lal- i know, the amount was scary for me to lol. - http://www.deckkeyboards.com/product_info.php?products_id=95
tim thx for the reference on the bump. to me it feels lite so that should mean a cherry brown switch would be almost unoticeable. that will help me in deciding what to get my wife- though i dont think i will find any cherry brown boards in the price range im hoping to be in.
your comment on the compromise is exactly why i went with this switch:)
the cherry waslisted as $109 'on sale' for $97. filco is $104. from the pix the filco looks quite a bit smaller, at leas in in top to bottom dept. is that a true representation? cause that would make the filco an easy choice.
do u have pref/opinion on build quality? especially the keys.
Cherry seems to have better keys, but Filco has a better build quality.
if i had the $$ i could see me with 4-5 kb's within the next cpl of years. lol.
I think the use of precious metal in the connector is overrated. After all, as long as the connector isn't oxidized, no harm should be done to the digital signal.
Besides, who says those "gold connectors" actually are gold and not some cheap brass coating?
I think most of the price goes to backlighting (all the keys need an extra LED), type of Cherry switch (blues in this case) and a marketing premium.
But let's not discuss price too much. After all, you do like the keyboard from what I gather.
I think the use of precious metal in the connector is overrated. After all, as long as the connector isn't oxidized, no harm should be done to the digital signal.
Besides, who says those "gold connectors" actually are gold and not some cheap brass coating?
I think most of the price goes to backlighting (all the keys need an extra LED), type of Cherry switch (blues in this case) and a marketing premium.
But let's not discuss price too much. After all, you do like the keyboard from what I gather.
while i generally agree with you, as long as it is reall gold, the oxidation factor is pretty much non existent & conductivity is beter. the main reason i brought it up though is that a kb this expensive should have gold plating by default imo.
you are correct about the marketing premium however you are also paying for top ofthe line construction/materials throughout the board. the only thing im not sure of iswhat the key are made of. the case is polycarbonate, the keys are sublimated 2 peice whatever. i would imagine that their choice of lettering proccess might dictate the type of plastic used but really dont know.
what i did get was a very well built board that looks very nice, has the best back lighting i have ever seen, keys were the lettering basically cant wear of & white mech switches.
they are my first mech switch, i really do like the way they feel/function.
i dont know what they pay for the switches & the leds, but my bet is that they suck up a nice chunk of that high price by themselves.
anyway, im very happy with it, & now have to figure out what to get the wifey:)
On the Deck, the switches are two-shot molded, I think, Not dye sublimated.
while i generally agree with you, as long as it is real gold the oxidation factor is pretty much non existent & conductivity is beter.
from deck- "NEVER! Characters can't chip off the key caps or wear down because we use a sublimated negative printing process which drives the ink into the plastic keycaps at 525°F. This means permanent printing from the inside out, not just on the top, and gives the letters a permanent place inside the plastic."
dont know if that proccess determines what type of plastic is used, but not worried about letter wear:)
Hmm. I could be totally wrong, but it sounds like Deck molds a clear key cap, then dye-sublimates the entire key minus the legend, leaving the legend clear for the backlight to shine through.
Calling DeckGuyAdam. Could you give us more details?
just wanted to add this as i find it a little disappointing for a kb this expensive- the usb connector isnt gold, just your standard whatever metal they use for these connectors.
Hmm. I could be totally wrong, but it sounds like Deck molds a clear key cap, then dye-sublimates the entire key minus the legend, leaving the legend clear for the backlight to shine through.
Calling DeckGuyAdam. Could you give us more details?
Is it just the outer shield that is silver metal, or are the actual data pins also silver?
Okay, so apparently they are double-shot and dye-sublimated. Weird.
Thanks for that link. That was interesting and pretty creative on Deck's part. There must be a limitation in the double shot process where they couldn't just use a single pass and let enough light through.
great question. took a look & the pins are gold. so ty for coming up with that. isnt the outer shell part of the circuit?
still think it would look better(no that u really ever see it after plug-in) with the outer being gold to.
See the "All About Keys" wiki entry here.
that stuf is pretty much what contractors use for general installation. good prices for what u get- as good as anything you would get out of radio shack & cheaper from the quick look i took. but definetly for the porpose i stated & for low end systems- wich is what 90% of people have.
good find, i have a couple of buds i will give that to.
Thanks for that link. That was interesting and pretty creative on Deck's part. There must be a limitation in the double shot process where they couldn't just use a single pass and let enough light through.
Thinking about that, I wonder.
I don't actually think that's the issue at all. It's true that if one uses the kind of double-shot molding process that leads to stripes on the inside of the key, the light will be blocked, but the older process would seem to work. Yes, it's possible the molding conditions of double-shot molding could lead to irregularities and imperfections in a translucent plastic, but I don't think that's the issue.
