Realforce 87UW 55g Uniform clicks like MX Blue

[delidana]

Hi guys,

Got my brand new  RealForce 87UW 55g Uniform yesterday and I have problems with some keys clicking like an MX Blue. I can reproduce this on almost all keys but not the modifier keys and enter.
It's my first topre keyboard so I wonder if it really should sound like this?  :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmw4wjjfUlk

The second thing is that for me it sounds like the keys have different sound. Some of them have the "Thock" and are snappy and some of them don't. Here is another video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiOn7fs8Frs

Before buying the RF i tried a friends Novatouch and it had much more "Thocks" and was more snappy. Maybe i should give it a bit more time...

[spiritistz]

Where did you get them from? I mean which retailer

[atlas3686]

Hi guys,

Got my brand new  RealForce 87UW 55g Uniform yesterday and I have problems with some keys clicking like an MX Blue. I can reproduce this on almost all keys but not the modifier keys and enter.
It's my first topre keyboard so I wonder if it really should sound like this?  :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmw4wjjfUlk

The second thing is that for me it sounds like the keys have different sound. Some of them have the "Thock" and are snappy and some of them don't. Here is another video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiOn7fs8Frs

Before buying the RF i tried a friends Novatouch and it had much more "Thocks" and was more snappy. Maybe i should give it a bit more time...

First video with the mx blue like sound is really odd, second video sounds pretty normal aside from the slight mx blue like noise.

[delidana]

Hi guys,

Got my brand new  RealForce 87UW 55g Uniform yesterday and I have problems with some keys clicking like an MX Blue. I can reproduce this on almost all keys but not the modifier keys and enter.
It's my first topre keyboard so I wonder if it really should sound like this?  :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmw4wjjfUlk

The second thing is that for me it sounds like the keys have different sound. Some of them have the "Thock" and are snappy and some of them don't. Here is another video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiOn7fs8Frs

Before buying the RF i tried a friends Novatouch and it had much more "Thocks" and was more snappy. Maybe i should give it a bit more time...

First video with the mx blue like sound is really odd, second video sounds pretty normal aside from the slight mx blue like noise.

The keyboard sound like hybrid between topre and mx blue, i must be the lucky one  <---- NOT

Where did you get them from? I mean which retailer

I got it from http://www.keyboardco.com. Maybe i should sen them an email. 300+ $  Topre keyboard should not click like Mx Blue. Can you guys try to reproduce the clicks?

[delidana]

bump

[HPE1000]

bump

You cannot bump your own thread unless 24 hours have passed...

That's what the board sounds like, if you don't like it then return it or sell it. Just look up youtube videos of the keyboard, they sound like that. I own one, it sounds like that....

[HPE1000]

Or so you don't bump your thread again, lets just search for you...

[delidana]

bump

You cannot bump your own thread unless 24 hours have passed...

That's what the board sounds like, if you don't like it then return it or sell it. Just look up youtube videos of the keyboard, they sound like that. I own one, it sounds like that....

Don't be so grympy man! I din't know! So you mean that your keyboard also clicks?

Or so you don't bump your thread again, lets just search for you...

You don't have to search for me! I know how to do that. I've already seen these videos and and my sounds slightly different.

[HPE1000]

bump

You cannot bump your own thread unless 24 hours have passed...

That's what the board sounds like, if you don't like it then return it or sell it. Just look up youtube videos of the keyboard, they sound like that. I own one, it sounds like that....

Don't be so grympy man! I din't know! So you mean that your keyboard also clicks?

Or so you don't bump your thread again, lets just search for you...

You don't have to search for me! I know how to do that. I've already seen these videos and and my sounds slightly different.

Shouldn't have been so impatient

Yes, my keyboard clicks I guess you could say. It's could be a combination of everything, on almost every keyboard I have used, the further you get away from the center of the plate the keys get higher pitch. Topre switches in general can vary up to 15 grams per switch I have heard but I think about 5-10g would be a more safe assumption. The heavier the switch, I have found the slightly more dull the switch will sound.

If you listen closely to some of those videos you can hear the variance some of the keys have, it's not all just click click click or thud thud thud. It's kind of mixes together.



