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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: xquisit on Mon, 16 April 2012, 18:43:41

Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: xquisit on Mon, 16 April 2012, 18:43:41: I was looking through my brother's closet for some socks (lol), and I came across his old keyboard. It's a DELL QuietKey, and it feels way better to type on than the other rubber-dome.

I'm trying to find out the model number, and I'll upload a picture...

I'm trying to figure out what switch it is, but I don't know if using force is the best way to pull them out.

I have some paper clips, and a picture of how to bend the clips.. so I'll report back.

I made the thread, because I was so surpised how great it is to type on.
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: mr626 on Mon, 16 April 2012, 19:20:30: It will be rubber-dome, but the QuietKey boards tend to be good. I have one on my secondary machine at work.

Ironically, it is one of the louder rubber-dome boards I have used.
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: xquisit on Mon, 16 April 2012, 20:00:19: It's loud, and I want to assume it's blue ALPS!

Feels way better than my ****ty rubber dome, and not to mention my compaq keyboard has so many shiney keys... :(
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: fohat.digs on Mon, 16 April 2012, 20:43:46: The original Dell Quiet Keys are about as good as rubber domes get. They have model numbers something like RD7T and were made in Malaysia or Thailand.

After that, they have numbers like 1000 and were made in China. They suck.

I have had a couple with dark blue individual domes, affixed to a clear substrate, and one with bright yellow domes.

All my other rubber domes have had all molded together in a single sheet.
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: xquisit on Tue, 17 April 2012, 19:40:35: It's definitely too loud, I hate to switch to my compaq rubber-dome for late-night gaming.

Here's some pictures:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48505[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]48506[/ATTACH]
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: xquisit on Tue, 17 April 2012, 22:47:01: I had a feeling they reminded me of blues, and I checked the back of the keyboard; The model number is RT7D5JTW.
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: bavman on Tue, 17 April 2012, 22:54:38: http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:11672
Title: Screw my $10 compaq rubber-dome, I found a 15 year old DELL keyboard!
Post by: Horsebadorties on Mon, 07 May 2012, 01:14:32: This is my favorite keyboard.

I bought one thirteen or so years ago for almost $70. I used it for a while, but came to prefer a buckling spring keyboard. When I needed something quieter, I ordered a Filco with Cherry browns, but didn't like the feeble tactile feel. Then I remembered my old DELL QuietKey, and rescued it from its box in my basement. Great tactile feedback. It's not silent, but I actually prefer a little bit of keyboard noise. It's definitely quieter than a buckling spring.

I liked it enough to buy another on the Bay, for about 85% less than the first one cost me.

Yesterday I clumsily knocked over a cup of milk on my desk; most of it went into my old Dell keyboard. But I didn't have much trouble opening the keyboard and cleaning it out. Didn't even need to pull off any keycaps; I just hosed down the top half of the board with tap water, then rinsed with a little distilled water. It's good as new. While I had the keyboard open, I saw that it is very well constructed; I can understand why this keyboard cost so much back in the day. As long as the rubber domes hold up, I'm quite happy with it.