Here's what I think it is: look at the "interesting" keycaps for Linux they have, for example. They want to be able to make all sorts of different legends for their keys in short production runs. That's what's incompatible with double-shot molding.
Having a single key assembly, independent of the legend, that is a standard part with a transparent single section doesn't place any limits on the variety of key legends you can offer.
Thinking about that, I wonder.
I don't actually think that's the issue at all. It's true that if one uses the kind of double-shot molding process that leads to stripes on the inside of the key, the light will be blocked, but the older process would seem to work. Yes, it's possible the molding conditions of double-shot molding could lead to irregularities and imperfections in a translucent plastic, but I don't think that's the issue.
Here's what I think it is: look at the "interesting" keycaps for Linux they have, for example. They want to be able to make all sorts of different legends for their keys in short production runs. That's what's incompatible with double-shot molding.
Having a single key assembly, independent of the legend, that is a standard part with a transparent single section doesn't place any limits on the variety of key legends you can offer.
Very good point. Although it would look a lot better if the whole top of the key were flush, rather than the raised legend.
Thanks for that link. That was interesting and pretty creative on Deck's part. There must be a limitation in the double shot process where they couldn't just use a single pass and let enough light through.
there are only 2 keys were you can actually feel the difference between the 2 peices - the far right enter & plus keys. otherwise every other key feels completely smooth.
i assume that is what you are talking about when you say 'raised'?
Okay, maybe they just look raised.
I bought this keyboard a while back except I chose Ice over Frost. Definitely look like the key switch actuators are white. Interesting problem I had was the F key was missing the tactile nub. It was instead on the G key. I had to contact support (posted in the support forum also) and have them send replacement F and G keys.
The key switch action has a tactile bump more pronounced than the cherry browns. The feel is a bit frictiony. I've read posts here of people disliking the frictionyness of the black alps on the AT101W. These cherry whites feel even more frictiony. It's a bit gimmicky with it's backlighting and pricey, but overall I like the board. Build quality is good, cherry switches, hackable, and available key sets. Included with mine was a skull and crossbones replacement escape key. I can't wait to replace the Win keys with Penguins!
have you tried cherry blues? if so, how do the whites compare to them?
im going to buy my wife a mech keyboard, but with my only exp being with whites it is hard to make an informed choice. i've received great info here so far but you are the first person who can actualy give me a true comparison:)
Tim, are you talking about the Cherry White clones in your Chicony and Qtronix? They may be different from the branded ones.
have you tried cherry blues? if so, how do the whites compare to them?
im going to buy my wife a mech keyboard, but with my only exp being with whites it is hard to make an informed choice. i've received great info here so far but you are the first person who can actualy give me a true comparison:)
The whites aren't really comparable to the blues. The actuation, tactile feel, and non-click action leave very few similarities in feel.
Whites are somewhat difficult to describe, they have a somewhat high actuation force, a "plateau" or "notch" of tactile resistance, and then they bottom out. They are one of the easiest switches not to bottom out on.
The blues have the tactile point, a click, and bottom out very easily in comparison. The blues also have a disjointed click/tactile mechanism that doesn't exactly line up.
It's amazing the difference springs and the shape of the tactile leaf make in a switch.
Chloe... may be wrong.
I would seriously doubt this.As would I.
For Cherry MX Switch Force diagrams see the Cherry Corp Data Sheet. (http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/0146/0900766b8014611b.pdf) Page 3 is what you want. The MX with Tactile Feel(ergonomic) = Cherry Browns. The MX with click Tactile Feel = Cherry Blues. MX Linear Actuation = Cherry Blacks (page 5 for glossary). For a sampling of force graphs for other switches see this website (http://web.archive.org/web/20041011221037/http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/%7Esilencium/keyboard/index.html). Or, you can do a simple test (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:6189&)if you own the keyboard.
Ooooo... Post pics. Wanna see.
Yeah, I would agree that it would better if you guys called them Cherry Clears or the Cherry key nomenclature will get as confusing as the ALPS - and that is BAD.
Now according to Chloe the clears don't have a peg on them but she may be wrong. I've never seen a pic of the Cherry Whites (MX1A-A) vs Cherry Clears (MX1A-C).Show Image(http://blog.dengzhe.com/attachments/month_0805/m200852102857.jpg)
well that looks 'white' to me & is definelty my switch- no peg. so i guess clear means white & white means really white? lol.
either way i really like my 'clears', & with all the great info from u guys looks like my wife gets cherry brown switches- seems like a great all round switch & a good compromise when u just arent sure. now got to start saving ;)
Ooooo... Post pics. Wanna see.