Withdrawal symptoms from mushy rubber dome

[froogle]

I recently obtained my Sigma AFK-7100MC which uses White Alps for all the keys except the enter key which uses a Black Alps switch.
I do not know what they are exactly (ie. fake or real) but they are clicky, tactile, loud and genrally feel lighter than my rubber dome.

Oh, and the weight of the keyboard is quite heavy, heavier than a cr4ppy $5 rubber dome but lighter than my tank of rubber domes, a HP Multimedia keyboard from back in the days of the beige.

My HP rubber dome I currently prefer


The Sigma is very dark beige and is also smaller as it gets rid of the cursor keys and the set of INSERT DELETE HOME END etc. keys between the numpad and the qwerty layout.

My Sigma AFK-7100MC...was it called AFK because it feels so bad and no-one uses it? lol


So, I am feeling kinda left out...I right now at this moment of time prefer the rubber dome HP keyboard but is this normal?

I also feel that the rebound speed on the rubber keyboard is much faster than on the Sigma, affecting my typing fluidity. Maybe it's because I'm bottoming out, not used to the lower throw?

Oh, and by the way, the Sigma has quite a low throw and so the keys look significantly shorter (ie. like modern day cr4ppy OEM rubber dome keyboards)

[keyboardlover]

Both white and black alps tend to have a rougher travel with more resistance so it makes complete sense that you would prefer the rubber dome. If you want a mechanical but with a smoother feel, you just have to decide whether you still want the clickiness you get with the alps. Cherry blues are like a smoother-clicky alps, whereas cherry brown or topre are more like the rubber dome.

[froogle]

Both white and black alps tend to have a rougher travel with more resistance so it makes complete sense that you would prefer the rubber dome. If you want a mechanical but with a smoother feel, you just have to decide whether you still want the clickiness you get with the alps. Cherry blues are like a smoother-clicky alps, whereas cherry brown or topre are more like the rubber dome.

Did you just say that I wasted about $30 on something that is sh*t?

Will time make me prefer the white alps or is it just a no go?
I just ordered by ADB cable and adapter...I'm about to go sit in the corner and cry lol.

[froogle]

Depends on the type of White ALPS you have.  Complicated=Fukka>XMs

Man that sucks....I think that they are complicated but I'm not sure....I should use two screwdrivers to carefuly pop them up right?

[froogle]

If it helps, the keyboard retailed at 8800yen (£67 or so) ($100 or so)....

Do I have complicated or XMsss

arrrggghh

[Pylon]

I don't think it's that uncommon. I prefer some rubber domes over Black Alps (I own a Japanese mechanical that's a bit similar in lay out to yours, but with all Black Alps)

[Findecanor]

I also come from rubber domes and felt that hard "clack" when bottoming out was difficult to get used to, but I really liked the click.
What I did was that I dampened my white ALPS keyboards with rubber-dampened sliders from cream ALPS switches from a cheap Apple Extended Keyboard II. I also reused the upper switch housings from the cream ALPS. I found that this mod improved it a whole lot.
However, if these ALPS switches are not true complicated ALPS switches, then this mod might not be possible.

Another thing with clicky white ALPS is that the tactile point is quite high and the slider has some friction. In a way, the switch does not suit a typing style with wrists resting on the desk in front of the keyboard. If you type with horizontal wrists, then the keyboard could feel much nicer in comparison.

[froogle]

thanks for all the replies guys!

Guess what LOL! after some typing on the Sigma, just random babble, I kinda got used to it and I currently LOVE it rofl.

Sorry about stirring this whole things up...

I think that I just wasn't used to it lol....


My only minor gripe with the keyboard is that the ENTER key uses the Black Alps linear non-tactile switch which doesn't click...it feels much heavier than the other keys and my pinky gets a little tired lol...
Also, the space key also uses the same White Alps tactile clicky switches as the other keys and so it feels a little too light as I am used to applying quite a lot of force from using a rubber dome keboard....


In actual fact, the rubber dome keyboard feels pretty heavy, sluggish and tiring
I guess that's a good thing.

[msiegel]

it sounds like the space bar needs the enter key switch, and vice versa

[froogle]

it sounds like the space bar needs the enter key switch, and vice versa

Yep! The only thing is, I'm not too sure how to do that...I don't want to mess up my keyboard before I get to actually use it with the ADB adapter lol...

I think I'll write, or rather 'type' a comprehensive n00b review after I've had some time with it....

It's the legendary AFK keyboard after all! I have no idea of what or where or who made the keyboard as the only thing that comes up in google is my post, some Japanese review and a Yahoo Auction history page....

Mysterious :wink:

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

White alps will do that to you.  When I was using white alps regularly, I would switch back and forth between the alps keyboard and a Keytronic rubber dome.  The best best clicky alps are Monterey blue, but they may be hard to find.  Here's my comparison between white alps and Monterey blue alps: http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=12943

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

Double post?