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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: itzmeluigi on Sat, 15 June 2013, 20:40:33

Title: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: itzmeluigi on Sat, 15 June 2013, 20:40:33: Well i ordered my Ducky DK9087 Shine II TKL Cherry Red switches with Red Leds from mechanicalkeyboards.com, i bought one of the last two they had apparently. Although it is a nice keyboard, for the price they should of listed some where that some of the keycaps will have uneven holes on the back of them and one of the Alt keys had an extra bit of plastic on it that was imperfect and unacceptable for a keyboard of this price. They also should of listed that the included USB cable is only five feet long.

I emailed both Ducky and mechanicalkeyboards.com asking for replacement keycaps or to exchange it for another one but i have yet to receive a reply after waiting a few days. I hope they can offer me replacement keycaps as the keyboard itself is fine and i wouldn't really want to bother shipping it back for another one if most of them have uneven holes on the keycaps. Is it common for Duckys to have holes in the keycaps and imperfections on some keys? I read a few posts saying the holes are common but the imperfection of the Alt key is a bit much?

Should i keep this keyboard or try to get another without imperfections, does anyone have a Ducky Shine II with out imperfections?

(http://i43.tinypic.com/2pq7rs8.jpg)
Edit: Number keys 5, 7, and 8 have larger holes in them compared to the small dots on the rest of the keys.
(http://i42.tinypic.com/2wf4rra.jpg)
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photekq on Sat, 15 June 2013, 20:43:31: This is normal on all keycaps. Even the absolute highest quality caps will have uneven spots on the end. A set of keycaps is moulded all at once so a frame like this is produced. They have to be snapped off the frame which results in the uneven bits.
(http://keycapsdirect.com/images/custom/custom-keycaps-1.jpg)

So no.. don't return it, ask for a refund or ask for replacement caps. This isn't a fault with the product.

What's the imperfection on the alt key? Do you have a picture?

Also, welcome to Geekhack! :D
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: lightsout714 on Sat, 15 June 2013, 20:52:43: Sprue holes from the manufacturing process?
edit: ninja'd
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Sat, 15 June 2013, 21:03:27: I guess you won't be looking at the back of it much when using it... but if it really bothers you, you could carefully paint the inside sides only not the top with some black to block the light coming in the sprue marks. If there is any sprue still poking off, simply clip it carefully. Pretty much all keycaps will have these sprue marks, some like backlight caps may just be more obvious than others.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photoelectric on Sat, 15 June 2013, 21:33:58: I don't have black caps next to me at the moment, but my pink replacement Shine caps have those tiny lights on the backs too, but they are TINY--I had to look closely to see them.

I wouldn't be bothered by that personally, because that side of the keys faces the monitor, so you'll never see it. It's not like a scratch on the key front or on the casing.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: jabar on Sat, 15 June 2013, 21:40:00: I don't know if the sprues on my Ducky show LED light through, but yikes, you don't even look at that part (and it's part of normal manufacturing).
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: itzmeluigi on Sat, 15 June 2013, 21:48:42: The plastic location looks exactly like where it was placed from the above picture although there are three larger ones then the dot sized ones compared to the rest of the keys. That clears a lot up for me though, in that case its fine then since they were on those plastic holder things. Although on the Alt key there is like almost extra molding on the front edge of the Alt key which seems permanently attached. Hopefully they can send out a single Alt key since they dont have the Chinese lettering on it so maybe they have more spares or something, if they dont have spare Alt keys ill most likely try to exchange the board since the extra plastic bit is on the very front edge of the Alt key. Thanks so much all

(http://i42.tinypic.com/2lc3fjo.jpg)
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: calavera on Sat, 15 June 2013, 21:57:59: Sorry but I can't see **** in that pic. So there's a small piece of plastic sticking out?
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: tp4tissue on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:02:44: This is an eventuality with ALL backlit keyboards because that layer is quite thin indeed

With the exception of the double shots of course.. :))
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photekq on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:03:29: Can you not file/sand that small bit off? I feel that you're being a little too picky with the product. It's a very, very, VERY small problem and you must understand that things like this happen in mass production.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photoelectric on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:07:25: I would not sand those keys--they are coated with that rubbery black color over translucent plastic. Sanding will risk making the imperfection a lot worse with LED backlight shining through.

