Rapoo v7?

[f/64]

I've been lurking about here for the past two weeks or so and am looking to get a keyboard now. I want to get a decent board that won't disintegrate after the first couple of weeks, but I'm a cheap skate. Being that it's the first mechanical I'll have used in quite a while, I'd like to keep the cost down as much as possible until. Unfortunately I have limited space: I'm looking for something 16inches wide or less to leave enough room to comfortably and easily be able to move my mouse across both screens. I like they layout of the Filco and Leopold tenkeyless boards, I just don't have the cajones to pony up the money on 'em yet . I've read through some of the posts here on the Rapoo v7, and overall the consensus seems to be that it's a decent little board, hell of a deal for the price. I've found an e-tailer that has it for under $60 shipped, but I've never heard of them before, and I don't think I've seen mentioned them on the forums here. Any thoughts/experiences/ with either the board or the vendor would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

TL;DR
http://www.dinodirect.com/keyboard-gaming-usb-v7.html
Decent board, decent price, decent vendor?

[sordna]

Hi,
I haven't heard of this vendor before, but I think the keyboard is decent, it's programmable too according to this favorable review.

[simon_C]

id be curious to see if real cherry stems will swap in to one of them. be nice to be able to swap it to browns or blues.

[sordna]

The review praises the feel of these yellow switches... sixty mentions he likes them more than cherry reds (which I think are awesome).

[heedpantsnow]

If that doesn't work for you, I'd try a PLU board.  I was very impressed with their build quality for the price.

[f/64]

Just got it today; would've been here Saturday but nobody was here to sign for it. It's a pleasure to type on, very quiet (as far as I've experience with mechanicals anyways) very responsive, and very light. I forgot to mention in the first post that I had found a $10 off coupon; so it would've come out to about $46, but I used the money I saved to upgrade the shipping.

Along with the keyboard, they also shipped a very large and pretty decent rubber backed, cloth mouse pad emblazoned with  the Rapoo name. I'm using it underneath the V7 so it doesn't slip around since I already have a nice Steel Series 4HD mousepad. Also included was a red ring key puller, and a "Chinese Knot" free gift. All in all, I'm very impressed both with the vendor and the keyboard.

I had bought a cheap 37 red key cap set off ebay for around $14; put all those on it when it came in. I had also gotten 2 F-row individual red keys from WASD to toss on the escape button; but they ended up being a dark orange. I haven't fiddled with the programming yet, but I'm sure I'll get around to it.

[sordna]

Congrats! So you got your Rapoo from dinodirect and it got shipped to you from China?

[f/64]

Yes, it shipped EMS from china. I ordered it on the 27th and it would've been here the 3rd had somebody been home. Their regular free shipping said it would've taken 7-14 days, so I upgraded to the 3-7 day shipping for about $9. Still broke even after using the $10 off "DEALAM" coupon.

[simon_C]

someone willing to test whether or not official cherry stems will fit it?

[redpill]

someone willing to test whether or not official cherry stems will fit it?

I bet they are.  Sounds like he put Cherry MX-compatible keycaps on it, so if they copied that part, I assume they copied the rest of the stem too.  Since they are plate mounted some desoldering would likely be required.  A true mechanical for under $60 makes for some serious competition.

[itlnstln]

Easy to measure. 1x4mm cruciforms.

I think I'll wear a Cherry red stem as a Rosary.

[highspeed]

damn, that keyboard has perfect layout with media buttons too..  shame on 2 key roll over and fake cherries.. thats not cool.

[macro9]

a comparison between cherry yellow switch  and rapoo yellow switch ,not finished .
http://www.pcwaishe.cn/thread-191806-1-2.html

another cherry black switch vs rapoo yellow
http://www.pcwaishe.cn/thread-166722-1-2.html

[f/64]

I made a quick 30 gram weight using, of course, nickels and some glue. I tried it on a number of different letter keys and the number row; in most cases it would activate at 40 or 44 grams (either my scale was off or a nickel was off.) Then it would stay depressed, in most cases, until I took the last nickel off, leaving it back at 30 grams.  In some cases it would stop when I removed the 40 gram nickel, though I think that was just me moving the nickels around too much when removing one. I never had to go above 44 grams to activate a key and they never stayed depressed at 30 grams. I didn't have enough nickels hanging around to see what it takes to bottom 'em out.

This is my first time doing this, so I may have missed something or not have done it completely right, but it seems like a ~35 gram activation force to me.

[keyboardlover]

The review praises the feel of these yellow switches... sixty mentions he likes them more than cherry reds (which I think are awesome).

Aren't they supposed to be pretty heavy? Take sixty's advice with a grain of salt - he's a big fan of cherry blacks.

[f/64]

I usually stack the key with nickels with Notepad up until the letters appear and start auto-repeating.  In your case if I'm reading this correctly that would be 40-45g.  See the "How to do" section of the RipOmeter post.

Then I back off one nickel and try again. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR LINEAR SWITCHES. If you just let the weight drop from the top of the key travel position you get a higher number because of gravity acceleration effects.

