Key 'wobble'

[slashbreak]

Wondering whether there's a more searchable term for the nasty sound the keys make when your fingers are resting on them or sliding over them? Rattle? Wobble? The couple of cheap membranes I have all make a lot of noise, but I'm hoping a well-made one won't.

Could you tell me if your board is quiet when your fingers are on it, and the model of said board?

Cheers

[Sifo]

my... my boards don't make any sounds while my fingers rest on them.

[terran5992]

No wobble on topre

[rowdy]

My keys wobble slightly, that is normal because there is a little play around the stem to allow the keycap to move up and down freely.

Doesn't make a noise though, apart from a very quiet plastic tick sound like unto two pieces of plastic hitting from a small distance apart, which is exactly what is happening.

[Moosecraft]

I have not experienced this with a mechanical keyboard, not even close really.

[Grim Fandango]

No wobble here. But I think it has more to do with the keycaps (few people here use the stock keycaps their keyboard came with) than is has to do with the exact model of the keyboard. None of the keycap sets I have tried have this wobble. I am currently using a set of Vortex PBT keycaps and there is very little to no wobble as they are quite a tight fit. I ahve only really experienced it with bad fitting custom keycaps.

[slashbreak]

well that's good to know; I expect it's just my cheap boards. Anyway, I just ordered a QFR stealth blue, so I'll find out soon (but not soon enough)

[terran5992]

Id doubt that they will wobble. Coolermaster is quite a reliable brand .

And QFR is an extremely reliable board

[Findecanor]

My Cherry MX Clear keyboards rattle a little if the fingers slide across the keys. I think that some of that noise comes because there is a bit of play between slider and housing and some of it is because the switch is under tension and when you slide the fingers across you actually press the keys oh so slightly.
The one with plate-mounted switches and thick PBT keycaps have a higher pitch than the one with PCB-mounted switches and thick POM keycaps.

The keyboards don't rattle (enough for me to hear it) when I lift and shake them, but some of my rubber domes do, as does a Cherry MY keyboard I have.

[1391406]

The white Alps board I have (NTC brand) has some play and wobble, but I've heard Alps are notorious for that.

[Puddsy]

The white Alps board I have (NTC brand) has some play and wobble, but I've heard Alps are notorious for that.

my DK1087 does the same.

[fatmav]

My Matias Laptop Pro wobbles quite a bit more than I would like it to. But ALPS (or ALPS-inspired) switches seem to have a reputation of having this problem...

[Phedran]

I'm trying my first mechanical keyboard and the sounds from running fingers over the keys seems quieter on this board than my old membrane. My guess is that based on the way Topre switches work that they might be even more quiet in general but I don't know for sure. Switch stickers might limit a little bit of movement on Cherry MX boards. I think all keyboards have a little bit of play, it's more about finding one that you like the sound and feeling of (maybe even the wiggles).

[kaotikb]

Do you mean the sound like the following video?

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Do you mean the sound like the following video?

Yep, that's it. Absolutely disgusting! Does your QFR do it too?

[Altis]

My few year old DAS silent does it quite loudly (MX Brown).  I've been wanting to find a mechanical keyboard that doesn't do it... hoping the Ducky Shine 3 TKL will be the one.

[fatmav]

Is there some kind of gel or grease that can be put between the switch axle and keycap to dampen this effect?

[terran5992]

My unicomp model m wobbles alot. But that is just the nature of buckling spring keyboards

[czarek]

No wobble on topre

Yea right... especially on a left Control / Caps Lock key

[fatmav]

I would not go so far to say that there is no wobble on Topre (at least that is not the case on my 55g), but I would say that the wobbling on a Topre does not make any noise in the following test: (1) rest a finger on a key and (2) try to move the finger around in a circle while touching the key surface very slightly.

This matters to me since (as we learn from Topre "Silent") that the up-stroke is responsible for quite a bit of noise too. From my experience of typing on the Matias Laptop Pro, the majority of the noise actually comes from the up-stroke and the key vibration due to the wobbling.

[Loligagger]

I always found MX boards had less play with the keycaps than a regular rubber dome. There are always switch stickers if you want to cut down on that wobble further. It won't eliminate key wobble completely, only the slight play between the two halves of the mx housing.

[mkawa]

I would not go so far to say that there is no wobble on Topre (at least that is not the case on my 55g), but I would say that the wobbling on a Topre does not make any noise in the following test: (1) rest a finger on a key and (2) try to move the finger around in a circle while touching the key surface very slightly.

This matters to me since (as we learn from Topre "Silent") that the up-stroke is responsible for quite a bit of noise too. From my experience of typing on the Matias Laptop Pro, the majority of the noise actually comes from the up-stroke and the key vibration due to the wobbling.

there is definitely wobble on the topre lower stem. you can't injection mold to no-wobble tolerances. from the factory they try to clamp down on this by applying silicone grease, but over time the silicone moves around quite a bit and the board loosens up. the new type heaven switches are actually non-lubricated (because that costs money!). what's interesting about topre stems is that the wobble isn't just mechanical but pneumatic. what i mean by that is that the stem inner and outer actually form a vacuum seal under which the rubber cup operates.

long story short, my solution for this (untested on an entire board so far, but tested by playing around with some keychains) is krytox 206. a find bead around the edges of the stem inner seals the keyswitch and makes a HUGE difference to the feel. i would actually guess that it adds like 5g of actuation force, at least. and that was on a type heaven keychain. the tooling for the proper realforces seems to be more precise than the type heaven.

[kaotikb]

Do you mean the sound like the following video?

Yep, that's it. Absolutely disgusting! Does your QFR do it too?

Yeah does the same. But not as bad as that. The video also exaggerates it a little.
I have had rubber dome boards that do the same.. Like the old compaq i have from 2000 or so is pretty bad.