Mushy/sticky stabilizers

General
1

On my UHK V2, the lower-right Ctrl key has always been sticky/mushy. (The Shift keys are slightly affected too.)

I have tried to fix this 2 different ways:

  1. Removed, cleaned with isopropyl, lightly lubed the wire and housings with Krytox GPL-205 G0, reinserted. Only helped a little.
  2. Bought some replacement Durock brand stabilizers on Amazon, hoping they would have slightly different tolerances, and improve the situation. This failed miserably. With those stabilizers, the key just goes down and never comes back up.

What are my options at this point? Just keep trying more brands of stabilizers until one works?

2

I had a new idea immediately after posting: to try a different keycap.

I have a second UHK keycap set, so I tried its Ctrl key. This also incrementally improved the situation (even more than lubing), but it’s still not a total fix.

So, this may be a multi-causal problem, with stabilizer and keycap tolerances interacting.

Perhaps even tolerances on the plate cut-out are having an effect, too?

Still open to ideas about how to rectify this 100%.

3

Sorry to hear about this issue!

When did you purchase your UHK, and what’s your order id? This shouldn’t be an issue these days.

Please try lithium grease on stabilizer wire and housings and let us know your findings.

4

Wanted to chime in and say that I’ve been struggling with the same issue. Primarily with the Shift keys (both sides of the board).

I find I have to keep the key cap only 30-40% depressed onto the stabilizers/switch such that it’s raised a bit higher than other keys. This allows it to have proper travel & it bounces back up (though still sluggish). This is with two different sets of shift key caps as well (original, and I bought an extra set from UHK’s site).

If I fully and evenly depress a key cap onto the switch and stabilizers, it will not come back up at all. This is the case with the original stabilizers, and new stabilizers - both lubed and unlubed. Various levels of lube do affect it, but never solves it.

If I use different switches that are known to have a heavier spring, this helps alleviate it slightly due to the upward pressure the switch has - but it’s marginal.

My UHK V2 was purchased in May 2022, Order #: 12940

5

I don’t have lithium grease, but I have Krytox, which I have tried, and makes little difference. I could potentially get some, but from what I’ve read it’s not extremely different from Krytox.

Don’t know the order id (bought secondhand), but it was from a very early production run.

This sounds very frustrating. Mine aren’t as bad as yours.

6

I’ve talked with my colleague, mechanical engineer extraordinaire, who agreed with your assessment.

Guys, please try the following points to resolve the issue:

  • Exchange the switch with another one.
  • Exchange the stabilizer with another one.
  • Remove the stabilizer, swap its left and right housings, and put it back.
  • Exchange the keycap with another one.
  • Use a rasp to file the metal plate area where the stabilizers make contact. This point takes the most effort and probably also the most effective one.

We’re looking forward to your findings!

7

After receiving some new key caps from yuzu, this problem was greatly reduced having changed nothing else about the stabilizer setup (it wasn’t even removed or housings swapped). It’s still somewhat noticeable in the shift and control keys, but it’s much better and I don’t really notice it in daily use unless I’m paying close attention.