Sad sad news for topre owners.

[Hull]

Sad. But now my Realforce got way more valuable!

I need more topres!
________________________________________________________________________
- Start a meme that every serious gamer need to have a Topre keyboard and it will go viral.

[peter79]

Will receive it this may, wait until my brother coming back from US...

[keymaster]

Sad. But now my Realforce got way more valuable!

I need more topres!
________________________________________________________________________
- Start a meme that every serious gamer need to have a Topre keyboard and it will go viral.

Not necessarily. It may actually end up not being worth as much as it is now when considering that the CM Topre keyboard (and other future boards) will be MX-keycap compatible. This might hurt the resale value of RealForce keyboards since a big reason people stay away from Topre is not because of the price, but because of the lack of keyset customization.

[VesperSAINT]

Sad. But now my Realforce got way more valuable!

I need more topres!
________________________________________________________________________
- Start a meme that every serious gamer need to have a Topre keyboard and it will go viral.

Not necessarily. It may actually end up not being worth as much as it is now when considering that the CM Topre keyboard (and other future boards) will be MX-keycap compatible. This might hurt the resale value of RealForce keyboards since a big reason people stay away from Topre is not because of the price, but because of the lack of keyset customization.

Quite true, but there will always be RealForce and HHKB boards that will need customization, and those require Topre caps.

[keymaster]

Sad. But now my Realforce got way more valuable!

I need more topres!
________________________________________________________________________
- Start a meme that every serious gamer need to have a Topre keyboard and it will go viral.

Not necessarily. It may actually end up not being worth as much as it is now when considering that the CM Topre keyboard (and other future boards) will be MX-keycap compatible. This might hurt the resale value of RealForce keyboards since a big reason people stay away from Topre is not because of the price, but because of the lack of keyset customization.

Quite true, but there will always be RealForce and HHKB boards that will need customization, and those require Topre caps.

Show Image

Novelty keycaps? Sure. But who will produce Topre keysets for an entire board? EK is getting rid of their last remaining Topre keycap stock and there is no sign of a future restock. It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff. So, it may end up being these Western companies fill in the demand for Topre switches, like CM is doing right now.

[VesperSAINT]

Sad. But now my Realforce got way more valuable!

I need more topres!
________________________________________________________________________
- Start a meme that every serious gamer need to have a Topre keyboard and it will go viral.

Not necessarily. It may actually end up not being worth as much as it is now when considering that the CM Topre keyboard (and other future boards) will be MX-keycap compatible. This might hurt the resale value of RealForce keyboards since a big reason people stay away from Topre is not because of the price, but because of the lack of keyset customization.

Quite true, but there will always be RealForce and HHKB boards that will need customization, and those require Topre caps.

Show Image

Novelty keycaps? Sure. But who will produce Topre keysets for an entire board? EK is getting rid of their last remaining Topre keycap stock and there is no sign of a future restock. It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff. So, it may end up being these Western companies fill in the demand for Topre switches, like CM is doing right now.

I entirely agree with you. Was just saying that it's sad that these are disappearing and there might not be anymore real options in fully customizing RF/HHKB/660C. Maybe other companies/individuals will come through in the near future.

[keymaster]

Sad. But now my Realforce got way more valuable!

I need more topres!
________________________________________________________________________
- Start a meme that every serious gamer need to have a Topre keyboard and it will go viral.

Not necessarily. It may actually end up not being worth as much as it is now when considering that the CM Topre keyboard (and other future boards) will be MX-keycap compatible. This might hurt the resale value of RealForce keyboards since a big reason people stay away from Topre is not because of the price, but because of the lack of keyset customization.

Quite true, but there will always be RealForce and HHKB boards that will need customization, and those require Topre caps.

Show Image

Novelty keycaps? Sure. But who will produce Topre keysets for an entire board? EK is getting rid of their last remaining Topre keycap stock and there is no sign of a future restock. It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff. So, it may end up being these Western companies fill in the demand for Topre switches, like CM is doing right now.

I entirely agree with you. Was just saying that it's sad that these are disappearing and there might not be anymore real options in fully customizing RF/HHKB/660C. Maybe other companies/individuals will come through in the near future.

