Plum Nano75 Electrastatic Capacitive Bluetooth RGB Keyboard

[cookie]

Plum != Topre

I've some fake domes lying around, willing to try them out but I am convinced that a Plum can and will NEVER feel like a genuine Topre switch.

Never is such a strong word ...

Never in caps is even stronger!

[Laser]

Depends on the caps Seriously, though, saying "never" in such a context rather shows a want-to-protect-my-previous-topre-investments related fear (wouldn't be so outrageous for you to like the Plum more than your Topre keyboard?). Anyway, keyboard science "evolves".

[cookie]

I was mostly joking to be honest but from what I read it's very hard to compete with the overall quality of PFU and Realforce products. I must say that I don't like how other companies shamelessly counterfeit Topre products but they are no real thread to their genuine products. We are all biased to a certain extend and I guess I won't be that happy with the plum because it's the real thing my heart wants.

I'd love to try one though just to see if it is close to what I consider "supreme cup rubber masterclass".

Since I got used to the default layout of my HHKB I don't feel the need to have it programmable at all.
Bluetooth would have been nice but I don't like the "Battery Penis" on the BT version.

[drakche]

Plum != Topre

I've some fake domes lying around, willing to try them out but I am convinced that a Plum can and will NEVER feel like a genuine Topre switch.

It feels similar and different to 45g Novatouch I've tried.
And To be honest, I don't know if it's due to the keycaps, or rattly stabilizers on the Nova, but I like the feel of my Plum more than I liked the Novatouch.
but Plums feel more similar to Topre than to MX switches, so I'm bundling them
.

[cookie]

From my experience the "good feel" has multiple factors and of course personal preferences.
I for example like smooth and thoky switches, I like them soft but still with a good taktile feeling. So Topre seem good, but I'd never go with stock Topre anymore. I've made some silencing rings out of foam to reduce the bottom up sound which benefits the overall feeling. I've also made some rubber feet out of old mousepad material which also makes the board feel smoother.

Rattle impacts the feeling in a very negative way, that's why I don't like MX switches anymore, I find them also to be too scratchy for my taste. Very shallow and flimsy cases are also giving a very "cheap" feeling.

MX or any other switch which is using a spring to return the switch back to its original position can't feel like a Topre, They are completely different by design. The force you need to keep the switch down on a mx switch is much higher the further down it gets while the dome of a Topre just collapses to the minimum force necessary to return the switch. I like this very much about them.

Next steps to me is to play around with some krytox to tickle out the maximum smoothness of my HHKBs

[hexpyws]

I know this might be heresy to say here, but I've owned:

1. Realforce 87u 45g & 55g
2. HHKB-S
3. Leopold FC660C
4. Plum 84 35g
5. Now, Two Plum 75 45g's

Nothing touches the RF build quality. I just want that out of the way.

Of all these boards, the Plum75 is my absolute favorite. I love the feel, the value is unmatched and what it accomplishes is also unmatched (full programmability, the size, the bluetooth, the MX compatability, LED's if you care about that, all in one combo with no real compromises).

Don't get me wrong..
If there was a RF 60% or 75% board with bluetooth and MX keycap options, I'd probably be all over it..
But that seems unlikely to ever exist.

[cookie]

Ohh my god... how dare you to claim that? HERETIC *BLAM BLAM*

[hexpyws]

Ohh my god... how dare you to claim that? HERETIC *BLAM BLAM*

lol

Just wanted it out there that "yes', I've absolutely tried several legit and expensive Topre's that have very high build quality and feel - but through all the exploration I've found my dream machines (for now) with these Plum 75's

Believe me - I wish RealForce made more of a modern go at things - It'd be awesome!!

[hexpyws]

Just an another example, I'm right now, in 2 seconds each time, switching my Plum back and forth between BT connections with my gaming HTPC (win10) and my iPad next to me for iMessage responses.

So awesome..

[zslane]

If there was a RF 60% or 75% board with bluetooth and MX keycap options, I'd probably be all over it..
But that seems unlikely to ever exist.

This.

If Topre had seen fit to release a 60% version of the RealForce RGB (minus the RGB backlighting maybe, cuz I don't use that stupid sh*t), I would have at least two of them right now. But nobody wants to put out a 60% board with TMX switches, so someone like me, who wants a keyboard for my iPad, has to look elsewhere.

The HHKB is out of the question because it can't take SA keycaps and I don't want to learn a layout that differs from all the full-size ANSI boards I use. The closest thing to what I want/need is the Plum Nano 75, and that's simply the marketplace reality right now. Would I prefer Topre build quality? Absolutely. But Topre isn't giving me that option.

[cookie]

I believe if apple continues it's wireless crap we will see some BT keyboards sooner as we think.

