Ever had complaints of noise from Cherry Browns?

[rodya]

I'm in the school library, typing on my Browns and I feel a little self-conscious about the noise.  Has anyone ever had someone complain about the noise from Browns in a public place?  What did you do in the situation?  I type about 90 wpm, so the noise is pretty rapid-fire.  Is it inconsiderate for me to be clacking away on my Browns in a library?  Should I type slower and softer?

[rsantos97]

Since the library is suppose to be a place for silence, I would say that it would be a good idea to slow down your typing so that you don't distract anyone else.  Unless your typing noise is blending in with the ambient noise.

[Bucky]

I would definitely try to avoid bottoming out/typing really fast if you typically have a heavy hand. Brown switches may be on the quieter end of mech, but they still aren't silent, especially if you bottom out. I think if you are careful it should be just fine.

[flaming_june]

Don't bottom out.  Browns are quiet.

[Zet]

Just to get clear, you carry your keyboard with your laptop around?

[scribble]

I think a filco 10keyless would be small enough to try to carry around with you

[Bucky]

I have been considering getting a keyboard to bring to work, is there anything you need to do to protect the board while being transported in a bag?

[daerid]

What about a Cherry Black board? The stiffer spring would help to keep you from bottoming out, and the linear stem helps eliminate any noise generated from the tactile bump.

If I concentrate, I can pretty much make my reds whisper quiet. Blacks would require less concentration

[The Solutor]

What did you do in the situation?

The answer is very simple  use a good scissor  or rubber dome board.

[rodya]

Thanks for the responses guys.  I thought Browns were quiet enough too, but it felt kinda loud in that setting; I guess it's probably due more to my heavy hands/bottoming out.  I've been trying to type slower and softer and it seems to blend more with the ambient noise now.  I had also thought my keyboard would blend in with everyone on laptops, but I guess not with everyone on (scissor-switch?) laptop keyboards.

@Zet:  Yes.  I got a KBC Poker for this purpose.  Although I used to carry around my Leopold Tenkeyless.  Who can stand typing on laptop keyboards??

@Bucky:  Someone like Ripster probably knows better, but I just use the foam sleeve it came with to protect against scratches, along with being gentle with my bag.  An actual padded sleeve/bag would be better I'm sure, if you're willing to spend the money on it.

[rodya]

What about a Cherry Black board?

 
Heeeey, good idea!  I have been curious about Cherry Blacks and Reds.  Now I've got a good excuse to buy another keyboard!

The answer is very simple  use a good scissor  or rubber dome board.

Or in other words, don't carry my mechanical keyboard around with me

[Zet]

Just for the record, I bring my keyboard to work everyday. It's a filco majestouch 2 104key US layout with reds, yeah, its big, heavy, but I must bring my love with me, I wouldn't stand anymore to type on those lame rubber dome genius keyboard they have on my office.

[The Solutor]

Or in other words, don't carry my mechanical keyboard around with me

 
No, not exactly.

RD are ranging from crap to very good, and scissors from average to fantastic, if your library uses a crap keyboard a good scissor like the logitech illuminated or the thinkpad external could be more than worth.

[Tallon]

I've never had a mechanical keyboard in a library (and i've never carried a keyboard with me...) but my wife has complained how loud a brown keyboard is.

[daerid]

IMO, Browns shouldn't be marketed as "Quiet" switches. They should be marketed as "this-board-will-have-sex-with-your-fingertips" switches.

[rodya]

@Zet:  Good to hear your Filco is getting the use and loving it deserves

@Solutor: Oh, I did not know that.  The Logitech Illuminated looks pretty nice actually.  I'll have to check my local computer/electronics store next time to see if they have this or similar scissor-switch keyboards to try out.  Thanks for the info.

[Lanx]

how bad is the laptop keyboard? imo mech board is perfectly fine for anyplace other library, you can even get away with it rooming w/ someone imo. But if you bottom out, yea it's gonna be loud no matter what. i found a good way to see if a person bottoms out is to ask them to type and listen to pinky finger vs. index finger (if they touch type) unless you have super strong pinky strength, you'll hear a difference.

