Hey all,
Wanted to start a thread on another project I am working on currently. This will be for stabilizers. Hopefully one that is beneficial for all.
To start with I have purchased several popular stabs, and will be giving dimensional data for comparison.
The ones I have currently are:
TX AP stabilizers Rev 4
Zeal PC Stabs
Durock V2 stabs
Novelkeys stabs (taken from a NK87)
At this point I would be interested in know if there are other stabs I should consider adding to this comparison.
As far as the mod, I have been working on designing a wire replacement which would work on all of these and probably many other variants. The point is to take out some of the time and effort of tuning stabs. This will consist of a tungsten carbide rod, with Invar 36 tabs brazed to the carbide. The point of this being to take up some of the slack that is in the stem and housing. Thus tightening up the feel of the stabs and also eliminate rattle. I will post some pictures in the next day or two.
There is a chance this turns out to be a complete waste of time and money . However, this is one thing I have noticed in my fairly short time getting into this hobby and industry as a problem. So, if it works out sweet! If not I can add some new things to my resume!
As someone who has tried an ungodly amount of stabs (Durock, TX, Staebies, Wuque Studios, Cherry, GMK, Owlabs, Gateron, Glorious, Akko…), and multiple methods of mods to fix/correct their shortcomings, I can tell you that it’s going to have you chasing your own tail until you find your own level of acceptable imperfection…
What I can tell you is that making sure the wire is straight and the angles of the bends are as close to 90 degrees as possible is going to be the best help. After that, using a thicker lube for the wires will help mitigate rebounding ticking from aggressive spamming or light tapping. XHT-BDZ is the gold standard, it seems, for this, but you can also get by with Loctite dielectric grease (Permatex has a way of sometimes staining when it melts giving foams and some PCBs a “greasy paper bag” look) if you want to save some money.
Through all of my own self-funded research, I can tell you that AEBoard’s Staebies are a community darling for a reason, as I have had to least to have those sound great out of the box. Unfortunately, they don’t fit every PCB nor are they perfect for every scenario, as long-pole switches are really becoming more and more popular. Second to that, TX can be handy for situations that call for different PCB widths as well as long-pole switches, if you can find them in-stock.
This hobby great when you can really discover stuff on your own through your own tinkering, so feel free to try something new, just try not to go broke in chasing the impossible.
Appreciate the input so far. This is just an idea I had and thought might as well try it just to see. I did see the Wuque stabs, but have not ordered any yet. Here are the screen shots of the wires I am working on. So far all I have left to do is finish my brazing fixture designs and machine all the parts. I have the carbide rods in hand.
At this point this is what the brazing fixtures will look like. They we will also be made out of Invar36 and tungsten carbide to keep issues with coefficient of thermal expansion issues to a minimum.
Loctite stays where you put it and won’t separate. I am also trying out Nyogel 767. It’s pricey, but cheaper than XHT-BDZ. It’s definitely more viscous than the Loctite, but doesn’t seem to hinder return speed either. Also, it’s not bright white like BDZ, if that matters to you.
I also just picked up a tube of Carbon GS3 from Kinetic Labs to try out…
. However, this is one thing I have noticed in my fairly short time getting into this hobby and industry as a problem. So, if it works out sweet! If not I can add some new things to my resume!