[zslane]

Here's my Plum dressed up in Round 4 SPH:

plum_cadet.jpg (288.22 KiB) Viewed 7476 times

The case really needs to be white, which is why I need another one...

[drakche]

Mmmmm, niceee. Looks really good.

Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk

[cookie]

@zslane: The case looks quite yellowed.

[Dan]

It's probably the camera's fault/lighting. The caps look very nice on it.

[shreebles]

Well yeah it looks yellowed, he painted it...
see previous page

I ordered a 35g Nano 75 a month ago but nothing arrived so far... I just contacted the seller, am a bit disappointed.

[zslane]

Yeah, the tan case is for the Industrial SA keycaps (as seen in the previous photo). Having Round 4 SPH on there is temporary; I only put them on to see what a fully sculptured SA set felt like on this board. As soon as I can get my hands on another Plum, I'll put Round 4 SPH on it and put Industrial SA back on this tan one.

[SL89]

And thats with a Row 3 Function Row?

[zslane]

Yeah. Round 4 SPH has a 3-1-2-3-4-3 profile. And, of course, there are three keys in this layout with mismatched profiles: the blue up-arrow key and the two SHIFT keys.

[zslane]

When the 45g model gets restocked, I think I'm going to get two of them so I don't have to go through this ridiculous wait again.

[drakche]

When the 45g model gets restocked, I think I'm going to get two of them so I don't have to go through this ridiculous wait again.

I guess you like them very much after using them for some time.

I hope you do some nice dress up of them.

Loved the look with the industrial SA keycaps.

Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk

[zslane]

So I did a dome sheet swap on my Noppoo EC108Pro, replacing the stock 35g domes with 45g instead. In terms of tactility it is an improvement, though it is a subtle one. I would say the tactility is still a little bit gentler than a NovaTouch or 45g RealForce, and I even took out the silencing rings to maximize the tactility. So now that the tactility has been improved, the thing that bugs me most about this keyboard is that the SA keycaps I have on it are quite wobbly and sit at very inconsistent heights, which is just due to poor overall build quality. This Noppoo will never become a main driver, it will forever remain an R&D board of sorts (like it was a good platform for doing my first dome sheet swap, which by the way, was a pain...in...the...arse).

The reason I mention this here is because this means I have a 35g dome sheet that I don't need anymore. It is a full 108-key sheet, but for smaller boards, any unneeded portion can be easily cut off. If anyone would like it, I'll gladly send it to you for the cost of shipping.

[Stabilized]

So I did a dome sheet swap on my Noppoo EC108Pro, replacing the stock 35g domes with 45g instead.

This is something that I am toying with doing it to my Plum84 35g, so I have a couple of questions:
What made the process a pain in the arse for you?
I tried removing an o-ring on my Royal Kludge 55g but I found that it didn't really increase tactility at all (none really), do you notice much with your's off?
Also do you think that the height difference might be coming from misaligned domes? Is that possible on the Nano? I am not sure if I would bother removing the o-rings if it will result in keys of all different heights

[zslane]

What made the Noppoo such a pain were the four LED lights which you have to carefully slide into place through small holes in the plate. I also had to cut slots in the rubber sheet for them to come through as well. And since there are no side nubs on the Chinese version of the TMX sliders, you have to keep keycaps on them so they don't fall out of the plate while you take everything apart. The Plum doesn't have the same primitive LEDs as the Noppoo, so that's not an issue.

As for the silencing rings, I would just leave them in place if I were you. If you remove them, you'll be sacrificing valuable silencing for no tangible benefit. I would consider putting them back into the Noppoo except I don't want to take it apart again, and besides, I have better uses for them than in that sh**y keyboard.

[zslane]

My Plum Nano 75 family:

[drakche]

Sweet man. You need to share this babies more. They look really awesome!!!

Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk

[hexpyws]

Great pics!

[zslane]

The Nano Space Cadet becomes my work Nano, the Nano M075 becomes my home Nano, and the Nano Crossbones effectively becomes my backup Nano.

[shreebles]

Really lovely, zslane!

May I present to you, Dolch'd Plum Nano:

IMG_20170512_145912_.jpg (170.73 KiB) Viewed 7141 times

Proudly rocking the 35g weighted domes here, which feels exactly like I've hoped for and quite honestly offers tangible tactility unless you have really thick fingers

[Stabilized]

Proudly rocking the 35g weighted domes here, which feels exactly like I've hoped for and quite honestly offers tangible tactility unless you have really thick fingers

Yeah I absolutely love the 35g domes in my plum84, there is a definite tactility. I really thought I was going to hate the 35g domes after hearing how linear they were, but they have an opposite kind of force curve with the weight being at the top rather than the bottom. Thinking about a domesheet for my Topre board too