My Filco MX Blue are wearing out fast?

[af22]

Hello,

I bought a brand new filco 10 keyless keyboard with Cherry MX blues in August 2010.  I'm wondering what the life of these keyboards are, as it has been significantly worse then what i expected.

Currently, 4 of my keycaps (Letters A,S,C,N) have the paint worn off, and 4 additional keycaps are not far (Letters, E,R,T,M)

In addition, I had 4 switches start to chatter bad which i swapped out (Letters A,S,Y,O).  And now my R, D, V is starting to also chatter.

I've noticed that the new switches I put in are alot stiffer then the 1.5 year old ones (i simply swapped the switches with right modifiers (Alt, Win, RClick, and Ctrl), so they are the same batch that came with the board).  

I admit that i am a heavy typer, and i bottom out my keyboard every single stroke (i like it loud).  Am i doing something wrong here to make my keyboard wear out faster then it should?

I just ordered 25 replacement switches to stock up, and also a pack of rubber dampers to help with the bottoming out.

Any advice or comments?  This keyboard is getting more expensive by the year if I need to replace switches annually.  My old logitech keyboard which i used for many years still works strong with no paint wear or switch problems.  

Thanks.

[fstop]

Keycap wear is normal, especially under heavy use. ABS caps that come with Filcos are decent, but compared to PBT or Doubleshots they are pretty cheap and you will see wear fast. I suggest getting a new set of PBT if wear is your main concern (doubleshots are more for looks, though still more durable then ABS). It'll run about $40-$50 for a set but will definitely last long enough that you won't have to worry any more. Plus they feel better.

As for switches dying, I think cherry switches have an estimate of 20 million actuations (50 million reported on cherry's site). Not sure what's going on in your case though! It does seem abnormal.

[Squelos]

20million actuations actually is quite a lot when you think of it. Even if some switches are far more used than others, killing a switch still isnt an easy task IMHO.

Plus I dont know what a switch does when it dies, but it probably wont be like rubber domes, which stop registering every keypress.

[silat]

20 Million MTBF sounds good until you run it through a stochastic model involving 104 switches.  People get all poisson'd when the see the results.

Rip do you have links to Cherry switches being run stochastically ?

[Bird]

oh wow

[alaricljs]

I know the numbers for hard drives w/ 1,000,000 hours MTBF.  They are not pretty.  It's why tech-heads refuse to use RAID5 on more than 4-5 disks.  The possibility that a 2nd drive fails while rebuilding the array from a previous failure gets shockingly close to 1:1 rather quickly.

[Bass]

Cherry MX switches are quite prone to chattering when they get dirty, so in many cases depressing the switch in question while blowing some compressed air generally does the trick.

[Tony]

It looks like you will be better off with Logitech rather than a Filco.

Mechanical keyboards are designed to lessen the bottoming out to save the finger distances and make typing faster with less force. You do just the opposite and make the keyboard worn fast.

If you can afford the replacement cost, then please go on.

[tp4tissue]

Cherry MX switches are quite prone to chattering when they get dirty, so in many cases depressing the switch in question while blowing some compressed air generally does the trick.

Fvck it, buy new switch. Or swap

[af22]

It looks like you will be better off with Logitech rather than a Filco.

Mechanical keyboards are designed to lessen the bottoming out to save the finger distances and make typing faster with less force. You do just the opposite and make the keyboard worn fast.

If you can afford the replacement cost, then please go on.

That's very interesting.  I do type pretty hard and I can burst over 100 wpm.  

On this keyboard alone, in the last 18 months, i've spent $262 already.  I'll see how long it'll last until the next "repair"

I've tried the can air on the switches, it didn't seem to help.  I can tell my switches are physically worn when compared to the lesser used keys.

thanks for all the replies.

[Exort]

Keycap wear is normal, especially under heavy use. ABS caps that come with Filcos are decent, but compared to PBT or Doubleshots they are pretty cheap and you will see wear fast. I suggest getting a new set of PBT if wear is your main concern (doubleshots are more for looks, though still more durable then ABS). It'll run about $40-$50 for a set but will definitely last long enough that you won't have to worry any more. Plus they feel better.

As for switches dying, I think cherry switches have an estimate of 20 million actuations (50 million reported on cherry's site). Not sure what's going on in your case though! It does seem abnormal.

Isn't most double shot ABS?

[rknize]

He types hard and likes the noise.  He needs a Model M or a Unicomp.  PBT keys and built like a truck.

As far as chattering, do you mean they audiably chatter or you are getting key bounce?  Hitting the keys hard should not accelerate contact wear, due to how the switches work.

[af22]

He types hard and likes the noise.  He needs a Model M or a Unicomp.  PBT keys and built like a truck.

As far as chattering, do you mean they audiably chatter or you are getting key bounce?  Hitting the keys hard should not accelerate contact wear, due to how the switches work.

When i say chatter, i'm getting repeating keys. like waassdd.

I had a model m when i grew up, and it is still one of my favorite keyboards.  I also enjoy the Dell with black alps.  I bought the filco so i can have a modern looking keyboard to match the rest of my hardware.

[rknize]

I asked because some of the blues I have do a weird buzzing thing sometimes.  But it doesn't affect the output of the key.

Have you tried just reflowing the solder joints on the suspect keys?

[Tony]

I think you should buy a Unicomp or old IBM model M, since buckling springs are much tougher than Cherry MX switches. And they sound much louder, which you'll like.

[fstop]

Isn't most double shot ABS?

Yes they are. And I meant that doubleshots were more durable in that the legends won't fade nearly as fast, which is the problem OP is experiencing.

[zirb]

And I meant that doubleshots were more durable in that the legends won't fade.

FTFY

[Surly73]

Hello,

I admit that i am a heavy typer, and i bottom out my keyboard every single stroke (i like it loud).  Am i doing something wrong here to make my keyboard wear out faster then it should?

I just ordered 25 replacement switches to stock up, and also a pack of rubber dampers to help with the bottoming out.

Any advice or comments?  This keyboard is getting more expensive by the year if I need to replace switches annually.  My old logitech keyboard which i used for many years still works strong with no paint wear or switch problems.  

Thanks.

Um, how to ask this....

How clean is your keyboard environment?

Dirt will accelerate wear and malfunction.

[af22]

I just wanted to update everyone on this thread.  

I installed some 40A red o-rings on my mx blues, and somehow it have removed all my keyboard chatter problems.  

I can only theorize why this is occurring.  My chatter keys were significantly easier to depress, and maybe now the o-rings are removing some of the key stroke preventing it from double registering.  

Either way, i'm loving how the keys feel now with the o-rings.

[Chobopants]

Highly recommend grabbing some PBT keys in the group buy section to fix that wear problem on the caps. All my filcos have them now and there isn't a lick of wear (esp on the side printed keys . The one minor thing is the white keys show dirt pretty easily, just need to wipe them down once in a while.

Kind of have forgotten what stock filco keys even feel like.