Have you tried typing on the keyboard on different surfaces? Wood, Glass, Full size desk mat all give different sounds to the keyboard that you are typing on. Wood seems to make the topre switches "Thock" more while glass gives them a more high pitch sound and the desk mat dulls them.

Also take into account that every mic pics up sounds different, some mics really remove the higher frequencies and make the keyboards sound more deep than they really do.

[daerid]

This is a pretty well known situation with Topres. It's due to the springs underneath the rubber sticking to the cups when the key is depressed. When they pop off the rubber and expand to their normal shape they make a slight click noise. It's completely normal and will go away after a while.

[HPE1000]

This is a pretty well known situation with Topres. It's due to the springs underneath the rubber sticking to the cups when the key is depressed. When they pop off the rubber and expand to their normal shape they make a slight click noise. It's completely normal and will go away after a while.

To be clear, that's the sound in the first video though, correct? The 2nd is just how they sound in general.

[Heliosphere]

Some of my keys have that slight snap sound, but it's very subtle and I would have to be listening specifically for that sound to notice. Like daedrid said it could be the spring unsticking from the rubber cups.

It's possible that maybe some of the rubber cups have come loose from the board, since there is a small amount of glue used to keep the rubber cups to the circuit board. Subsequently, the snapping sound is the stickiness of the glue coming apart as you press or release the keys.

If you want, you could try opening the keyboard and removing the slider section from the circuit board with the cups and see if any are loose. Rearrange the cups if they're out of place, or double check underneath loose cups to see if the spring is misaligned. It's not a difficult process; doesn't require desoldering and the most time consuming part is unscrewing and re-screwing the slider section and circuit board apart/together.

[spiceBar]

Some of my keys have that slight snap sound, but it's very subtle and I would have to be listening specifically for that sound to notice. Like daedrid said it could be the spring unsticking from the rubber cups.

It's possible that maybe some of the rubber cups have come loose from the board, since there is a small amount of glue used to keep the rubber cups to the circuit board. Subsequently, the snapping sound is the stickiness of the glue coming apart as you press or release the keys.

If you want, you could try opening the keyboard and removing the slider section from the circuit board with the cups and see if any are loose. Rearrange the cups if they're out of place, or double check underneath loose cups to see if the spring is misaligned. It's not a difficult process; doesn't require desoldering and the most time consuming part is unscrewing and re-screwing the slider section and circuit board apart/together.

The switches housings keep the rubber around the domes pressed very tight on the PCB, so I doubt it could be what you describe.

If some springs were misaligned, the corresponding keys would certainly not work, or the springs would get back into position over time, so I think opening the keyboard just to check this is not required. Depending on the skills of the OP, it would even be a mess to put it back together.

The springs sticking to the rubber under the domes is the likely explanation.

I would just give it time and see how it evolves after a few weeks of use.

[Heliosphere]

Is it possible some adhesive for the rubber cups got onto the springs, causing the stickiness?

[FrostyToast]

The springs are most likely the cause of this issue.
What exactly, I don't know.
It could be that the backplate isn't screwed on tightly enough allowing the springs to move.
Perhaps they're not seated properly.

That's all I have for now. I honestly have no clue what it up.

[spiceBar]

Is it possible some adhesive for the rubber cups got onto the springs, causing the stickiness?

Actually I'm not sure they put any adhesive there.

When you remove the rubber from the PCB, you notice that it doesn't stick anymore. This is by the way quite annoying and makes it hard to put everything back into place.

My guess is that the rubber fresh from the factory tends to stick naturally to the PCB because it is pressed so hard by the 30 screws holding the metal plate to the PCB (and the switch housings). But remove it and you realize there is no glue at all.

[Heliosphere]

Is it possible some adhesive for the rubber cups got onto the springs, causing the stickiness?

Actually I'm not sure they put any adhesive there.

When you remove the rubber from the PCB, you notice that it doesn't stick anymore. This is by the way quite annoying and makes it hard to put everything back into place.

My guess is that the rubber fresh from the factory tends to stick naturally to the PCB because it is pressed so hard by the 30 screws holding the metal plate to the PCB (and the switch housings). But remove it and you realize there is no glue at all.

Ah I see. I read elsewhere that there was glue but when I took apart mine, there were two loose rubber cups and I didn't notice any adhesive so that sounds right.

