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boaby
20
Nov 12, 2016
Using hall effect sensors sounds like a gimmick to me (*EDIT* I've been convinced otherwise below). Can't see how it's "military grade" reliability could improve on the typing experience. Perhaps it allows for a switch that's entirely designed for a nice tactile response instead of being split between being a switch and being tactile.
I will say the keys sound rather rattly and tinny and that's a major factor in keyboard quality imo. The space bar at least sounds rather naff. Could be accentuated by a tinny recording but there's an unmistakable rattle there.
All for innovation but, you've failed to sell this one.
The bases look rather nice though. Acrylic layers and bamboo will always be cool.
village_scamp
49
Nov 12, 2016
boabywould definitely appreciate more details (maybe another sound test?) on the stabilizer rattle.
the metal clank/rattle sounds from the stabilized keys in both my 75% boards (kc 84 and mk 84) drive me insane and just sound awful. they're also not easily accessible for lubing (which is something I greatly appreciate in costar stabilizers and pcb mounted cherry stabilizers).
XMIT
881
XMIT
Nov 12, 2016
boabyboaby, it sounds like you've made up your mind. For the benefit of others who are on the edge let me address your concerns.
Using Hall sensors is exciting for a number of practical reasons.
One, being an inherently no contact design, this enables us to make a completely waterproof keyboard. In this design, the PCB is coated with epoxy and will even work under water. The one point of weakness in this version is the USB port - that's it. With a contact or membrane based board you'd risk corrosion or residue that could ruin switches. With a capacitive board the water would ruin the sensing.
Two, magnetic sensors are inherently bounce free. This enables really fast polling rates and really short response times, which some people appreciate. I find that I can type much faster on this keyboard than I can on my Cherry or even Topre boards. They feel "slower" after a while on this board.
Three, magnetic sensors, like some capacitive sensors, make it easy to change the actuation point. This board does offer a couple of different actuation points (select between them witn Fn+RShift).
Fourth is simplicity. The PCB uses a really straightforward, robust surface mounted design. It won't break.
With regards to the typing experience: a magnetic sensor enables the designer to completely decouple sensing from tactility. There is no leaf to bend, no dome to press, no flipper to flip, no membrane. The designer can impose whatever "feel" they want, with relatively few mechanical constraints.
This particular board has a linear feel. That is the easiest thing to do - just a spring and a slider. Micro Switch did just this for decades.
You mentioned that you did not enjoy the sound the keyboard makes. This is a matter of opinion. I'm an engineer so let's focus on facts. There is relatively little material inside the switch housings so they serve as small resonating chambers. Since the sliders are POM, the housings are polycarbonate, and the keys are PBT - all very hard plastics - there will be some noise at the top and bottom of the stroke, and no damping to mask it. Any "rattling" would be due to casting tolerances in the sliders, machining tolerances in the body, or the fact that not all four of the thin upstroke damping arms hit the switch housing at precisely the same moment.
Could these be quieter? Perhaps. Soft landing pads inside the switch, and elastomer dampers for down stroke and up stroke (think Matias, or Alps Damped switches) would help. There is no way that these will be offered as part of this drop.
By comparison, a Topre board has plenty of mechanical and acoustic damping with that rubber membrane to sound more quiet. Even a Cherry switch has more "stuff" inside the key switch that can dampen noise some.
I've personally been excited about Hall sensors in keyboards for some time as an electrical engineer. They seem like the right solution for the problem at hand.
XMIT
881
XMIT
Nov 12, 2016
village_scampA few dots of Super Lube 51010 oil or similar at the stabilizer points, dramatically reduce rattle. I highly recommend this simple mod.
I also managed to make my boards a little quieter by inserting some shelf liner material (or thin Styrofoam or neoprene) between the back of the PCB and the case. This is very simple to do!
boaby
20
Nov 12, 2016
XMITThanks for the detailed reply. Quite right to drop as many moving parts as possible, I can certainly see the value there. The way you've put it the sensors do seem quite compelling. Have you considered talking to the DoD? :)
I'm happy to put my criticism of the tinny sound of the keyboard down to the recording itself as I said above, though I'll maintain there is a rattle on the space bar you should thwart. If the keyboard does indeed sound like this, I'm positive that is something you should consider improving on for the sake of the product's desirability. I believe the heavy, uncomplicated thunk that you get from say a Filco is what most desire in a keyboard. I promise I'm not saying that because I own one :).
XMIT
881
XMIT
Nov 12, 2016
boabyHi boaby - DoD procurement is a political cesspool that I'm not ready to wade into yet. There are other, real, industrial grade keyboard vendors to contend with. Maybe in 5-10 years when XMIT Keyboards is a bigger company we can look at this.
Hypersphere asked about sound and a comparison earlier. I do think that the acrylic boards have a deeper sound. But let's wait for side by side comparisons to know for certain.
I think down stroke damping would do wonders for sound but we're just starting to look into this. Moving bits is fast; moving atoms is slow.
Elrick
2105
Nov 12, 2016
boabyRemembered seeing Hall-Effect keyboards along production lines here, where I lived. They were bullet-proof even when covered in oil, various stains, grease and dust the keyboard's still worked.
Any other type of keyboard would die but not these, they kept working for more than 23 years, when the factory got closed down they where still there in operational condition. Suspect the bull-dozer's cleared them up and poured them all into land-fill.
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