[Tony]

True, brown switches still are noisier than rubber dome. But our fingers are having sex with our partners already, they could not have sex with the keyboards.

[aggiejy]

It's a joke Das calls their brown switch version "Silent".  I'd bet most people bottom out a little bit.  If you do, it'll be 10x louder than a rubber dome.

Personally, my office-mates at my past job make me switch to an Apple aluminum keyboard like everyone else after about a week putting up with my relatively careful typing on browns.  Now I work at home and I pound the **** out of some blues gangsta style.

[noodles256]

get a topre

[rodya]

but my wife has complained how loud a brown keyboard is.

Guess you've never brought Blues or BS home

IMO, Browns shouldn't be marketed as "Quiet" switches. They should be marketed as "this-board-will-have-sex-with-your-fingertips" switches.

So that explains why I've been staying up late at night looking at keyboards!!!

@Lanx:  My biggest problem with laptop keyboards is that it usually requires resting your wrists on internal components that get pretty warm if not hot.  That and its location immediately beneath the screen doesn't allow you to lean back comfortably while maintaining a good distance with the screen.  The scissor-switches themselves aren't so bad; its just my fingers like some junk in the trunk when fondling keycaps  By the way, interesting test.

[Chobopants]

I only use my blues when I'm comfortable not annoying my coworkers. 80% of the time I'm on my PBT reds, extra quiet. Browns are definitely a tad louder. That combined with the lighter "clackier" Filco default keys makes a decently noisy keyboard. My girlfriend used to complain about the noise I made on my browns until I started typing softer. That said, reds are still quieter than browns. Linear R with thick replacement keys = totally non-embarrassing all day.

[hyperlinked]

We've had a number of discussions about how "quiet" Browns really were in the past and if my memory serves me correct, the takeaway is that Browns themselves are quiet, but the keycaps can cause a lot of rattle. Indeed, try taking the keycaps off and type just on the stems. It makes very little noise. Of course you can't bottom out in the same way without keycaps, but with the keycaps on, try typing without bottoming out on the Filcos and similar boards and you'll probably notice plenty of noise even without bottoming out. It's not coming from the switch.

[daerid]

It's a joke Das calls their brown switch version "Silent".  I'd bet most people bottom out a little bit.  If you do, it'll be 10x louder than a rubber dome.

Personally, my office-mates at my past job make me switch to an Apple aluminum keyboard like everyone else after about a week putting up with my relatively careful typing on browns.  Now I work at home and I pound the **** out of some blues gangsta style.

That's retarded. If you work in the computer industry, you get to deal with keyboard noise. Nobody worries about mechanic shops silencing their impact noise.

Besides, I usually make an Apple Aluminum keyboard rather noisy anyways, so :-P

[rodya]

get a topre

Carry my precious HHKB to school or work?  That's crazy talk!

That's retarded. If you work in the computer industry

 
Agreed.  However, not all offices are tech offices.  And not all co-workers are sane and reasonable.  

@hyperlinked: Ahh okay.  Thanks for the information.  If that's true, then I suppose Cherry Blacks or Reds wouldn't be much better, except to resist bottoming out (on the Blacks).

[False_Dmitry_II]

In which case you might as well try clears. Or browns with a clear/black spring.

[NimbleRabit]

Coworkers and roommates have both complained about my brown board.  I feel they are just being too picky, but I don't think I'd be willing to use my keyboard in a library.  It's definitely significantly quieter if you type very softly and more slowly, but at that point a lot of the joy of the mechanical keyboard is lost.

[flaming_june]

If you don't bottom out on browns, they are quieter than normal rubber domes and similar loudness to scissor switches.

[rodya]

@False_Dmitry_II
Hmm, according to the switch wiki, that's basically replacing the brown spring with a higher strength string right?  I assume to provide more resistance to bottoming out?

