Page 1 of 2

Cherry MX switch noise control

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 14:48
by amleth
This is bottom view of Cherry MX switch lower housing.
Mine
Mine
Bottom 1.jpg (100.99 KiB) Viewed 8450 times
Red dots are the (very) first source of all keyboard noise.
Blue circles are legs of MX switches. Two of them are very short (in the poto upper two) and other two are relatively long (in the poto lower two).
Green squares are little bit higher bottom.
All other areas are real (they say) bottom.



This is side view of Cherry MX switch lower housing.
Mine
Mine
Lower Housing Profile 1.jpg (41.73 KiB) Viewed 8450 times
Red line is the (very) first source of all keyboard noise.
Blue area is empty space between PCB. I consider it as a second noise source. It acts as a resonancer and amplifier.
Green area is relatively small. Exactly do the same role as blue one.
There are no other empty area.



This is bottom view of Cherry MX slider.
Mine
Mine
Slider Bottom 1.jpg (20.08 KiB) Viewed 8450 times
Red squares are the (very) first source of all keyboard noise.
The other slider bottom areas are not contact with MX swithch lower housing bottom.



So...

If you really want to kill unwanted noise, try to fill the blue gap (and green gap) between PCB first.
I recommend a thin (special shaped) tape/paper/sponge or some kind of composite material bubbles.

I do not mind natural (original/neutral/unmodified/moderate/ or whatever) switch sound (noise).
I heard some arrogant gurus hate that noise (sound). So they tried some pitiful very very expensive efforts to eliminate it.

Oh, one more thing.
Sorry, It is not proved yet. I did not tested it.
It is a very cheap idea of mine though. I hope it works.

(If it is not works. sorry. forget about it. ^^. )



Thanks.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:01
by ripster
I like sound mods that I have tested and posted sound samples for. Bunch of them at Geekhack.

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:6615

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:8857.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:04
by sixty
rubber foam might work. might give it a try later and see what happens... only on a numpad though, before trying a full keyboard.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:09
by amleth
DeskThority is too too too slow.
It takes almost a minute to see all potos.
(I would rather make only single poto.. next time.)

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:09
by ripster
Sorbathane works pretty good as a dampener. I usually get bored after these sound mods after trying one switch though.

There is a REASON I like Blue Cherries the best - the NOISE!

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:10
by ripster
amleth wrote:DeskThority is too too too slow.
It takes almost a minute to see all potos.
(I would rather make only single poto.. next time.)

You should hear me whine about KBDmania.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:23
by amleth
ripster wrote:I like sound mods that I have tested and posted sound samples for. Bunch of them at Geekhack.
I'm pretty sure I've posted other sound mods but since I appear to have been banned there I can't check right now for sure.
Thanks. Nice links Ripster.

Heve you ever tried THIS idea ? (If so.. you are really really the guy who did everything about keyboard. I admit it. Seriously !!).


(Now i saw yours..)

The first link is regarding Model M (If i saw it correctly) not for MX switches.
The second link is (excuse my language) silly ones (because it hurts the Feelings- it should be felt dummy. Am i wrong ? ^^).

Mine (i hate this kind of explicit subject using) is different from yours.
It does not interfere with original Feelings. Just killing secondary/unwanted resonances and shocks.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:24
by sixty
amleth wrote:DeskThority is too too too slow.
It takes almost a minute to see all potos.
(I would rather make only single poto.. next time.)
can you beat this?

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:41
by amleth
First of all. I am not in charge of that stupid website and I am not a member of that narrow minded community.
Do not try to make any kind of relationships with dummies.

As far as I know. You are one of managing guys.
Relax. I do not want you fix this slow problem (I know it is not your fault at all). I just tell you about it. That is all.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:43
by sixty
amleth wrote:First of all. I am not in charge of that stupid website and I am not a member of that narrow minded community.
Do not try to make any kind of relationships with dummies.

As far as I know. You are one of managing guys.
Relax. I do not want you fix this slow problem (I know it is not your fault at all). I just tell you about it. That is all.
I know, wasn't saying that.. infact the video is one month old and I just pasted it as comparison to show that I have the same routing problems to Korea that you have from Korea to us here. Nothing any of us can do about it until Korea manages to get some better tier routing done. Don't feel attacked by every sentence! :)

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:44
by Brian8bit
How the hell does he manage to sit at a computer with such a massive stick up his ass?

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 15:49
by amleth
sixty wrote:
I do not know exactly routing means. But, what I know is, the other area (i mean not this photo/video area) is not that much bad.
And i guess both parties have responsibilites for that. Because it is two-way communications (whatever)...

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 16:02
by webwit
We're hosted in Texas, which is or should be a good place for a worldwide audience. ISPs buy transit bandwidth and have peering arrangements with other networks for traffic. These have costs. So popular destinations will have better connectivity than unpopular ones. So, for example, if I would host it in the Netherlands, it might be slower for Americans and Asians to reach, because they don't tend to visit Dutch sites, and stuff in our direction (German, French). However, most transit to the US is at max speed, because many popular sites are hosted there. In Asia this might be to a much lesser degree, I don't really know. In any case, if you have bad connectivity to desktority or kbdmania it is because of your ISP.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 16:05
by webwit
amleth wrote:So...

