So much ping: KUL ES-87 w/Clears

[iLLucionist]

I have so much ping... it basically sounds like I'm typing on a unicomp / model m / early apple keyboard.

I basically only hear metal springs while typing.

Is this normal? Is this just how clears are? I feel savage typing on them.

[hapakey]

Ping!

[iLLucionist]

Ping!

Pong ;-)

[Targa-TV]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as mine.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

[iLLucionist]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

So basically what you are saying is... it's the metal plate that resonates on each keypress?

[atarione]

I have dampers on my Filco MT2 TKL (reds) ... I don't have any ping I notice... I only used my keyboard briefly without dampers but I don't recall ping with it without the dampers either.

[iLLucionist]

I have dampers on my Filco MT2 TKL (reds) ... I don't have any ping I notice... I only used my keyboard briefly without dampers but I don't recall ping with it without the dampers either.

We'll see... I ordered the white filco mjt2 with silent reds (and o-rings 40 hardness 1.5mm). So we'll see about that board.

[Targa-TV]

We'll see... I ordered the white filco mjt2 with silent reds (and o-rings 40 hardness 1.5mm). So we'll see about that board.

That's right, I read about it in the other thread. Post about it when you got it!

[atarione]

hopefully yours will be good also.. my MT2 TKL doesn't ping however

or my hearing is bad from too many heavy metal concerts and I can't hear ping frequencies 

[iLLucionist]

We'll see... I ordered the white filco mjt2 with silent reds (and o-rings 40 hardness 1.5mm). So we'll see about that board.

That's right, I read about it in the other thread. Post about it when you got it!

I will!!!

[iLLucionist]

hopefully yours will be good also.. my MT2 TKL doesn't ping however

or my hearing is bad from too many heavy metal concerts and I can't hear ping frequencies 

Hahahaha. We'll see. But the KUL was good in the beginning though... I really don't understand. It's basically a "metal concert" on its own now.

[Targa-TV]

It's basically a "metal concert" on its own now.

XD With my church organ and your metal concert we've got all the musical tastes covered.

[iLLucionist]

It's basically a "metal concert" on its own now.

XD With my church organ and your metal concert we've got all the musical tastes covered.

YEEEEESSS... let's take my KUL to church and see what happens. hehehe

[atarione]

hopefully yours will be good also.. my MT2 TKL doesn't ping however

or my hearing is bad from too many heavy metal concerts and I can't hear ping frequencies 

Hahahaha. We'll see. But the KUL was good in the beginning though... I really don't understand. It's basically a "metal concert" on its own now.

huh.. my filco is near about 2yrs old .. all good still for me

[DALExSNAIL]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

[iLLucionist]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

I never heard that a metal plate "typically" leads to pinging.

[DALExSNAIL]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

I never heard that a metal plate "typically" leads to pinging.

It doesn't, but some people can hear pings when there's literally no sound.

[iLLucionist]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

I never heard that a metal plate "typically" leads to pinging.

It doesn't, but some people can hear pings when there's literally no sound.

Hmm.. I guess "ping" is also a personal thing. But when I compare my filco with browns to my kul with clears.. the difference is night and day.

[DALExSNAIL]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

I never heard that a metal plate "typically" leads to pinging.

It doesn't, but some people can hear pings when there's literally no sound.

Hmm.. I guess "ping" is also a personal thing. But when I compare my filco with browns to my kul with clears.. the difference is night and day.

Eh, it's very hit or miss. I don't like Kul, and I kinda wanna just say it sucks tbh, but I know a lot of filcos have the same issue. 

Had ping like mad in an old QFR though, and I disassembled it and put it back together, because the case seemed a bit loose. Put some padding inside and closed it down tight and there was 0 ping after.

Look into that I would say, padding inside and placing on a deskmat can do wonders.

[iLLucionist]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

I never heard that a metal plate "typically" leads to pinging.

It doesn't, but some people can hear pings when there's literally no sound.

Hmm.. I guess "ping" is also a personal thing. But when I compare my filco with browns to my kul with clears.. the difference is night and day.

Eh, it's very hit or miss. I don't like Kul, and I kinda wanna just say it sucks tbh, but I know a lot of filcos have the same issue. 

Had ping like mad in an old QFR though, and I disassembled it and put it back together, because the case seemed a bit loose. Put some padding inside and closed it down tight and there was 0 ping after.

