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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: HighhBrid on Sat, 12 January 2013, 01:16:47
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Hello, I am new here.
First off, I am a mechy board noob :D, I know some lingo but not really all of it.
As the title says, some of the keys on my new Ducky Shine II (White LED MX Blue if you inquire) are feel sticky, or meshy might be a better word. They don't press down very comfortably.
Most notably: Backspace, Spacebar, Tab, Enter, left and right Shift.
Everything else is great, but god.. this is driving me up the wall..
This backspace is so bad..............
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All the keys that you are mentioning as being sticky are because they use different stabilizers than other mechnical boards. Ducky boards use Cherry stabilizers, while costar boards use their own stabilizers.
Cherry
(http://www.techarp.com/review/Ducky/DK9008G2_Cherry_MX_Brown_Keyboard/mx_white.jpg)
Costar
(http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k221/undarken/random/RBWUstabilizer.jpg)
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yeah, this is the difference between costar and cherry stabilizers. Cherry stabilizers also drive me up a wall.
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Welcome to Geekhack!
If this is your first mechanical keyboard, give yourself a little time, say a couple of weeks of reasonable use, to get used to it.
Coming from a rubber dome (presumably) is quite a jump. There is a difference between the two main type of stabilisers. I have Ducky Shine (version 1), but I wouldn't say that the keys feel mushy. But there again I type on a few (maybe about a dozen) keyboards at home and work, of which only 3 are mechanical, so I tend to tolerate differences quite well.
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You can attempt to clip the little nubs on the stabilizers to make them "more" like costar.
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Thanks for the replies, I'll try to get used to it. There is no way I can change the stabilizers?
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Are they physically sticky? Like when you depress the key, it just sticks there for a few seconds?
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Cherry stabs are often very tight when new. You just need to use them and they will break in and get smoother. If you are impatient you can remove and insert the wire part in to the plastic clips a few dozen times, though it is a pita to do on plate mount as it is partially obscured by the plate. Adding a dab of grease on the wire where it makes contact with the plastic clip can help a lot also.
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Are they physically sticky? Like when you depress the key, it just sticks there for a few seconds?
No it's not that the don't depress, there is more resistance from the mentioned keys, compared to the square keys. Those are very snappy.Cherry stabs are often very tight when new. You just need to use them and they will break in and get smoother. If you are impatient you can remove and insert the wire part in to the plastic clips a few dozen times, though it is a pita to do on plate mount as it is partially obscured by the plate. Adding a dab of grease on the wire where it makes contact with the plastic clip can help a lot also.
How long do you think it might take to "break the keys in"? They feel tight, as you mentioned.
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Usually a couple weeks of typing regularly. You could just sit and spam on them while watching a movie or something if you want to get it done faster.
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Usually a couple weeks of typing regularly. You could just sit and spam on them while watching a movie or something if you want to get it done faster.
Ok, I'll give it a go, thanks for the help people.
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Usually a couple weeks of typing regularly. You could just sit and spam on them while watching a movie or something if you want to get it done faster.
Ok, I'll give it a go, thanks for the help people.
Flip keyboard over.. Press gently..
OR put a piece of cardboard over it, and do the same thing...
Try not to rock the keys side to side much, because that might rip the stem out.
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Usually a couple weeks of typing regularly. You could just sit and spam on them while watching a movie or something if you want to get it done faster.
Ok, I'll give it a go, thanks for the help people.
Flip keyboard over.. Press gently..
OR put a piece of cardboard over it, and do the same thing...
Try not to rock the keys side to side much, because that might rip the stem out.
Do that for a few minutes? Hold it there? Or just press down and done?
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So after a few days I started to look at my keyboard psychically. I have all my keys taken off (yes) and upon further inspection, the switches under my shift keys looks like the "cherry" picture that file_id has provided.
However, the side switches do not spring up, they just sit there and I think that's what's causing my meshy feeling. Is this normal or does it sound like something is wrong with my new Ducky?
(It is so hard to type like this.)
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The dummy pins in the stabilisers do not have springs under them, so when you remove the keycap they will stay in the lowered position.
When you put the keycap back on, the spring in the switch should cause all 3 pins to rise.
If the keycap is not seated straight and firmly pushed on, it will not activate all the pins correctly, and the key will feel mush at best.
So just make sure the keycap is pressed all the way down on both sides and in the middle.
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I did that. They do feel a little better, but I can't really tell if it made a difference.
I also can't tell if I'm being sub-consciously picky. I just expected my Shift keys, Spacebar and Enter keys to feel like the rest of my keyboard, which feels fine.
