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First Impressions of the Keyboard


2021-01-19T10:22


I used my new keyboard today at work and it's not good enough. I'm not happy with the key switches.


I choose Gateron Blues. I really like old Cherry Blues, but every keyboard I've used in the past few years feels scratchy and yuck. Gateron's have a much better reputation for not being scratchy. However, I've discovered that they (at least mine) have a much worse problem; they don't register a key press at the instant they click. I don't mash my keyboard and bottom out on each key press but this means that I'm often pressing the key enough for it to click but not far enough for it to register as a button-press. So instead I've been mashing keys all day long. This wasn't a problem with Cherry switches.


I pulled apart a spare Gateron to see what's going on. There is a slider on the stem which at a critical point, slips out of the way and allows the contacts to meet (and clicks). But the slider doesn't have quite enough freedom to clear the contacts and it's not until the key has been pressed a fraction further that the contact meet.


I messed around for a while with the file trying to give it space it needs to get out of the way but nothing I did made it any better. So I've placed an order for a bag of Cherry's. I read that they retooled a while ago which caused or fixed the scratchiness (I can't remember which). I don't feel I have a lot of choices. I can rob the nice old switches from my two other keyboards (neither one alone has enough keys to fill this keyboard) or try my luck with some different switches, but I have to try something. What I have isn't good enough.


Also on the topic of switches, Gateron are loud and I don't find them particularly nice sounding. My old Cherry's have a light little tick-tick like rain on a tin roof. These are not that. In a quiet room, I can also hear the springs ringing when I press the key without pushing past the clicking point. I do this a lot while I'm reading and it's a little distracting.


But apart from the switches, I'm very, very happy with it. The tmux key (bottom left) took a little while to get used to the rightward shift, but my hand now moves less to reach it. The Command, Alt and Space keys are perfect and I'm very pleased to have F-keys.


And the paint — wow — I love how that feels on my hands. The spots of dust that bothered me so much before. Well they're invisible unless you're looking for them.


The problems that I mentioned when I first put the keycaps on — the gap between the keys and the case and the reach over the number keys to get to the f-keys — they're not bothering me at all either.


The Vim arrow keys didn't get used once today, I instead continued to use the arrows on the function layer, but that is probably more through habit than anything else. It's a habit I intend to keep if it means keeping my hands on the home row.


I noticed that the backtick switch is a little tight in it's hole and the key isn't returning properly. That can be fixed without much trouble.


Also the stabilisers aren't perfect, but they're fine. Perhaps with better switches I'll notice the deficiencies of stabilisers more.


Tomorrow, I'll probably switch back to my old keyboard. This one just isn't ready yet for full-time use. Hopefully the switches don't take too long to arrive. Fortunately it won't be a big job to swap them. A couple of dabs of the soldering iron and the old switch will be free. A couple more and the new switch will be in. Did I say that I'm really glad I didn't insulate between the rows and columns.


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