Looking for a type of switch

[AuRinBei]

I am looking for a switch that may or may not exist. It is a linear switch with a tactile click. Not a bump, but a click. My car's emergency brake lever button is exactly this, and it feels better than any keyboard switch I have ever tried. I play with it all the time, and it never gets boring. Does anyone know of anything that might feel like this, or any mods to existing switches that could create this?

[digi]

All switches are linear, until they click  )

[AuRinBei]

I'm looking for a switch that is linear all the way through, and still has a distinct click.

[terran5992]

I'm looking for a switch that is linear all the way through, and still has a distinct click.

Aren't those blues?

[Puddsy]

I'm looking for a switch that is linear all the way through, and still has a distinct click.

Aren't those blues?

Nope. They're pretty tactile.

I'd say green ALPS fit that quite well though.

[AuRinBei]

I'm looking for a switch that is linear all the way through, and still has a distinct click.

Aren't those blues?

Nope. They're pretty tactile.

I'd say green ALPS fit that quite well though.

I looked at the force graph. There might be something there. Although with my break, I don't think there is ever a decrease in resistance at all. It's more like once it gets far enough, it releases something that shoots up and hits the top of the switch. I will definitely have to try green alps then, but getting some looks like it might be a little hard.

[0100010]

Try buckling spring.

[AuRinBei]

Try buckling spring.

I have. They are nice, but absolutely nothing like what I am talking about. They don't have a bump, but they are far from linear. The kind of switch I'm talking about would be able to be softly and slowly depressed, but it would produce the same click in the same way in the same place each time, with no feeling of going over a bump.

[Linkbane]

Try Model F. I used it and it was exactly as you described; linear all the way and then a ping and click at the bottom.

[AuRinBei]

Try Model F. I used it and it was exactly as you described; linear all the way and then a ping and click at the bottom.

That would be nice, but they're not exactly easy to get. I thought they had the same spring mechanism as a Model M though.

[Linkbane]

Try Model F. I used it and it was exactly as you described; linear all the way and then a ping and click at the bottom.

That would be nice, but they're not exactly easy to get. I thought they had the same spring mechanism as a Model M though.

F uses beam springs, I believe that it still uses the springs of M's, but with a different actuation mechanism.

[Findecanor]

F uses beam springs, I believe that it still uses the springs of M's, but with a different actuation mechanism.

No, it is buckling spring. Like the F, but with a bigger lever and capacitative sensing inside which gives N-key rollover.
It feels somewhat softer than a Model M. The actuation is near the bottom.
Clicky Alps are linear until the click, when the resistance drops suddenly, so there is technically not a bump but because the click point is quite high, it might feel that way.

[SpAmRaY]

I know I've read somewhere about people having a piezo buzzer and/or some small speaker inside their keyboad that made a sound when they typed, I don't see why you couldn't have a simulated click sound when typing on linear keys, it would just come down to some custom hardware/firmware.

[Oobly]

^^^^^ What he said...

Another option is using linear keys (like Reds or Blacks) and ClicKey: https://www.grc.com/freeware/clickey.htm

Software that makes a click every keypress.

Or find out the make and model of the switch from your car 

[AuRinBei]

I want to clarify that when I say a click, I don’t mean the sound. I mean the feeling. I guess I shouldn’t say a Model M is completely different, since the feeling isn’t a bump. The difference is there is a drop in resistance. The switch I’m talking about would have no drop in resistance at all. It would have continuously increasing resistance, like a cherry mx black, but it would have a click you would feel somewhere around the actuation point. A Model F might be that, but with the actuation point at the bottom.

[Laser]

Well terminology has "click" for sound, and "tactile"(vs. linear) for the feel. And the click you want must be a change in resistance, otherwise how can you _feel_ the what-you-call-click?

[AuRinBei]

I don’t like the terminology. The switch I am talking about is tactile and linear, so the normal terminology doesn’t work. There is a change in resistance, but it’s not like a bump, nor is it like something giving way. It literally feels like I’m pressing down on a black, only heavier. About half way through, there is a very short click that I can feel. It is not as tactile as a Model M, but I can definitely feel it. It feels like an increase in resistance, but it happens so quickly that it can’t be called a bump. In that respect, I guess it is like a Model M, because the click is so sharp. The whole effect is different though due to the linearity.

[epiphany]

I just tried clickkey on a MX black keyboard, which is interesting. I might use this for a while to see if it improves my ability to type without bottoming out. I don't think that I like the constant clicking though. I'm probably only going to use this for the next couple of days or something.

If you can feel a bump then it's not entirely linear - is the difference that it's continuing the resistance after you feel the tactile click/bump?

What you're describing seems to be what I'm looking for, which as I understand it is closest to MX clears, but I'm still trying to get my hands on a board to try out.

[regack]

How about we instead try to find out about the switch: what make/model/year car is it?

[AuRinBei]

It isn’t linear, but it might as well be called linear. You know how force graphs of tactile switches all have some momentary increase or decrease in force? The force graph of this switch would have one too, but it would just be a sudden spike. How much, I don’t really know. It’s too short for me to tell. I haven’t tried clears, but I don’t think it would feel anything like them. Clears have a relatively large bump. The best suggestions I’ve seen so far are Green Alps (force graph has only a small dip where the click is before going back to normal) and the Model F (can’t find force graph, but if it actuates very close to the bottom, I could see it producing this kind of feel).

[AuRinBei]

How about we instead try to find out about the switch: what make/model/year car is it?

lol, 2000 Chevy Tracker. Funnily enough, all of the temperature control switches feel really cool too. I play with the buttons in this car a lot. 2000 Tracker is the best keyboard ever made.

[regack]

How about we instead try to find out about the switch: what make/model/year car is it?

lol, 2000 Chevy Tracker. Funnily enough, all of the temperature control switches feel really cool too. I play with the buttons in this car a lot. 2000 Tracker is the best keyboard ever made.

Install a Teensy and remap them...  Never thought you'd sit INSIDE your keyboard, did you.

- I've just realized that you're talking about the little button to release the e-brake, and not some kind of electrical switch, yes?  I was thinking of trying to find the part for the switch