So I got bored last night and decided that with all my new knowledge of keyswtiches from taking apart that Omnikey that I should really be having a little more fun with the 'boards that I have!
So I decided to make my ABS M1 a linear 'board!
I have never really liked the feel of the ABS too much(better than rubber domes, but still not great IMO) so I decided that would be the best one to mess around with.
![](http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4975&stc=1&d=1254674483)
Nice pretty black ALPS copies!
![](http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4977&stc=1&d=1254674483)
Switch internals, standard for ALPS: Tactile leaf, slider, case and spring.
![](http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4976&stc=1&d=1254674483)
And finally the actuator leaf, this is the part that actually makes the electrical connection, the two parts that you can see there get pushed together when the slider comes down.
Anyways, all you have to do to do this mod is take out the tactile leaf and put the switch back together. Very simple.
After doing this, I found the keyboard to feel almost the same as it did before, only lighter. This is mostly because of the fact that these ALPS actuate right near the top of the keystroke, so they almost feel linear unless you're trying real hard to feel the bump.
It did take the actuation force down from 60g to 40g. That tactile leaf really added a lot of resistance it seems.
I can't say I really like the feel of the keys now any better than I did when they had the tactile leaf in it. Like I said they are pretty much only lighter, although they do feel a little bit more smooth, less of a gritty feeling than before. They are way too light for me, but I like me some heavy switches, so someone else may like them a lot!
Just a quick and easy mod, I did the whole alphanumeric area(including modifiers) in about 40 min. That includes taking off the keycaps, which is easily the hardest part of this mod haha. Them caps are tight!
Taking apart the switch is real easy, take a look at
Welly's guide for taking a switch apart, very helpful!
Then you just take out the tactile leaf and put the switch back together.
Welly's idea about the grease on the spring is great, makes putting it back together much easier than it would be otherwise. I used a different method though, since I don't have any silicon grease or any grease for that matter.
If you just touch the end of the spring to your tongue, it transfers enough saliva to get the spring to stick in place on the slider for when you put the top of the switch back together.
Since the spring isn't actually controlling any of the electrical parts, the saliva should not be a problem, and it dries within a minute or two anyway. If anyone knows of any problems with this, please correct me, I just don't know of any :)
All in all not a really interesting mod, but something to do when you're bored!