Keyboard Repair

image from Clipart Panda

Because I have been trying out many different keyboards, I have quite been do putting them through the paces.  Naturally, I eventually broke one.  Nope, I didn’t break the key switch or anything like that.  That would probably take considerable use to say the least. It was the volume control knob.  So, I get to experience what warranty repair keyboard is like with a reputable company.

Filing a support ticket is pretty straight forward.  I just go to the website, create an account and then a support ticket by providing the information requested.  The company obviously asked about the issue and when I filed for repair, they wanted to make sure that I bought the keyboard within the warranty period.  Fair enough.  Since I got this particular keyboard from newegg.com, I just went there and grabbed the invoice.  Within hours after posting the ticket, a support staff send back a shipping label and RMA form so that I can ship the keyboard to its repair depot.  Perhaps not too surprisingly, I am guessing that the repair service is rendered by a 3rd party.  It doesn’t matter to be honest because as long as the repair is done correctly, then it’s really a non-issue.

After a week or so, a notice notified me that the repaired keyboard is on its way.  I quickly tested the returned keyboard after repair.  No, the service center repaired the board rather than sending me a refurbished one.  This is more or less a traditional repair job rather just send me another used board that was repaired previously.  So, I got my old one back and I am quite pleased with the process thus far.  The only thing they don’t do is cross ship.  However, it is reasonable that it’s by special request or customers that are of great importance.  i.e., must keep the corporate account or something like that.  I understand that some will not like the idea of sending in a keyboard for repair, if that is the only keyboard around.  I happen to have many boards around so the work continues.  In any case, perhaps the service desk would be willing to do a cross ship if someone explains the situation.

Overall, it was an interesting experience, but not something I would like to do every day.  However, this is another example that one should purchase things from reputable source and having a good company willing to back their products.  So, I am glad to see that they have fulfilled their end of the bargain rather than cut bait and ran.

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro Image Gallery

Yes, this is one of the oldies, but a great one.  I thought to give it a thorough cleaning beforehand and then photograph it, but I decided to keep the battle scars, spills and mess left behind after years of use.  It was a great keyboard.  Enjoy!

Front view

Left side view

Right side view

Key cap

Key cap back side view

Rubber dome key switch

Back side view

Keyboard foot at rest, down position

Keyboard foot in up position

USB hub/ports view

Dual USB and PS/2 interface

Meet G810's little twin siblings, the G610

Either Logitech believes the G810 form and design has struck gold or they simply ordered too many shells, or both.  Or neither because I am just plain wrong.  No matter what is behind-the-scenes scenario, Logitech just introduced a pair of mechanical gaming keyboards patterned after G810 design DNA.

Meet the G610s, the Orion Brown and the Orion Red.  As the names imply, Orion Brown employs Cherry MX brown switches while you guessed it, Orion Red uses Cherry MX Red switches.  For some reason, MX blue version is missing on the first go around.  These two boards have the same design and features as the older sibling, G810.  The only major difference that I spot (besides the switch) is that two G610s do not have LED RGB lighting, but has white LEDs instead.  They all use LGS (Logitech Gaming Software) to control the lighting and other minor functions.  So, this is likely a host based solution like Cosair's implementation.  The expected street price is around $120 USD.  One can preorder from a few different retailers and Logitech itself now.  No street date has been given however.

In many ways, I see this as s shrewd move on Logitech's part.  They segmented the market into two tiers with this move by pricing the Cherry MX boards below the one with Romer-G.  Thus, this creates the perception that Romer-G is superior and make Cherry's products appear more pedestrian.  In a sense, they might be trying to dethrone the notion that Cherry MX is a premium brand.  Secondly, they get to test out the market more and see if people would be receptive to a more subdued and formal design and style.  I am still waiting for Logitech to make the next logical move, which is to introduce a K-line keyboard with the Romer-G switch.  This product announcement is a bit unexpected on my part because I thought they already covered the ground via the G710s.  However, these two elders are older products and are likely to be near the end of their product life cycle.  So, it kind of make sense in the short term and I missed it.  Instead, I jumped the gun and wanted to see what they are going to do with the Romer-G in the future.  Oh well.  Live and learn I guess.

Anyway, Logitech now cast a wide net to cover the gaming keyboard market, ranging from run-of-the-mill rubber dome to Cherry MX and up into the sky with Romer-G.  Let's see what their next move is.