Yeah, perhaps someone can shed some light on this, but I read somewhere that the keycaps are only being produced by one or two companies. If true and they don't allow any other company to produce Topre keysets, then RealForce/HHKB owners are most likely out of luck.

[Hull]

I am all for new Topre keyboard models and new manufacturers. I desire the option to LED light my keycaps for my topre options aswell. But I do not want less quality than my Realforce!

Also, for a company sitting on such valuable patent, isn't there some legal way to force them to also provide a stream of products to the market? Atleast making it easier and perhaps abit cheaper for others to reproduce?

I will check out the new Topre options, but as for now quality seem to be an issue.

[avtar]

Yeah, perhaps someone can shed some light on this, but I read somewhere that the keycaps are only being produced by one or two companies. If true and they don't allow any other company to produce Topre keysets, then RealForce/HHKB owners are most likely out of luck.

Brian@EK said it's a huge investment to set up the tooling required for an entire set of Topre keycaps. They found a company somewhere in China that could do this but they want some crazy MOQ; I think it was 1000 or more. Getting something worked out with Topre and this company hasn't worked out so far.

[VesperSAINT]

Yeah, perhaps someone can shed some light on this, but I read somewhere that the keycaps are only being produced by one or two companies. If true and they don't allow any other company to produce Topre keysets, then RealForce/HHKB owners are most likely out of luck.

Brian@EK said it's a huge investment to set up the tooling required for an entire set of Topre keycaps. They found a company somewhere in China that could do this but they want some crazy MOQ; I think it was 1000 or more. Getting something worked out with Topre and this company hasn't worked out so far.

Thank you for this information!!!

[nobee]

Omg, this pains me to no end! I JUST discovered the wonderful world of Topre, AND I'm completely new to keyboard customization... when THIS happens. Bought my first Topre board, the Leopold FC660C just a few weeks ago and I was all excited to start collecting keycaps after seeing all the beautiful pictures on geekhack.

Then... I discovered this thread.

So I bought this out of desperation and panic: http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=se09e0_ktf1

Was it a bad idea? Or should I have at least waited it out? I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Why did I have to start so late in the game?!? 

[dustinhxc]

Omg, this pains me to no end! I JUST discovered the wonderful world of Topre, AND I'm completely new to keyboard customization... when THIS happens. Bought my first Topre board, the Leopold FC660C just a few weeks ago and I was all excited to start collecting keycaps after seeing all the beautiful pictures on geekhack.

Then... I discovered this thread.

So I bought this out of desperation and panic: http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=se09e0_ktf1

Was it a bad idea? Or should I have at least waited it out? I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Why did I have to start so late in the game?!? 

Good buy! I bought 2 87Us and white blanks! Have to stock up on Topre!

[avtar]

I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Printed red Esc keys are in stock again http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=hh_redesc

I've never bought a Cooler Master keyboard before but they'll be putting out a Topre keyboard in a few months that will be compatible with Cherry MX keycaps http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cooler_Master_Novatouch

In the mean time your best bet is to keep an eye out on the classifieds forum to see if you can pick up a used keycap set. I just got these in the mail today

[VesperSAINT]

Omg, this pains me to no end! I JUST discovered the wonderful world of Topre, AND I'm completely new to keyboard customization... when THIS happens. Bought my first Topre board, the Leopold FC660C just a few weeks ago and I was all excited to start collecting keycaps after seeing all the beautiful pictures on geekhack.

Then... I discovered this thread.

So I bought this out of desperation and panic: http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=se09e0_ktf1

Was it a bad idea? Or should I have at least waited it out? I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Why did I have to start so late in the game?!? 

Good buy! I bought 2 87Us and white blanks! Have to stock up on Topre!

White blanks??? You mean HHKB blanks? If you found RF blank white set, congrats.

[Air tree]

Omg, this pains me to no end! I JUST discovered the wonderful world of Topre, AND I'm completely new to keyboard customization... when THIS happens. Bought my first Topre board, the Leopold FC660C just a few weeks ago and I was all excited to start collecting keycaps after seeing all the beautiful pictures on geekhack.

Then... I discovered this thread.

So I bought this out of desperation and panic: http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=se09e0_ktf1

Was it a bad idea? Or should I have at least waited it out? I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Why did I have to start so late in the game?!? 

