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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 11:20:38

Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 11:20:38
I was in Maplin the other day (my local electronics shop was out of solder!) and spotted some interesting MX switches in their "lucky bag" of switches!

It's a white stem, linear. Here's a pic of the stem and spring: it appears to be a black/red stem, not sure about the spring...

I would post an image, but I'm getting a "new posts are checked" message...
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: alaricljs on Tue, 24 January 2012, 11:31:20
you need 5 posts to do a link... possible 15 to do a pic.  feel free to abuse this (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?23028-Boosting-my-post-count-POST-HERE-TO-GET-ABOVE-15-POST-LINK-PIC-RESTRICTION) thread.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 11:40:24
(http://i.imgur.com/Vf5XX.jpg )

Here.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 24 January 2012, 12:52:46
Chinese MX copies / MEI's.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: AlleyViper on Tue, 24 January 2012, 13:04:21
î *this*, check the black casing if it even says Cherry or if it's blank. If possible, and out of curiosity, do a rip'o'meter to test spring tension.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 13:06:43
The lid says Cherry on it - here:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38419[/ATTACH]

I don't have any tools other than a few coins to find out the actuation force.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 24 January 2012, 13:12:34
Strange... perhaps someone made some frankenswitch, or you found something very rare. I lean heavy on frankenswitch, as those spring look like the Chinese ones.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 13:33:01
It's from a Kemo Electronics luckybag. There were 3 in there.

Actuation force is approx. 55g.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 14:02:11
Absolutely fine.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 15:58:12
Just a little update - I shot off an email to Cherry's tech support, and the reply basically stated that they have no documentation on this type of switch, and that they may well have been a custom run.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 24 January 2012, 16:26:18
Wish we had enough for custom run. I asked Cherry before, about linear half between red and black. Said never existed, no plans to make one for official production, but they do custom if contract to do 30,000 boards worth switch minimum annually...
30,000:faint:
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 16:36:37
Crikey.

I'm sure a ghetto version could be made with a brown spring and a red/black stem?
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 24 January 2012, 16:46:43
Brown spring, same as red spring. Need one 5g heavier, but 5g lighter than the black one. Oh, and just to be clear that is not 30,000 switch but 3,120,000 per year. Assuming by boards worth they mean 104key.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 16:52:06
Ah. Massive numbers.

I'm still quite new to the whole switch thing, you'll have to excuse me :P If the clears are ~55cN, then surely that spring would do the job? It does appear awfully similar to the one in this switch.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 24 January 2012, 16:59:07
Clear is more like 65cN. 55cN is like a blue. Also the clear springs I had did not look at all like the ones in these switch you got. Those you have a looser coil spacing, which was what made me think they were a Chinese copy.
Title: Linear Cherry MX whites?
Post by: charliejohnson19 on Tue, 24 January 2012, 17:06:49
I see. I know the blue springs are quite tightly coiled compared to these ones... Quite confusing, especially at this time of day :P