Simple Questions, Simple Answers (FAQ in the OP)

[flamf]

And not pay through my nose?

[CPTBadAss]

So, when something is advertised having 'vintage black switches', I'm free to read 'somewhat used black switches'? And not pay through my nose?

I honestly wouldn't pay more than $0.25/switch for vintage/used/old/worn blacks. For a long time you could get them for that price. I think it was WhiskeyTango who had *TONS* of them. But they're worth whatever you think they are. People like them and I'm not going to knock them.

I'm still not 100% convinced about them and people simply saying "Yes they're smoother and they've undergone changes" without proof doesn't convince me. Cherry did say in an interview that they did switch molds at one point but there's little evidence of how to ID the differences and know which boards and dates were vintage vs old.

[flamf]

Affirmative Sir and thanks, had a feeling they were something other than just great.

[CPTBadAss]

Affirmative Sir and thanks, had a feeling they were something other than just great.

More personal opinions: I sold all of my MX Blacks because I think lubed or even stock Gateron blacks feel better than MX Blacks. Maybe you might be interested in checking those out as another alternative .

[flamf]

That's useful information for new acquisitions, thx! The case in point was just whether old black switches added (much) value to a board, and was a selling point in itself. I feel enlightened.

[flamf]

Sorry if this went outside the "Simple Questions" category, I'm new here

[metal369]

What a nice topic. Thank you for your help.

[T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas]

Hi guys, new to mechanical keyboards (and the forum (and forums in general)), but I have a question I can't find the answer to anywhere. Sorry in advance if I've just missed it somewhere.

Does using o rings mitigate the maximum force of Cherry MX clears when bottoming out by impeding the maximum travel distance of the spring, and if so, by how many cN? I know I shouldn't bottom out, but I love the bump and don't want to sprain myself while I train to type lighter (and I'm not confident enough to mod a Pok3r with ergo clears).

Many thanks!

[CPTBadAss]

Does using o rings mitigate the maximum force of Cherry MX clears when bottoming out by impeding the maximum travel distance of the spring, and if so, by how many cN?

No it just shortens the travel distance and makes the bottom out feel cushiony. Same force needed to actuate it though. You'd need to modify the switch and put in new Springs.

[fanpeople]

I just tried plugging in a USB storage device to my HHKB and got the message that the port does not have enough power to support the device. Does  anyone else have this problem, alternatively is anyone able to use the ports successfully or am I too late in the technology cycle to take advantage of these?

 

[rowdy]

I just tried plugging in a USB storage device to my HHKB and got the message that the port does not have enough power to support the device. Does  anyone else have this problem, alternatively is anyone able to use the ports successfully or am I too late in the technology cycle to take advantage of these?

I have not managed to get anything working through my HHKB USB ports.

[fanpeople]

I have not managed to get anything working through my HHKB USB ports.

I just searched the house and found two really old USB sticks, 4GB and they managed to work with the ports. I solved the overall problem by taking two of those rubber USB port covers that stop dust and blocked them off. I will now forget that they exist.

[asgeirtj]

https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,cherrymxkeys&pid=cds_yel_shift

is this yellow the same yellow as in gmk cmyw gb?

[Hzza]

https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,cherrymxkeys&pid=cds_yel_shift

is this yellow the same yellow as in gmk cmyw gb?

More or less, I was using the controls/alts with the shifts from the CMYK GB for a while and couldn't see a difference.

[dndlmx]

What a nice topic. Thank you for your help.

+1 one of the sweetest gh threads. I got expertz on call, ready for my random newbish questions. Shouts out to Cptbadass.  )

[sethk_]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

[njbair]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

Firstly, you want diodes, not resistors. That said, the G80-1813 controller is PS/2 which should support NKRO. But I haven't tried it on mine.

[heedpantsnow]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

Do you mean "solder in diodes"?

[sethk_]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

Do you mean "solder in diodes"?

