OCD getting worse - are my mx blues wonky?

[rustybarnacle]

The short version:  are mx blues harder to press than i remember?

the long version:

So for those that have been following the saga of my descent into madness, i own a couple of DAS keyboard III's, one printed, one blank, and both using cherry blue switches.  I purchased my first DAS after being dissatisfied with my deck legend toxic w/cherry blacks (which i still have - when i take some photos it'll be up in the classifieds).  Now, obviously coming from black switches, the blues felt fantastic.  But they were loud.  Wife doesn't like loud.  So at home I got an apple aluminium keyboard, and at work used the DAS printed.  Well about two weeks ago i managed to spill a nice full can of non-diet coke on that keyboard.  And i rinsed with with distilled water, rubbing alcohol, did the whole bit.  But it was never quite the same.

 So i brought my noisy DAS from home to work today, since my wife hates it (and thus i'm probably buying as many as 3 keyboards in the next 60 days to find the perfect solution for home).  Now previously, dad wanted a keyboard, so I bought for him a DAS S with the brown switches (mostly so I could try it out - yes, I'm a bad son).  He loves it.  I was over there a couple nights ago clacking away on the thing, and it was really pleasant, solidifying for me that my next keyboard will in all likelyhood be a cherry brown board.

So now I have my blank das on my desk.  But as I type on it right now, it still feels slighty...sticky?  This one, as far as I know, has never been spilled on.  Do I have some brain damage from the previous spill afflicted keyboard?  Perhaps my memory isn't that great, but the browns felt like they required less force than these blues.  It's worth noting that this keyboard is at least a few years old, and maybe has a little dust/whatever in it (but i've been really nice to it i swear).  Anyone else get this?

[theferenc]

Browns do require less force than blues. Browns are way too light, if you ask me, but to each their own.

And I could see blues being described as sticky, considering how they are built.

And seriously, just get the 86u or the HHKB. Your fingers and wife will thank you for it.

[BucklingSpring]

(...)own couple DAS both using cherry blue switches

Why don't you just put the two you own side by side and see if they feel the same.

Sticky is not how people usually describe the MX Blue.

Do you wash you hands after #1 and #2?

[rustybarnacle]

Why don't you just put the two you own side by side and see if they feel the same.

Sticky is not how people usually describe the MX Blue.

Do you wash you hands after #1 and #2?

Now you're just making too much sense.  With the exception of just a few keys on the printed spill victim, yes they feel the same.  And I guess I need a brown board (totally in the works tho - in fact at this rate i'll probably have 3 browns and a topre in the next two months)

And yes I wash my hands.

[rustybarnacle]

Browns do require less force than blues. Browns are way too light, if you ask me, but to each their own.

And I could see blues being described as sticky, considering how they are built.

And seriously, just get the 86u or the HHKB. Your fingers and wife will thank you for it.

Believe me, i'm getting closer.

[itlnstln]

Before I showed up here the old timers and Asians said the same thing about Light browns versus Dark brown Cherry MX.

And blue ALPS.


Oh, wait...

[itlnstln]

If you get a chance, can you re-post that pic you had of the MX SPOS vs. Filco brown stem?  I don't remember what thread it was in.  There was a difference in the size of the tactile bump in the pic.  Now, I'm not saying they do that on purpose.  Coming from the disc golf world, I have found that there are a lot of variations in similar parts made from certain types of plastic due to slight mold variations, cooling environments, humidity, etc. What I am saying, though, is that because of some of these variations, you could have switches from different batches/molds/years/seasons/whatever mold-up a little differently causing slight differences in fell.

[bhtooefr]

It could have something to do with tolerances on the sticky board.

In any case, the key return on the MX Blue, I find, is a bit delayed, due to how it has to come over the full tactile bump on rebound, unlike, say, buckling springs.

[bhtooefr]

Of course, the fun (annoying?) thing with the MX Blue is, there's no hysteresis at all if you hold it RIGHT before it comes back over that tactile bump. Annoying to hold it there, though, without spamming with keystrokes.

[BucklingSpring]

Then he bought a Das Cherry Blue.  That pretty much sums up Welly.

Never eard of "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"?

[bhtooefr]

I like how light my Cherry blues are, but I generally don't care for them. I wish buckling springs felt this light, or at least close to it, though.

(Which is why I've got a plate spring board sitting on a FedEx truck somewhere, and if I don't like that, I might check the Model F route out.)

[bhtooefr]

The sad part is, while I've got a beam spring in my avatar, I don't like my beam spring board, feels like too much initial stiffness, and not enough tactility. Then again, maybe if I can get it working, I'll like it more.

