Did you just get the soft pads?
Won't change hysteresis. As impossible as getting rid of hysteresis on a buckling spring.
Better than nothing :)
does it remove the metal vibration sound from the metal place when you smack your keys too hard?
I don't have anything to record the sound with.
With the soft pad on:Show Image(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/eddie84/OCN/Mech%20keyboard%20club/DSC05249.jpg)
I'm pretty sure the pad goes inside the keycap. It will basically fill the keycap around the round protrusion that mates with the keystem. If you just put the pad on the keyswitch like this and press on the keycap, it might not slide onto the round thingie like it should. Then it will get pinched between the keycap and the switch and it'll limit travel more than it should.
Thanks for the sound samples. So what's the verdict? Do you like having these installed? Plan on keeping them installed or buying more for other keyboards?
I tried that too but it kept falling off when I flip the kepcap around to put on the stem. lol
I tried that too but it kept falling off when I flip the kepcap around to put on the stem. lol
Well, on EliteKeyboards homepage they show the pad on the switch itself so maybe that's the way it's supposed to be? I don't know.Show Image(http://www.elitekeyboards.com/proddata/images/th/sl120_cs_sw_th620x400.jpg)
do they actually do anything?
Hi, Reaper, nice keyboard :-) Thanks for taking the time to do the samples, etc.
Quick question: It was my understanding that these pads were adhesive, but then you said that they fall out of the keycaps. So they're not adhesive, or it's just too weak?
Thanks for the sound samples...I thought there was a definite dampening, which I liked. My keyboards are Cherry browns, so I'm not too sure how the effect would be different, but I want to reduce the sound output as much as possible.
do they actually do anything? how do they effect cherry reds?
This is correct, it is designed to fit loosely around the keycap mounts (of several manufacturer's mounts). If the pad fits too tightly on the mount then you end up pushing the pad into the switch on the down-stroke; i.e. pin-cushioning. Yea, they would be easier to install if they held onto the mount; it's a tradeoff that you have to accept for performance.
This is correct, it is designed to fit loosely around the keycap mounts (of several manufacturer's mounts). If the pad fits too tightly on the mount then you end up pushing the pad into the switch on the down-stroke; i.e. pin-cushioning. Yea, they would be easier to install if they held onto the mount; it's a tradeoff that you have to accept for performance.
I'm afraid I don't understand any of that.
"If the pad fits too tightly on the mount then you end up pushing the pad into the switch on the down-stroke; i.e. pin-cushioning."
What, where, how? Do you mean that if the hole is too tight, the round cylinder in the keycap will catch on the edge of the hole in the pad? That's exactly why you should have a smaller hole in my opinion: keep the pad inside the keycap, eliminating that possibility entirely. The same hole size should work for all or most Cherry MX keycaps, I imagine.
"it's a tradeoff that you have to accept for performance"
In what way do you gain performance from having a loose pad under the keycap instead of a fixed pad inside the keycap?
^ Well, they didn't feel mushy to me. The keys felt the same but a bit quieter (since I got the soft pads, I'd imagine the firmer pads might feel different). As for that hollow echo sound, I'm not too sure since I didn't notice it before on this particular keyboard.
They don't noticeably reduce the keystroke travel?
I just put in my "firm" soft landing pads -
My initial reaction, they REALLY decrease the sound! Actually, at first I was underwhelmed - and then I hit a key that didn't have a pad in it yet, and I was amazed at how much louder it was. The firm pads really do quiet the board. For those of us who want quiet switches (one of the reasons I bought a "silent" das), these are great. The keys still feel great in my opinion and I didn't lose any typing speed (100 wpm). Having said that, they do feel different - but I'm not the best at describing subjective things like that - other than to say I am going to keep using these for the foreseeable future ;).
I would have rather Majestouch found a Chinese supplier of nice thick doubleshot keys. Would be as effective as reducing the sound and look/last a lot better than current key offerings (including Signature Plastics's).
There's gotta be injection molding equipment just sitting in Taiwan gathering dust.
Tallon-Firm is quieter than soft. Great. Did you hear reapers sound comparison on blues with and w/o soft pads? Do you notice reduced keystroke travel with either? What switches does your board have? Any negative input?
My Kinesis Contoured has browns that are PCB mounted, any comparative input on that application?
A cloud of......boobs?
Mmmmm.....booooobs :)
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
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.
Can we please find something to complain about with these soft landing pads? This is Geekhack, isn't it?
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
That's what he said.
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.
I would say that the change in sound and feel reminds me of the "mushiness" of the stabilized keys on a Leopold.
I own 3 Filcos and a Leopold and I really like the feel of the Leopold. The stabilizers don't bother me.
A gotta miny froma oringsusa.com
you clearly need a better keyboard!
I was just replying to "linky for silly-kone", my keyboard works fine thank you :-)
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.
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.
I used the same ones that sordna suggested, the 50A durometer AS568A size 008 o-rings in Buna-N and they fit spectacularly.
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 :-)
I wanted to bump this back up, so what are people views on these? Are the people who bought them still using them? Also to the people who bought both, soft and firm, which one are you using now and why?
Also to the people using these on cherry blues (seems like most people are using these on browns, black and reds, to make them quieter) what about people using blues who want that extra tactile feel but want them slightly quieter?
What’s your view on them did it actually make them noticeably quieter??
Try them both - small investment.
My estimate is that the gray landing pads have a 30A durometer and the black ones have a 20A durometer. The firmness comes down to personal preference, mine is 40-50. McMaster part # 2418T114 ... wasdkeyboards.com sells the same thing for a bit more but it ends up cheaper with their free shipping.
The WASD O-rings do NOT have this problem at all and I mean, AT ALL.
I push down the same way as on the EK soft-pad modded key and where the pads mushiness can be felt, the even nature of the O-rings makes it seem part of the keyboard design as you dont feel anything at all.
The O-rings even remove the slight rotating wobble that Cherry MX keys normally have in their lowest position.
I have yet to see whether the O-rings from sordna's mod feel any different as McMaster Carr wont ship to Canada and oringsusa costs too much to ship here even if I knew the part#.
sordna uses silicone duro 50 but WASD hasnt specified anything except industrial nitrile rubber and although the duro isnt mentioned, I can tell you from pinching them that they aint soft at all.
The red silicon ones that can be seen in some photos are posted, are 40 durometer, slightly softer than the mcmaster/wasdkeyboards ones, but still firmer than the firm (gray) landing pads.
I have no idea about the 5233T31 ones. The only mcmaster o-rings I have tried are the black 2418T114 ones.
My red ones I purchased from oringsusa (not mcmaster) so I know very well what I'm describing. Please re-read my posts, I provided accurate and clear information.
It's a typo alright, I ment some photos I posted. I fixed it: are -> I. But still, even with the typo, what I wrote does not imply that my red o-rings came from mcmaster. And my post that ranks them all clearly says that I am ranking the stuff I have tried. Also, apart from the photos, I do mention that the red 40 durometer o-rings come from oringsusa.com. Anyway, to avoid all this babbling at the expense of other readers, how about you delete your last 2 posts, and I'll delete this one in return. :-)