Mechanics of Typing Hardware

As you strive towards more professional typing speeds, the physics of the keyboard may become as critical as the speed of your fingers. Each keyboard has different \”Key Travel\” (the distance a key moves down) and \”Actuation Force\” (the weight needed to register a press). Knowledge of these typing hardware mechanics is critical for Lesson 47, as it may help you prepare for a variety of different setups, which is especially important in government exam scenarios as you have no control over your typing hardware.

Understanding the Effects of Bottoming Out

\”Bottoming Out\” is the term used to describe the habitual behavior of pushing the key all the way down to the plastic base. For most mechanical and higher-level membrane keyboards, the character has already registered due to the key press reaching the \”actuation point\” which means that the key press is registered. If you press more than what is necessary, you are literally wasting time on each key press. During a 5-minute test, all that time can lead to a significant reduction of the words you are able to type per minute. In this lesson, try to practice a \”Feather Touch\” and press the keys as lightly as needed to see the character appear on the screen. This will result in having a much lighter workload on your fingers and give you the ability to return to the key much faster than \”neutral\” position.

Adjusting to Membrane Resistance

While studying for many competitive examinations, you will have to use standard membrane keyboards. These types of keyboards can often feel \”mushy\” and take significantly more effort to type on compared to a modern mechanical keyboard. If your fingers have only trained on a light laptop keyboard, they will tire out quickly on a heavy exam board. Every part of typing h/w should have included \”resistance conditioning\”. That is, every so often, use an older keyboard. This will improve the muscular strength in your fingers to endure a pace of 5 wpm, even when the typing h/w is less than optimal.\

The Importance of Tactile Feedback

The \”click\” and \”bump\” you receive when a key is pressed is called tacticle feedback. This feedback, in the complex Remington-form, is your brain’s way of confirming that a movement has been successfully performed. Without tacticle feedback, it’s easy to clog up the flow of typing by looking at the screen to verify that a key has been pressed. In lesson 47, try to focus on \”feeling\” the keys. It’s crucial that you develop an awareness of the moment the character \”breaks\” and is registered to ensure that you are not distracted during typing. The more you practice, the more you will develop a strong sensory connection to the hardware which will enable you to type quickly and easily.