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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: Neowess on Thu, 08 January 2015, 21:09:04
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I managed to score a brand new CM Novatouch through a trade and I'm thinking of a side printed keycaps set for it. I did some research and figured that I need an MX compatible ANSI set that's OEM profile. Is that correct? Suggestions are welcome since I'm just starting with all this keyboard science :)
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If you got a normal US layout board, ANSI will be the caps you need. It isn't necessary to have OEM profile. There are many great profiles to try like Cherry, SA and DSA.
Check out the classified and group buy section of the forum to find some nice cap sets! There are a few new group buys starting soon for some pretty sweet sets ^-^
Welcome to geekhack!
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You can use whatever profile you prefer.
There are some nice thick pbt black side print cherry profile caps on ebay sold by widebasket.
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Do you have a link for the eBay listing please?
Found it lol... Time for bed I guess ;D
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OEM profile is best for the Novatouch as the key-caps should be tall enough to clear the plate when you bottom out.
If you get a Cherry/Low profile set, you may need to use the included o-rings to increase the key height (these will do nothing to dampen the sound, nor will they reduce travel).
My Vortex PBT Cherry profile set clacks against the bottom of the plate on some rows, which sounds and feels bad (I have not yet tried it with o-rings, but I've heard they will help).
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OEM profile is best for the Novatouch as the key-caps should be tall enough to clear the plate when you bottom out.
If you get a Cherry/Low profile set, you may need to use the included o-rings to increase the key height (these will do nothing to dampen the sound, nor will they reduce travel).
My Vortex PBT Cherry profile set clacks against the bottom of the plate on some rows, which sounds and feels bad (I have not yet tried it with o-rings, but I've heard they will help).
That's good to know. Thanks a lot! I have to do some homework to find the best online stores / people who sell keycap sets lol. I really want a stelth look with side-printed keycaps, which will help me learn to touch-type before I switch to blanks :p
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OEM profile is best for the Novatouch as the key-caps should be tall enough to clear the plate when you bottom out.
If you get a Cherry/Low profile set, you may need to use the included o-rings to increase the key height (these will do nothing to dampen the sound, nor will they reduce travel).
My Vortex PBT Cherry profile set clacks against the bottom of the plate on some rows, which sounds and feels bad (I have not yet tried it with o-rings, but I've heard they will help).
Read this post: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=65821.msg1542628#msg1542628
With the Novatouch it's not so much about the profile height as it is about the skirt and crossbar heights compared to the length of the keycap stem.
From what I can tell, DCS profile should fit without impacting, but I don't have a Novatouch, so I can't be certain.
tldr; Any ANSI Cherry MX compatible keycap set will fit, but for some you may need to use orings to raise the whole keycap so it doesn't impact the plate or switch casing. These will not affect the key travel or feel.
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Read this post: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=65821.msg1542628#msg1542628
With the Novatouch it's not so much about the profile height as it is about the skirt and crossbar heights compared to the length of the keycap stem.
From what I can tell, DCS profile should fit without impacting, but I don't have a Novatouch, so I can't be certain.
tldr; Any ANSI Cherry MX compatible keycap set will fit, but for some you may need to use orings to raise the whole keycap so it doesn't impact the plate or switch casing. These will not affect the key travel or feel.
Ah you're correct. That's a great post explaining when to use o-rings on the Novatouch, and what they're for.
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Thanks guys! Now let the hunt for a keycaps set begin lol
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i've tried the novatouch with several keycaps that I own at the moment.
GMK doubleshots and SA profile keycaps, along with side-printed leopold pbt keycaps are my favorite.
One thing in common for these keycaps are probably the thickness, which feels and sounds better with more *thock* than those SP DCS and TH thin doubleshots.
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Go for the Vortex Sets (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/vortex-pbt-keycaps) on Massdrop right now - really good value for good PBT. I've seen these IRL and they look really good.
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I agree that the Vortex sets work well on the Novatouch. It changes the sound and feel of the keyboard entirely. The ones I had on my Novatouch (Vortex PBT doubleshot) fit just fine.
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i've tried the novatouch with several keycaps that I own at the moment.
GMK doubleshots and SA profile keycaps, along with side-printed leopold pbt keycaps are my favorite.
One thing in common for these keycaps are probably the thickness, which feels and sounds better with more *thock* than those SP DCS and TH thin doubleshots.
FC660C or Novatouch with thick caps?
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I agree that the Vortex sets work well on the Novatouch. It changes the sound and feel of the keyboard entirely. The ones I had on my Novatouch (Vortex PBT doubleshot) fit just fine.
Do the Vortex play well with the stabilized keys on the Novatouch ? I tried some SP DCS and they feel very harsh and sound terrible.
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The Vortex thick PBT keycaps worked well with the Novatouch stabilizers in my experience.
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Does the SA profile fit nice on the Novatouch?
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I have done key cap compatibility test on Novatouch.
http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Key_Mou_Pad/M.1412526550.A.50B.html (http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Key_Mou_Pad/M.1412526550.A.50B.html)
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I have done key cap compatibility test on Novatouch.
http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Key_Mou_Pad/M.1412526550.A.50B.html (http://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Key_Mou_Pad/M.1412526550.A.50B.html)
Cool thank you.
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I've mostly completed my testing of different keycap sets on the Novatouch.
Best all-around: Ducky dye-sub PBT OEM profile. These caps are high quality, and the OEM profile is high enough to avoid bottoming-out noise from the keycap hitting the switch housing or plate.
Unfortunately, other high quality keycap sets that I have tried in Leopold or Cherry profile result in bottoming-out noise.
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Unfortunately, other high quality keycap sets that I have tried in Leopold or Cherry profile result in bottoming-out noise.
I don't get any bottoming out noise with Signature Plastics DSA profile key caps either.