geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => DIY Discussions ARCHIVE => Topic started by: billm on Wed, 04 February 2009, 00:54:13
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Behold my latest soldering project. I was going to use brown cherries but then I mis-ordered these white ones based on a post on the deck website. Then once I had them I was thinking about how I'm not a huge fan of the blue cherries and I thought the brown ones might be too light just like them, so I thought I'd go with the whites after all.
They're... interesting. I'm not sure yet how much or even if I like them. I'm not sure there's actually a cherry switch that I like period. Either they're too light or too stiff. It's impossible for me to tell at this point anyway, nothing feels that great compared to the RealForce right now.
Anyway, with the black cherries, you pretty much had to jab every key all the way home. With these you just have to get over the tactile hump, so you can actually touch type. That said, it's quite a bit of a hump, and the springs are no less stiff than the blacks after that. Still, they're new and ought to soften up a little bit with use.
I wonder if the blacks and "clears" are actually meant more for cash register applications than touch typing? In a scenario where you're standing over the keyboard punching down at it, the extra spring tension and tactility make more sense.
Anway, as far as the soldering went, it was pretty quick. I'm no expert mind you, nor do I have tons of expensive equipment. A $20 Velleman soldering station and a $10 "Solderpullt" solder pump. I did lift a trace on one of the leds, but I was pretty easily able to patch over it with a piece of surface wiring. Not pretty but it works and is on there solidly.
Anyway, here it is. All of the LEDs are on in both pictures but the flash kind of washes them out.
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I'm not sure there's actually a cherry switch that I like period. Either they're too light or too stiff.
I feel the same way...
it's quite a bit of a hump, and the springs are no less stiff than the blacks after that. Still, they're new and ought to soften up a little bit with use.
sounds different from the white "fake" cherries that I had on my qtronix. Those had a more pronounced click-hump too, but the springs were normal.
Are you going to keep it?
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Are you going to keep it?
You know, I think I am going to keep it. I've been typing on it a bit this evening and have warmed to the switches a bit. The tactile "hump" no longer seems as extreme as I initially thought. I think I might keep it for use in a car some day... something like that.
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I wonder if the blacks and "clears" are actually meant more for cash register applications than touch typing?
Cherry has a line of POS keyboards which are mostly rubber dome. Black is the standard switch for their premium office keyboards.
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Cherry has a line of POS keyboards which are mostly rubber dome. Black is the standard switch for their premium office keyboards.
Hmm... Good to know. Maybe they like stiff springs because they're Germans! Hard beds, simple, hearty foods, austerity... all that crap... that I apparently associate with German-ness.
Clearly I know nothing about Germans that I didn't learn from Colonel Clink.
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:)
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So a new type of cherry switch?? i thought it was black, brown and blue and that's it...
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White is an older version of blue, IIRC
Clear is a heavier version of brown (technically, clear came first)
Red is a lighter version of black
Green is a heavier version of blue for spacebars, IIRC
There's quite a few others, too.
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My MX11800 has a gray, heavy, quiet tactile switch in the spacebar. (Well, now the caps lock key, since I swapped top halves.)
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My MX11800 has a gray, heavy, quiet tactile switch in the spacebar. (Well, now the caps lock key, since I swapped top halves.)
That grey switch on the spacebar is brutal. I switched mine out with the Scroll Lock.
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Yeah, I found it disorienting. I'll probably switch out the heavier rubber sleeve on my M4's spacebar with caps lock.