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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: TheAngelicWolf on Tue, 04 November 2014, 16:23:30
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Hey guys. I was busy thinking and I thought, is it possible to have a membrane keyboard with mechanical WASD keys? Maybe specifically for a gamer? What do you guys think?
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That's what buckling springs are
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Hey guys. I was busy thinking and I thought, is it possible to have a membrane keyboard with mechanical WASD keys? Maybe specifically for a gamer? What do you guys think?
Gah, why would you want that???
Who would buy that???
:eek:
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Hey guys. I was busy thinking and I thought, is it possible to have a membrane keyboard with mechanical WASD keys? Maybe specifically for a gamer? What do you guys think?
Gah, why would you want that???
Who would buy that???
:eek:
It was just an idea :confused:
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Well then, in that case. That sounds like something Razer or Logitech should look into.
:p
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To those who what the best of both worlds, or have trouble letting go, they can buy a Type Heaven. It is the Hanna Montana of
Mechanical Keyboards.
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Hey guys. I was busy thinking and I thought, is it possible to have a membrane keyboard with mechanical WASD keys? Maybe specifically for a gamer? What do you guys think?
Why on earth would you ever want to do that?
There are of course switches that use various degrees of "mechanical" over membrane, such as (as mentioned) the IBM Model M, the Acer switch, Oriental Tech spring over membrane, and Cherry MY. I assume though that you specifically want discrete keyswitch modules.
The weirdest thing I ever saw was the Commodore 64 shift lock:
[attachimg=1]
It's a latching action switch, with a little PCB used for the stationary switch contact, that projects from the switch downwards, and then they've soldered that onto the PCB. (One day I should clean up the switch and post detailed photos of it; I guess it predated the proper Mitsumi keyboard switch modules.)
Here's how Fujitsu had in-key LEDs on a pure membrane keyboard (FKB4700):
[attachimg=2]
The LEDs legs are fitted with conductive pads that make contact with the membrane.
There are no end of weird ideas in production keyboards, some good, some bad.
The big gotcha with having "mechanical" WASD keys is that normal typing would feel odd, as you'd have certain keys that don't respond the same as all the others. I think I've seen mechanical keyboards with different switches under WASD, which just seems silly to me.
If you wanted to secure keyswitch modules into an otherwise membrane keyboard, you certainly could (just cut a hole in the membrane backing plate and put a PCB there) but it would be a very strange thing to do.
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OK just pretend there are images there.
Image 1 = http://deskthority.net/wiki/File:Commodore_64_--_shift_lock,_below.jpg
Image 2 = http://deskthority.net/wiki/File:Fujitsu_FKB4700-152_--_LED_membrane_contacts.jpg
I can't attach them thanks to some meaningless internal server error.
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This exists, but so far, I haven't seen Western brands picking up on the idea. Keep your eyes on on TaoBao though and you'll see some keyboards with 8 mechanical switches (WASD and arrows) and others with 19 (a whole cluster around WASD). The first one that comes to mind for me is the Delux T20. There are a bunch of 'em, though.
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I think there was a corsair board that was part mechanical and part rubber dome.
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I apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive me OP. I just hate 'domes and don't want them mixing it up with any mechanical switchy goodness. I didn't realize how new you were when I said such nasty things... :'(
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Sounds like you might want a membrane keyboard coupled with something like an Orbweaver.
http://www.razerzone.com/au-en/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-orbweaver
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This exists, but so far, I haven't seen Western brands picking up on the idea. Keep your eyes on on TaoBao though and you'll see some keyboards with 8 mechanical switches (WASD and arrows) and others with 19 (a whole cluster around WASD). The first one that comes to mind for me is the Delux T20. There are a bunch of 'em, though.
Will do! :D
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I apologize for my rudeness. Please forgive me OP. I just hate 'domes and don't want them mixing it up with any mechanical switchy goodness. I didn't realize how new you were when I said such nasty things... :'(
It's alright, I didn't see it as rude. I just thought you didn't read the post all the way through. :thumb:
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The Corsair K90 and K60 has part mechanical and part rubber dome. Maybe you should propose your idea to Corsair. I think they would love to build that. :)
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Only the macro and function keys on Corsair's first "mechanical" keyboards were rubber-dome keys, but Corsair got a lot of flack from the gaming and keyboard communities for "cheapening out".
These days, all their mechanical keyboards are full-mechanical.
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(http://media.tumblr.com/0181965f4b309ccf40a13d965e03a60f/tumblr_inline_mr5ekkJi351qz4rgp.gif)
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The Corsair K90 and K60 has part mechanical and part rubber dome. Maybe you should propose your idea to Corsair. I think they would love to build that. :)
But again, the question: Why???
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Ask Kinesis about the Advantage.
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I had a few moments, so I dug up some examples.
With 8 mechanical keys (WASD and arrows):
link (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.407.hk3UFa&id=40923997787&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail)
A different one with the same 8 keys...and this time, the mechanical keys are also backlit:
link (http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.1.szTkda&id=19352513753&abbucket=19)
How about one with 12? You even get a plastic bit to keep nasty stuff out of the switches...
link (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.69.hk3UFa&id=41035855105&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail)
Here's one with 19 mechanical keys, and handy markings on the keycaps to let you know which ones are which:
link (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.57.hk3UFa&id=41553849925&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail)
This one with 8 mechanical has been around for a while:
link (http://www.banggood.com/Delux-T20-Professional-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard-MX-Red-Switch-p-79147.html)
Anyway, I guess I could see the point of something like this for a heavy gamer on a strict budget...I mean, it's probably cheaper to get a partially mechanical keyboard than either a mechanical keypad and a dome keyboard, or a fully mechanical keyboard. And for the company, well, it'd probably count as dishonest if they marketed it as a mechanical keyboard, but if it's just a "gaming keyboard with mechanical keys"...well, I suppose that it is that.
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I had a few moments, so I dug up some examples.
With 8 mechanical keys (WASD and arrows):
link (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.407.hk3UFa&id=40923997787&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail)
A different one with the same 8 keys...and this time, the mechanical keys are also backlit:
link (http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.1.szTkda&id=19352513753&abbucket=19)
How about one with 12? You even get a plastic bit to keep nasty stuff out of the switches...
link (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.69.hk3UFa&id=41035855105&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail)
Here's one with 19 mechanical keys, and handy markings on the keycaps to let you know which ones are which:
link (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.57.hk3UFa&id=41553849925&ns=1&abbucket=19#detail)
This one with 8 mechanical has been around for a while:
link (http://www.banggood.com/Delux-T20-Professional-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard-MX-Red-Switch-p-79147.html)
Anyway, I guess I could see the point of something like this for a heavy gamer on a strict budget...I mean, it's probably cheaper to get a partially mechanical keyboard than either a mechanical keypad and a dome keyboard, or a fully mechanical keyboard. And for the company, well, it'd probably count as dishonest if they marketed it as a mechanical keyboard, but if it's just a "gaming keyboard with mechanical keys"...well, I suppose that it is that.
Wow. I appreciate you taking the time out to look for these. It's exactly what I was thinking of ;D