From: Kevin Day <Kevin@kevux.org>
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2026 17:11:40 +0000 (-0500)
Subject: Update: To 2026/03/11 news article regarding improved switches.
X-Git-Url: https://git.kevux.org/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=49dd536ed49848da0ad72d2ad19e74ae9dfee67e;p=kevux.org-website

Update: To 2026/03/11 news article regarding improved switches.
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@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@
           <div class="nav-item block">
             <a href="news/2026/2026_03_11-gateron_red_pi_500_plus.html#shh_clickity_clack" class="nav-text link"><div>Shh! Clickity Clack</div></a>
           </div>
+          <div class="nav-item block">
+            <a href="news/2026/2026_03_11-gateron_red_pi_500_plus.html#update_even_better_switches" class="nav-text link"><div>Update, Even Better Switches</div></a>
+          </div>
           <div class="nav-item block ellipses">
             <a href="news/2026/2026_03_11-gateron_red_pi_500_plus.html#nav-expanded" class="nav-text link open" title="Expand Menu">…</a>
             <a href="news/2026/2026_03_11-gateron_red_pi_500_plus.html" class="nav-text link close">Collapse Menu</a>
@@ -308,7 +311,70 @@ sudo rpi-keyboard-config leds save
               </div>
             </section>
 
-            <p class="p">
+            <section id="update_even_better_switches" class="section">
+              <header class="section-header header separate">
+                <h2 id="update_even_better_switches-title" class="section-title h h2">Update, Even Better Switches</h2>
+              </header>
+
+              <div class="section-content">
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  This section is an update to this article on <strong class="strong">2026/03/16</strong>.
+                  I have ordered some new switches, called <a href="https://www.gateron.com/products/gateron-ks-33-low-profile-red-silent-20-mechanical-switches-set?VariantsId=11458" class="link external">Gateron KS-33 Low Profile Silent 2.0 Mechanical Switch</a>, and I found those switches to be far superior for my purposes.
+                </p>
+
+                <img src="images/news/2026/2026_03_11/08-gateron_pi_keyboard-600.png" alt="Updated PI 500+ Keyboard with some keys removed showing Gateron Silent Red switches." title="Updated PI 500+ Keyboard with some keys removed showing Gateron Silent Red switches." class="image content center margin-1rem border-2px">
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  At this point I have 3 different switches that I have experienced.
+                  The first are the original, and very annoying, (grey colored) KS-33 Low Profile Blue switches.
+                  The second are the ones that I bought to closely match the original as much as possible (minus the noise), the KS-33 Low Profile Red switches.
+                  The third are the much more preferred, KS-33 Low Profile Silent 2.0 Red switches.
+                </p>
+
+                <img src="images/news/2026/2026_03_11/09-gateron_pi_keyboard-444.png" alt="All three different switches, side by side." title="All three different switches, side by side." class="image content center margin-1rem border-2px">
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  The image shows that the first two have this thick, extended, surface area on the left and right side of the colored button part of the switch.
+                  The third completely lacks this extended surface area on the button part of the switch.
+                  There is also slightly less material, especially around the corners, of the third switch.
+                  Not only does this reduce the weight, but I suspect that this also contributes to the reduced sound.
+                </p>
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  I soldered the new switches in place and then I tested them out.
+                  Wow!
+                  They are far more quiet.
+                  In fact, I think they are quieter than the switches of the previous, non-mechanical, keyboards.
+                  I suspect the rubber o-rings that I manually added to the underside of the key caps does help some.
+                  Those rubber o-rings did not, however, help enough in reducing the sound for the previous switches.
+                </p>
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  But wait, there is more!
+                  I still had some light in the power button <abbr title="Light Emitting Diode">LED</abbr> leaking through despite the electrical tape added between the <abbr title="Light Emitting Diode">LED</abbr> and the switch.
+                  I discovered that there is a second <abbr title="Light Emitting Diode">LED</abbr> on the other side of the keyboard.
+                  Adding electrical tape there also greatly reduced the light.
+                </p>
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  These new silent switches have a black base.
+                  This black base, of course, further reduces the light.
+                  I can clearly see improvements regarding the reduced brightness when using the caps-lock button.
+                  I intentionally left the caps-lock <abbr title="Light Emitting Diode">LED</abbr> unblocked so that I can easily tell when that annoying button is switched on.
+                </p>
+
+                <img src="images/news/2026/2026_03_11/10-gateron_pi_keyboard-600.png" alt="Underside of the keyboard with the new switches added but not soldered in." title="Underside of the keyboard with the new switches added but not soldered in." class="image content clear center margin-1rem border-2px">
+              </div>
+
+                <p class="p">
+                  This recent update to my keyboard has left me feeling warm and fuzzy.
+                  No loud noise and little to no annoying lights.
+                  The <strong class="strong">Raspberry PI 500+ Keyboard</strong> is now worth using on a regular basis.
+                </p>
+            </section>
+
+            <p class="p clear">
               <strong class="strong">Kevin Day</strong>
             </p>
           </div>