I need to replace a keyswitch on my //e.
It is an SMK, but I see there are two kinds (at least for a standard key, which this is).
Short stem or long stem...
How do I know which one I need to buy to replace it?
Is there something I can measure? Do I have to take the old one out and take it apart to measure?
I see both kinds for sale on e-bay, but want to make sure I get the correct one.
Thanx
The "stem" is the plastic shaft that moves when the key is depressed. It is part of the plastic piece called the slider.
Whether the stem is long or short, upright or angled, only matters insofar as it determines the location of the keycap.
The different stem shapes can be identified simply by looking at them. For example, in the following image, the only "long stem" is the second switch from the left. You can see that it is the only type where the cylindrical section is taller than the cross mount section atop it.
http://deskthority.net/wiki/images/b/be/SMK_J-M0404_selection.jpg
These names are all unofficial because they are not based on the manufacturer's catalogs.
KeyTypes.png
Thanx,
Since the difference isn't that much and it's tricky to tell from the pics, it looks like I will have to just buy the one I "think" it might be and if it isn't the right one, I know it's the other one. ;-)
I was just hoping there was some info out there that said something like "the SMK short stem is 5mm tall from the top of the base compared to 7mm for the long stem variant" (those are just random numbers I threw out).
I'll make my best guess based on those pics and see if I get it right! ;-)
Thanx again!
You should absolutely be able to tell from the picture I posted above. If you are not sure, just take out a couple of the keycaps and post a picture taken from a small angle horizontally. Here are mine - as you can clearly see they are Alps Long Stem:
IMG_20241207_093824807_HDR.jpg
I can absolutely tell the difference between the ALPS and SMK from the pics. ;-)It's the difference betweeen the long and short stem that is less convincing.I have an idea based on the pic, so I can make a better guess. Which is better. ;-)
If you ignore the heads (the part that goes into the keycap) the short stems a shorter than they are wide and the long stems are longer than they are wide. That is one sure way to tell them apart.