys, I know are tactile and quiet.  How do they feel?  Do you feel the 'pop' as they are pressed?

Thanks.

What FK2001 do you have? Several switches were used in these, and while I don't know how simplified Alps feel, the one I have uses real complicated white Alps. If you happen to have one of them, you might want to hold on to this keyboard as long as possible. Real complicated white Alps are pure win.

That said ...
1: They're tactile, but the short-throw nature doesn't help much in not bottoming out.
They're okay, but the biggest problem will be finding a decent keyboard featuring them.

2: The pop, as you call it, is typically called click. Browns don't click and they're very light. I still haven't managed to not bottom them out.

If you want a keyboard similar in feel to your FK2001, you could try some of the Filcos with Fake Alps (although I don't know how they feel, so it's a bit of a gamble) or a keyboard with MX blues. Take a look at buckling spring boards as well.
In terms of feel, buckling springs feel very good, and slightly better than RCWhite Alps in my opinion.

-huha

[Hofy]

Thanks for the info huha.

I am still trying to get my head around the brown concept of not feeling a click on a tactile key.  I may just have to get one to try.  I may also pick up a linear to see how I like that.

As for my old Focus, I am not getting rid of it, just retiring it from my main system.  Probably just move it over to the PC workbench.

BTW the 2001 is model FSQ4VY FK-2001  it has white ends on the switches and no markings on the black part.

[sixty]

Thanks for the info huha.

I am still trying to get my head around the brown concept of not feeling a click on a tactile key.  I may just have to get one to try.  I may also pick up a linear to see how I like that.

As for my old Focus, I am not getting rid of it, just retiring it from my main system.  Probably just move it over to the PC workbench.

BTW the 2001 is model FSQ4VY FK-2001  it has white ends on the switches and no markings on the black part.

The Filco Zero series that huha mentioned indeed uses XM or Fukka switches - which apparently come close to the real white ALPS in your Focus. I have only tried XM switches and they feel almost the same, just a bit more stiff.

Going for Cherry Browns after having used the white ALPS for so long will be pretty rough. You will probably not notice the tactile bump at all at first. Browns are way too light for me personally.

You could always give something with blue Cherry MX a try - their feel is somewhat similar to the white ALPS, though a bit lighter.

PS: Plan B could always be to just replace the broken switches in the Focus once they die with switches from a donor board (for example the cheapest and most dirty ALPS board you find on eBay).

[itlnstln]

I am still trying to get my head around the brown concept of not feeling a click on a tactile key. I may just have to get one to try. I may also pick up a linear to see how I like that.

I think there is a gap in the semantics here. Around GeekHack, when we say "Click," we are talking about a sound like like the click the Focus would make about halfway through the key press. The tactile bump is the tactile feeling you get when you press the key. The sound and the feeling can be two seperate things. The Alps switches in your focus have a click and a tactile bump, but the Alps switches in, say, a Dell AT-101W have no click but it still has the tactile bump. It's just differences in switch design.
 
Many times on eBay, sellers will classify almost any mechanical 'board as "clicky" when it truly isn't.

[Hofy]

Thanks for clearing that up.
I do like the tactile 'bump'.  As for the click sound, I rarely hear it from my Focus since I usually have headphones on.

[Hofy]

BTW  the condition of my Focus is pretty good, all the switches work, just some of the key caps are broken where they attach.  No big deal as they still stay in place.

[Hofy]

I found a Cherry ML4100 83 key on eBay for $10  NIB.
That's cheap enough for me to try.  I do like the layout and if I find it usable I can always order up an 86 key black version.  Then I can dye some of the white keys from the 83key.
Now to wait for the blue Cherry Filco to come back into stock.

[keyb_gr]

That sounds like a deal. Not so sure about the 86-key vs. 83-key though... on the 86-key, the space bar seems to get awfully short. They still offer both versions for good reason.

[Hofy]

I use the windows key shortcuts quite a bit, so I will be lost for a while with this one.
I do like how Deck moved the windows key out of the way on their 82 key boards.