buttons that don't register well

If you're having problems with the hardware of a DM41X or DM42, post about them here.
cesar
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:10 pm

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by cesar »

mcc wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 6:18 am
Hi Cesar,

only to check whether I have understood your hack correctly:
You put this two pieces/stripes of post-it above the left or the right
dome of the ENTER key (looking at the DM42 from the front side
and the calculator oriented with the usb pointing away from you) ?

Thanks a lot for the hack!
(Before knowing the DM42 I would have never thought that I would
ever hack a pocket calculator with a piece of post-it... ;)

Cheers
Meino
In my case it is a thickness of 2 post-it sheets on the left side of the ENTER key. Under "EN" :-)
Interestingly, with this small distance the key works perfectly, it can be pressed at any point (centered, left, right at the top as well as at the bottom) and the key makes a perfectly perceptible click.
If you look at the picture, I even used a little graphite to stain the key at the bottom, to mark the exact position of the key on the post-it and it was perfectly centered.
Regards!
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mcc
Posts: 277
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 5:10 am

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by mcc »

cesar wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 12:11 pm
mcc wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 6:18 am
Hi Cesar,

only to check whether I have understood your hack correctly:
You put this two pieces/stripes of post-it above the left or the right
dome of the ENTER key (looking at the DM42 from the front side
and the calculator oriented with the usb pointing away from you) ?

Thanks a lot for the hack!
(Before knowing the DM42 I would have never thought that I would
ever hack a pocket calculator with a piece of post-it... ;)

Cheers
Meino
In my case it is a thickness of 2 post-it sheets on the left side of the ENTER key. Under "EN" :-)
Interestingly, with this small distance the key works perfectly, it can be pressed at any point (centered, left, right at the top as well as at the bottom) and the key makes a perfectly perceptible click.
If you look at the picture, I even used a little graphite to stain the key at the bottom, to mark the exact position of the key on the post-it and it was perfectly centered.
Regards!

Hi Cesar,

thanks a lot for the detailed description of your EN-hancement :) of the keyboard of your DM42!

Cheers
Meino
DM 42 - SN: 00373, Firmware release v.:3.22. / DMCP 3.24. as compiled by SwissMicros
cesar
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:10 pm

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by cesar »

mcc wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 2:31 pm
Hi Cesar,

thanks a lot for the detailed description of your EN-hancement :) of the keyboard of your DM42!

Cheers
Meino
Let me know if the EN-hacement post-it works on your calculator :-)
Regards
dove
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:35 am

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by dove »

Got my calculator back today. So far so good, it feels much improved. The keys feel much more consistent across the board and basically all have an acceptable tactile click. The 0 . and R/S are still a little weaker than the rest, but I think they've improved. The +, which I was most bummed about, is now by far the clickiest key. Very happy about that. If anything that's the most inconsistent key in that sense, but I much prefer it this way than what it was. I don't think there's any way I'm going to miss presses on it now.

The ENTER key has improved, but it's not a perfect fix. The left side is still mushy and doesn't click, but I now feel a slight tactile bump and it has a little more movement than I remember. The right side has retained it's strong, though stiff, click. But, the big improvement is that the center of the key now has a much much better click and feel. Overall I can definitely live with it.

The bottom left corner of the case is still loose which makes presses in that area feel awkward, and if anything the affected area may have gotten larger, but I'm fine going back to my fix of adding some padding in that corner.

Michael was awesome to deal with, and I'm thrilled that he was willing to undo my fuck ups and address my other biggest nitpicks. Getting this stuff just right is clearly tricky, but SM definitely seems interested in doing right by their customers.
Rmollov
Posts: 37
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 7:55 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by Rmollov »

And you are happy with all that?
IMHO SM's keyboard is far from acceptable for otherwise brilliant calculator.
The combination between keys layer and registering board (domes) does not work well.
If further development finds working solution I'd gladly pay for replacement of both.
Currently DM42 is not in use here in favour of 20+ years old HP32SII where key press means registering without checking the display or trying to measure/regulate the force or position when hitting a key.
Not good enough, SM.
gduncan
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 3:18 pm
Location: Colorado, USA

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by gduncan »

dove wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 6:21 am
Got my calculator back today. So far so good, it feels much improved.
Glad to hear the good news! Thanks for posting the update.
dove wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 6:21 am
The ENTER key has improved, but it's not a perfect fix.
At least it's a bit better. I was skeptical that it could be fixed 100%. I'm not sure what the solution is here.
Rmollov wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 11:22 am
If further development finds working solution I'd gladly pay for replacement of both.
I would also gladly pay for a replacement if there is some improvement. But overall, I'm extremely happy with the DM42 and use it exclusively. The issues with the keyboard that I have are fairly insignificant when considering the functionality of the calculator as a whole.
dove
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:35 am

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by dove »

Rmollov wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 11:22 am
And you are happy with all that?
IMHO SM's keyboard is far from acceptable for otherwise brilliant calculator.
The combination between keys layer and registering board (domes) does not work well.
If further development finds working solution I'd gladly pay for replacement of both.
Currently DM42 is not in use here in favour of 20+ years old HP32SII where key press means registering without checking the display or trying to measure/regulate the force or position when hitting a key.
Not good enough, SM.
Happier than I was for the month I went without the calculator. Happier than I was with the calculator before it got sent back.

In particular, I feel this has addressed the issue of having to check the display for me, but I guess we'll see. That's definitely a major sticking point.

I'd probably still pay for an improved key system, but it's good enough now that I don't feel the urge to keep taking it apart and screwing with it.
giubeca
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:22 pm
Location: Italy

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by giubeca »

Rmollov wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 11:22 am
And you are happy with all that?
IMHO SM's keyboard is far from acceptable for otherwise brilliant calculator.
The combination between keys layer and registering board (domes) does not work well.
If further development finds working solution I'd gladly pay for replacement of both.
Currently DM42 is not in use here in favour of 20+ years old HP32SII where key press means registering without checking the display or trying to measure/regulate the force or position when hitting a key.
Not good enough, SM.
I agree with Rmollov. Keyboard has to be redesigned to be at the level of this brilliant calculator.
In addition, I think Keys are even too edgy to have a good feeling.
DM42 S/N: 00073, HP-41CV, HP-42S, HP-15C, HP-48GX, HP-48G+, HP-38G
Logan
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Jul 09, 2017 1:03 am

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by Logan »

I took apart one of my DM42s and flexed the keys a bit. Put it back together and the stiffness is all but gone. I'm going to do it on the second one and make a video on it but I'm very pleased with the improvement.
DM42 SN:00210
DM41X SN:00014
Thomas_ER
Posts: 192
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 3:19 pm
Location: Germany

Re: buttons that don't register well

Post by Thomas_ER »

Logan wrote:
Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:14 pm
I took apart one of my DM42s and flexed the keys a bit. Put it back together and the stiffness is all but gone. I'm going to do it on the second one and make a video on it but I'm very pleased with the improvement.
that would be fine!
many thanks in advance!
[ HP48/49/50/42S/WP34/HP Prime/ DM42 (#00185+00318) ]
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