First impressions and 'ENTER' key

[BestofTimes]

My DM41X arrived yesterday and it was a nice surprise because it was delivered to a neighbour with a similar address by mistake first.

Compared with my early model DM42 I find the keyboard a lot less hard work and that is great news. I have a feeling the (all important) ENTER key has been redesigned sice the early DM42. On the DM42 I feel I have to be carefeul to hit the key in the middle or it may not register. THE DM41X feels to have two switches under it so it's actually better tapping the edges and hitting the middle can feel odd because it activates both.

Is there one swith → two switch redesign below that top surface?

[grsbanks]

Nope. There are also two switches behind the DM42's ENTER key.

What's changed is the shape of the underside of the keys and the domes used on the foil.

[bernouilli]

Hello,
I noticed this strange behaviour too. Sometimes, when I press the ENTER key in the middle, I can feel the activation of both switches, one after the other. I never noticed this on dm42, even though the ENTER key also have 2 switches. Maybe because the keyboard on dm42 is less sensitive.
I know that the original hp41 has only one dome/switch for the ENTER key:
https://www.keesvandersanden.nl/calcula ... inside.php

Maybe this can be modified on the next batch ?

[isene]

Does it actually result in a double-entry of the ENTER key, or is it just the "feel" that is on the line here?

[rprosperi]

Does it actually result in a double-entry of the ENTER key, or is it just the "feel" that is on the line here?

It's only the feel. The low-level f/w reconciles it so it presents as a single [Enter] press.

As grsbanks noted, this is not a totally new design, the DM42 used the same key matrix, but the softer feel and also more audible click, make it "feel" more pronounced now. It is a different feeling than the other keys, but not a bad or strange feeling. Also, if you press [Enter] to one side or the other, you may only feel one click, but it registers correctly any way you press it (left, center or right).

[isene]

Goodie. My concern with the DM41X beta was the functionality of the keyboard, not the feel. I simply cannot use a calculator that misses keystrokes or registers double-clicks.

Has anyone experienced any of this with the DM41X production units yet?

[bernouilli]

The new keyboard is really great. Even better than the dm15L’s. The click sound is nice and the feeling click too. Except for the Enter key when you press it in the middle and you press it hard enough to get both switches activated.
But this doesn’t register the key twice.
From what I used it, I didn’t notice that there was missing keys or keys that are registered twice.

[gmac42]

Goodie. My concern with the DM41X beta was the functionality of the keyboard, not the feel. I simply cannot use a calculator that misses keystrokes or registers double-clicks.

Has anyone experienced any of this with the DM41X production units yet?

I have two DM41X production units (one is intended as a gift, but I still tested both of them, just to be sure).
One unit is completely fine, but on the other one, the XEQ key is bad. If I press it lightly, it will click but not register the keystroke. If I press it a bit harder, it works. I have written to Michael about this yesterday - I think I'll probably have to send it back to get it repaired or replaced.
EDIT: I got impatient and just cleaned under the metal domes and now it works perfectly.

To me, the old keys felt and sounded a bit more like the original HP keys than the new ones do, but they needed noticeably more force to press. The new keys have a more pronounced, slightly harder sounding click, but they also need much less force, which makes them much more pleasant to use compared to the old ones, in my opinion.
Also, it should be noted that I can provoke the described "click-without-registering" behaviour much more easily on my old units - on the new ones it's nearly impossible to press with just enough force to click but not enough to make electrical contact, even if you try really hard.