[Closed] Hypersphere's Topre Damping Rings - Europe GB - Shipping Now

[andrewjoy]

Sounds good , i am itching to get hold of mine . prob wont go for your fancy pantsy lube just a spray of PTFE over the slider will do

[Madhias]

For keyboard sliders, I have seen recommendations for Krytox in the 103 to 107 range, but I have not tested any of these myself as yet.

Great, I have Krytox 104 here, which I will use together with the damping rings I got from Muirium (thanks) recently! Hope I can start the modding soon.

[andrewjoy]

Yours going in a novatouch ?

I guess it will void my warrantee but meh , you know what they say , don't turn it on take it apart!

[Madhias]

No, I will tune my HHKB with that magic rings and lubricant. I won't touch my Realforce though, it is perfect as it is, a beauty in all ways!

[andrewjoy]

apart form the space bar rattle

[Hypersphere]

Even the RF87U can benefit from Silencing Rings and lube, although I must admit that the RF is farther along than the others on the approach-to-perfection vs effort curve.

[Madhias]

I would not touch it though, I really like it how it is. That THOCK has to be same as it is! What would change the great THOCK sound more? Lubing or damping rings?

[TheNacho]

Alright, I just got mine waiting for me when I came home today. And OH BOY! I thought the Novatouch was good when I dampened it with the rings, but seriously, the Leopold FC660C is orgasmic with these rings. Thanks for running this GB Mu, and also thanks for the added bling - Even though I would have thought, that you might ship the Unicomp stuff and the rings together

[Muirium]

Another one I forgot? Bollocks! When will this shipping ever end!!

[TheNacho]

If only the FC660C had a standard right shift ... I would be tempted to swap sliders to try it with some nice thick PBTs, bet that would make it sound even nicer

[Hypersphere]

@Madhias: If you like your RF as it is, then you should leave well enough alone. In my case, although my RF87UB55 was rather fine in its native state, after I installed Silencing Rings, lubed the stabilizers and switch rails, and put rubber shock absorbers under the spacebar, it brought the board to a new level of elegance and refinement. Now I would not want to go back to the original RF.

[StarvingDragon]

I think I'm going to wait for Muirium's guide / video before having a go. Don't want to mess it up!

[Muirium]

Yeah, I'll try to get around to that. Not got much contiguous time at home at the moment.

[TheNacho]

Damn, I could have taken some pictures when I installed them yesterday.

[ramnes]

I had some fun last night:

[Thumper]

Do you have any left overs ?

[Muirium]

Unknown and unlikely.

[Thumper]

I found some on eBay, which look exactly like yours for a pretty similar price (maybe 2-3$ cheaper). Are those yours or should i avoid them?

[Muirium]

I'm not on Ebay.

[Thumper]

Yeah, i just found out its Hypersphere who sells them on eBay.

[Muirium]

Right. You can get them that way, but remember you get hit by import fees. My GB was a way to bring in a bunch at a better final price.

[Hypersphere]

@Thumper: The Silencing Rings are available on eBay at "katesattic2". These are the genuine article and the same that I furnished to Muririum for the UK/EU group buy. The eBay sales are handled by "Mrs. Hypersphere".

[TuxKey]

Alright, I just got mine waiting for me when I came home today. And OH BOY! I thought the Novatouch was good when I dampened it with the rings, but seriously, the Leopold FC660C is orgasmic with these rings. Thanks for running this GB Mu, and also thanks for the added bling - Even though I would have thought, that you might ship the Unicomp stuff and the rings together

Got mine in today..Thanks Mu nice packaging and the Bling was awesome

Say TheNacho did you happen to film your adventure opening the FC660C ???
I'm a bit hesitant opening mine without sum research..

- Should i lube the stems ? or is sufficient to ware thin latex gloves? to prevent body oils getting on the stem when handling them.?

I really wish there where more Topre Youtube vids ..

Well i'm not in a hurry

take care all ...Thanks again MU really appreciate your EU GB..

[TheNacho]

Say TheNacho did you happen to film your adventure opening the FC660C ???
I'm a bit hesitant opening mine without sum research..