Look into that I would say, padding inside and placing on a deskmat can do wonders.

What would re-assembly do to eliminate ping?

I have my KUL on the Steelsteries QCK XXL so no worries there I guess.

[davkol]

It's the switch internals, perhaps in combination with the plate/case construction.

I've had a single switch ping here and there (e.g., a couple of blacks on SteelSeries 6Gv2), but almost every keyboard with clears was said to ping a few years back IIRC.

Damping foam inside the case definitely can help.

If there's one type of switch, that pings like crazy, though, it's springs in a barrel plate: buckling springs or other.

Oh, and Pingmaster.

[iLLucionist]

It's the switch internals, perhaps in combination with the plate/case construction.

I've had a single switch ping here and there (e.g., a couple of blacks on SteelSeries 6Gv2), but almost every keyboard with clears was said to ping a few years back IIRC.

Damping foam inside the case definitely can help.

If there's one type of switch, that pings like crazy, though, it's springs in a barrel plate: buckling springs or other.

Oh, and Pingmaster.

Well... time to get some foam in that f**cker, see what happens. I don't have soldering skills, so desoldering and taking the switches apart is not my cup of tea.

[tp4tissue]

Ping!

Pong ;-)

Dis' may fly against traditional values..

But Tp4 dislike the pingpong..  it's freakin' exhausting.. 

[iLLucionist]

Ping!

Pong ;-)

Dis' may fly against traditional values..

But Tp4 dislike the pingpong..  it's freakin' exhausting..

did it in high school, we even held some local tournaments. it was fun. when i was still young and tight and had was in condition.

[LiquidEvilGaming]

Iv'e had Clears on three different boards now and all three pinged quite a bit.

2 different pok3r's one backlit one non

KUL 87 ES

WASD CODE

all of the pinged with Clears but not so much when the same boards had Browns for example.

[mason]

You should do the shelf liner mod. It got rid of any pings when I had clears.

[iLLucionist]

Iv'e had Clears on three different boards now and all three pinged quite a bit.

2 different pok3r's one backlit one non

KUL 87 ES

WASD CODE

all of the pinged with Clears but not so much when the same boards had Browns for example.

Interesting... thanks for the info. It really seems switch-related then.

[DALExSNAIL]

Trust me it doesn't ping as badly as my Filco Majesping. It's like a church organ man. A Japanese from Japan in JIS layout church organ.
Never ever buying a keyboard with metal plate again.

never buying a Kustom then?

I never heard that a metal plate "typically" leads to pinging.

It doesn't, but some people can hear pings when there's literally no sound.

Hmm.. I guess "ping" is also a personal thing. But when I compare my filco with browns to my kul with clears.. the difference is night and day.

Eh, it's very hit or miss. I don't like Kul, and I kinda wanna just say it sucks tbh, but I know a lot of filcos have the same issue. 

Had ping like mad in an old QFR though, and I disassembled it and put it back together, because the case seemed a bit loose. Put some padding inside and closed it down tight and there was 0 ping after.

Look into that I would say, padding inside and placing on a deskmat can do wonders.

What would re-assembly do to eliminate ping?

I have my KUL on the Steelsteries QCK XXL so no worries there I guess.

The reassembly was in reference to a loose case on my QFR.

I was mostly just suggesting to pad the inside.

[iLLucionist]

You should do the shelf liner mod. It got rid of any pings when I had clears.

I even have that material lying around, GENIUS! Will try it, thanks.

[pr0ximity]

Lubing the ends of spring has been the only reliable way I've found of reducing ping substantially. Took my Filco which was pretty pingy and my Zenith which was a ping monster both to nice quiet linear goodness.

[iLLucionist]

Lubing the ends of spring has been the only reliable way I've found of reducing ping substantially. Took my Filco which was pretty pingy and my Zenith which was a ping monster both to nice quiet linear goodness.

Dangit... I really need to learn how to solder. But then I also have to buy the gear. Sigh..

[Targa-TV]

For who asked mw where I've heard the it's the plate that generally enhances the switches' ping, I heard it right here in GH. People reported that it was an isolated problem of a few keys, most likely plate+springs+case resonating, you can decrease volume with dampening material etc.

For who asked me if I'm giving up on custom builds because I said that I don't intend to buy a plate mounted board/kit ever again, I think that Cherry invented PCB mount switches for a reason and that reason is so I can try a PCB mount board and finally check if I can enjoy the click clack of the switches+caps without the plate resounding. Basically: programmable ergonomic PCB mount board(s), here I come.

