<SPRiT Edition>MX Springs +LSS Lube Station +MX Stabilizers (In stock)

DanielT · 01 Jan 2015, 14:31

@Stabilized: when I will send you the stickers I'll put in the package also a sample of vintage and old blacks.

I'm planning to make a small article with my observations on MX Black switches, have to find the time to do it.

Muirium · 01 Jan 2015, 14:34

I got a bag of vintage blacks from (DT user) Zeppelin a year or so ago. Great price for a load of switches. I need to pull a bunch back out of my (failed) Tipro. Not sure of my current supply until then.

They sit in the middle ground between modern blacks and my one and only Nixie. Daniel might have found better ones than me! The Nixie is the gold standard for quality linear MX.

Stabilized · 01 Jan 2015, 14:40

@Daniel: thanks! Send me the details through PM when you get the chance

@Muirium: What did you do with the tipro? And do you think there is any chance of grabbing one with vintage blacks from eBay (there seems to be quite a few up there at all times)? I guess there is a lot of uncertainty, unless I ask every seller to do a switch photo in good lighting.

Muirium · 01 Jan 2015, 14:41

I put the vintage (or maybe just "old" in Daniel's terminology!) blacks in the Tipro. It was just from 2002, nothing to see there.

Stabilized · 01 Jan 2015, 14:46

Ah ok, so why did you do it? So you could have a matrix style keyboard for typing on?

Muirium · 01 Jan 2015, 15:57

Just trying them out. I wasn't even looking for "vintage blacks" when Zeppelin offered them. I bought because the price was right, and I was surprised how much nicer than modern ones they turned out to be. Had always suspected the reputation was bullshit. But no.

Similarly, my Nixie was another nice surprise. Only smoother still. One of the nicest switches out there.

davkol · 01 Jan 2015, 18:12

I find blacks from old Wyse keyboards inconsistent. Some are okay and some feel like shit compared to what I've used on Cherry G80s ('88 or older). The logo is a decent hint, but usually irrelevant (I've had a vintage keyboard with super smooth switches… with newer logos, and a much newer shitty Wyse with old logos on switches).

More on-topic, I wonder what are the sprit's "vintage black" springs supposed to be. Should the reduced stiffness only simulate long-term use? Or were the old springs (different material for sure) lighter as well? Or does it make an impression of smoother switches?

sprit1 · 02 Jan 2015, 03:47

DanielT wrote: ↑Best boards to harvest vintage blacks are old Wyse boards, any board manufactured before 1994 ha vintage blacks.
Also with vintage blaks there are variations, older like 84-89 and "newer" 90-94.
>> There was a PC Revolution to every home during 1984-1989 and bigger in the whole '90s. So the cheap mass production of PC & parts & Keyboards started. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Comput ... n/Timeline , Microcomputer_revolution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microcomputer_revolution
All the kinds of Switches were produced, incl ALPS, Omron, Futaba, SMK, NMB, Amstrad... and moved to the cheaper membrane rubber dome boards for the consumer market since late 1980's, incl IBM, Apple, Compaq, HP ... Very few Mechanical Switches have survived, the Last Man is Cherry. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Category:Li ... d_switches
The Cherry corp had only a few customers like NCR, Nixdorf, Wyse, Amiga, etc in 1984-89, but had to increase the production quantities to catch up the exploding market, so lowered some of the quality standards for the moulds and Switches? - my guess.

I tested all types also compared the housings and sliders and logos. The vintage black housing has a smooth finish inside, there are a lot of small details.
Also old blacks are nice, not at smooth as vintage ones but still nice, all my board are built with those and they feel nice, and with some lube I think they will feel even better.
I have also some vintage blacks that I will use for a next board.
>> Agree! I prefer to lube the vintage Switches with minimum amount lube oil.

Now the famous Nixies, in my oppinion those switches are overated, they are as smooth as any vintage black switch, I have a few and was able to test, aside the cool clear top there is nothing impressing about them. Just like any vintage black switch, nothing more nothing less. But still there is the coolness factor in them

davkol wrote: ↑I find blacks from old Wyse keyboards inconsistent. Some are okay and some feel like shit compared to what I've used on Cherry G80s ('88 or older). The logo is a decent hint, but usually irrelevant (I've had a vintage keyboard with super smooth switches… with newer logos, and a much newer shitty Wyse with old logos on switches).
>> Totally Agree!! Lots of different qualities and molds, as I 've found .

More on-topic, I wonder what are the sprit's "vintage black" springs supposed to be. Should the reduced stiffness only simulate long-term use? Or were the old springs (different material for sure) lighter as well? Or does it make an impression of smoother switches?