Nope, I am sorry, but let me try to describe it step by step:

1. Remove warranty sticker (small and round) and remove the screw under it (use J01 bit if you have it, since its the perfect fit for all the screws
2. Open the case by using some robust plastic things to lever open the small hooks holding it together
3. With the case opened, carefully lift up the keyboard assembly and unplug the connector on the bottom
4. Flip the assembly sliders facing down
5. Remove screws in a cross-ish pattern. Silver screws go where the holes have a white circle, black screws go where the arrows are.
6. Hold the assembly together tightly and flip it PCB side down so the domes dont come loose when you lift of the slider plate
7. put the PCB to the side, carefully, as to not move the sliders
8. push out the sliders inward, slip a ring over the middle part and put it back (all normal keys have the same sliders, just be careful about the corners in the housing, so it fits correctly; stabilized keys have a small wire, so take that out with some tweezers first, and then remove the key. It only fits in one way, so if its not smooth, its the wrong way round.
9. after adding all rings and putting the sliders back, but the slider plate on top of the PCB carefully, lining up the domes and sliders.
10. Hold the assembly together tightly, add a screw in each corner and youre basically done.
11. I would recommend only putting in a few screws first and then checking the keyboard with EK switch hitter, making sure that all keys work. then put all the screws back (black=arrows), connect the PCB to the plug, put it in the lower housing and snap the top part on. Dont forget to but that final case screw.

If there is more questions, let me know.

[Hypersphere]

@The Nacho: Thanks for the nice step-by-step procedure.

@TuxKey: I have not found it necessary to wear gloves when installing the Silencing Rings. Regarding lube, I recommend lubing the stabilzers and the slider housing rails on all the switches. However, I do not recommend lubing the sliders themselves (i.e., don't lube the cylindrical parts -- lube the rectangular parts). Some people use grease on the stabilizers. for the switch rails, I recommend using oil rather than grease. I got good results with Superlube 51010 oil, which is a complex blend of ingredients. For my next lube job, I am considering using a Krytox oil, because it is my understanding that this is a simpler mix containing only polyfluoropolyethers.

I also find it helpful to suspend the slider plate between two supports when lubing and putting the sliders back into place. This is to keep the sliders from being pushed back. To keep the plate from slipping, I use double-sided adhesive foam tape on the supports.

The rings also have an orientation -- there is a foam layer and a shiny backing layer. When putting the ring on the slider, the shiny side should be up. Put the ring on the slider at an angle so that one edge of the ring is below the retaining nub on the slider and then level out the ring and nudge it down until it rests on the slider flange.

Note that when you push the sliders out, part of the retaining nub will be sheared off. I work over a terrycloth towel to catch the sliders and the bits of retainer nubs (these bits will look like coarsely ground pepper). I then transfer the pushed-out sliders into a plastic colander and shake the sliders around to separate the sheared nubs from the sliders. If you are doing the procedure on an older keyboard that has picked up dirt on the sliders, you could wash them at this stage and be sure they are completely dry before reassembly.

BTW, one of the hardest parts of this whole procedure is opening the case of a Novatouch. In contrast, the cases on the HHKB Pro 2 and RF87U are very easy to open and close. I haven't yet tried the procedure on a Leopold FC660C.

[TheNacho]

I also find it helpful to suspend the slider plate between two supports when lubing and putting the sliders back into place. This is to keep the sliders from being pushed back. To keep the plate from slipping, I use double-sided adhesive foam tape on the supports.

I did the same thing on my Novatouch when I put the rings in, but have not found it necessary on the 660 since the plate can be easily handled with one hand. But it can be very useful, thanks for adding that Hyper.

[Hypersphere]

The Silencing Rings will not be available for the next week or two on eBay, but I expect to have another round ready soon. Please also note that the name of the eBay site for the Rings is being changed to "Hypersphere2016".

[Muirium]

For fuck's sake, now I've gone and shipped Khers' rings twice!

I won't be making those installation videos for months at this miserable rate. I'm making negative progress. Quite possibly going to have none left for myself!

[TheNacho]

Alright, after putting the leftovers into the second Novatouch, and dropping the board half way, heres some more pro-tips for when the worst happens:

- Screw books, steal Lego from your little brother or your child. Place these legos under all the areas of the plate where its flat, and you will have a much more stable work area to replace all the springs.
- Shake it, baby! If some springs stick together, which trust me will happen, just cup your hands and shake them around a bit instead of twisting or pulling them apart. Works every time.
- Please use a magnetic screwdriver. It makes it much easier.
- Check for hidden screws under ALL the stickers.

[rioc]

is there gonna be another GB sometime soon for these? Or anywhere I can still obtain some?