Is what I was going off of; I did use notepad to test it and did what you suggested here and in the wiki. I just got the second part above confused with the original activation test I guess.

[f/64]

Redid the measurements just to make sure; it takes ~44 grams to activate the switches.

[sordna]

Redid the measurements just to make sure; it takes ~44 grams to activate the switches.

Looks identical to cherry reds, very nice!

[elbowglue]

Thanks for that review F/64.  You just got me to make a purchase from some random dinosaur website I've never heard of before!

F/64 a photo reference?  Like 200mm f1.8?

[qtan5370]

Good luck man, hope your keyboard can hold more than a week.

I am, as a seller, I got two of Rapoo V7 return two days after I sold, so I put them off right after that.

Not every single one have the issue, but if you ship internationally, don't try that right now, wait for few months.

[reaper]

So there was another return besides mine?  That doesn't look too good for Rapoo now, does it. lol  Anyway, thanks for letting me return the board qtan.

[f/64]

Actually I was hoping it would be the published spec.  50g.

These Cherry Reds could stand to be a bit stiffer to be the Ultimate Gaming Switch.

I'll put 45g (why 44?) into the Peak Force Database.

44 was just what the scale measured them at, one of the nickels seemed to be off.

Good luck man, hope your keyboard can hold more than a week.

I am, as a seller, I got two of Rapoo V7 return two days after I sold, so I put them off right after that.

Not every single one have the issue, but if you ship internationally, don't try that right now, wait for few months.

So far so good, I'm really enjoying it and I haven't seen any QC issues yet. It's lighter than I had expected but seems decently made so far.

I was annoyed at first with not being able to get the programming to work and not being able to read the manual, but I figured it out. You have to hit the circled "M" for the settings to take effect. Turning that button off reverts it to it's original settings but still saves the ones you've programmed so you're free to turn on and off your programmed settings at will.

Thanks for that review F/64.  You just got me to make a purchase from some random dinosaur website I've never heard of before!

F/64 a photo reference?  Like 200mm f1.8?

Congrats! I hope you enjoy your purchase as much as I am mine. I almost didn't order from them with the price being so low and nobody here ever hearing of them, but I just couldn't resist.

And yes, it's a photography reference; group f/64 really made nature photography what it is today; I'm sure there's a read on it on Wikipedia.

[vun]

Considering getting this over a SS 6G as a relatively cheap gaming keyboard, it's smaller and from what I've gathered it is also cheaper, but hard to get in Europe. Would getting one to Europe raise the price enough to make the 6G a better choice?

[f/64]

As far as I know, Dinodirect's shipping is free worldwide if you want to get it through them; may double check that though. No idea about other companies.

[vun]

Says on their front page "enjoy free worldwide shipping".
At about $56/€40 on sale now it's about half the price of the 6G, but the sale only lasts for 10 more hours.
Worth pulling the trigger?

Edit: Says on the v7 page that there's free shipping to the US, but it won't let me change country, does this mean shipping is only free to the US?

Edit again: Nevermind, was just Opera not letting the javascript work. Worked in FF.

Edit 1245235: Is Dinodirect trustworthy?

[RiGS]

I would take the Steelseries over the Rapoo any day.

[f/64]

Says on their front page "enjoy free worldwide shipping".
At about $56/€40 on sale now it's about half the price of the 6G, but the sale only lasts for 10 more hours.
Worth pulling the trigger?

Edit: Says on the v7 page that there's free shipping to the US, but it won't let me change country, does this mean shipping is only free to the US?

Edit again: Nevermind, was just Opera not letting the javascript work. Worked in FF.

Edit 1245235: Is Dinodirect trustworthy?

That "sale" timer is bogus; it resets for another 24 hours when it runs out though it did fool me in to buying it originally. I'm very pleased with them; they sent a nice, large cloth Rapoo mousepad that I have my keyboard sitting on as well as a key puller and some "Chinese Knot" thing as well. I researched them before buying and found that negative reviews about them on review sites were met with "if you include the order number here or contact us, we can take care of it" sort of responses. Trustlink and Resellerratings both have reviews of the company.

If you do buy from them, don't forget to use the DEALAM coupon for $10 off $50. I think at one point during checkout it doesn't show the $10 off, but it does when you first add it and it does on the final invoice IIRC.

[vun]

I would take the Steelseries over the Rapoo any day.

Thing is; the SS costs twice as much and I'd rather not spend too much as I don't really need another keyboard.

Edit: Thanks f/64, I read the FAQ as well and it looks like it shouldn't be an issue in case the board gets broken on the way here.
Also nice to know that the sale timer just resets, gives me a bit more time to decide. Delaying getting another keyboard as I don't really need one but really want one >_>

[elbowglue]

Just got my rapoo V7 yesterday.  Took 16 calendar days to arrive using the cheapest shipping method (I think it was airmail?), I l ive in california for what it's worth.

