SwissMicros Calculator Forum

FHSPSU67 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 4:21 am

Are the characters on the keys painted bright yellow rather than orangish as displayed on this site? Thank you!

The characters on the keys are white. The characters above the keys are bright yellow. They are definitely not orange.

FHSPSU67 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 4:21 am

Are the characters on the keys painted bright yellow rather than orangish as displayed on this site? Thank you!

To me, (and this is subjective) the shift-key and bezel legends are definitely yellow. To my eyes, the color in the photo does seem more orange than an actual device, but opinions on this vary, due to differences in people's eyes (and opinions). Tweaking colors is annoyingly difficult and it's essentially impossible to satisfy everyone.

Some folks will think the blue [Alpha] key is too light, others will find it perfect, one person thought it was too dark. Many of these comments are really comments on how this key compares with the blue on the front face of the keys on their own 41C (which of course is "correct") but in truth the blue lettering on those varied over the 10+ years of production, and there has also been fading to larger or lesser extent depending on exposure and use, so trying to precisely match that color is not only pointless, it's impossible.

One aspect of the new keyboard design that has not received much discussion yet is that the yellow [shift] key and blue [Alpha] key are fully molded in that color and not simply having it's top painted with the appropriate color. In the 41X Beta machines these were black keys (like all the others) with painted tops, which quite oddly was easily worn off on all yellow keys, but never worn at all on all Alpha keys. It was quickly clear this was not sustainable, and SM made the decision to use solid colored key to ensure consistency, long-life and user satisfaction.

Dan Simpson wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 5:06 pm

FHSPSU67 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 04, 2020 4:21 am

Are the characters on the keys painted bright yellow rather than orangish as displayed on this site? Thank you!

The characters on the keys are white. The characters above the keys are bright yellow. They are definitely not orange.

Yes. Sorry for my inability to convert my thoughts to text, that is what I meant. Thank You!

Got my 42 a couple months ago, and the 41X just arrived today.

First impression is it is slightly easier to press, and with a more audible click. However, I feel the 42 is actually closer to the 41CX when it comes to the keyboard because it is almost silent.

I think if you have a late built 42, the keyboard is just as good. They are different, but which one is better is purely a personal choice.

I got my 42 in May and its a little better than the 41 beta but the new 41 is a real improvement.

At what serial number were keypad improvements implemented?

jsquaredb wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 14, 2020 5:25 pm

At what serial number were keypad improvements implemented?

I would also like to know.

Units don't go out with serial numbers in sequential order, so there is no date/serial correlation.

The first DM42 units with new keyboards were received at the same time as the first DM41X production units and started shipping around the same time, maybe a bit earlier.

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of the old and new DM-42? Sorry if that topic already exists and I missed it.

reavy wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 30, 2020 4:37 pm

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of the old and new DM-42? Sorry if that topic already exists and I missed it.

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