geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: NewbieOneKenobi on Thu, 21 March 2019, 15:57:02
-
As per title. I already know you can fix the space bar manually in those boards that put additional springs there, but otherwise in just about any mech 'board I use, the space bar tends to feel subjectively damp and heavy and slow me down. I much prefer it just the same as any other key. Is it just my bad luck, or does everybody actually make spacebars noticeably heavier than the rest of the 'board?
-
All of the current keyboards I've seen, with the exception of Topre keyboards, use the same switch for the space bar as the rest of the keys. Topre adds a spring under the space bar to make it heavier. If anything, the space bar should feel lighter, since your thumb is stronger. Cherry grey switches were used for space bars at one time, and I've modded a couple of MX brown keyboards to use those for the space bar in an attempt to make them feel somewhat more evenly weighted. I think it helps.
-
I know occasionally you will come across a cherry mx blue keyboard that instead of having cherry mx blue for the spacebar, it has the stiff cherry mx greens(i like those)
-
Having a stiffer/heavier space bar was a common thing with older boards, especially with Cherry. As other's have mentioned MX greens were originally made to be the space bar switch for MX blue boards, same with MX tactile grey (MX brown) & linear grey (MX black). I'm not sure if this is a trend Cherry started or followed, I'm also not sure if this is something Cherry continues to do with their boards. What I do know is beyond vintage boards & possibly modern Cherry boards it is very rare to see. As a solution you could always swap the spring of the space bar switch out with a spring from rarely used key. Depending on the board & switch type it might not even require de-soldering of the switches to do. :thumb:
-
This is common on old boards. I don't see it very often on modern boards at all, to be honest.
-
I think it's due to bad and unlubed stabilizers. The switch itself is the same on modern boards. I feel the spacebar lighter instead and plan to use a different switch in my custom on it and other function keys such as enter.
-
Topre adds a spring under the space bar to make it heavier.
Yes. Even variable-weighted Topre has it.
Also, I think pretty much all classic rubber dome keyboards have one or two helper springs under the space bar.
Even some (semi-)mechanical do: many Alps keyboards have helper springs instead of stiffer switch.
Acer keyboards with Acer switches, Mitsumi hybrid and Cherry MY.
-
This is not a problem.
But pretty much all the Old' Dudes on here, have an Mx blue board , w/ Mx greens under Esc, Del, and Spacebar.
Faster spacebar isn't really critical except when you're going for Typing games
-
But pretty much all the Old' Dudes on here, have an Mx blue board , w/ Mx greens under Esc, Del, and Spacebar.
I would definitely want heavier capslock to avoid mispressing it. Not del or backspace, though.
-
I don't think I have seen a heavier mechanical switch under anything but the Space Bar on regular keyboards.
Some very unusual special keyboards have had "Super Black" on a couple keys, but that would be a very special case.
On rubber dome though:
Variable Key Tronic ErgoForce is supposed to have a heavier whole bottom row, Enter and Num Lock.
Variable Topre is supposed to have a heavier Escape key.
-
Perhaps because of my typing technique, I tend to find spacebar action to be a distracting factor when it's not the same as the action of all other keys, or at least alpha keys.
I guess the size of the bar, the shape of the top of it, and yes, the stabilizers obviously a lot of difference and not just the switch type. It breaks my rhythm as one way or the other I end up applying different force much of the time, then there's the awful 'thock' and my fingers getting bogged down.
There are days I wish I could have two spacebars each the size of a letter key… and I think once upon a time I did that on a board, for a while. Hmm… perhaps I should try that again.
Usually no such problem on rubber domes and laptop boards, scissors etc. Wonder if the problem would be less pronounced on a low-profile mech board with a slim switch.