PBT Key caps stuck on my HPE 104

[kenmai9]

I bought this set of PBT key caps from moose recently, I believe they're round 1 pbt caps.

Does anyone else get stuck keys? I'm using an HPE 104 (costar stabilizers I believe) and I just got round 1 PBT set from moose and I have a problem where the keys with stabilizers get stuck if I depress them too hard. Example showing the depressed key and the stabilizer: http://imgur.com/a/7ERLo
Is this normal? Did I put them on wrong?

Thanks!

[PointyFox]

Make sure the edge of the keycap isn't hitting the side of the keyboard when you press it down.

[kenmai9]

Make sure the edge of the keycap isn't hitting the side of the keyboard when you press it down.

Its definitely not touching the side of the keyboard. Here's a picture of it depressed, stuck and not touching the side: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gh8pgtimxtkns2w/2013-06-10%2021.08.36.jpg

[jabar]

your stabs are on backwards, flip them 180 degrees.

the inserts, that is

[tp4tissue]

your stabs are on backwards, flip them 180 degrees.

the inserts, that is

that's probably it..

[kenmai9]

your stabs are on backwards, flip them 180 degrees.

the inserts, that is

If you meant the black things, then that did not fix it. It became worse than it was before. It was just stuck even un-depressed.

[jabar]

Well I flipped my costar stab inserts on one of my other boards and it did latch the key down. Keep playing with it and make sure both inserts are in the same correct direction. I would also recommend removing neighboring keys to see if they are contributing to this issue.

[kenmai9]

Well I flipped my costar stab inserts on one of my other boards and it did latch the key down. Keep playing with it and make sure both inserts are in the same correct direction. I would also recommend removing neighboring keys to see if they are contributing to this issue.

I've played around with it a lot. When you press on one of the keys with costar stabilizers, does it feel kind of different than the one without stabilizers? For me it feels a lot more shallow than the regular switches. I think I just might have to live with it unless someone else has had this problem and solved it.

[tp4tissue]

place the cap with the inserts in on a flat table, and see if there's any tilt going on any axis.

[gigibecali]

Please have a look at this: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=43303.0

Courtesy of tp4tissue.

[laffindude]

It may be just my eyes, but it doesn't look like the right plate insert is fully open.

[t2russo]

Wire might be rubbing on the inside of the thick PBT, which has less room inside than a thin ABS key.  Cherry stabilizers don't have this issue, as they interface directly into the key and keep the wire more out of the way.  You can see if the wire rubbing is causing the binding, figure out which side is causing it, and then correspondingly shave away a bit of the inside of the key so that the stabilizer has more clearance.  I've seen this done before, not sure if it was on vintage or repro keys, but to solve the exact problem you have been describing with Cherry thickness and Costar stabs.

[kenmai9]

place the cap with the inserts in on a flat table, and see if there's any tilt going on any axis.

I wasn't able to tell if there was a tilt.

Wire might be rubbing on the inside of the thick PBT, which has less room inside than a thin ABS key.  Cherry stabilizers don't have this issue, as they interface directly into the key and keep the wire more out of the way.  You can see if the wire rubbing is causing the binding, figure out which side is causing it, and then correspondingly shave away a bit of the inside of the key so that the stabilizer has more clearance.  I've seen this done before, not sure if it was on vintage or repro keys, but to solve the exact problem you have been describing with Cherry thickness and Costar stabs.

I think you are correct. i took off the metal part and they don't get stuck when depressed anymore. It feels nice and clicky just like the rest of my keys now.

Question though, what is the function of the metal parts? If I didn't use them, what would happen? Because I'm using it without the metal parts and it doesn't seem that different. It seems better actually. I guess this will be my temporary fix until I find something to grind the keys (any suggestions)?

[Rule16]

If you were to press one of the large keys on the ends it would be very difficult without a stabilizer.