I have a set with Chinese characters too (not using at the moment in favor of pink), and I've just looked at it--those spots on the back are present like for yours. So it's normal. I don't have any front imperfections though.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photekq on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:07:58: Quote from: Photoelectric on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:07:25
I would not sand those keys--they are coated with that rubbery black color over translucent plastic. Sanding will risk making the imperfection a lot worse with LED backlight shining through.
Oh I see. Sorry, I have never owned a backlit keyboard so I'm not familiar with the keycaps.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: khaangaaroo on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:18:19: Quote from: itzmeluigi on Sat, 15 June 2013, 21:48:42
Show Image
(http://i42.tinypic.com/2lc3fjo.jpg)

If you're using a point&shoot, try turning off the backlight on the keyboard so that it doesn't contrast-detect focus on the "alt" lettering. Be sure you're on macro mode as well. If it still won't focus, try backing off a little because you might be outside of the minimum focus distance for the lens.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: itzmeluigi on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:18:53: Ya my bad about the horrible quality pictures but its the closest of detail i could capture it. Its a small bit of plastic risen above slightly on the edge of the key, its noticeable when using the key compared to the other Alt key. I would sand it down but since its right on the edge i think that it might disrupt the smooth texture of the keys and appear lighter. I know im being a bit picky but best to be picky while the return window is still open ;). Thanks for the confirmation Photoelectric i thought it was some sort of defect on my board so happy its not :D The only imperfect thing thats on the board so far seems to be the Alt key.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photoelectric on Sat, 15 June 2013, 22:23:50: It's probably the case with such backlit keys (that in my experience have been translucent plastic coated in some color (normally black)--same on my old CM Storm Trigger) that manufacturing has to be very tight in terms of quality control, as any unevenness in the top coat will show up with backlight. That said, I love all of my backlit keys so far--they feel wonderful.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: shifted on Sat, 15 June 2013, 23:38:31: I wouldn't worry about the light coming through but I would email ducky about the Alt key. They will probably mail you a new one. I doubt mechanicalkeyboards will do anything since right in their FAQs they say that any defects are dealt with through manufacture RMA or you can return the keyboard for a 10% restock fee +a $9 shipping charge. (which is funny since they raised prices to cover the free shipping but whatever).

I recently bought a Max Nighthawk keyboard and the "S" keycap had a small bump in the paint, similar to the number "5" key on some keypads usually meant for finding your place without looking at the keys. It was minor but a very bad key to have the defect since those keys are very commonly used in gaming. Max keyboard sent me out a keycap the next day. I am sure Ducky would do the same.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: jabar on Sun, 16 June 2013, 00:19:43: Quote from: shifted on Sat, 15 June 2013, 23:38:31
I doubt mechanicalkeyboards will do anything since right in their FAQs they say that any defects are dealt with through manufacture RMA or you can return the keyboard for a 10% restock fee +a $9 shipping charge. (which is funny since they raised prices to cover the free shipping but whatever).
This is wrong information.

MechKeyboards now handles RMA support for Ducky (and many other brands). They should have spare keys. They replaced a busted key in the extra Ducky WASD set for free.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: SpAmRaY on Sun, 16 June 2013, 21:07:42: Just wanted to say I had similar questions about those holes when I purchased my shine II and was told by mk that those holes are normal.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: zoolzoo on Mon, 17 June 2013, 07:05:24: Welcome to gh. You will probably be replacing those caps soon anyway.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: itzmeluigi on Mon, 17 June 2013, 12:33:10: Fantastic news, i called Mechanicalkeyboards.com today and provided my order ID and they said they will send out another Alt key :D.
Very glad that i dont have to return this keyboard.

Quote from: zoolzoo on Mon, 17 June 2013, 07:05:24
Welcome to gh. You will probably be replacing those caps soon anyway.
Thanks, ill probably stick with the stock keycaps for a good while though, i havent ventured into the custom keycap realm just yet :)
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: Photoelectric on Mon, 17 June 2013, 12:37:14: The stock keycaps are awesome! Once you switch, you'll feel a difference--the stock ones are super soft and smooth and shock-absorbing. I'll never use anything but Shine keycaps on my Ducky personally--good thing they come in a few colors.
Title: Re: Imperfect Ducky Shine II (keep or return?)
Post by: rowdy on Mon, 17 June 2013, 15:13:45: Excellent response from mechanicalkeyboards :)

And yes, you might find yourself keeping the standard keycaps for longer as there are not that many sets of backlight-friendly caps out there.