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They will feel slightly different due to the stabilisers. The largers keys on my Ducky Shine with MX blues feel slightly different, and also sound slightly muted. All a side-effect of the stabilisers.
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Is there a mod that can make them more comfortable? or more like the other keys?
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Apart from lubing them, it is not practical to replace them with Costar stabilisers (which a lot of people seem to prefer).
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And to think there are actually people who prefer Cherry stabs.... The insanity!
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I know! I feels.. odd. But I'll get used to it I guess.
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I don't mind either. Cherry are easier to swap keycaps, Costar feel smoother.
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I got 2 keyboards one with costar and one with cherry stabilizers. Yeah they Cherry takes a small amount of time to "break in" but it isn't a issue to me.
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Yeah I'm kind of sarcastic - I have a Ducky keyboard as well. Currently doesn't have caps on it, but it will when Feng gets better :))
[attachimg=1]
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Monday is a public holiday in Australia, so getting sick on Friday would lead to a four day weekend :))
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Monday is a public holiday in Australia, so getting sick on Friday would lead to a four day weekend :))
Or you can be on university holidays and have a 3 month holiday =D
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My personal advice is try to obtain a tube of Superlube at your nearest hardware store (Lowe's, Ace, Home Depot should all carry it, although just call in for availability) and lube the stabs. Lube around the plungers, as well as where the metal bar contacts the plungers on the bottom. This will take some maneuvering, and a toothpick works well. Use very sparingly, and let that set in as well. Should feel a little better, especially for the space bar.
I own a Ducky Shine, only a few months old, but after a little typing and breaking in it should feel a lot better.
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My personal advice is try to obtain a tube of Superlube at your nearest hardware store (Lowe's, Ace, Home Depot should all carry it, although just call in for availability) and lube the stabs. Lube around the plungers, as well as where the metal bar contacts the plungers on the bottom. This will take some maneuvering, and a toothpick works well. Use very sparingly, and let that set in as well. Should feel a little better, especially for the space bar.
I own a Ducky Shine, only a few months old, but after a little typing and breaking in it should feel a lot better.
I think I'm just going to let it break in, that sounds safer than putting liquids in my keyboard. Thanks for the help everyone.
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My personal advice is try to obtain a tube of Superlube at your nearest hardware store (Lowe's, Ace, Home Depot should all carry it, although just call in for availability) and lube the stabs. Lube around the plungers, as well as where the metal bar contacts the plungers on the bottom. This will take some maneuvering, and a toothpick works well. Use very sparingly, and let that set in as well. Should feel a little better, especially for the space bar.
I own a Ducky Shine, only a few months old, but after a little typing and breaking in it should feel a lot better.
I think I'm just going to let it break in, that sounds safer than putting liquids in my keyboard. Thanks for the help everyone.
Well, that's fine, but um, first off, Superlube is not a liquid, it's a rather stable paste at room temperature and at elevated temperatures. It's also a dielectric grease, which means that it won't conduct any electricity (so feel free to paste it all over your chips although I don't recommend it).
Also, its fully synthetic and plastic safe, but your choice.
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I also can't tell if I'm being sub-consciously picky. I just expected my Shift keys, Spacebar and Enter keys to feel like the rest of my keyboard, which feels fine.
It is kind of a shock on your first mechanical (especially with Cherry stabilizers) how much different the 'stabilized' keys feel. Break in is key.
Another good way to make sure the Cherry stabilizers aren't stuck is simply turning your keyboard upside down with the key cap off. The stabilizers should just drop from the gravity. Doing this also makes it easier to understand what the stabilizers are actually doing. If they don't drop you could have a blockage from the lovely stuff that falls behind your caps or you could have a broken stabilizer (very uncommon).
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lube + clip nub
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lube + clip nub
That's not very nice...lol
Lube the clip? Be specific...these guys are new. lol
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lube + clip nub
That's not very nice...lol
Lube the clip? Be specific...these guys are new. lol
He's not calling somebody a nub. He is saying; Lube the stabilizers and clip the nubs off. There's some Cherry Stabilizer Mod you can do somewhere out there on GH to make it feel closer to costar :cool:
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lube + clip nub
That's not very nice...lol
Lube the clip? Be specific...these guys are new. lol
He's not calling somebody a nub. He is saying; Lube the stabilizers and clip the nubs off. There's some Cherry Stabilizer Mod you can do somewhere out there on GH to make it feel closer to costar :cool:
Damn. Newbed myself. Touche, small sons.