Silencing upstroke of stabs

The return key sounds pretty good compared to the backspace, what is the mod though? Or are you holding out on us with this one @Walkerstop! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

You were supposed to like the sound of the backspace more than the Enter key lol… The backspace is the modded one. I guess this mod isn’t for you xD

For me, I like it better when the upstroke of the stab doesn’t make a loud noise. That’s what this mod does. It’s more helpful on a keyboard that has silent switches, but even on a non-silent keyboard, I think it makes for a cleaner sound, less added noise from the stabs. For example here is my Tofu with this mod, you might notice you can hear the pure clicks of the linear key switches more, there is less variation of sound:

Compared to before the mod:

I think even the downstroke is quieter on the stabilized keys, after watching that video… I really need to test this on my MX Zilents keyboard.

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I’m almost positive he meant “what did you do exactly to mod it”, not “which key has been modded”

Regardless, I do like this mod. I don’t necessarily think it’s quieter but it sounds better. It’s a deeper sound without the upstroke.

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I will give you my opinion of this mod when you describe what the mod is :wink::laughing:

Lol, honestly the enter key sounds a bit quieter me in the original video, but that may just be because you are hitting the keys so hard. I can definitely notice a difference in these two videos with the modded one being quieter.

Finally got around to doing the video.

Here’s the mod:

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That’s a neat idea, putting a little O-ring around the wire into the housing! I might have to try that myself

This look very interesting. I think I’ll be trying this with whatever I end up putting Zilents on.

I don’t get the silicone pad, though. To me it seems like it would be even squishier than the band-aid mod, as band-aid fabric (at least the one I use) is very thin.

Edit: I’ll just post this as a new response.

I personally never tried the band-aid mod but a friend who has, and who tried the silicone pad, told me that the silicone pad felt less mushy. I can’t explain it since I don’t have experience with the band-aid mod. Is the band-aid fabric very soft maybe? Even though it’s thin, if it’s softer maybe that could explain it. Don’t people usually saturate the band-aid fabric with lube also?

Have people tried other alternatives like electric tape or duct tape for a firmer bottom-out while still being a little less loud?

I found a patch of silicone pads I had in a drawer. From what I can tell, they’re pretty much the same as the one you showed in the video (⌀7.5mm × 1mm). These are quite firm, and hitting stabilizer sliders against them on a thin, hard surface produces a muted but plasticky sound. The feel is about the same as with band-aid fabric, but I’d have to try it in a board to say for sure.
However, I feel these may be too thick? They’re at least 4 times as thick as my band-aids. Have you noticed any issues in that regard?

I haven’t had issues with the thickness, but how thick are the ones you’re trying?

I bought the ones I’m using from here:

They are listed as being 0.5mm thick which I believe is not significantly thicker than the stabilizer “cushion” legs that people typically remove, so I think as long as your stabs are clipped, you won’t notice any reduction in travel with these pads

Hmm, I wouldn’t say so. But maybe I’m wrong. It’s so thin that I honestly can’t tell how soft it is.
I haven’t noticed any difference between lube vs no lube on the band-aid, so I just skip it.

Ah, the ones I have are 1mm thick. I believe you mentioned in the video that yours were 1mm as well, but if they’re 0.5, I guess that’s fine.

I think I’ll try this as well in one of my upcoming builds, and I’ll report back. If nothing else, this does seem more convenient than having to cut band-aids (even though it’s not that time consuming).

You should try the band-aid mod and then give us your thoughts on what’s better.

Dang, did I say 1mm thick? I will have to add a correction to the video description! 1mm is definitely too thick. If you used 1mm pads you would notice the reduction in travel I think (unless you are oblivious to such things)

Sorry about that!

To clarify: you use the little cutout in the center that’s ⌀6.3mm, not the entire pad?

That’s what I did on my spacebar. On my other stabs, so as not to waste material, I cut pieces for the ring-shaped pads.

@Walkerstop, do you have a link to the o-rings you bought? I’m interested in trying this out. Nice find by the way. The keyboard in your video sounds great.

Yes, here are the ones I bought
uxcell 100Pcs 4mmx1mm Nitrile Rubber O-rings Heat Resistant Sealing Ring Grommets Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTNJ7FI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ahHuBbFS2Z77Y

Ok I get it now that you’ve shown us what the mod itself is. Also I realize why the unmodded one sounded a little better to me in your original videos. I was focusing on the overall sound & honestly paying more attention to the bottom out (kinda dumb of me considering the post title, LOL! :crazy_face:) Although seeing this video & hearing a few more typing test from you has convinced me to give this mod a shot, as it does definitely definitely silence the upstroke pretty well.

As far as the band aid mod, I’ve pretty much given up on that. I’ve tried band aid pieces (no real difference in bottom out feel or sound IME & a huge dirt/dust magnet), electrical tape (again no real difference in bottom out feel or sound IME & a huge dirt/dust magnet also), then switch films (still no real noticeable difference in bottom out feel or sound IME, but not so much of a dirt/dust magnet). The silicone pads are something I never thought of which might make an appreciable difference in bottom out feel or sound & shouldn’t be a dirt dust magnet. Think I’m gonna give this a try on my next build using MX switches! :metal:

Thanks for the videos! Currently dealing with some upstroke noise for the first time on a build, and the detailed discussion of the causes is very helpful.

FWIW, I just tried the 0.5mm thick pads in a build for all of the stabilizers, using the 6.3mm center cutouts exclusively. The stabs were clipped. I didn’t notice any reduction in travel. I’ve used vinyl electrical tape before, and compared to that, I think this has a nicer feel - the vinyl tape muted the sound a bit but didn’t really absorb the impact, whereas these pads absorb just enough impact for the sound and the tactility to seem more consistent with each other, if that makes sense. Hard to beat peel-and-stick for ease of installation, too. I liked them, and will probably continue to use these for other builds going forward.

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