Hi-Tek 725 (linear white Space Invaders)

Chyros · 17 May 2015, 01:39

Another review, this time a particularly old keyboard xD . Hope you guys enjoy it!

zts · 17 May 2015, 02:24

Again ... a great and professionally done review

Really enjoyed the sound comparison.

amospalla · 17 May 2015, 02:31

Very nice review, with a sexy voice

I got specially impressed by how silent that switch was by design without any modification, only the space bar would need a bit of attention on this area.

002 · 17 May 2015, 02:35

Nice review!
Interesting note on the smudging of the dye-sub. I also noticed this on my Hi-Tek keyboards. Tiny little pebbles of ink seem to break away from the cap and when you press it or get it on your fingers it smudges. I wonder why that happens?

Also shared your frustration with taking the caps and sliders off. If you plan to get a donor board and fix your dodgy/broken switches, they are actually quite easy to de-solder and you can take the whole module out without having to worry about separating the mounting plate from the PCB.

Redmaus · 17 May 2015, 02:35

Very Nice review I think you could be paid big money to narrate for a documentary.

Space invaders is on my list of keyboards to try out.

seebart · 17 May 2015, 09:32

Excellent review Chyros. I particularly enjoyed this review since I do own a Commodore keyboard with the same switch. I can confirm the uniform feel and silence of these linears. I also had problems with springs and contacts upon dissasembly, quite an ordeal. I believe that the positive qualities of the switch feel are partly achieved by the comparatively large top surface area under the keycap. Cherry's MX mount stem is small in comparison. Of course this is just an assumption on my part.

Chyros · 17 May 2015, 11:28

Cheers guys, glad you liked it

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amospalla wrote: Very nice review, with a sexy voice

I got specially impressed by how silent that switch was by design without any modification, only the space bar would need a bit of attention on this area.

Yeah I was really surprised how silent it was too. The spacebar is very chunky, hence the noise. Wouldn't even be THAT hard to dampen it. The noise is very nice though ^^ .

Nice review!
Interesting note on the smudging of the dye-sub. I also noticed this on my Hi-Tek keyboards. Tiny little pebbles of ink seem to break away from the cap and when you press it or get it on your fingers it smudges. I wonder why that happens?

Also shared your frustration with taking the caps and sliders off. If you plan to get a donor board and fix your dodgy/broken switches, they are actually quite easy to de-solder and you can take the whole module out without having to worry about separating the mounting plate from the PCB.

Wouldn't really say I see any pebbles, but the smudging is definitely always in the direction of the letter on it. Is you Hi-Tek board very old too?

Very Nice review I think you could be paid big money to narrate for a documentary. Space invaders is on my list of keyboards to try out.

Haha cheers mate, yeah I'd love to moonlight as a narrator or voice actor actually

. I just don't really have time to go job hunting at the moment xD .

Excellent review Chyros. I particularly enjoyed this review since I do own a Commodore keyboard with the same switch. I can confirm the uniform feel and silence of these linears. I also had problems with springs and contacts upon dissasembly, quite an ordeal. I believe that the positive qualities of the switch feel are partly achieved by the comparatively large top surface area under the keycap. Cherry's MX mount stem is small in comparison. Of course this is just an assumption on my part.

The large surface area of the top of the slider shouldn't matter all that much, I think it's much more to do with the fact that the slider slides over a stem in the switch base all the way, which prevents sidewards motion. That's what makes it so stable. It's also what makes it IMO a little scratchier than Cherries.

I took this out of the review, but I originally elaborated on the spring in the switch too, which is a double spring. I think this is what mitigates the return force of the switch a bit, hence why it's not launched back up when you release it, like Cherries do. Overall I think it's a nice switch, but I wouldn't ascribe its positives to just one single attribute. In fact there's no need, because the design of the switch is really different from that of other switches. When you think about it, it uses the exact opposite design of Cherries and Alps switches; the contacts are pressed together by default and separated by a divider rather than divided by default and pressed together when you press a key.

seebart · 17 May 2015, 13:15

Chyros wrote: I took this out of the review, but I originally elaborated on the spring in the switch too, which is a double spring. I think this is what mitigates the return force of the switch a bit, hence why it's not launched back up when you release it, like Cherries do. Overall I think it's a nice switch, but I wouldn't ascribe its positives to just one single attribute. In fact there's no need, because the design of the switch is really different from that of other switches. When you think about it, it uses the exact opposite design of Cherries and Alps switches; the contacts are pressed together by default and separated by a divider rather than divided by default and pressed together when you press a key.