Good buy! I bought 2 87Us and white blanks! Have to stock up on Topre!

White blanks??? You mean HHKB blanks? If you found RF blank white set, congrats.

I would kill for a White Rf blank set.

[nobee]

I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Printed red Esc keys are in stock again http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=hh_redesc

I've never bought a Cooler Master keyboard before but they'll be putting out a Topre keyboard in a few months that will be compatible with Cherry MX keycaps http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cooler_Master_Novatouch

In the mean time your best bet is to keep an eye out on the classifieds forum to see if you can pick up a used keycap set. I just got these in the mail today

Show Image

Yeah, they say they're in stock but when I made it to the Paypal page they said it was sold out!  :( That was just a few minutes ago! Thankfully the pink keycaps stayed in the shopping cart! Oh well, I don't know if the red esc would've looked good with the pink anyways.

That orange looks awesome! Although, I wish they still had colored blanks because that's what I would've preferred. I'm so jealous of Vesper's collection.

[VesperSAINT]

Omg, this pains me to no end! I JUST discovered the wonderful world of Topre, AND I'm completely new to keyboard customization... when THIS happens. Bought my first Topre board, the Leopold FC660C just a few weeks ago and I was all excited to start collecting keycaps after seeing all the beautiful pictures on geekhack.

Then... I discovered this thread.

So I bought this out of desperation and panic: http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=se09e0_ktf1

Was it a bad idea? Or should I have at least waited it out? I wanted to get the printed red Esc too, but it was sold out. I would've preferred a different color but I don't mind pink.

Why did I have to start so late in the game?!? 

Good buy! I bought 2 87Us and white blanks! Have to stock up on Topre!

White blanks??? You mean HHKB blanks? If you found RF blank white set, congrats.

I would kill for a White Rf blank set.

Do you have a Topre keyboard yet?

[1pq]

Air tree types on a MS ergo 4000; everyone knows that. He just fondles his brobots and colored keysets before he goes to bed.

[Novus]

http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,toprekeys&pid=se09e0_ktf1

Pink pink ftw

[dustinhxc]

Correct, HHKB White Blanks!

[00zeRO]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

[SpAmRaY]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Type Heaven is the topre stepchild, they are not built like a realforce. And yes I have used a type heaven, realforce and HHKB.

Not sure what your realforce comment means, realforce and type heaven both have topre switches. I mean if you compare filcos and qfr's they both have cherry switches and are very similar but still different.

[dustinhxc]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Lmao.. Who wants a type heaven???

YEAH RIGHT.. I went back to my rubberdome for a couple days a couple months ago and it was an absolute nightmare. The two aren't even CLOSE.

[00zeRO]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Lmao.. Who wants a type heaven???

YEAH RIGHT.. I went back to my rubberdome for a couple days a couple months ago and it was an absolute nightmare. The two aren't even CLOSE.

Heavy feedback, like a good Dark Grey MX. But, I did make you laugh...

Please explain to me the need for a rubber skin over the mechanical switch, though?

(By the way, the only Topres I will ever be exposed to around these parts will likely be the Type Heaven,  )

very sad indeed...

[dustinhxc]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Lmao.. Who wants a type heaven???

YEAH RIGHT.. I went back to my rubberdome for a couple days a couple months ago and it was an absolute nightmare. The two aren't even CLOSE.

Heavy feedback, like a good Dark Grey MX. But, I did make you laugh...

Please explain to me the need for a rubber skin over the mechanical switch, though?

(By the way, the only Topres I will ever be exposed to around these parts will likely be the Type Heaven,  )

very sad indeed...

You could get a Realforce inthe classifieds for a decent price sometime!
You just have to try it. It is very smooth but still tactile. I love my Clears and I love my Topre. Both feel great to press! But Rubberdomes do not have the tactile feel, they are simply flat boring to press rubber and thats it. They miss the Sliders that Topre are so nice to have included in their design.

[SpAmRaY]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Lmao.. Who wants a type heaven???

YEAH RIGHT.. I went back to my rubberdome for a couple days a couple months ago and it was an absolute nightmare. The two aren't even CLOSE.

Heavy feedback, like a good Dark Grey MX. But, I did make you laugh...

