Scythe USB-1FS-2 USB Foot Switch Version II - Single

I have purchased several of these footswitches over the years and have had the chance to see them perform in harsh industrial environments over long periods of time. I was a bit wary of going with these (as opposed to industrial grade footswitches or footswitches with serial connectors) but these footswitches have exceeded my expectations. Out of about 30 in the field, none have failed. These are high quality components that you can be confident will pass the test of time. The pedal itself is on the small size but nearly all footswitches are these days. The one issue I had was with the programming - in a handful of instances, they "lost" their programming (they forget which key on the keyboard they need to emulate and must be reprogrammed) but this takes just a minute to fix and anyone can do it provided they have the driver. In short, an excellent product that I keep buying when the need arises.

Upon receiving this product I plugged it in immediately and Windows detected it as a "USB Composite Device". I popped in the disc and waited for Windows to read it so I could copy off the files as the manual says, however that never happened. It seems like Windows just can't read the disc at all. Sits there making an occasional whirring sound in my disc drive but Windows just thinks there's no disc at all. So I downloaded the files off of Scythe's FTP server instead and tried running from there, but all the software does is tell me that there's "no usb hidkb connected!" In lieu of that, this pedal appears to do absolutely nothing out of the box and I cannot run any of the software to configure it. So it turns out this pedal is totally useless to me.

The foot pedal itself is made very well and feels solid when used, it is also a front push pedal so it does not require you to rest your foot on the pedal, which both were a selling point to me. Overall, it does not feel like it will break anytime soon (time will tell). I feel like having read the reviews and being tech savvy that I would be able to easily sidestep some of the issues others were having with this device and Windows 10. There is no doubt that the software included is basic and all around not very intuitive. The biggest issue, however, is getting the software to recognize the device is even connected and that ultimately resides in the way it is recognized by Windows. When you first plug this device in, Windows will recognize a USB Composite Device and a HID Keyboard Device. If you try to use the software included at this time, it will tell you no device is connected (super frustrating). However, if you remove the device called HID Keyboard Device (preferably the one that isn't your actual keyboard :) ) by entering your settings -> devices -> bluetooth & other devices, clicking on HJID Keyboard then remove and then try the device, trhe software should now recognize the device and allow you to change the keys. Again, retain the USB Composite Device and remove the HID keyboard when first plugged in (or any subsequent time).

Would have returned it, but was too slow. The push requires real concentration, It's a real pedal, with lack of feedback though and not a switch that you can just tap. Build as a tank though, so if you ok with it being hard to press, this thing outlasts all of your electronics.

The product was sturdy and seemed well-made. Then I looked at the USB port... never seen one so warped. The plastic molding at the bottom of the port was wavy and blocked it from being plugged in. Also, the packaging was a little unprofessional (the driver disc was burned on a CD-R with no label). I was excited to implement this in a photo booth I'm building, but it would not work. Not sure if it was the faulty USB plug (which I carefully attempted to fix) or an internal wiring issue, but the computer would not recognize it. Nothing in Device Manager, no indications of any device connected. However, Scythe was great about the return.

It does what it says, and works well. Basically, it allows you to assign any keystroke or mouse click to the keyboard. I have it set to hit the Spacebar whenever I press the foot pedal (needed for another program that I can't use my hands). However, the manual looks like it was originally written in Chinese, and then translated by google translate into English. The manual is almost worthless. Basically, from what I've figured out, you copy the 3 files on the CD to somewhere on your computer. Then run the .exe file to configure it. RIGHT click on the blank area, hit the key you want assigned (Space-bar in my case), and then hit the Save button. Once it's set up, it works great. Setting it up is the hard part.....

The Switch itself is functionally fine. The software is another monster in its own... I should have listened to others and avoided it, but I thought I was pretty tech Savvy being in the networking industry and having multiple certifications under my belt for various things... but nope, this software is just complete and utter garbage.

Works perfectly but it's digital. Do not buy if you're expecting an analog input. That being said, I use it as a hotkey for splitting while speedrunning, and it has some seriously high build quality. I've seriously stomped on this thing before, and it still works great after about a year of abuse.