I have a few keyboards that I use:
1. qfr blues
2. qfr reds
3. poker 2 (iso) blues
4. hpe-87 browns
They are all breaking down on me.
1. This is the oldest, perhaps 3 years old. The left windows key is sticking. I tried to clean the keyboard up - removing and cleaning caps, removing and blowing off dust and stuff from pcb. I even tried pouring a tiny bit of oil into the switch. It is still a bit sticky. Is this a common problem, does it mean I should replace the switch?
2. There's some recurrance here, the left windows key is not working. It moves fine just doesn't do anything. I use this key quite a lot eg. windows key and start writing something to launch a program, or windows-R to bring up the run box. I bought this keyboard faulty and I resoldered the not working left Alt as described by some topic here on the forums (seems to be standard problem). Not sure if it has anything to do with the now not working left Windows key - I used thiskeyboard on and off for a couple of years.
3. The poker - the A key doesn't work properly, I noticed it first that I can't log onto Windows at work - when I type slow sometimes it doesn't actuate sometimes it will type 2 As. What is annoying, if I "warm it up" it works, I tried to test it and now that I used it a lot it hardly fails so it's not so easy to reproduce I simply can't use it
The 4th works but I'm down to 1 keyboard from 4, sheesh, that's disturbing.
I know I am a bit of a heavy hitter, my colleagues sort of got used to it but it's always a never ending joke that it's noisy around me. I don't actually hit the keys that hard to break them really, but I know I type a bit noisy. Not sure if I'm supposed to break keyboards that are marketed to work for 50 million actuations though
are such failures common in every day use (I use computer at work all day long, then go home and play games or browse the net so I'm a heavy keyboard user in this sense as well).
a. Do you think these are switch / contact problems and I should try replacing the switches?
b. Is it possible to buy only a handful of switches somewhere (basically I'd need 2 blue and 1 red, I assume most people don't sell such low numbers)?
c. Next year my employer is moving everyone to a brand new open office kind of environment (bleah). What would be the quietest options for a keyboard? I'm looking for a 60% I can carry in my backpack, in the spirit of modern working environment (read: cost saving) we will probably not get fixed seating or even a closet so it'd have to be a 60%, one that isn't too noisy. I know red or brown cherry are an option with o rings, any other type of switch that should be good, not very expensive, and similar or better? I'm looking for budget options as much as possible,, but open to suggestions.
Thanks!