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New Cherry "brown" switches on eBay

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Astra Diesel:
What is the difference between blue cherry switch keyboards and brown ones?

Does one feel more tactile than the other, what makes them special in its own ways?

Nonmouse:

--- Quote from: Astra Diesel;2647 ---What is the difference between blue cherry switch keyboards and brown ones?

Does one feel more tactile than the other, what makes them special in its own ways?
--- End quote ---


Yeah, the blue keys are significantly more tactile, and also have an audible "click!".  The brown keys are basically a lighter tactile feel version of the white stem keys.  The progression goes blue- Tactile feel, audible click, white- tactile feel, brown- reduced tactile feel, black- linear.

This website has everything you ever wanted to know about the differences, and then some.  The flash animation of the blue slider is kinda nifty, too.

xsphat:

--- Quote from: Nonmouse;2646 ---Not true- the MX-8100 POS boards I have are both full-diode brown-stem Cherries, for the US market.
--- End quote ---


Man, that keyboard is a tank! I thought the Model M was big. How do you like it?

Nonmouse:

--- Quote from: xsphat;2653 ---Man, that keyboard is a tank! I thought the Model M was big. How do you like it?
--- End quote ---

I haven't actually used it all that much- I'm mostly using my notebook these days, and it doesn't have a ps/2 port.  I'm waiting on a ps/2-USB adapter, and I'll probably start using it regularly.

Surprisingly, I believe it's actually slightly smaller than a Model M (it's smaller than my Alps-switched Wang keyboard, which I believe is the exact same size as the Model M).

It's 18.5" x 8.5" x 2", and weighs around 4 to 5ish pounds, I think (my scale only goes up to 600 grams, and I don't have a bathroom scale)—again, a little lighter than the Wang k/b, and lighter feeling than I recall Model M's being.  And this despite having 120 keys, a trackpad and a magnetic strip reader built in, 59 re-programmable keys and 41 relegendable keys.  They pull it off by having the keys run closer to the edge on each side—there's only about 1/4" of plastic edging the sides—and moving the keypad slightly (an extra 1/2") further out, and squeezing the trackpad in where the arrow keys normally sit.  Those are moved up and merged with the system keys.

From when I have used it, I like it—the keys are a little more stable than my (white) Alps keyboard, with a little less force required.  They are clicky, though quieter than the Alps, but virtually all the noise is from bottoming out and rebounding—but there is a very faint click when the keys engage, even if they're depressed slowly enough to completely avoid bottoming out.  They're much less tactile than the Alps, but it is noticeable, and the action throughout the full range of travel feels smoother than on the Alps switches—on those keys, it feels (to me, at least) almost like with each keystroke the force builds up until the key trips, and then suddenly falls off quite a bit.  It's actually easier for me to avoid fully bottoming out the Cherry switches than the Alps ones, even though the tactile and auditory cues are both more subtle.

I'll post a more thorough review after I get the adapters (should be here tomorrow) and use it more intensively.

xsphat:
The pictures on the site makes those 'boards like yours look like a landing strip.

I think your description of the Alps switch is very good, and I am getting a board with brown switches soon. I have to try them.

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