I've been looking for a nice backlit keyboard for a long time now and have been intrigued by the Deck boards since I first found this site.

However, after doing some research and even going to the shops to try some boards out for myself (you can find almost anything in Tokyo), I'm finding the Cherry MX LINEAR switches to be a deal breaker.

Without some kind of tacktile feedback, the board feels dull and lifeless to me. I'd still like to get a Deck, and this is the only thing holding me back.

Is there an option (or mod) for NON-linear switches for the Deck Legend boards? Do you guys have near future plans to offer something with a bit more feedback? Surely, Cherry must offer LED switches with a bit more "spring"...

I just bought a keyboard with Cherry MX tactile (blue) switches, as I also prefer the feedback and lower operating force. It's not backlit or 1/10 th as cool, but personal preference makes it the better everyday choice.

Anyways, I was considering swapping out the linear switches for the tactile switches, if it seemed like an easy job, but the switches are physically different (due to the Deck housing an LED). It may be possible to swap the internal components without swapping the switch housing itself, but that seems like a big job and I'm not sure if it would even work.

http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/switches/key/mx.htm

Please view the above page giving more details about Cherry MX switches. Unfortunately we do not have any intentions of making a Deck board with tactile switches. However, you should be able to get a tactile version that will fit your Deck board if you so choose to mod it that way. Currently we use model MX1A11NW switches, the circuit board layout is the '1 pole w/LED' version you see on that page as well. They do have two tactile switch versions - one makes a click and one doesn't.

Also FYI - changing out the switches is easy (but time consuming) if you can solder/desolder. Changing out the switch internals is pretty much impossible so I recommend not trying it unless you want a broken keyboard.

Mmmm...very interesting. Thank you very much for the info.

Since they do in fact offer LED switches with tactile feedback, constucting one would seem do-able...it's just a matter of swapping out the switches. However, actually finding a place to buy the switches is proving nearly impossible. Also, doing so would nearly double the total cost of the board.

Considering the popularity of keyboards with some kind of tacktile feedback, it's unfortunate that this type of switch wasn't chosen.

Perhaps in the next revision?

In a word . . . why?

Currently we have no cost-effective way to do this. We will consider it for the future but do not expect it anytime soon.

UPDATE: For more information on this subject please see this thread.