>> It's a result from all the comparisons with NCR G80-0528, Nixdorf, G80-0879, G80-0904, 1000HAD, 1501HAD, 1800HAG.... Generally, The Vintage Blacks have a little bit lighter springs (68g-72g) than the Modern Blacks (75g-80g), IMHO

davkol · 02 Jan 2015, 13:09

Any empirical data, or just a subjective comparison? I believe I've ordered some, thus I might try to measure them, as well as the vintage Cherry and old Wyse I currently have.

redragor · 26 Jan 2015, 20:51

Hi Sprit,

I made an order sometime ago and didn't get any reply yet.

By the way is there possibility to order 110 gold 62g springs? 100 is not enough for me but 200 is too much

And it would be nice to have PL104 (Medium Density) as well.

Thanks in advance!

Stabilized · 05 Feb 2015, 12:04

Just wondering if you plan to get in some more 55g springs any time soon?

Love the feel of them in linear switches

DanielT · 05 Feb 2015, 14:19

Yep, 55g are the best. After some extended testing and typing on 50g I found that they are bit too light for my taste. But 55g are perfect, now I regret not getting more

Stabilized · 05 Feb 2015, 20:24

It's your fault I want some more!

I tried some in some vintage blacks and they feel really good, but I currently don't have enough for an entire board

thoast · 23 Feb 2015, 19:16

Hello Sprit,

just like redragor, I submitted the orderform one week ago and didn't receive any reply since.
Is this groupby still active?

Thanks for a short answer!

SL89 · 25 Feb 2015, 22:24

I need to get me some heavies. 100g, 120g and 135gs

Stabilized · 26 Feb 2015, 13:50

Not sure if you guys have been keeping track on GH, but it looks like Sprit is MIA at the moment. It seems like he is still giving people invoices to pay, but not replying/shipping anything.

Might be worth leaving it until Sprit comes back.

DanielT · 26 Feb 2015, 14:01

Yep SPRiT is MIA, there are a lot of people waiting for their stuff, big money and no sign from him. So better leave it for the moment.
It's a shame because these springs are the shit, best spring switches I ever tested and typed on

That gold layer makes the difference.

Stabilized · 26 Feb 2015, 14:04

I know, I wanted some 55gs!

Also a shame as he seemed like a nice guy when I dealt with him, was very accommodating and replied very quickly to my emails. I had no idea that this was all going on at the same time, but hopefully this all has a good solution in the end...

DanielT · 26 Feb 2015, 14:29

Hope this "drama" is solved. He seemed a really nice guy to me too, I had a big order a case, pcb and springs and I got everything and some bonus on top. I also talked a lot with him and every time he was a really cool guy. nothing fishy about him.
I guess it must be something else, I still don't believe he is a scammer

sl8901 · 26 Feb 2015, 16:53

Thanks for letting me know, I'll wait it out regardless, I usually like to pm anyone I but off of and if he's Mia then I wouldn't have sent it. I appreciate the heads up.

SL89 · 26 Feb 2015, 16:56

I hate Tapatalk, that was my response up there

Stabilized · 26 Feb 2015, 17:33

Huh? What happened? Were you using the mobile app or something?

SL89 · 26 Feb 2015, 17:35

Stabilized wrote:Huh? What happened? Were you using the mobile app or something?

indeed, bit it never asked me to log back in, apparently it had the wrong credentials, because when I uninstalled and reinstalled it, the app just worked with the proper credentials.

Stabilized · 26 Feb 2015, 17:41

I didn't even know that deskthority was compatible with tapatalk, I gotta go and try that out

Bit strange that you knew who you were when you reinstalled it, but not before. I would think the only way that it could do that would be if it stored something on your device when you uninstalled it.

SL89 · 26 Feb 2015, 17:45

I meant to say when I made that first comment I was still 'logged in' from months ago, so it was using outdated information and didn't prompt me until I uninstalled and reinstalled it. Besides that it's working fine lol

shreebles · 26 Feb 2015, 19:21

Maybe sprit is Chinese and on holiday, celebrating the Chinese new year?

DanielT · 26 Feb 2015, 20:48

Also the Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year

pasph · 27 Feb 2015, 01:41

On Saturday, December 27, 2014

Me:
"Can you please gave me a complete list of the items you have to ship for me?"

Him:
"Its midnite here!
I will attach all the invoices and summary for your order on weekend
And i can ship some of them very soon!"

And after almost 2 months i'm still waiting for that list...

I paid my first invoice in Nov. 2013 until now i've received NOTHING

Lunar New Year? Please...

DanielT · 27 Feb 2015, 06:32

Yep, I know it's a messed up situation, I've been folowing the GH thread, I even sent some e-mails in order to try and get some updates for the people who didn't get their stuff, no luck so far. I don't get this guy...

Stabilized · 24 Mar 2015, 13:40

Well the latest update from GH says that Sprit is back and shipping orders again; so this might mean I can finally stop rationing my springs