Virtual Capstan

Thomas Cole tcole@cruzio.com
Sat, 21 Jun 2003 13:23:49 -0700


Richard,

I've been following your idea with interest. Noticing that the capstan 
and wippen heel stay in contact throughout the keystroke, my immediate 
reaction was, "Is this some kind of perpetual motion machine?" But as I 
think about it, it may be something more akin to power steering. It 
would be so if, in fact, the magnets effectively move the capstan closer 
to the balance pin, changing the key ratio.

What I wonder is whether magnet assist maintains its effectiveness as 
the speed of the keystroke changes. Specifically, if the magnetic field 
is more compressable than the wippen heel cloth, that the mechanical 
coupling will become more dominant on heavier blows and the magnetic 
assist will decrease. I don't know how this could be measured but I 
guess it would be easy enough to try it out.

What I find most interesting is that the DW is reduced without affecting 
the UW nearly as much. I think this is what separates it from 
magnetically "weighted" keys and "miracle wips".

Bravo.

Tom Cole


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