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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: daerid on Mon, 03 December 2012, 18:13:43

Title: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: daerid on Mon, 03 December 2012, 18:13:43
I'm not the hugest fan of BS keyboards (blasphemy, I know), but I do like me some Cherry Blues occasionally. I was wondering, how does the higher stiffness and feel of Cherry Greens compare to that of a buckling spring board like a Unicomp or Model M?
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: REVENGE on Mon, 03 December 2012, 21:00:23
Force is somewhat similar, tactility is rather different.

Springs gone be springs mang!  :cool:
Title: Re: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: AKIMbO on Mon, 03 December 2012, 21:11:08
Force is somewhat similar, tactility is rather different.

Springs gone be springs mang!  :cool:
what he said.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: jabar on Mon, 03 December 2012, 21:46:49
I don't have a Buckling Spring keyboard at my side with my current MX Green keyboard (I have a few years' experience on a Model M though). I agree that the force required does feel similar but the tactility is much more pronounced in the Buckling Keyboard switch than the MX Greens. However, I am still very happy with the MX Greens as it provides much better resistance from bottoming out than MX Blues.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: daerid on Mon, 03 December 2012, 22:58:43
Yeah, blues really feel like they kind of have a linear force resistance (not taking into account the tactile bump).
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: Deverica Wolf on Sat, 08 December 2012, 09:10:03
So, as a fan of Buckling Springs, the only benefit of going Green would be Tenkeyless?
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: Shadovved on Sat, 08 December 2012, 09:11:47
So, as a fan of Buckling Springs, the only benefit of going Green would be Tenkeyless?

m'dear, you have teh SSK for TKL BS. So, no benefits to convert  :p :p
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: dorkvader on Sat, 08 December 2012, 11:48:11
Keep in mind there is a lot of variation in BS keyboards. My F-122 has a much lighter actuation than my 2010 Unicomp. I prefer BS to greens, but Greens are really nice for peolpe like me that use heavy switches all day. I don't bottom out as much.

Holding the switches at the tactile point is really easy with greens, It's pretty helpful in those games that require precise timing (like frets on fire, lol) but the switches are really too heavy for me if I'm writing a paper or something.

That said, this model F has by far the best key action of any keyboard I've yet used.
---
Tenkeyless model F's exist as well. Look up the so-called "space unsaver"1387033
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: MMB on Sat, 08 December 2012, 11:51:10
There is no MX switch that is going to give you a buckling spring feel. They are 2 completely different mechanisms, with different actuation distances and feels.
Title: Re: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: AKIMbO on Sat, 08 December 2012, 14:42:10
There is no MX switch that is going to give you a buckling spring feel. They are 2 completely different mechanisms, with different actuation distances and feels.

There's no buckling spring that will give you a capacitive buckling spring feel.  They are totally different.  I'm hoping to win a model f xt on Ebay and convert it to USB with soarers code and start a 2012 gh model f tour.  Gotta spread the good word.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: BucklingSpring on Sun, 09 December 2012, 13:31:03
There's no buckling spring that will give you a capacitive buckling spring feel.  They are totally different.  I'm hoping to win a model f xt on Ebay and convert it to USB with soarers code and start a 2012 gh model f tour.  Gotta spread the good word.

If anyone revives the capacitive buckling spring technology on a keyboard under 400$ - I buy!!!
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: daerid on Sun, 09 December 2012, 15:20:35
What's the difference between Capacitive BS and say a Model M? I thought all BS boards used capacitance to trigger the switch.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: fohat.digs on Sun, 09 December 2012, 15:58:06
Model Ms have a series of membranes and the internal construction is completely different.

When you take them apart, you see that the Model F is a throwback to an era where each piece was sturdy and replaceable, and that the whole was intended to be serviceable throughout.

The Model M was intended to reduce costs drastically and make for swifter assembly-line production. A bolt-mod is merely a partial attempt to re-create the way it should have been done in the first place.

I am not sure that it is the underlying switch that makes the difference (although the Model F hammers are triple the size of Model M hammers) but rather the entire construction of the beast as a whole.

If Unicomp had the Model F patents as well as the Model M patents, I suspect that the modern Model F would cost at least double what the M costs. After all, if I remember correctly, the Model F sold for about $350 and the Model M for about $250, and those were 1985 dollars.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: Deverica Wolf on Mon, 10 December 2012, 00:36:58
I'd pay top dollar for a Model F if it was nicer than the Model M.  :p
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: sherryton on Mon, 10 December 2012, 00:46:56
Wow daerid, where have you been? I do not think I have seen a post from you since forever.  Anyhow, if no one has mentioned this yet, I think that buckling springs have a higher force more compared to the greens.  The greens should feel a bit more smooth though.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: daerid on Mon, 10 December 2012, 01:37:25
Oh? I've been here. Mainly stick to Keyboards tho.. don't really jump into the other boards all that much. Back OT tho, I'm really curious about greens, but I'm worried that I'll probably not like them as much as I think I will. I've kind of gotten addicted to Topre recently.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: Viper2 on Mon, 10 December 2012, 04:41:21
Both are noisy.  Cherry MX Green was originally meant for spacebar usage, please keep that in mind.  I don't see any reason why Cherry MX Green would be preferable to Buckling Spring being that they are both noisy.  Maybe Buckling Spring is noisier though, I'm not sure. 

If you want a switch with firmness, tactility, and quietness, then I would highly recommend Cherry MX Clear.  I am extremely impressed with my Deck Legend Frost Tactile which uses Cherry MX Clear.

Good luck.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: daerid on Mon, 10 December 2012, 10:49:05
Didn't really like clears all that much when I tried them out. Although, Ergo Clears were pretty swank. Don't really care about noise, TBH, just feel
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: rknize on Tue, 11 December 2012, 00:40:13
As a buckling spring guy, I can parrot what others have said.  You can't reproduce that buckling effect with a linear spring.  The Model F/M springs collapse after actuation while the MX keeps pushing back harder.  The ergo-clear is about the closest feel to a Model M that I have experienced so far.  They are also quieter and don't have that high reset position that blues/greens have.  That said, the greens are heavier and have a more solid click sound than blues have, which makes them a bit more like a Model M in that sense.

I'm typing on a Model F right now and nothing compares.  :)

Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: iri on Tue, 11 December 2012, 02:33:47
f**k topre. i need that model f.
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: daerid on Tue, 11 December 2012, 20:18:32
f**k topre. i need that model f.

Sacrilege. Blasphemy. Etc..
Title: Re: Cherry Greens vs Buckling Spring
Post by: Hak Foo on Tue, 11 December 2012, 22:24:46
Does Unicomp also own the patents to the Capacitive components of the older boards (ie: Model F)?

Given the tech was valid by 1981, and completely mature by 1985 at least, the patents are long expired.

Honestly, having spent a while on a 122F at home and a 122M at work, the difference between capacitive BS and membrane BS is far less than, say, BS and Blue.

The F tends to have a distinctive "twang" though; it's similar, I think, to how some Fukka-Alps boards will "ring" when struck.