Back when Sock (Razer dude who handled SEAM) was still at Razer, I used to bug him about sending me Razer switches so that could stick them in some HBFS-30s for my Atrox.
Awesome, can’t wait to hear the results as well as the results for the backlit cherry MX switches and Romer-G switches.
Will these Razer keyswitches be cheaper? I know they are made elsewhere and rely on Razer’s own QA instead of relying on Cherry’s handiwork. Supposedly they’re cheaper to manufacture, so will they sell cheaper than the Cherry MX switches?
Romer-G does have a different stem, so yes you are correct.
Now CES 2015 just rolled by and Steelseries has showcased their new keyboard with their own mechanical switches also with a different stem.
So the question goes to MilkShark that is with the other companies manufacturing their own switches for their keyboards is this going to impact the way you’re going to design your HBFS buttons in terms of fitting different stems?
I’m very curious how Romer-G’s and SteelSeries’ mechanical switch can play out when daisy chained to a PCB with the awesome lighting effect.
I wonder how well Gateron switches works in a Game finger button?
GeekHack thread on the switched
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=65140.0
Gateron Switches on Mass drop
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/gateron-switches
I’d be all over that massdrop if it wasn’t for 120 of one option of the Gaterons.
Man, I think for the G3 revision these button caps need to connect to the shell some other way than the microswitch, because my button caps keep falling off. I straight up lost one at an event and another fell off at home and I can’t get it back on. That’s been the one major issue with this design, everything else is great except the button caps.
I guess to kinda revitalize this thread, I just wanna say that I hope that for the G3s we get solid colors like how the G2 Whites are. I want to get some black buttons, but I don’t like how translucent the G2 Blacks are. I haven’t had the problem JohnGrimm has with his button caps but it would be nice to have some tabs or something to help lock the button cap in as well. I’d get Solid Black HBFS buttons for my upcoming HRAP Silent V.Hayabusa if they were a thing.
That being said, when I have money down the line, I’m going to get some 150g Gateron switches from Taobao. You gotta press it like you mean it! I have some 80g Gray Cherry MX switches that are nice, but I have to go stronger.
What would be interesting is if someone pairs the HBFS buttons with some Cherry Lock switches: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Lock
Then become an asshole that can hold down Turn Around Punch or Raiden’s Drop Kick without actually needing to hold them. Only issue is using those same buttons for normals and such and needing to double tap the button to unlock it.
Lock switches are kinda rare and pricey
They are intended for keyboards that need a switch that stays on or off for Cap lock/Num Lock/Scroll Lock function or for specific POS or industry fuctions
(its rare that switches for Caps, Num and Scroll lock are lock switches)
Interesting. I was put in a similar position at first when I wanted 150g switches. I wanted the Cherry MX Super Blacks but it turns out they’re no longer in production. My project was to buy keyboards off of Ebay that would have a few of those Super Blacks, but some keyboards were mad stupid and being sold for $8000 just so I can get like 2 or so Super Black switches. Thank blessed Gateron for making such switches.
Hmmm. I’ve never had HBFS-30-G2 button caps coming off. I wonder if it’s a quality control thing…
If you gone though the thread its more common than you think.
The HBFS uses the same retention methods for Plungers as Mechanical keyboards use for key caps.
And on Geek Hack there many stories of a Keycap goes flying, sometimes the keycap takes the stem of the switch with it, breaking the switch.
I’ve also had an instance where the stem become lodged in the button cap, and after prying them apart, the stem was ripped out of the switch, resulting in a broken cherry MX blue with a damaged spring. That was an odd predicament, never had it happen again. I would also like to see locking tabs, it would make connections that much more stable.
Just wanted to make a couple suggestions in case there’s ever a new run of the HBFS-24s made. For the record, I think the HBFS-30s are really fantastic; IMO the best buttons being made right now and I can’t thank Milkshark enough for putting them out. After using both the 30s and the 24s for ~ a year and a half, I’d really like to see the 24s be made more like the 30s.
The two issues with the 24s are the button caps and the silencing pads. The two piece caps on the 30s are really terrific. Not only does it allow customers to put art under their buttons, but the softer plastic on the second piece that goes under the cap tends to be much smoother; there aren’t any burrs or imperfections in any of the buttons I’ve bought. However, the once piece design of the 24s means that the harder plastic on the top part of the cap is in direct contact with the sides of the button and the silencing pads. These pieces tend to have really minor burrs and imperfections in them, and can cause the buttons to stick.
The other thing is the silencing pads. The pad on the HBFS-30s is one big piece that’s very securely fitted to the bottom of the button. I’ve changed the switches in mine two or three times and used them quite a bit, and the pads are still super flat, and the edges are straight. The 24s however use four little “D” shaped pads on each edge of the switch. Due to the decreased contact area, the pads have a tendency to fall off or get misaligned, which really causes the buttons to stick until you take the button apart and straighten it, and if you change the switches it’s very difficult to do it without the corners of the pads getting tucked under the switch, which also causes some obstruction. I realize that just due to the size of the 24s there’s not as much room in there to put a big pad like the 30s, but this design in particular needs some engineering attention.
Anyway, congratulations on all the stuff you’ve done (lot of retailers carrying your buttons now!), and I hope to see more stuff from you guys in the future.
Funnily enough the only button on my Hit Box that sticks at all is the single lone 30mm up button. No other button on my box sticks ever.
I’ve had issues with the 30mm buttons sticking, if this weren’t an issue, then these would be some seriously top-notch buttons. Unfortunately, this problem, which seems to happen regardless of the switch used, makes the buttons unreliable. Hopefully this is an issue that can be worked out in a future revision.
Wasn’t the sticking caused by the microswitch being put in the wrong way? It’s not a perfect symmetrical cross shape. One part is slightly longer than the other. Got to really look at it.
The microswitch being put into the base? Because I’m pretty sure it only goes it one way, or the keycap going on the stem?
The cap going onto the top of the microswitch, the + shape has 2 long arms and 2 short he’s saying so it’s not a perfect +
If you look at a cherry stem, two of the arms are thicker than the other two; like north and south are one thickness, east and west are another.
But the way the caps are designed only allows them to be put on if aligned correctly anyway.