[Altis]

The second video sounds pretty similar to my 55g Realforce.

It doesn't sound like MX Blue at all though. There is a thock when you press down and a tick when you release (which is the keycap hitting the upper stopper, I think).

The reason the sound varies (as it does on any keyboard) is that the pitch depends on the point of contact on the board below. Take any keyboard... Press "h" repeatedly then "delete" repeatedly and notice how different they sound.

It's actually a good thing they all sound a little bit different, else it would just sound like you're hitting the same key over and over endlessly... and that would be miserable.

[HPE1000]

The second video sounds pretty similar to my 55g Realforce.

It doesn't sound like MX Blue at all though. There is a thock when you press down and a tick when you release (which is the keycap hitting the upper stopper, I think).

The reason the sound varies (as it does on any keyboard) is that the pitch depends on the point of contact on the board below. Take any keyboard... Press "h" repeatedly then "delete" repeatedly and notice how different they sound.

It's actually a good thing they all sound a little bit different, else it would just sound like you're hitting the same key over and over endlessly... and that would be miserable.

Well delete is probably a poor comparison due to stabilizing on larger keys. A better comparison would be h vs esc or pause or something. I do agree with the last point though, the difference in sound makes for a nice overall rhythm when typing.

[Altis]

The second video sounds pretty similar to my 55g Realforce.

It doesn't sound like MX Blue at all though. There is a thock when you press down and a tick when you release (which is the keycap hitting the upper stopper, I think).

The reason the sound varies (as it does on any keyboard) is that the pitch depends on the point of contact on the board below. Take any keyboard... Press "h" repeatedly then "delete" repeatedly and notice how different they sound.

It's actually a good thing they all sound a little bit different, else it would just sound like you're hitting the same key over and over endlessly... and that would be miserable.

Well delete is probably a poor comparison due to stabilizing on larger keys. A better comparison would be h vs esc or pause or something. I do agree with the last point though, the difference in sound makes for a nice overall rhythm when typing.

Except that "Delete" on a RF is a 1x key like all the alphanumerics... unlike "Backspace".  But yeah, pretty much any two keys will sound different.

[HPE1000]

The second video sounds pretty similar to my 55g Realforce.

It doesn't sound like MX Blue at all though. There is a thock when you press down and a tick when you release (which is the keycap hitting the upper stopper, I think).

The reason the sound varies (as it does on any keyboard) is that the pitch depends on the point of contact on the board below. Take any keyboard... Press "h" repeatedly then "delete" repeatedly and notice how different they sound.

It's actually a good thing they all sound a little bit different, else it would just sound like you're hitting the same key over and over endlessly... and that would be miserable.

Well delete is probably a poor comparison due to stabilizing on larger keys. A better comparison would be h vs esc or pause or something. I do agree with the last point though, the difference in sound makes for a nice overall rhythm when typing.

Except that "Delete" on a RF is a 1x key like all the alphanumerics... unlike "Backspace".  But yeah, pretty much any two keys will sound different.

derp  )

I usually assume when people say delete they are meaning backspace, bad habit I suppose, my fault.

[atlas3686]

This is a pretty well known situation with Topres. It's due to the springs underneath the rubber sticking to the cups when the key is depressed. When they pop off the rubber and expand to their normal shape they make a slight click noise. It's completely normal and will go away after a while.

I learnt something new today.

[delidana]

Thanks for all your replies guys i appreciate it!! It seems like there is nothing wrong with my keyboard after all. I hope the clicks goes away after a while. I have one more question (off-topic) but anyways . It's regarding the stiffness of Topre 55g after some usage.  I've heard two versions:

1. 55g becomes like 45g after some use.
2. 55g becomes stiffer like 60g + after some use.

[atlas3686]

Thanks for all your replies guys i appreciate it!! It seems like there is nothing wrong with my keyboard after all. I hope the clicks goes away after a while. I have one more question (off-topic) but anyways . It's regarding the stiffness of Topre 55g after some usage.  I've heard two versions:

1. 55g becomes like 45g after some use.
2. 55g becomes stiffer like 60g + after some use.

As far as I am aware they stiffen a little with use so certainly shouldn't become like a 45g after some use, I have both and my 55g feels nothing like a 45g.