Yeah, I have diodes, I just mis-type a lot of the time when referring to the two

[sethk_]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

Firstly, you want diodes, not resistors. That said, the G80-1813 controller is PS/2 which should support NKRO. But I haven't tried it on mine.

Yeah, I have diodes, just mis-typed as I usually do when referring to the two. I will probably end up trying this when I get the time

[heedpantsnow]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

Do you mean "solder in diodes"?

Yeah, I have diodes, I just mis-type a lot of the time when referring to the two

Ok. Good luck with the mod.

I wasn't trying to point out your typo, was trying to make sure I understood what you were asking (and I have a Dolch Pac I might mod as well). Cheers

[sethk_]

If my dolch pac only has jumpers in the switch, and I desolder them and solder in resistors, do I get NKRO, 6KRO, or just ****ty 2kro

Do you mean "solder in diodes"?

Yeah, I have diodes, I just mis-type a lot of the time when referring to the two

Ok. Good luck with the mod.

I wasn't trying to point out your typo, was trying to make sure I understood what you were asking (and I have a Dolch Pac I might mod as well). Cheers

Yeah, when I get the chance, I am going to do this on my other Dolch board just in case.

[Rose]

When I press '4' sometimes nothing happens, sometimes I get a single '4' and some times I get a double- '44'.  Is this chattering? I tried using compressed air to clean out the switch. It was working fine for weeks.  This only started a day ago. Do I need to unglue/desolder the switch and replace it?

[hwood34]

When I press '4' sometimes nothing happens, sometimes I get a single '4' and some times I get a double- '44'.  Is this chattering? I tried using compressed air to clean out the switch. It was working fine for weeks.  This only started a day ago. Do I need to unglue/desolder the switch and replace it?

I always suggest to check the solder joint first. A lot of times it's just bad and all you need to do is reflow it

[Rose]

When I press '4' sometimes nothing happens, sometimes I get a single '4' and some times I get a double- '44'.  Is this chattering? I tried using compressed air to clean out the switch. It was working fine for weeks.  This only started a day ago. Do I need to unglue/desolder the switch and replace it?

I always suggest to check the solder joint first. A lot of times it's just bad and all you need to do is reflow it

Resoldering the connections seems to have fixed it.  Thank you!!

[hwood34]

When I press '4' sometimes nothing happens, sometimes I get a single '4' and some times I get a double- '44'.  Is this chattering? I tried using compressed air to clean out the switch. It was working fine for weeks.  This only started a day ago. Do I need to unglue/desolder the switch and replace it?

I always suggest to check the solder joint first. A lot of times it's just bad and all you need to do is reflow it

Resoldering the connections seems to have fixed it.  Thank you!!

np, such a common problem that's like my default

[alienman82]

removed.

[pr0ximity]

Is there anyway to still buy the KMAC Mini?  I just saw it, and it looks amazing.  Reminds me of the model F/AT a little bit.  I really want this though.  I tried kbdmod.com and it gives a message which translated roughly when I click add to cart as "This item is currently in stock brief interruption due to lack of sales."

I want this bad enough to start a group buy or something but have no idea how to do it.  Obviously I know to try the classifieds, but any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

You'll need to scour classifieds. They fluctuate in popularity but are usually a bit difficult to come across. I think a couple recently sold in the past month or two.

[Vintage]

Anyone know of a source for Krytox keyboard lube? Or when/if Geekhackers/techkeys/MK will restock?

[SpAmRaY]

Anyone know of a source for Krytox keyboard lube? Or when/if Geekhackers/techkeys/MK will restock?

IIRC mkawa just shipped some out to resellers. I believe he posted that somewhere.

[Vintage]

Very cool. Thanks for the info

[asgeirtj]

is a full size realforce with 45g accross the board not readily available anywhere?

[fi0x]

Does anyone know what keycaps these are?

I know that the QWERTY cluster keys are the Zinc Silver Tone 37 Keyset, but I'm wondering what the other keycap set is being used.

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be very helpful.

