geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: saint_james on Fri, 17 October 2014, 23:30:02
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Executive summary: I am considering buying an RF 104 UB and modding it to 55g uniform weight, using cannibalized domes from an RF 87u 55g uniform. Has anyone done this? Is the process of Topre dome-swapping is as simple as it conceptually appears to be? Besides the obvious initial expense, are they any concerns or cautions I should be aware of?
Background:
I have been using my Realforce 87uw 55g at work and I love the way it feels. Only drawback is that I do a lot of spreadsheet work and have become accustomed to having a number pad for numeric data entry... the TKL format seems a little lacking for me in this capacity... so I was looking at the the 23u number pad and contacted EK about the possibility of getting one... they said maybe next year. Too far away for an impatient person like me.
So, I got to thinking... I have used full 104 ANSI keyboards for years, and like them for work. I would love to have a full-size Topre board with 55g uniform domes. The only Topre 104s I can obtain with relative ease are the ergonomically-weighted RF 104s , the 104 HI-Pro (45g uniform), and the Type Heaven 104 (also 45g uniform with ABS keycaps). None of these are the 55g uniform weight that I have come to love... not a fan of the Hi-Pro keys... and not a fan of the ABS keycaps on the Type Heaven. The RF 104UB DK is another option if I could find one, but is still 45g uniform and hard to obtain (taiwanese model hard to get in US).
I have read here on GH that people have cannibalized the 55g domes from an RF 87u for use in HHKBs with great success. It doesn't appear to be technically or procedurally difficult.. although it is costly because of the relatively high price of the donor board.
PROPOSAL: The best path to get a 104-key ANSI Topre board with PBT keycaps and 55g uniform weighting appears to be cannibalizing an RF 87u 55g for its domes, then swapping them into an RF 104 UB. I am aware that the numpad would be 45g uniform, but all other keys would be 55g and I could live with it. I could then sell or gift the resulting ergonomically-weighted 87u.
Appealing to the wisened keyboard masters of the GH community for feedback... Please discuss :-)
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Ive done it a ton with multiple boards. Dome swapping, slider swapping, dental banding, lubing. Go for it! :thumb:
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If you really want it, then yes, it is as easy as it seems. There aren't any issues I can come up with that you may encounter. Just make sure to keep the springs all in one place when you're doing the swap...they're slippery buggers. Other than that, just going to be expensive.