Comment by valarauca1 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by valarauca1 | Hacker News Reader

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To run down the switches (that provide physical feedback).

-MX Cherry Blues: Their action has the same feel of a Model M (kind of) they only require ~1/2 the force to switch as a Model M. Their sound is also quieter (then a model M) they're still much louder then a rubber dome. It has a higher pitch clip/clop rather then the Model M's thunk.

-MX Cherry Greens: A stiffer blue (commonly used for space bars).

-MX Cherry Browns: Same action as a blue, but rubber dampened to be quieter actually inline with a rubber dome. They still provide the physical feedback of a Blue.

-MX Cherry Clear: A stiffer brown.

-MX Cherry Whites: Somewhere between a Brown and a Blue in sound and force. They still provide feedback.

MX browns have a completely different mechanism than blues- there isn't rubber in there, it works like this[1] and blue works like this.[2]

[1]http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Br...

[2]http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Bl...

I was speaking of the feel of the action. The brown still has the physical bump caused by the outward swing on the guide arm much like the blue.

There isn't the extra chunk of free riding plastic that helps generate a lower sound tho. I was purely wrong the rubber wrapping, that was just me being ill-informed.

I think there's a pretty distinct difference in feeling though- once a blue switch clicks, you don't get any more tactile feedback from the switch because the part that gets feedback is sitting on the bottom, but with browns it's still rubbing up against the contacts- which leads to browns feeling a bit mushier after the click.

Mind you, if you're in a noise sensitive environment then browns are definitely what you want.

Well the blue switch breaks meaning the force required to depress the switch changes. But this break occurs after the switch is triggered. This break is also when the sound is generated. Which again, after the key is triggered.

Buckling Springs is the only switch where the break, sound, and switch engage all happen in the same instant ,by the same mechanism (the spring buckling).

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