If you really want to kill unwanted noise, try to fill the blue gap (and green gap) between PCB first.
I recommend a thin (special shaped) tape/paper/sponge or some kind of composite material bubbles.
Interesting post, thanks. Good choice of colors too :P

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 16:07
by amleth
ripster wrote:There is a REASON I like Blue Cherries the best - the NOISE!
Agree.

We have three sounds.
One that you are loving blue sound.
Second is a REAL bottoming (and returning) clear sound.
Last, secondary DiRTY noise.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 16:09
by ripster
Ask an American I would like to pause and take this opportunity to thank Deskthority for bringing jobs to the United States of America.

Bandwidth Tester.
Image
That is if you consider Texas American.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 16:13
by amleth
webwit wrote: Interesting post, thanks. Good choice of colors too :P
Thanks.

-I saw troll in Harry Potter once. Big silly monster from nothern Europe myth. Not my taste.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 16:28
by ripster
What a coincidence! Not my favorite of the movies or Legos either.
Image

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 22:38
by IanM
Has anyone managed to entirely eliminate the MX noise? or reduce it to barely audible levels?

And if you use these mods, does it necessarily mess up the travel and feel of the switch?
I was thinking about something like this before, except I had considered using a mat to cover he whole mounting plate, with cut-outs for each switch. I hadn't figured out what material to use though, initially I thought some kind of foam in order to cushion the final part of the travel and eliminate the impact sound. However, I expected that the material would too quickly become permanently deformed and ineffective, nor would it easy to create a smooth rise of resistance.
amleth wrote:-I saw troll in Harry Potter once. Big silly monster from nothern Europe myth. Not my taste.
ripster wrote:What a coincidence! Not my favorite of the movies or Legos either
pfft, rubbish Trolls. Pratchett's are much better, and with a bit more originality:


Also, this forum is sorely in need of multi-quote buttons!

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 23:31
by amleth
IanM wrote:cover he whole mounting plate,
Covering whole PCB surface is a good idea though, if you cover switch feets too, it could be problem.

Because, the main idea of the damping is moving a little bit more for some time. This kind of moving must cause some bad influence on PCB slodering. If you had soldered part which seperated from main PCB, it means that the switch is dead or chattering. Switches must have solid bottoms (i mean not-moving legs).

Solution is easy. Just make 4 holes for every switche leg positions. That makes all 4 legs in contact with PCB. That is basically my idea.
IanM wrote:And if you use these mods, does it necessarily mess up the travel and feel of the switch?
Do not worry about switch's original clear sounds OR full travels. It reamins intact.

Posted: 20 Mar 2011, 23:55
by calavera
Did you just call KBDmania a narrow minded community? Are you Korean?

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 00:08
by amleth
calavera wrote:Did you just call KBDmania a narrow minded community? Are you Korean?
Who the hell are you ? IRS ?
What the f*** do you care about my nationality ?
Mind you own biz.

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 00:31
by calavera
I just asked a simple question and you become super defensive. You're weird.

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 00:46
by keyboardlover
Hey HEY! This is Deskthority!

It's important that we respect each other's cultural differences.

Image

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 00:54
by daedalus
The problem with foam is that you'll probably feel it if you bottom out (depending on how well you do the mod), making the keyboard feel somewhat like a foam'n'foil switch keyboard, which is never a good thing.

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 01:20
by nanu
Has the following been done?
Douse a PCB-mounted board with something (like glue) that when cured becomes like rubber. Well, only fill the spaces in between switches up to where a plate would be so that you can still dissemble each switch, and you might have to make some perimeter fence to contain it...

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 02:31
by amleth
daedalus wrote:The problem with foam is that you'll probably feel it if you bottom out (depending on how well you do the mod), making the keyboard feel somewhat like a foam'n'foil switch keyboard, which is never a good thing.
Please consider my explanation "Switches must have solid bottoms" again.

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 02:48
by amleth
nanu wrote:Has the following been done?
Douse a PCB-mounted board with something (like glue) that when cured becomes like rubber. Well, only fill the spaces in between switches up to where a plate would be so that you can still dissemble each switch, and you might have to make some perimeter fence to contain it...
Above mentioned tip was regarding between the switch lower housing and PCB. Not between PCB and steel-plating.

Yes, Once I drilled PCB several holes (if you drill steel-plate, residues cause short-circuit problem) and injected plenty of glue-guns. It worked fine. Much of unpleasant noise has gone.
And caused little bit of problem too. Glue gun is not a real-glue. But, if you have to change the switch, it acts just like a real glue. It is very hard to seperate the lower switch housing from glue gun gummy. Would not recommend.

Instead of glue-gun (or something), My boards, now, have regular sponge between PCB and steel-plate. It is just fine. (Caution: Try not to be stuffed, just arrang it. That is good enough).

Posted: 21 Mar 2011, 03:00
by nanu
Haha, I expect that with glue. I assume that latex rubber would also work.

Sorry to have gone on a tangent, as I haven't yet soldered MX switches onto PCBs..

Posted: 30 Nov 2011, 18:04
by ripster
This might solve the Cherry MX ping problem.

Actually I found this while searching for that weird KBDmania/OTD mod where they put red cutout pieces in between the top and bottom half of a Cherry MX switch.

Anybody have a link?