The /r/mm post says it has BKE lights, and I ordered and replaced what was there with BKE heavies already, but the pictured domes are what came off of it. As far as I can tell, these are stock Topre, not BKE lights… can I get a sanity check from someone else who knows better than me?
On a side note, lubing the sliders (they weren’t lubed as far as I can tell, just the spacebar stabilizer with something that had dried out, so likely not krytox) and installing the domes was super time consuming. I also removed the silence-x rings and put in the BKE housing sticker type. I once rebuilt a dell at101w I found at work, tuning the leafs individually, and lubing the switches with a brush and 3204, and that’s the only keyboard project I’ve had to date be as time consuming. This Topre modding thing is seriously time consuming business.
Pretty sure they are stock domes, they come in sheets/pairs/threes/singles like that. The BKE domes only come as singles as far as I’m aware, both the Lights and the Ultra Lights that I’ve had came in packets like that anyway.
I guess that’s not as advertised, which isn’t great, but TBF you can’t really buy stock Topre domes separately so perhaps it’s better that way? Means you can give the stock experience a try if you feel like it. And you can buy the Lights from somewhere if you wish at a later date.
I used to have Lights in my FC660C, but eventually realised that the stock domes actually suited my light typing style more. The sound ends up being a bit lower in pitch too, I think due to the closed tops of the domes unlike the BKE’s open tops which lets more of the spring noise out. I still have the Lights though, and might switch back at some point if I feel like my typing style changes much, I use some of the Lights in the Esc and Insert/Delete keys anyway, where they work well.
Really want to pick up an FC980C at some point, was going to get a white one last month but didn’t have the funds sadly Stuck with just the FC660C for now, which is a very good problem to have honestly!
Oh and you can get pretty fast at modding Topre, once you’ve disassembled and reassembled it a few dozen times like I have it’s a breeze. One of the things I actually really like about Topre is how it all fits together, no soldering required which means as long as you are careful not to wreck the screws or threads too much you should be able to repeat the process indefinitely. Soldered boards by comparison tend to get a bit f***ed up after a while, dealing with lifted pads is real pain.
I’ve had plenty of experience soldering over time, and if you aren’t overheating pads (you really need a desoldering gun for this work), you don’t need to really worry about lift. Even if a pad lifts, it’s repairable. The only place I’ve seen lift problems is with vintage alps stuff, where for whatever reason they bent a ton of pins over, but even then, I’ve managed to desolder a board I cared about rebuilding without lifting a single pad despite that almost all of the pins seemed to be bent over. If you need pointers on desoldering, which is where most pad lift will occur, please feel free to reach out for pointers.
That ALPS board referenced needed to have some surface rust removed, despite the switches being in great shape, so I desoldered the board carefully, sand blasted the entire plate surface, and spray painted it back up… It works fantastically now, and won’t be rusting anytime soon.
I can’t see lubing and rebuilding a full size or 1800 size topre board ever being faster than rebuilding a similar mx board, given that you can bag/tub lube those switches pretty quickly compared to topre sliders, but I can see how someone could do it faster than I got it done.
I have no desire to use the stock domes since I prefer heavier tactility, but it is what it is… I suppose I could contact the guy and ask wtf that’s all about, but maybe I just got ripped off for the increased resale value of the domes.
I like the FC980C, but I do wish there was an awesome heavy aluminum housing to go around it like some other topre boards… Also, I wish I knew the way to get an 6U SA spacebar on there… I’m rolling a cheap maxkey set on there, but using a stock topre spacebar, which looks completely out of place here… That FC660C has a heavy-6 option, so that’s pretty sweet, but I hope you’re able to get an FC980C if that’s your jam. I love it in switch feel, but I think it is pretty much relegated to a beater for my wife without a premium case or at least until I find a decent looking cap set to cover it with that looks uniform.
Definitely stock 45g Topre domes, pretty messed up of the seller if this was done on purpose. Although at the asking price of $250 it wasn’t a huge ripoff thankfully. 980Cs go for $250 brand new & you got MX sliders + silencing rings with it for that price so it wasn’t a terrible deal. Still that doesn’t excuse the seller from not being truthful about the domes.
For future reference, the BKE Redux lineup all come as individual domes, not sheets like in your picture. That definitely looks like stock 45g Topre to me. Stock 45g is that color, while stock 55g is black.
Yeah I figured that was the case since my heavies came as individuals, and like Rob27shred said, it sucks that I didn’t get what was advertised, but I got a good price on what I got either way. I am only bummed I unexpectedly didn’t get the opportunity to try the lights… I type heavy most of the time anyway, so it’s all good for the times I decide to use this board anyway.
You know, it’s funny, because if you had told me 7 months ago that I wouldn’t feel completely ripped off at spending $250 bucks on a keyboard and not getting what I actually thought I was paying for, I’d have just told you to your face that you’re an idiot. This is an insane hobby when you have the bug.
I’ve only lifted a couple of pads so far, I’m a bit better at it now so I can generally avoid damage these days. It’s more the general fuss and mess of soldering that bothersome I think. Topre in comparison pretty much just needs a screwdriver and some tubs or something to safely keep all the bits in.
The Heavy-6 looks amazing, and I when I got the 660C I thought that was something that I would eventually want to get. But I realised that weight and additional size would make it more impractical to travel with, and remembered that I really don’t like fat bezels that steal space for a mouse either side. I actually really like the stock case anyway, just a great design IMO.
Not sure how much I’ve ended up spending on this board after all the mods, but like you I’ve really changed my opinion on expensive keyboards, this was worth every penny
Stuck with just the FC660C for now, which is a very good problem to have honestly! 