Newbie seeking advice

[exapted]

I've browsed this forum for a few weeks and have lots of questions in my mind.

Right now I use one rubber dome keyboard at home - a Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite 2 - and one scissor switch keyboard at work that is similar in layout to a Mac keyboard. I love the layout of the HHKB Lite 2.

My first question: What's the point of key movement below actuation? I guess that perhaps it is better to type lightly such that I don't bottom out on each stroke. But on the other hand, I see nothing wrong with "striking" keys with with my finger tips and believe that the fine control required to avoid bottoming out could turn out to be unhealthy. I wonder if it makes sense to drastically shorten key travel with multiple o-rings. Actually, I would have reservations about doing that; the "thud" of bottoming out could reduce my ability to actually recognize the tactile actuation threshold.

My second question: If I order a full set of blank key caps for a Cherry MX based keyboard (say, a Tenkeyless), will I generally find a key without an LED that fits over the caps lock key switch? I see a lot of Cherry MX boards with traditional caps lock keys. I would like to replace that key with a blank key with no LED.

Also: Is it generally easy to remap the caps lock key to control on the keyboard itself (with a dip switch or something)? I guess I'm wondering which Cherry MX -based keyboards have such a feature. The reason is that I would like to avoid having to remap that key on every computer I use.

Lastly: Is bottoming out avoidable on a HHKB Pro 2 (or on other Topre boards)? I'm considering a Cherry MX brown -based keyboard (Tenkeyless Tactile Touch Keyboard with blank key caps), and a HHKB Professional 2. Actually I want to get a Tenkeyless first, so that i can decide whether I think it makes sense to not bottom out while typing. If I decide that it makes sense to bottom out, then I might switch to HHKB Pro 2. Or I'll just start exclusively using scissor switch keyboards.

By the way, I MUCH prefer the HHKB layout, but if typing on Cherry MX switches is better then I'll probably get a Tenkeyless. I don't like the layout of the KBC Poker - the '~'/'Esc' thing gets to me, and so does the key that has "web" printed on it. If I'm going to use a non-IBM layout it had better be good, because getting used to an uncommon layout is somewhat of a liability in the first place.

That's it for now. Thanks for your attention.

[pitashen]

I was gonna answer your questions one by one, but half way thru I thought there is nothing better than getting a hand on to one of those boards.

If money is not a big concern to you, get a HHKB Pro2. Give it a month or two of using and you will have a much better answer to those questions. If you hate it, sell it to one of members here. u'll be able to recover most of your investment.

In short, bottoming out is very much of a personal preference thing. We can tell you all the awesomeness about not bottoming out, but you might end up having a complete opposite opinion after you try it out.

[exapted]

I guess I'll have to try both a HHKB P2 and a Tenkeyless. But since money is a concern I'll probably try a Tenkeyless first. I just hope that I like at least one of them.

By the way, does anyone know if there is a place I could obtain a key that is of the same size and type as the caps lock key on the Tenkeyless, but without an LED? It seems sort of inconsequential, but I guess I'm going to keep looking for that, so I might as well ask.

[pitashen]

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/

[exapted]

Thanks, that company has what I need. One more thing... Has anyone around here tried using o-rings on a HHKB P2 to shorten key travel? I'll take pics and post about my eventual results from all of this.

[pitashen]

i doubt it. people use o-ring for the acoustic purpose instead of reducing the key travel.

[sordna]

i doubt it. people use o-ring for the acoustic purpose instead of reducing the key travel.

I use it for yet a different purpose: shock absorption when bottoming out.

There's a new article abut reducing key travel on cherry MX switches (I personally don't find it a good idea) but I don't know how well it works with Topre or other kinds of switches:  
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:25612

[Autolyze]

1) It's better for your fingers to not repeatedly slam into a hard surface countless times every day. Some people prefer o-rings for this and some people are fine with training themselves not to bottom out when typing. It's a little weird at first, but I'm fairly sure that it's more healthy than the alternative.

2) Yup, as seen on wasd.

3) Most keyboards that use Cherry MX switches do not use dipswitches, but it's easy enough to handle this through software. I don't normally use my keyboards with other people's computers, so the software remapping thing isn't normally an issue for me. Topre-wise, the Realforce keyboards do have dipswitches.

4) Bottoming out is avoidable on Topre keyboards, although I feel that it's easier to avoid on Cherry MX switches, particularly clears.

Edit: You would probably larger o-rings than the ones normally used on Cherry MX keys if you wanted them for a HHKB. They would need to be stretched at the very least, but I'm not sure if that would work or if there would be problems.

[exapted]

I can see the point about not bottoming out on cherries, but my armchair analysis tells me that it would be a chore to not bottom out on Topres. I see most people saying they end up bottoming out on Topres. So with the realization that I might bottom out on Topres, I plan to get some o-rings to try out different key travel distances. Does that sound ridiculous to Topre switch users out there? I know I need to just try some keyboards out, but I'm wondering if my approach makes sense.

Assuming that I would bottom out, I just don't see a purpose to key travel below activation. Is it functional in the grand scheme of things, sort of like the follow-through of a throw? I guess I'm mainly asking Topre users who prefer to bottom out.