Hi, I just received my brand new F62 today, thank you, it’s great! I followed the manual for setting it up and I got to installing the solenoid. Initially it would “ping” when activated via Fn + Spacebar + T but would not work afterwards. I opened up the case again, I think it was a clearance issue.
Now it works… sort of. It pings loudly (because I extended the screws to the maximum, like in the video), but it lags big time. I’m not an extremely fast typist, I’m usually between 80-95 wpm, but when I’m not typing extremely slow the solenoid is not actuating on some keystrokes (the fast ones).
I tried playing around with the dwell time (Fn + Spacebar + += or Fn + Spacebar + -_) but this does not seem to impact the lag I am experiencing.
I’m kind of bummed, it was an international shipment so for me it was very expensive (the solenoid and its driver, plus shipping, plus duty taxes). Is there anything I can do to fix the solenoid response time (other than type slowly, which I feel I already am doing)? I should probably mention that I haven’t done anything with the firmware and haven’t tried to configure the layout via QMK or whatever (I’m still trying to get to grips with the default layout where you press Fn + <keys> to get arrow keys and Home/End etc., so I’m not attempting to configure anything before I’m sure I can stick with the layout or before I’m sure it just won’t work for me).
Best regards,
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra,
The solenoid can certainly keep up with 100+ WPM typing but it requires sufficient power from your computer USB port. Have you tried switching ports? Have you tried it on another computer? Is it plugged directly into the computer or into a KVM switch or USB hub? Please make sure it is directly plugged into a port on the computer.
If you played around with the dwell time I recommend erasing the EEPROM and reflashing the firmware to reset what you have adjusted. I recommend the updated Vial firmware linked to in the manual (the boards are factory flashed with QMK firmware).
Sincerely,
Joe
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your reply!
The keyboard is plugged directly into a physical USB port of my laptop. I only have 2, so I tried both, even removing what I had plugged in the other USB port. I didn’t see any noticeable difference between physical USB ports or physical USB ports and a USB hub.
I cannot easily test on another computer, but I will try your advice for erasing the EEPROM and flashing the Vial firmware. I’m crossing my fingers, I’ll let you know how it went.
Best regards,
Alexandra
Just coming back here to type this message from my F62 with the solenoid on 🙂
I must have messed up something when trying to adjust the dwell time. I followed your advice (thank you!) and reflashed the firmware. First QMK and it was OK, the solenoid was finally keeping up with my typing. Then I went ahead and flashed the Vial firmware, launched the app and edited my layout so that it matches my key splits and my preferences.
I will certainly come back to buy another keyboard from this website, I am so intrigued by beam springs 😀
Best regards,
Alexandra