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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 11:33:51

Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 11:33:51
i went to the local recycling center as a little adventure für my recent interest in keyboards!
the just emptied the electronics container but i found 3 board including this cutie!

(http://img6.imagebanana.com/img/w8yq6hpp/070920112278.jpg)
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/jswdkfrs/070920112278.jpg (http://www.imagebanana.com/view/jswdkfrs/070920112278.jpg)

it looked really really disgusting... i mean REALLY disgusting but it felt awesome so i took it home and stripped it down...

Chicony KB-5181F:
all keys except the return key feel tactile and really nice but the articles i found on google are about the same board with other switches?

now tell me!! mr ripster & co. WTF is this thing? well i know what it is but what kind of switches are those?

greetings from germany!
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 12:13:08
WHERE IS MY ANSWER RIPSTER?!
(http://img7.imagebanana.com/img/d28n5k3b/ripster.jpg)
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 12:28:30
yeah.. kind of.. the white thing is the same and the black box around it looks similar!
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/jswd...0920112278.jpg (http://www.imagebanana.com/view/jswdkfrs/070920112278.jpg) is a picture i took of the one i found ^^
do you know the names of them? or any details?
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: RC-1140 on Wed, 07 September 2011, 12:28:58
Hehe, I knew you were German in the moment I read the "für" in the place of "for".

But honestly these look interesting! What kind of "recycling center" was it? Because at our local "Wertstoffhof" they aren't allowed to give you anything, and they're strict about it. (I just wanted some cheap TAE (German Phone) plugs! :der: )

RC
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 12:51:39
yeah its the "wertstoffhof" of my city and they usually dont give away stuff either but i asked nicely if i could look for a spare part for one of my keys!
those recicling centers are in part financed by the metal and stuff people bring there and it would be a lot more expensive if everybody would come there to "steal" every valuable part of metal and **** :D


EDIT:///

"KB-5161, KB-5162, KB-5181, KB-5182: ALPS-compatible clicky.
Could be Blue ALPS or clicky SMK "Monterey" switches, or perhaps something else... I don't know.
The Blue ALPS are known to be the nicest clicky ALPS. People have described the Monterey as something in-between Blue ALPS, Cherry MX Blue and buckling springs."


"One special thing about these keyboards is that they changed the switch type every year; they can be found with "real" white Alps, "real" Cherry MX blues, fake Cherry MX blues, and SMK Monterey switches."
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 13:05:25
hmmm all i can find are those "blue" monterey SMKs but they dont look like the white ones on the board i found and posted by you : http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:8771
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 14:47:53
found it! http://deskthority.net/wiki/Futaba_Switch anyone intered? :D
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: redpill on Wed, 07 September 2011, 15:54:13
You sure?  The ones in your link look opposite, they are indented stems.  The ones in your picture above look like Cherry stems with a tube around them.
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 07 September 2011, 15:55:56
Quote from: redpill;412178
You sure?  The ones in your link look opposite, they are indented stems.  The ones in your picture above look like Cherry stems with a tube around them.

Check it:

Quote from: Deskthoritah
The Futaba switch is known to have at least three variants. Two variants with a round keystem, looking similar to an inverted Cherry MX (http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX) switch and a square shaped variant. The variants are all identical in their keyfeel.
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Wed, 07 September 2011, 16:05:27
oh true... but there is FUTABA 69 brinted in the bottom side i just unsoldered the switches o.O
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: redpill on Wed, 07 September 2011, 16:10:41
Looks like the same ones on this board: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?13068-Unknown-keyboard

Apparently they are known as "inverse Futabas."
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: Wibox on Wed, 07 September 2011, 16:28:29
Cherry compatible Futabas. I own this baord aswell. The switches work similar to beam springs- they are spring on spring. The metal clicking from one position to the other is the reason they click on the way down AND on the way up. Personally not a big fan.
Title: recycling center keyboard (Chicony KB-5181F)
Post by: monked on Thu, 08 September 2011, 07:22:25
jup just fished one of the keycaps out of the trash and used some €s for the test... as mentioned before there are 2 tactile clicks on each keypress!
i opened one accicentally and it looks exactly like your picture inside. they are easy to put back together anyways!

it took 70g to trigger the tactile feedback and the key key itself... i was wondering because it feels really light and the tactile point is a really high peak in comparison to the rest of the key feedback o.O very easy to bottom the key out for like lonk walking with WASD or mass !!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyone interested in those precious babys? :D