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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: spacecase on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:50:48

Title: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: spacecase on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:50:48: Out of these three who likes what and why? This post is mainly just curiosity since I like the boards I have and these are so rare.

Given the cost of nice work oriented laptops I wonder why better keyboards aren't available... just kidding I really don't wonder but I do wish.

On a side note does anyone know of any full sized keyboards that have either topre st, or Cherry ML. I have an engineer who loves the apple keyboard in large part because of its throw distance and I would love to get him something better if I could find it.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: daerid on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:55:42: Topre short throw? What is this madness? I MUST KNOW
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: sth on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:57:37: i would love to try topre short throw.

there are no full-size boards with ML that i know of - the closest you'll probably get is the one with the trackball and/or use an ML numpad next to your ML board.

let me know if you want to try an ML, i am selling a few in the thread in my sig.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: daerid on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:59:25: After a quick search, I've concluded that I'd probably sell an internal organ for a HHKB with short throw switches.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: CynBlues on Tue, 08 January 2013, 17:03:37: Quote from: sth on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:57:37
there are no full-size boards with ML that i know of

Well.... if one wanted to go decadent, the Optimus Maximus keyboard uses Cherry ML's....
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: FoxWolf1 on Tue, 08 January 2013, 17:04:52: Haven't tried the other two, but loathe scissor switches. There's a lot of variation from one scissor design to another in terms of feel, with the better ones actually being halfway decent (though still not mechanical quality), but even if a scissor keyboard is okay to type on, in my experience, they just don't last. The keys on them are always getting ripped off during normal usage, and the mechanisms always break...either the scissory bits themselves, the part where they attach to the keyboard, or the part where they are being attached to the key.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: sth on Tue, 08 January 2013, 17:11:39: Quote from: CynBlues on Tue, 08 January 2013, 17:03:37
Quote from: sth on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:57:37
there are no full-size boards with ML that i know of

Well.... if one wanted to go decadent, the Optimus Maximus keyboard uses Cherry ML's....
thanks, i had completely forgotten about that keyboard :))
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: daerid on Tue, 08 January 2013, 18:02:32: Quote from: FoxWolf1 on Tue, 08 January 2013, 17:04:52
Haven't tried the other two, but loathe scissor switches. There's a lot of variation from one scissor design to another in terms of feel, with the better ones actually being halfway decent (though still not mechanical quality), but even if a scissor keyboard is okay to type on, in my experience, they just don't last. The keys on them are always getting ripped off during normal usage, and the mechanisms always break...either the scissory bits themselves, the part where they attach to the keyboard, or the part where they are being attached to the key.

What the heck are you doing to your keyboards? I've had a few scissor switch keyboards last me years without a hitch.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: davkol on Tue, 08 January 2013, 18:22:03: I think there were some full-size keyboards with Cherry ML... and spherical keycaps I guess? Apart from that, G84-5200 has a numpad. I couldn't get used to ML anyway...

Scissor switches... there are too many different scissor switches. I'm fine with thinkpads and typematrix, but most laptop keyboards ([life|tough|mac]books, the original Eee PC,...) are horrible.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 08 January 2013, 22:59:51: There was a Cherry switch before ML found on some old laptop made before 89 with these I have seen a few times
(http://www.kbdmania.net/xe/files/attach/images/42106/408/675/001/G80-3181col_18.JPG)
I forget what they are called but they are fairly pleasant in comparison to some others. Basically feel like MX with a shorter travel as they are much shorter. Oddly enough they used them for the trackpad mouse buttons on a G80-3181 I had.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: nar on Tue, 08 January 2013, 23:37:55: Well thats an interesting topic, I have all three in front of me right now (Well the Topre Short Throw is sitting on top of my laptop scissor switches).

Topre Short Throw is my absolute favourite keyboard. Only downside is its 55g only so my normal Realforce is better for long typing sessions, but for gaming I would not use any other keyboard in the world. Aside from the short throw length, there's definitely a slight difference in the feel, it feels like if there really was a scissor mechanism on the topre dome (But there isn't).

The Cherry ML... I find it very meh, It feels like a Brown that bottoms out right after actuation, doesn't feel special at all, and the actual tactile point feels worse than the MXes, though I got mine used so it may be just that.

Here's the Topre Short Throw album I put together by request of a certain person on reddit only.
http://imgur.com/a/w7z6R
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: daerid on Tue, 08 January 2013, 23:41:23: Where can pick one of these short throw keyboards up?
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: sth on Tue, 08 January 2013, 23:43:15: Quote from: nar on Tue, 08 January 2013, 23:37:55
Well thats an interesting topic, I have all three in front of me right now (Well the Topre Short Throw is sitting on top of my laptop scissor switches).

Topre Short Throw is my absolute favourite keyboard. Only downside is its 55g only so my normal Realforce is better for long typing sessions, but for gaming I would not use any other keyboard in the world. Aside from the short throw length, there's definitely a slight difference in the feel, it feels like if there really was a scissor mechanism on the topre dome (But there isn't).

The Cherry ML... I find it very meh, It feels like a Brown that bottoms out right after actuation, doesn't feel special at all, and the actual tactile point feels worse than the MXes, though I got mine used so it may be just that.

Here's the Topre Short Throw album I put together by request of a certain person on reddit only.
http://imgur.com/a/w7z6R

if only they came in ansi... pretty cool man :) i still prefer ML to most cherry switches though. someday i'll get around to lubing an ML board.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: nar on Tue, 08 January 2013, 23:48:20: Quote from: daerid on Tue, 08 January 2013, 23:41:23
Where can pick one of these short throw keyboards up?

I got mine cheap from Taobao, there was a seller on there who had a batch of them and was selling them off for cheap, he doesn't seem to have any stock left anymore though, you could always keep looking though.

I also see them pop up every once in a while on Yahoo Auctions, thats probably your best bet (You still need to be able to bid on a Japanese auction site though).

From what I can tell, all these short throw keyboards are sold OEM for server racks/KVM setups so you only get them on them used on auction sites and similar. Also none of them are USB, either PS/2 or even weirder connections like SUN.
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: iri on Wed, 09 January 2013, 02:36:08: Quote from: sth on Tue, 08 January 2013, 16:57:37
there are no full-size boards with ML that i know of
http://www.access-is.com/cherry-g84-5200-keyboard.php
Title: Re: Topre Short Throw, Cherry ML, Scissor Switch. (Laptops)
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 09 February 2014, 08:37:34: Quote from: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 08 January 2013, 22:59:51
There was a Cherry switch before ML found on some old laptop made before 89 with these I have seen a few times
Show Image
(http://www.kbdmania.net/xe/files/attach/images/42106/408/675/001/G80-3181col_18.JPG)

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_M8

Those are the rare enclosed variant.