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> Want a mechanical keyboard but don't know where to start? Not really. I enjoy membrane keyboards and want everything as silent as possible. Yet I want a hack

> Want a mechanical keyboard but don't know where to start? Not really. I enjoy membrane keyboards and want everything as silent as possible. Yet I want a hackable controller firmware and it seems these are only available with mechanical keyboards.

mdnxjdnen 2y ago
Opti electrical are much more silent then membrane
Klathmon 2y ago
If you do ever want to dive into the keeb firmware hacking world, you absolutely can build very silent mechanical keyboards. Between linear switches, quiet mounting options, and even o-rings if you have a tendency to press keys harder, you can get them to being only slightly louder than a MacBook keyboard (or maybe not louder, just different sounding)
phito 2y ago
Mechanical keyboards are not inherently noisy
- balls187 2y ago
  I switched to EPO Sea Salt. The tactile feel without the loud clacky sound. My fashion designer, on the other hand, loves both the tactile feel and clacky sound of Kalih White Box switches.
  - qwerty456127 2y ago
    > loves both the tactile feel and clacky sound Loving something doesn't necessarily imply wanting it to persist all the time in all the situations. I love to endure extreme heat for some minutes in a sauna but hardly want to live and work there. I also love tactile feel an clacky sound of some mechanical switches but hearing the clack millions of times per day doesn't sound appealing. And having to apply even a minuscule amount of extra force so many times with finger muscles not designed for this doesn't sound safe.
urxvtcd 2y ago
You might want to look into Topre switches. They are electrocapacitive rubber dome switches. They feel like typing on a cloud. I own a Leopold FC660C modded to be silent and to support QMK. I sometimes think about getting an ortholinear or split keyboard, but that rules out Topre so I’m not going to bother, it’s just too good.
- qwerty456127 2y ago
  > I sometimes think about getting an ortholinear or split keyboard So do I. > but that rules out Topre How comes?
  - urxvtcd 2y ago
    No one is selling them. And no one is selling the switches. So the only way to get switches for a custom keyboard is buying a Topre keyboard only to pull them out. Seems like a lot of work. AFAIK, maybe that's changed since I last checked.

mdnxjdnen 2y ago

Opti electrical are much more silent then membrane

Klathmon 2y ago

If you do ever want to dive into the keeb firmware hacking world, you absolutely can build very silent mechanical keyboards. Between linear switches, quiet mounting options, and even o-rings if you have a tendency to press keys harder, you can get them to being only slightly louder than a MacBook keyboard (or maybe not louder, just different sounding)

phito 2y ago

Mechanical keyboards are not inherently noisy

balls187 2y ago
I switched to EPO Sea Salt. The tactile feel without the loud clacky sound. My fashion designer, on the other hand, loves both the tactile feel and clacky sound of Kalih White Box switches.
- qwerty456127 2y ago
  > loves both the tactile feel and clacky sound Loving something doesn't necessarily imply wanting it to persist all the time in all the situations. I love to endure extreme heat for some minutes in a sauna but hardly want to live and work there. I also love tactile feel an clacky sound of some mechanical switches but hearing the clack millions of times per day doesn't sound appealing. And having to apply even a minuscule amount of extra force so many times with finger muscles not designed for this doesn't sound safe.

urxvtcd 2y ago

You might want to look into Topre switches. They are electrocapacitive rubber dome switches. They feel like typing on a cloud. I own a Leopold FC660C modded to be silent and to support QMK. I sometimes think about getting an ortholinear or split keyboard, but that rules out Topre so I’m not going to bother, it’s just too good.

qwerty456127 2y ago
> I sometimes think about getting an ortholinear or split keyboard So do I. > but that rules out Topre How comes?
- urxvtcd 2y ago
  No one is selling them. And no one is selling the switches. So the only way to get switches for a custom keyboard is buying a Topre keyboard only to pull them out. Seems like a lot of work. AFAIK, maybe that's changed since I last checked.