OK good points. Even though I did dissasemble my NMB Hi-Tek linears I can still only speculate on why the switch feels so nicely uniform. You're much better than me at articulating that. After getting my first keyboard with NMB Hi-Tek switches only recently I certainly will keeping an eye out for more. Unfortunately they don't show up that often.

http://deskthority.net/photos-f62/cherr ... =commodore

Chyros · 17 May 2015, 15:43

seebart wrote:
Chyros wrote: I took this out of the review, but I originally elaborated on the spring in the switch too, which is a double spring. I think this is what mitigates the return force of the switch a bit, hence why it's not launched back up when you release it, like Cherries do. Overall I think it's a nice switch, but I wouldn't ascribe its positives to just one single attribute. In fact there's no need, because the design of the switch is really different from that of other switches. When you think about it, it uses the exact opposite design of Cherries and Alps switches; the contacts are pressed together by default and separated by a divider rather than divided by default and pressed together when you press a key.
OK good points. Even though I did dissasemble my NMB Hi-Tek linears I can still only speculate on why the switch feels so nicely uniform. You're much better than me at articulating that. After getting my first keyboard with NMB Hi-Tek switches only recently I certainly will keeping an eye out for more. Unfortunately they don't show up that often.

http://deskthority.net/photos-f62/cherr ... =commodore

Ah cool, those look like the same switches as in mine (hard to say of course, Hi-Tek wasn't exactly intuitive or consistent with shape and colour coding of their switches xD) . Yours has a lot of different varieties in just one board though - mine only has one variety (though the space bar has a longer spring).

I'd love to try out the clicky version of these sometime.

Spikebolt · 18 May 2015, 22:39

Great. now I want one. Thanks a lot buddy

XMIT · 18 May 2015, 23:09

Spikebolt wrote: Great. now I want one. Thanks a lot buddy

Then send me a PM, I have several.

Shipping won't be cheap to Portugal.

XMIT · 18 May 2015, 23:12

Such shaky camera work. Use a tripod!

andrewjoy · 18 May 2015, 23:35

very cool review.

i have one on the way to me soon with an almost ansi layout

small correction,

"the caps lock has moved" should be "the control key is where it should be"

Chyros · 18 May 2015, 23:47

XMIT wrote: Such shaky camera work. Use a tripod!

It's a mobile phone camera :p . I'm a poor, highly underpaid PhD student, I only get two-thirds of minimum wage xD !

I'm open to donations toward a better camera though 8) .

tactica · 26 May 2015, 19:46

Great review and very professional indeed. After having tried out clicky Space Invaders myself I can attest they're a feast for your senses - only blue ALPS comes close in the "nice" department, though that's a different beast altogether

elecplus · 26 May 2015, 22:45

I think my favorite of all of them is the NEC blue ovals. You really need to try them!

Chyros · 26 May 2015, 23:45

tactica wrote: Great review and very professional indeed. After having tried out clicky Space Invaders myself I can attest they're a feast for your senses - only blue ALPS comes close in the "nice" department, though that's a different beast altogether

Cheers, glad you liked it

. I also have a review of an Alps Blue keyboard, if you're interested.

I think my favorite of all of them is the NEC blue ovals. You really need to try them

Sounds good! Which ones are they exactly?

elecplus · 27 May 2015, 00:45

NEC APC-H4100E is one of them.

klikkyklik · 02 Jun 2015, 18:06

Wow, that thing IS a tank! Great and thorough review, as usual!

I would have to agree with Cindy - I currently prefer NEC blue ovals over anything else I've tried (including blue Alps and Cherry MX blues). Mine are in an APC-H412. You owe it to yourself to find one and give it a try.

Chyros · 03 Jun 2015, 00:48

klikkyklik wrote: Wow, that thing IS a tank! Great and thorough review, as usual!

Cheers mate

.

I would have to agree with Cindy - I currently prefer NEC blue ovals over anything else I've tried (including blue Alps and Cherry MX blues). Mine are in an APC-H412. You owe it to yourself to find one and give it a try.

I hope I'll find one soon then

. They sound good

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