@NimbleRabit
Agreed.

@flaming_june
Yeah, I'll have to not bottom out, but like NimbleRabit said, you lose a lot of the joy of using a mechanical keyboard.

[Findecanor]

Personally, I think that one of the points of having a mechanical keyboard is that you don't have to bottom out to actuate.
If you don't bottom out, there are both quieter and louder rubber dome keyboards than any with Cherry MX browns.

I find clears to be quite different than browns. Longer tactile point and more resistance right after the actuation point. While I bottom out every now and then on browns, I never bottom out on clears. There is more friction inside the clear switch which makes the switch itself louder, but avoiding bottoming out would of course be a more significant change.
I have even tested "ergo clears" (replacing the stiffer spring with one from a brown), but in my opinion it removes all that is good with clears.

The best way to avoid clack when bottoming out, I think, is the dental bands mod (see my sig).

[rodya]

@Findecanor
Hmm, I've read the most recent "to bottom or not bottom out" thread, and considered myself part of the "love to bang on the keyboard" camp, but your post got me thinking about it again.  Maybe it's just that (being new to mechanical keyboards) I have this habit of banging on my keyboard from being a lifelong rubber-dome user.  Right now, trying not to bottom out feels like trying to tiptoe around the house instead of walking freely and carelessly like I usually do.  But perhaps I'm not walking, but lumbering.  Perhaps, like a fine wine, there is subtle tactile feel that I'm missing out on and fail to develop, due to my careless gulping.  I think I'll try out typing differently.

Good to hear that about the clears.  I just got an old Cherry G80 that I'm gonna harvest for it and try out.  And yeah, I saw the dental bands mod.  I'm gonna try that out too.  Thanks for your input.

[False_Dmitry_II]

Yeah, that's what I meant. The heavier spring should help you try to not bottom out.

For me, while actually typing, it makes no difference. I still bottom out on clears.

[Tony]

Years of using $5 rubber dome keyboards still haunts people.

Cherry MX switches all have the actuation point in the middle 2mm of 4mm total, so that we do not have to bottom out. The result is faster typing speed, and your finger hurts less.

If you always bottom out while typing, a scissor switch keyboard with 2mm travel is better than a mech keyboard with 4mm travel. And cheaper.

[daerid]

Years of using $5 rubber dome keyboards still haunts people.

Cherry MX switches all have the actuation point in the middle 2mm of 4mm total, so that we do not have to bottom out. The result is faster typing speed, and your finger hurts less.

If you always bottom out while typing, a scissor switch keyboard with 2mm travel is better than a mech keyboard with 4mm travel. And cheaper.

I must disagree with you there. I tend to bottom out  all the time, and I'm much, much faster on my Cherry keyboards than any scissor board I've used (and I've used quite a few).

[Tony]

@daerid: Time to go 2mm is less than time to go 4mm, so I suppose if you can press just over actuation point (i.e. not bottoming out) you can type even faster.

[sordna]

Cheapest (~ $10) way to reduce noise is to install soft-landing pads or o-rings under your keycaps. That makes the bottoming very quiet. The loudest part of the action will then be the upstroke:
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?17511-EK-s-quot-Soft-Landing-quot-Pads-for-Cherry-MX/
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:5450

[rodya]

@sordna
Yeah, I'm gonna try out the dental bands mod.

[sordna]

Dental bands have been tried, but results weren't that great. They don't last long either. The proper o-rings are much, much better.

[rodya]

Oh, my bad for not reading carefully.  I saw the image and automatically thought it was some kind of duplicate post of the dental bands mod post.  Hmm, interesting, perhaps I'll try the silicone o-rings you mentioned in your post here.

[sordna]

These are great, currently typing on them... but a bit too expensive, close to $30, due to minimum order requirement of $25 (for 250 o-rings) plus shipping.
The McMaster Carr are $9 per 100, and only very slightly harder. Better value.