[Rob27shred]

Lubing the ends of spring has been the only reliable way I've found of reducing ping substantially. Took my Filco which was pretty pingy and my Zenith which was a ping monster both to nice quiet linear goodness.

Dangit... I really need to learn how to solder. But then I also have to buy the gear. Sigh..

I would say it is well worth the money/time to get the equipment & learn how to solder if mech KBs is a big hobby of yours. I know it can be a little daunting at 1st, but for the most part it is all very basic soldering when it comes to building, modding, or repairing MX based keebs. You do not need to be master at soldering by any means to build a board. Although you do need some basic knowledge & experience soldering before taking on a project. My suggestion would be to look up some guides & videos on soldering basics, also look up some videos of people building KBs (SkiwithPete has tons of build vids on YT). If it it really is something you think you want to dive into come back here & ask around about the right equipment to get, what techniques to use, etc. There is a ton of us who build our own boards here & we'll point you in the right direction.

BTW, some type of foam inside the case could help with the ping for now. Opening up the switches & lubing the springs is the only sure fire way I know to get rid of ping for good though. Also I think clears are prone to ping for whatever reason. I got a Pok3r with clears that luckily doesn't ping but it seems to be a common complaint with those switches in their stock form.

[Puddsy]

My KUL makes more ping than my Filco, it's pretty impressive. I kinda like that sound though.

[iLLucionist]

Lubing the ends of spring has been the only reliable way I've found of reducing ping substantially. Took my Filco which was pretty pingy and my Zenith which was a ping monster both to nice quiet linear goodness.

Dangit... I really need to learn how to solder. But then I also have to buy the gear. Sigh..

I would say it is well worth the money/time to get the equipment & learn how to solder if mech KBs is a big hobby of yours. I know it can be a little daunting at 1st, but for the most part it is all very basic soldering when it comes to building, modding, or repairing MX based keebs. You do not need to be master at soldering by any means to build a board. Although you do need some basic knowledge & experience soldering before taking on a project. My suggestion would be to look up some guides & videos on soldering basics, also look up some videos of people building KBs (SkiwithPete has tons of build vids on YT). If it it really is something you think you want to dive into come back here & ask around about the right equipment to get, what techniques to use, etc. There is a ton of us who build our own boards here & we'll point you in the right direction.

BTW, some type of foam inside the case could help with the ping for now. Opening up the switches & lubing the springs is the only sure fire way I know to get rid of ping for good though. Also I think clears are prone to ping for whatever reason. I got a Pok3r with clears that luckily doesn't ping but it seems to be a common complaint with those switches in their stock form.

Thanks for the info! Time to get looking into solder gear.

[iLLucionist]

My KUL makes more ping than my Filco, it's pretty impressive. I kinda like that sound though.

There is a "ring" to it, yes. But you know... it's not supposed to. So it's still kindah meh for me.

[Puddsy]

My KUL makes more ping than my Filco, it's pretty impressive. I kinda like that sound though.

There is a "ring" to it, yes. But you know... it's not supposed to. So it's still kindah meh for me.

Every keyboard pings. That's what happens when you apply force to an object. It make sound.

My LZ does it, and the thing is essentially a ****ing brick with a PCB in it. It's just not as noticeable.

[ander]

Funny how some of us love pinginess, and quiet boards seem boring.

[Fullcream]

Generally a harder plate and more empty space in the case for reverberation will generate more "ping" sound.
All my Mild steel/stainless plates ping.
I hear a lot less to no ping from alu plates.

I stuff foam under my builds with Aluminium plates and no ping
 

[iLLucionist]

Generally a harder plate and more empty space in the case for reverberation will generate more "ping" sound.
All my Mild steel/stainless plates ping.
I hear a lot less to no ping from alu plates.

I stuff foam under my builds with Aluminium plates and no ping
 

I found I have a different problem entirely: the transmission of resonance from the bottom of the board onto my desk.

I thought I got rid of it all by putting mah keyboard on teh Steelseries QCK XXL desk mat. Works great for my KUL with clears, 87U 55g Topre. But not for my new Filco Majestouch 2 with silent reds. I don't hear ping, somehow the Filco is constructed such that it transmits more resonance to my desk and the QCK doesn't absorb enough of it.