Custom Silenced Topre keyboard impression part 2

Now, because I have already gone through a few Topre keyboard with different weight levels, I thought I should share my more of my impression about it.  Now, this is probably one of the most intriguing keyboard besides the high profile, 104UG as it is different in a few ways from the mainstream, if you can call Topre switch keyboards that.  The key weight is calibrated to around 45g, uniform.  Yet, the keys feels softer than the ones on the 104UG, also with 45g weighting.  I think the O-rings (discs in this case) attributed to the slight decrease in tension as it aid the down force during its restoration phase.  As I mentioned, the return phase is just a little less snappy and gentler.  So, it’s something that one might have to get used to if the user is used to very fast reacting switches.  It’s almost like the fingers are waiting for the keys to come back up.  A little strange at first I must admit.

The downward keystroke feels a bit more like pushing on a piece of felt, slightly less smooth than the classic Topre switch feel.  Again, this is probably because of the additional material rubbing against the plunger.  Even with grease to ease the friction a bit, I can still sense it.  It’s almost like the Cherry MX brown switch feel, but far less pronounced and lasts the entire stroke, rather than at the beginning.  So, this may be an issue for someone who prizes the Topre buttery smoothness, but I really like the MX brown.  So, it doesn’t bother me one bit.  My overall sense with the silent mod is that the keyboard is definitely quieter than stock version, but the tactile sensation has dull a bit and everything is slower, softer and gentler in a way.

So, to silence any keyboard comes with a price, having to make trade-offs, as physics dictates.  There is no free lunch I suppose.  Overall, the silenced Topre Keyboard still offers a high quality typing experience, but one must be aware that there’s something traded away to bring in the silent treatment….

Custom Silenced Topre keyboard impression

Well well well, just as I started to look into O-rings to silent Cherry MX keyboards I have at hand to experiment, I have gotten my hands on an aftermarket Topre Realforce keyboard.  It’s an 87UW (SE0900) that has been silenced using the O-rings (or discs in this case, sold by HyperSphere) mounted on the upside of the plungers or sliders to reduce the up stroke noise and a little grease to help things along.  The experience has been quite informative and interesting.  My first reaction is that this keyboard is fairly quiet, perhaps even more so than the Matias quiet click switch based keyboard.  I think it’s around the level of a good Chiclet keyboard such as Microsoft’s Sculpted Natural keyboard.  The other thing I noticed is that the restoration phase is a little more prolonged just enough to be noticeable.  This is caused by the disc during the up stroke phase as it absorb and compress to dampen the noise.  So, the clack sound is more really muted while the “thock” is present, just not as subdued as much.  No matter how I tried, I think this keyboard is definitely quieter than the classical Topre Realforce keyboards, which are not that noisy to start with.  Anyhow, it does modify the switch feel just a little for someone like me to notice.  So, the keys may not feel as fast as before.  By no means it’s slow, but perhaps a bit less snappy with less bite.  Instead, it has a more subdued and gentle feel.   Is it bad?  I think it’s a matter of preference.  I have not noticed it as an impediment or any reduction to my typing speed nor accuracy.  Just feels a little different.

So, for those people who really enjoy the sound of silence (at least for a mechanical keyboard), this is a worthwhile change.  However, because I am too chicken to do the mod myself and had someone else do the work, I paid a premium for it.  Therefore, this might be an even more expansive proposition than just buying a Realforce keyboard.  I always wondered why the silent version of the HHKB is so expansive.  Now, I have a pretty good idea.  I do recommend people to look into this type of keyboard if they love the Topre switch feel and prefers the more muted sounds with a little more gentle approach to things.  Another possible alternative is Ducky Channel’s Realforce keyboard.  The new ones have the impact absorption rings built-in and a different color cap to accommodate the additional part.  I hope to get my paws on those and see how they compare.

Exploring rubber O-ring dampeners

One way to make chatty keyboard quieter is to put a rubber O-ring between the key cap and the switch.  Thus, when the key is pressed down, the O-ring deforms, absorbs some energy and slows down the descent (or ascent) so that less energy is transferred when bottoming out (or when hitting the top depending on the switch design).  Of course, there a quite a few different types of O-rings, using different materials, with different dimensions.  Apparently, there’s quite a market for silent keyboards.  Witness all the aftermarket kits that are on sale these days to help with noise issue.  Indeed there are places where loud typing sound isn’t exactly welcomed.  One place I can think of is of course, the library.  There are also other places where a quiet keyboard is rather welcomed as opposed to the good old buckling spring keyboard.  Also, some manufacturers go to great length to silent their products.  For example, logi’s G910 or some of the new Cherry MX silent linear switches.  I have heard that some people even try to use dental bands (which is kind of like an O-ring, I guess) as a hacking method.  Pretty clever, I must say.

So, just to start out simple, I would like to explore the most generic kind and see if it makes any difference.  Since Newegg had a sale for Rosewill branded Cherry MX compatible dampening O-rings, I just couldn’t resist getting a sample and see what kind of impact, (pun intended), this would have on the various keyboard operations.  It’s an interesting wrinkle to consider.  Hopefully, I will have some meaningful result to share.