2KRO, very nice keyboard.  Feels a bit like cherry reds.  Plate mounted, pretty much almost standard layout which is nice.  13.75 inches long and 5.5 inches long which is a good size.  Every key is working.  Spacebar is gerntly sloped in the front for those of you who have complained about sharp spacebar, you won't have this problem.  The capslock is stepped which is a big plus.

Bottoming out is pretty nice, still a little hard when you bottom out since you're hitting a plate but for some reason the plate dosen't feel as hard as other plates.  Or maybe it's the keycap or the switch that feels a little different with bottomout.

Switch characteristic without busting out those nickels feels almost exactly like cherry reds.  Any difference is pretty much un-noticeable.  I have no complaints about stabilizers.

I haven't tried the marco software yet.  I like the LED of the winlock and the macro buttons they don't shoot straight into your retina, they aren't too bright and don't blind you.

Summary?  For less than $50 shipped this is a fantastic keyboard.  You just gotta wait for shipping, you gotta love linear switches, and possibly take the risk it might have quality control issues (which mine has not)

I highly recommend.

Oh yeah they threw in some freebees too, a Rappoo mousepad (cloth on top of neoprene very similar to the steelseries heavy I think) and a SD card reader.

OH yeah - it's out of stock through dinodirect, can't find the item at all, so you'll have to get this from a different retailer.

[monked]

sounds great for the price... any idea where to find it now? found some on ebay but they are not even close to the price you paid.... would get one for the lulz and some ANSI experience ^^

[elbowglue]

Another quick update:

So the control key is not full sized, control key = same size as windows and alt buttons.  However the spacebar is a little longer than standard keyboard spacebar length.

The space between the right control and the arrow keys is slightly narrow which I think accounts for the width of the keyboard being narrower than the typical filco 14 inch.

The F1 key location is not where it would be expected to be of course; if you use F keys regularly in say starcraft, it would be considered to be in a nonstandard location.

Also instert/delete/home/end/pgup/pgdown cluster is lower on the Rappoo as well.

I still like the keyboard a lot.  Very good for typing.

[elbowglue]

Oh yeah.  They keyboard had a slightly uneven base, I had to put some foam tape on the base of the keyboard so it wouldn't rock back and forth ever so slightly while typing on it.  What do you expect for $46 dollars tho

[sordna]

Oh yeah.  They keyboard had a slightly uneven base, I had to put some foam tape on the base of the keyboard so it wouldn't rock back and forth ever so slightly while typing on it.  What do you expect for $46 dollars tho

You can fix it by grasping the keyboard ends and twisting so as to "bend" the metal plate into a flatter position. It's not an uncommon issue on plate-mounted keyboards, but it's easy to fix.

[monked]

sounds great for the price... any idea where to find it now? found some on ebay but they are not even close to the price you paid....

yeah! would be interesting!

[f/64]

The only Rapoo v7 I found, and it was just a quick search was a Chinese wholesale site named Starzmart for $86 with free shipping; I've never used them so I can't speak to them at all.

As far as DinoDirect, they have the Rapoo v5 which is a full size keyboard with blacks. They also have what looks like a Noppo Choc Mini. That's not in the listing, but the picture of the packaging says it, and the space bar is emblazoned with Noppoo. Unfortunately they don't say what color the switches are for the Noppoo, but with advertising like: "Outstanding appearance and comfortable touching feeling make you feel better" how can you resist?

http://www.dinodirect.com/keyboard-wired-usb-computer-game-mechanical.html
Switch unlisted Noppoo Mini at $88 with the THANKYOUFRIEND $20 off $100 coupon if you want to gamble I guess.

[f/64]

I haven't tried the marco software yet.  

I've played around with it quite a bit, I was missing my media keys from my old G15, remapped most of the F7-F12 keys in all of 10 seconds. Talk about quick and effortless; the software gives the option to remap every single key on the board. The one complaint I do have about the board is that I find myself hitting the capslock very often when gaming, need to remap that.

Oh yeah.  They keyboard had a slightly uneven base, I had to put some foam tape on the base of the keyboard so it wouldn't rock back and forth ever so slightly while typing on it.  What do you expect for $46 dollars tho

I just sat mine on top of the mouse pad they sent along with the keyboard, it's the perfect size for it.

[Twig]

Just a quick post to say the Rapoo is back instock at Dino Direct

Looks like they bumped the price a little, but it's still alot cheaper than the few other seller available
 
Got mine a week ago and I've been really enjoying it, having come from the blues I found the key presses very smooth from top to bottom. which is a very different feeling but didnt take long to get used to. my main reason for purchasing was because I wanted a tenkeyless for fps games. and this fits the bill perfectly. The weight required for actuation feels like it was made for me and the new desk space to freely move my mouse around is great.
My only issue is space bar has just decided to start squeaking, I haven't looked into how I can fix it yet because its not really an issue for me right now, but having read soooo much about the dreaded 'ping' it may be a big deal for some of people.
oh, and it took 2 weeks to arrive to the UK and that's using the DHL shipping method, even though there shipping estimate is 3-7 days -___-