Please explain to me the need for a rubber skin over the mechanical switch, though?

(By the way, the only Topres I will ever be exposed to around these parts will likely be the Type Heaven,  )

very sad indeed...

Just drive ~3 hours north I'll buy you dinner and let you try out my keyboards.

[00zeRO]

Oh, I remember rubberdomes alright...I just wonder what the designers were thinking, maybe it was..:

~ Dern Cherry Corp and Alps. How are we gonna compete with their switches. I know, let's start with a rubberdome, cut all the individual rubber pieces out, mold rubber~ ~ around the keyswitch parts, and then encase those inside a plastic shell. We'll call it RealForce, and all the kids will line up around the blocks to buy them because we  ~
~ will put them in super trendy HHKB's and market them as 'hybrid' tactile switches. We will make millions. Oh, and the leftover parts, we will put in a keyboard we will  ~
~ call...wait for it...Type Heaven!

~ <Applause>                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ~

And then, we wake up and buy a Ducky with Brown or Clear Switches and Extra Thick PBT keycaps!

 

[00zeRO]

Oh, I remember rubberdomes alright...I just wonder what the designers were thinking, maybe it was..:

~ Dern Cherry Corp and Alps. How are we gonna compete with their switches. I know, let's start with a rubberdome, cut all the individual rubber pieces out, mold rubber~ ~ around the keyswitch parts, and then encase those inside a plastic shell. We'll call it RealForce, and all the kids will line up around the blocks to buy them because we  ~
~ will put them in super trendy HHKB's and market them as 'hybrid' tactile switches. We will make millions. Oh, and the leftover parts, we will put in a keyboard we will  ~
~ call...wait for it...Type Heaven!

~ <Applause>                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ~

And then, we wake up and buy a Ducky with Brown or Clear Switches and Extra Thick PBT keycaps!

 

Please know that this is all in fun. I really don't have a dog in this fight. I love Cherry MX's, but if I were to be exposed to more keyswitch types, I would definitely be on your side, I am sure...

[CPTBadAss]

Please know that this is all in fun. I really don't have a dog in this fight. I love Cherry MX's, but if I were to be exposed to more keyswitch types, I would definitely be on your side, I am sure...

Guess it's time Mashby and I do another Nashville Meetup and go visit all you great folks at mechanicalkeyboards.com . We can introduce you to all the switches. Really...all of them

[aref]

Well some sads news has come to light. I emailed EK for some information on if the Topre Realforce keycaps will ever come back in stock and this is what I got back from them..

"Topre has told us only in the last week that they no longer wish to make keycaps. We are looking for other options, but this might not happen. Please join our newsletter for future updates.

Best regards,
Brian"

I'm not sure if this was already known but I'm just throwing it out there if it hasn't.

Show Image

Say it ain't so; this is not a good thing. This is not good. I've grown to appreciate Topre switches and have been looking for some interesting key caps. Perhaps an aftermarket molder will see this as an opportunity.

[sth]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Lmao.. Who wants a type heaven???

YEAH RIGHT.. I went back to my rubberdome for a couple days a couple months ago and it was an absolute nightmare. The two aren't even CLOSE.

Heavy feedback, like a good Dark Grey MX. But, I did make you laugh...

Please explain to me the need for a rubber skin over the mechanical switch, though?

(By the way, the only Topres I will ever be exposed to around these parts will likely be the Type Heaven,  )

very sad indeed...

it is not a mechanical switch. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Topre_switch
the rubber is for tactile feedback and key return. the spring is for changing the capacitance. the things you say are silly.

[00zeRO]

It seems that Topre doesn't seem to keen on producing anymore Topre stuff.

Where is the demand...? Type Heavens are not flying off shelves...

(Strictly personal opinion) Realforce keyswitches are for people who wish they still had their rubberdomes and are having trouble letting go...

Lmao.. Who wants a type heaven???

YEAH RIGHT.. I went back to my rubberdome for a couple days a couple months ago and it was an absolute nightmare. The two aren't even CLOSE.

Heavy feedback, like a good Dark Grey MX. But, I did make you laugh...

Please explain to me the need for a rubber skin over the mechanical switch, though?

