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A Beginner's Guide to Switches

theremingoat.com

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Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#21

Post by blackeyeblitzar »

morjom wrote: post #20
blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #10

Does anyone have experience with carpal tunnel or RSI and mechanical switches? I’ve heard some people recommend ZSA keyboards for ergonomics but I’m unsure if mechanical keys are healthy compared to the softer keys of older ergonomic keyboards like the ones Microsoft made.

Membrane "switches" have a pretty high actuation force all things considered (40-100g+), which is what the older MS keyboards use. There are plenty of mechanical switches that require less force to actuate, and Hall Effect switches can even have an adaptable activation point.

I’m not familiar with Hall effect switches - any recommendations on a keyboard for ergonomic use?

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#23

Post by foobarbecue »

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #10

Does anyone have experience with carpal tunnel or RSI and mechanical switches? I’ve heard some people recommend ZSA keyboards for ergonomics but I’m unsure if mechanical keys are healthy compared to the softer keys of older ergonomic keyboards like the ones Microsoft made.

Yeah, I've always wondered if there's any basis for the idea that mechanical keyboards prevent RSI. This article doesn't help -- it says that the mechanism by which mechanical keyboards prevent RSI is "hard to explain without getting too technical" and then stumbles over some strange "gym mat" analogy that made no sense t ome.

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#24

Post by morjom »

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #21
morjom wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Membrane "switches" have a pretty high actuation force all things considered (40-100g+), which is what the older MS keyboards use. There are plenty of mechanical switches that require less force to actuate, and Hall Effect switches can even have an adaptable activation point.

I’m not familiar with Hall effect switches - any recommendations on a keyboard for ergonomic use?

Hall Effect switches are a pretty recent (re)addition to the keyboard market, so it might be difficult to find an out of the box ergo keyboard with HE on them.

Most of them are on gaming keyboards due to the possibility of getting super small actuation and rebound windows for faster input.

So you'd probably need to do some DIY (there are switches available for purchase, might have to do more reasearch).

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#25

Post by wruza »

polishdude20 wrote: post #9

Anyone else here prefer just a good old fashioned chiclet style keyboard? I've tried mechanical keyboards before and they don't appeal to me at all.

I preferred kv-300h for a long time, but recently got recommended lofree flow (underrepresented low profile stock niche). Now thinking about it sometimes. High-profile feels like a lot of work for fingers, unless you learn to avoid bottom-out. Gosh, even thinking about all these mkb nuances again makes me want to just kv-300h.

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#26

Post by grishka »

NoPicklez wrote: post #5

I thought this was about network switches But it does amaze me how big the consumer market has become about keyboard switches, it has become insanely hobbyist. From buying a new keyboard I can appreciate how different each key can sound and feel but its become huge.

Nintendo switches lol

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#27

Post by wruza »

jensndn wrote: post #13
polishdude20 wrote: post #9

Anyone else here prefer just a good old fashioned chiclet style keyboard? I've tried mechanical keyboards before and they don't appeal to me at all.

You mean Membran Keyboards? While there are membrane keyboards which feel half decent when new, they degrade very fast and especially uneven depending on key usage Thus I generally dislike them

Reading mkb community forums for a long time I can tell that this is either self-assurance or blind eye. Switches and mkbds break all the time and some people tend to make/use quick replace whole-switch mounts, which then creates alignment issues etc.

I use three membrane chiclet keyboards since around 2018 that have no wear signs apart from plastic desaturation of a package.

There are good models and bad models, regardless of a type.

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#28

Post by Xaphiosis »

NoPicklez wrote: post #5

I thought this was about network switches But it does amaze me how big the consumer market has become about keyboard switches, it has become insanely hobbyist. From buying a new keyboard I can appreciate how different each key can sound and feel but its become huge.

If you keep to the middle ground, it's not too bad. My journey started by ordering an inexpensive switch testing set with a bunch of Cherry/Gateron switch types, using it as a fidget toy around the desk for a few months, and concluding I liked the Cherry MX clear switches the most (no loud clicking sound, bit more actuating force, easier to feel actuating force than browns).

Result: got a WASD keyboard with clear switches in 2017 and have had no issues since, no sign of any wear, and little need to go down the endless rabbit hole. You're right though, the market for rabbit-holers has somewhat exploded.

Re: A Beginner's Guide to Switches

#29

Post by tvelichkov »

morjom wrote: post #11
User23 wrote: post #2

Aren't mag switches the new hotness?

Another semi recent one were optical switches (uses a tiny laser for when to actuate, lowest latency). Hall Effect is the one that's probably going to stay longer, due to the possibility of changing the actuation point to your liking.

As a competitive FPS player, I can say that it's not just about "changing the actuation point to your liking", but a software feature called "Rapid Trigger" [1].

This thing is here to stay, in the past I've tried all types of mechanical switches (Blue/Brown/Red) and this easily beats them all in competitive FPS, the responsiveness is on another level, and you just can't go back after that.

[1] https://prosettings.net/cdn-cgi/image/dpr=1%2Cf=auto%2Cfit=c...

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