[MAR82]

Does anyone know what keycaps these are?
(Attachment Link)
I know that the QWERTY cluster keys are the Zinc Silver Tone 37 Keyset, but I'm wondering what the other keycap set is being used.

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be very helpful.

They are just the default caps that are on the Royal Kludge RG-987
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/royal-kludge-rg-987

The Rapoo V500s also has some in the same(ish) style, but the font is more square
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/rapoo-v500s

[hwood34]

[Blaise170]

No that's mini-DIN 4, also known as S-Video.

[hwood34]

ye jk im an idiot. it's late, ok? really want to find one of those yarbo ps2 cables though

[hwood34]

So I guess next question is do these get restocked often?

[datacenter]

Hello guys,

Not sure that my question should go in this threat
I need to identify a keyboard by a picture, so if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the pic:

[davkol]

I know these are older post, but for reference…

Are there better springs to put into vintage Cherry MX blues while I have the switches apart or will that defeat the purpose of the "vintage" feel?

I don't want to do the jailhouse mod because I like a hard bottoming out (that's what she said).  )

I think that negates the purpose of so called vintage or worn switches. I think that the spring, stem, and housing all work together to make the switches feel the way they do.

Incorrect. https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=72626.0

So, when something is advertised having 'vintage black switches', I'm free to read 'somewhat used black switches'?

Nope. I've owned keyboards with butter smooth vintage blacks that were never used before. Always Cherry Corp. though. I've noticed inconsistency on Wyse keyboards.

Either way, there's no reason not to get older switches, because they usually aren't more expensive. Or, if you really care about smoothness and consider harvesting from vintage Cherry keyboards a heresy, there are gaterons.

[rowdy]

https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,cherrymxkeys&pid=cds_yel_shift

is this yellow the same yellow as in gmk cmyw gb?

Pretty much.  I did a blind test - juggled them, covered the legends, and tried to guess which was which.  I got it wrong.

[Eszett]

Hello. I changed a 2u backspace switch into 2 x 1u switches. Where do I "find" the extra 1u in the keymapper? What can I do?

[Moralless]

Hello. I changed a 2u backspace switch into 2 x 1u switches. Where do I "find" the extra 1u in the keymapper? What can I do?

What keymapping software are you using?

[Eszett]

Im using BootMapper Client.

[Blaise170]

Anyone know what kind of switches a Unikey KB-5323 uses? The FCC ID says that it is Chicony OEM but I can't find anything for a Chicony KB-5323.

[nubbinator]

Anyone know what kind of switches a Unikey KB-5323 uses? The FCC ID says that it is Chicony OEM but I can't find anything for a Chicony KB-5323.

Pretty sure the Chicony KB-5323 is a rubber dome.

[Flyersfan1]

Could someone recommend me a good ps2-->usb adapter for my Cheat? I have a few cheap ones lying around, but I'm sure they aren't going to be powerful enough to drive the keyboard, was thinking about this but would like some feedback from others on what might work best.

[SpAmRaY]

Could someone recommend me a good ps2-->usb adapter for my Cheat? I have a few cheap ones lying around, but I'm sure they aren't going to be powerful enough to drive the keyboard, was thinking about this but would like some feedback from others on what might work best.

Not sure if he still has any left but mkawa had some good ones up on his geekhackers store.

[Flyersfan1]

Could someone recommend me a good ps2-->usb adapter for my Cheat? I have a few cheap ones lying around, but I'm sure they aren't going to be powerful enough to drive the keyboard, was thinking about this but would like some feedback from others on what might work best.

Not sure if he still has any left but mkawa had some good ones up on his geekhackers store.

Yeah, the ID innovations one is nice, techkeys currently has it, but it's a little more than I'm looking to spend right now, will definitely go for it if there aren't any cheaper options.

[magetricks]

Q: Does anyone know where I can find Matias part # FK-303_usb for a http://matias.ca/miniquietpro/pc/? Customer service claims they don't sell them and I banged up my micro USB connector and board.