(By the way, the only Topres I will ever be exposed to around these parts will likely be the Type Heaven,  )

very sad indeed...

it is not a mechanical switch. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Topre_switch
the rubber is for tactile feedback and key return. the spring is for changing the capacitance. the things you say are silly.

Ah...then yes, I am completely ignorant of Topres...the things I say are silly, notice the noob status in my sig...

[dustinhxc]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.kL3bAY&id=36392535695

Found Realforce caps! But wow, $165 + Proxy Fees and Shipping...

[Air tree]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.kL3bAY&id=36392535695

Found Realforce caps! But wow, $165 + Proxy Fees and Shipping...

Anything for beauty eh?


And do they have a blank white set? I couldn't tell.

[dustinhxc]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.kL3bAY&id=36392535695

Found Realforce caps! But wow, $165 + Proxy Fees and Shipping...

Anything for beauty eh?


And do they have a blank white set? I couldn't tell.

I use Google Chrome to browse foreign websites and it automatically translates the page. They have 3 White sets left.  The White set is the only set that is $131

[naasfu]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.kL3bAY&id=36392535695

Found Realforce caps! But wow, $165 + Proxy Fees and Shipping...

Anything for beauty eh?


And do they have a blank white set? I couldn't tell.

I use Google Chrome to browse foreign websites and it automatically translates the page. They have 3 White sets left.  The White set is the only set that is $131

Hey Dustin, I don't know much about RealForce keysets, but are these the same thing on Amazon JP?  Sounds like they'll be cheaper if you get them here and use Tenso proxy.  They don't appear to be blank sets, though.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=realforce

edit:  Hmm, these appear to be for Japanese layouts.

[dustinhxc]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.0.0.kL3bAY&id=36392535695

Found Realforce caps! But wow, $165 + Proxy Fees and Shipping...

Anything for beauty eh?


And do they have a blank white set? I couldn't tell.

I use Google Chrome to browse foreign websites and it automatically translates the page. They have 3 White sets left.  The White set is the only set that is $131

Hey Dustin, I don't know much about RealForce keysets, but are these the same thing on Amazon JP?  Sounds like they'll be cheaper if you get them here and use Tenso proxy.  They don't appear to be blank sets, though.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=realforce

edit:  Hmm, these appear to be for Japanese layouts.

Yep these are the JP versions!

[naasfu]

Ah well.  I have two blank white HHKB sets on the way, and I'm going to try to Rit dye one of them.

[HipsterPunks]

Ah well.  I have two blank white HHKB sets on the way, and I'm going to try to Rit dye one of them.

DO NOT RIT DYE YOUR KEYSETS! They changed the formula and it does not take well to plastics.

[naasfu]

Ah well.  I have two blank white HHKB sets on the way, and I'm going to try to Rit dye one of them.

DO NOT RIT DYE YOUR KEYSETS! They changed the formula and it does not take well to plastics.

Damn.  Not even the powder version?  Is the color just really faint, or do they end up looking like crap?

[HipsterPunks]

Ah well.  I have two blank white HHKB sets on the way, and I'm going to try to Rit dye one of them.

DO NOT RIT DYE YOUR KEYSETS! They changed the formula and it does not take well to plastics.

Damn.  Not even the powder version?  Is the color just really faint, or do they end up looking like crap?

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53687.msg1199379#msg1199379

[dustinhxc]

Someone did Topre caps with that and it turned out faded pink. Not sure where the thread is..

[Air tree]

Time to search for old Rit dye packets? 

[naasfu]

Ah well.  I have two blank white HHKB sets on the way, and I'm going to try to Rit dye one of them.

DO NOT RIT DYE YOUR KEYSETS! They changed the formula and it does not take well to plastics.

Damn.  Not even the powder version?  Is the color just really faint, or do they end up looking like crap?

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53687.msg1199379#msg1199379

Thanks guys for the heads up.  I'll do some more research on dyes before doing anything.

So far I found some posts here saying that a brand called "iDye" works well:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=49791.msg1080701#msg1080701
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35873.msg1175217#msg1175217
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=37413.msg713128#msg713128

[exitfire401]

Gah...the CM board just needs to come out already...I have a Miami set that I wanna put on my realforce, but I need to harvest the sliders from a CM board first =(