A Thread on Topre Modding

This is kind of big isn’t it? Most people have to harvest these from a Topre board.

take my opinion with a grain of salt because ive never actually used topre hi-pro but from what I have seen this looks more like an mt3 copy to me

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Interesting thought. The pictures of the blanks they showed last year certainly looked like they had made molds from actual hi-pro caps a la blizzardmods or idea23 but the renders they added today with homing bars make me think that maybe they did go their own way a bit.

I do see they have the scooped F and J as well but it would be nice if they went scooped SDF, JKL like the hipro sets do (which MT3 usually offers as well).

Anyways, hoping for the best, I’m sure we’ll have to compromise in some ways but having accessible hi-profile topre caps is pretty awesome.

Oh man I’ve been waiting for this for a while!

I’m not too big on the font

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:crossed_fingers: Fingers crossed these are higher quality than their mx sliders :stuck_out_tongue:

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RGB TKL modding round #2: I added BuddyOG’s gasket and it works like a charm. I also ended up replacing the Pink Deskey domes with the stock domes (I like the Pinks, but I like the less sharp tactile event of the stock domes more :)).

Question: My keypresses feel smooth, pressed quickly or slowly. But I can hear some raspiness when I type. Not like a Batman raspy, but like a Tara Reid raspy. Is this normal?

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Do you have deskeys silencing rings on the RGB? It could be that they are misaligned and causing the issue.

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Oh interesting. Yup, I have the Deskeys rings. Ok I’ll check those specifically when I open it up again. Thanks @anon81470386 :pray:t3:

Not sure what it was exactly, but I lubed the PCB with 205g0, reseated all the domes, checked all the silencing rings, and put it all back together, and…happy to report: the raspiness is gone!

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If anyone’s wanting to try Deskeys/Des domes, 10% off with code XBBHBD
$12 economy shipping, $24 Fedex shipping to US
*not sponsored, wish I were though :stuck_out_tongue:

Screen Shot 2021-05-01 at 12.59.12 PM

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@Goguma

i’m pretty new to the topre scene and got a stock fc660c silent and was wondering when you added another silence ring (deskey #3), did it help make the board more silent?

Sorry just came across this, would definitely be worth a try. But before doing that I recommend lubing a few of the housings and also lubing the PCB to see if that’s enough for you.

Wanted to get some advice and inputs: How feasible is it for me to construct my own Norbaforce?

I’ve got a spare CM Masterkeys Pro S, and I saw that there’s a Novatouch PCB for sale in my local aftermarket for $44 (which I’ll likely try to negotiate for lower)

Norbaforce PCB for sale


I believe that the Masterkeys Pro S housing is compatible with the Novatouch PCB, given that the Norbaforce case is compatible. Furthermore, I think the Masterkeys’ JST cable can be recycled for the Novatouch (Pics source: Hi, I'm jshufelt - #79 by jshufelt)

Close ups of Masterkeys Pro S


jst_connector

I’m wondering how feasible is it to procure the rest of the components:

  • Conical spring
  • Domes (BKE, Deskey, Niz?)
  • Stems/sliders (KBDfans, Niz?)
  • Housings and stablizers

topre_switch_breakdown

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Surprisingly not too crazy

Hmm, it looks like you might be starting on the wrong foot and might be confusing Norbaforce with Norbatouch.

The Norbaforce is a Norbauer case for the RF87u, whereas the Norbatouch is a Norbauer case for the Novatouch. As long as your clear on what you want to do, there is still feasibility.

  • Conical springs aren’t very easy to source as they are “apart of the switch” and usually come with the PCB.

  • Domes would be easy since you could get aftermarket domes via BKE redux or Deskey.

  • Stems/sliders wouldn’t be terribly difficult if you want to go with KBDfans or NIZ. Between the two, I’ve heard Niz are much higher quality than KBfans.

  • Housings & Stabilizers are also components that would come with the PCB/conical springs.

Ultimately the hardest components would be the conical springs and the switch housings.

In addition, if you are going for a Novatouch, you’ll need the plate which doesn’t seem to be included in your list yet.

Honestly I don’t think it’s particularly easy to go this route (Norbatouch) unless you are able to find a complete (or mostly complete) Novatouch, or simply keep it MX and go the jshuf route with the Masterkeys Pro S.

Alternatively instead of a Norbatouch, you could go the Norbaforce route which you could complete by simply buying a complete realforce.

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It looks like you can buy Niz housings, but I don’t know if they come with their conical springs.

Based on experiences from other users you are correct. A buddy if mine is building the EC corne and had to cannibalize a board for the springs.

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niz should have the 1u housings+sliders AND the conical springs (don’t quote me on this; you can ask niz for the conical springs supposedly.)

if you know someone who can proxy buy for you in Japan, there is also this 1u complete package by Bit Trade One: the ADELCPS “capacitance switch” 10x 1u switch sets. unfortunately for me in the US, relying on third party buying services sounds really sketch–i don’t want to give tenso.com my address and drivers license?? just to shop, wtf. if we have any keebtalkers willing to do a group buy on that, i’m so in for a few of those Bit Trade One slider packs.

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You’re making me want to learn kicad and pump out a GH60 compatible EC pcb/plate. Thought I’d probably cannibalize a 660c for it and stick with topre housings/sliders

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Thank you for the clarification (Norbaforce vs Norbatouch) and in-depth explanation of the necessary components. Overall it seems like it’s better off getting a Topre keyboard from the get-go rather than scouring for each individual component. Coming from a more MX-background, this is definitely quite foreign territory for me haha

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