Hello Geekhackers and other Keyboard Bros,Yes, it's been done before. It's been posted before. This isn't a new mod, but this is a breakdown of MY experience with the mod.
Background/Disclaimer:I love keyboards. I love all switches. They all have their strengths in weaknesses, both in design and feel.
When I got into Keyboards, I knew I had to have a Topre. Set aside $230+ in my budget for "science." Was Topre worth the hype? Is It just rubber dome? You'll often catch me saying "Topre is a $150 Rubber Dome that costs over $200." This is in reference to typing feel and build quality. Topre is NOT rubber dome, the pcb and engineering is so different. But it does
feel like a very good Rubber Dome.
The board felt better the more I broke in the switches, but I still felt I'd rather have spent the money on BS, MX, and ALPS boards and materials. I wasn't all that impressed. See below for typing feel breakdown.
So...
Why?Quite a few people have dental band modded their Topres. Decided to give it a go since I didn't really like my 87u 55g...and I love tinkering. It sounded promising. Also lubed these sliders while I had it open. Also, SCIENCE
Let's Start With PicturesMy Realforce 87u 55g:
Angled to fit camera better. Still waiting on a replacement Macro Lense for my Nikon...using old Power shot for nowSide Shot:
The equivalent of the MySpace Angle for keyboards.My Camera and Lighting Can't Pick Up the Black on Black:
Board Opened:
55g Domes:
Capacitive Spring Under Dome:
The spring adds maybe 5g. This is what activates the Capacitive switch. No spring, no actuation.Dental Bands:
Sliders Banded:
Popping sliders out of their housing and plate meant breaking the little talon/tooth on the sliders. This did not affect the switch feel or performance, but might cause small pains in reassembly. Reassembled:
Blue tape on spacebar until I can find black tape or a PBT spacebar. The RF 87u has PBT caps but an ABS spacebar...What is dental banding?Put a Dental Band (similar to an O-Ring) around a Topre Slider. Simple as that.
What it does:1.
Silenced Upstroke When the slider slides up on a rebound, the dental band stops the slider from reaching the top. It dampens/absorbs the shock and sound.
2.
Shortened key travel to actuation Topre Capacitive switches actuate around half way. This dental band which stops the slider from reaching the top of the stroke also keeps the key partially actuated. It travels less to reach actuation, but the distance from actuation until bottom out is not affected.
FEEL:Before:Topre 55g has the "tactility" at the top of the stroke. In terms of FEEL, Topre is just a really good Rubber Dome. Tactility is created by collapsing a dome. After breaking the initial tactility at the top of a topre dome, there is little supporting resistance as you bottom out (vs. MX which has a spring that is constantly pushing upwards). There is a decent snap on the upstroke as the dome reverts.
After:Tactility is lost on most of the domes, since the band forces the switch into a "partially activated" state through the first portion of its stroke, where topre tactility is. Even though some tactility is lost, it's still not entirely linear. Also, obviously there is still no guiding up force. The travel is so much shorter. These switches also require less force to actuate. Partly because it starts off with the dome being slightly compressed and also because of the lube.
Personal Thoughts:Love it so far! I found 55g to be a little harsh with the bottom out, since the switch requires a lot of force to break tactility, and then is not supported by a spring during the rest of the stroke.
Pressing hard meant a harsh bottom out. Stronger and less refined fingers meant a more jarring end to the keystroke, though there was a bit of cushioning from the rubber itself. Can't imagine how painful it would be if it had MX'S plastic bottom out.
But..
The lubed and Banded switches are silent, smooth, and not as harsh during long typing sessions. I wish the distance to actuation was a little longer, but that might be resolved by using thinner bands. Lubing the stabilizers was also an awesome idea, glad I did it.
Would recommend
Thanks for reading!
- De
fect