(Also, the spacebar is STUPID stiff.)

[keyb_gr]

I like how light my Cherry blues are, but I generally don't care for them. I wish buckling springs felt this light, or at least close to it, though.

While I do think that blues aren't far behind BS, I'd agree in terms of force levels. It wasn't much fun to be stuck with a Model M when the tendons were acting up (I had successfully managed to turn a non-clicky RShift blue switch into a non-working one, and what's a keyboard wihout a working RShift?). Clears weren't any better though. Being back on blues was a big relief.

As far as the Das with spill damage is concerned, I'd suggest popping the affected switches open and cleaning the sliders and relevant plastic surfaces - if the switches weren't plate-mounted. It still isn't entirely impossible but would require desoldering.

[rustybarnacle]

I haven't opened up either of my das boards (the deck has been open many times) but according to others they do plate mount the switches.

[bhtooefr]

Well, depending on whether I go to the FedEx depot tonight, tomorrow, or just let them redeliver (hopefully they'll accept a signature to drop it off and run), I'll have plate springs tonight, tomorrow, or Monday, to compare.

Honestly, I think the beam springs aren't bad, and they do act Newtonian - the faster I go on them, the more compliant they feel. (I like to describe Fujitsu Peerless switches as non-Newtonian, due to how they feel so much stiffer at speed - much like how you can walk on a mixture of starch and water, but as soon as you stop, you sink.)

[woody]

It wasn't much fun to be stuck with a Model M when the tendons were acting up ... Being back on blues was a big relief.

Same happened to me. I wrote something similar yesterday or thereabout.

It'd be interesting to lessen a bit the spring strength in MX blues as experiment, but I don't have the 1337 skillz to deal with the plate.

[elbowglue]

So now I have my blank das on my desk.  But as I type on it right now, it still feels slighty...sticky?  This one, as far as I know, has never been spilled on.  Do I have some brain damage from the previous spill afflicted keyboard?  Perhaps my memory isn't that great, but the browns felt like they required less force than these blues.  It's worth noting that this keyboard is at least a few years old, and maybe has a little dust/whatever in it (but i've been really nice to it i swear).  Anyone else get this?

I have had experience with 4 separate cherry blue boards; I have found switch to switch variability in certain switches.  That is, a single switch may feel wonky for some reason, maybe feel a little scratchy or may not release as well as the other keys.  Sometimes this may be a result of a stabilizer, but other times it's because there is a slight defect with the switch itself.  I usually solve the problem by desoldering the bad switch and trading it with a rarely used key such as scroll lock.

There are occasionally bad cherry MX blue switches.  If the whole board feels sticky well, I don't know whats causing that.

[BucklingSpring]

I have found switch to switch variability in certain switches.  That is, a single switch may feel wonky for some reason, maybe feel a little scratchy or may not release as well as the other keys.

Do you work for Razer? Apparently they "Cherry" pick their switches one by one before putting them in their boards because of the variability you are describing.

[elbowglue]

Do you work for Razer? Apparently they "Cherry" pick their switches one by one before putting them in their boards because of the variability you are describing.

Heh.  Nope.  But there are bum cherry blue switches out there that find their way into boards.

I think among 500 cherry blue switches I have used, I really disliked one, and I sorta disliked another, so a total of 2 in my opinion that were too annoying to use, and required switching out.

[ch_123]

The sad part is, while I've got a beam spring in my avatar, I don't like my beam spring board, feels like too much initial stiffness, and not enough tactility. Then again, maybe if I can get it working, I'll like it more.

(Also, the spacebar is STUPID stiff.)

Someone had issue with a stiff spacebar in a beam spring keyboard, which was resolved when they took the whole thing apart and reseated the switch. Though I suspect that like the Model F, they may have taken some steps to make the spacebar deliberately stiffer than the rest of the keys.

As for the tactility, certainly was tactile as hell when I typed on one.

[False_Dmitry_II]

Someone had issue with a stiff spacebar in a beam spring keyboard, which was resolved when they took the whole thing apart and reseated the switch. Though I suspect that like the Model F, they may have taken some steps to make the spacebar deliberately stiffer than the rest of the keys.

As for the tactility, certainly was tactile as hell when I typed on one.

How did you use one? With an actual computer or...? Just curious because I was under the impression that you couldn't use one with normal computers because their connectors were/are worse than even RJ11 stuff.

[bhtooefr]

You don't have to have it connected to anything to type on it.

Anyway, I've got some ideas for the 5251 board, depending on how the matrix is laid out, involving grafting an XT controller with an inverter between the capacitive decoder chip and the microcontroller onto it.