this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2024
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I remember typing on the HP XT keyboards from 1992 or so. They were soft touch with no click, you just go all the way down smoothly if you push hard. This would allow one to type silently without causing the keyboard noise.

Where can I find such type of keyboards?

EDIT: I bought the Dell KB216 and presently am happy with it. Let us see how it ages.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I am not familiar with that specific keyboard, but rubber dome keyboards were common in that period (and remain so!).

I generally don't like them compared to mechanical keyboards, as they have a bit of a "mushy" feel, and you have to push the keys far enough down so that the contact points actually impact the surface, unlike mechanical keyboards, where normally one doesn't need to bottom out the key. They are notable for being very inexpensive to manufacture. They are pretty quiet.

Generally, keyboards with rubber domes aren't explicitly sold as "rubber dome keyboards", as it's seen as a not-premium mechanism. If a keyboard doesn't say anything about its mechanism it's probably rubber dome. Just avoid getting something billed as "mechanical" and you're probably good.

I don't know what you mean by "smoothly". Rubber domes have a non-linear resistance -- that is, there's a certain point where the resistance sharply falls off. There's no "click" at that point, though.

If what you want is no falloff in resistance or auditory or tactile feedback at the point where the key registers, there are some keyswitches designed to do that. They're normally not considered ideal for typing -- where one wants the tactile and some level of auditory feedback -- and are typically marketed to gamers. I believe that Cherry MX Red keyswitches do this, Cherry being a particularly popular mechanical keyswitch manufacturer.

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Apparently they specifically make a silent variant, the Cherry MX Silent Red. You'd probably want to look for a keyboard that uses these, not the switches alone.

Some mechanical keyboard users will also add rubber O-rings to the bottom of the key to further damp sound.

There are some other mechanical keyswitch vendors, and I'd bet that others make analogous keyswitches.

[–] voracread 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Presently I have this bottom of the barrel Logitech K200 membrane keyboard where the keys do not go down smoothly and hence fail to register.

I was thinking of lubricating the keyboard but found out that it only works for mechanical ones.

I have read through this review and decided to buy the Dell KB216 for now. The Logitech one is wireless and for my desktop I want wired one. Wireless ones tend to go to sleep and do not respond instantly after a long period of lack of use.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Dell KB216

Yeah, at that price point, it'll be rubber dome.