deskthority

Now that I’ve bought those nice Round 5 caps it’s time to think of a good home for them… That would either mean buying the upcoming CM Novatouch (assuming they actually make an ISO version) or mod my brown Filcos (TKL + numpad). While probably more expensive then a new keyboard modding have a certain geek appeal so I think I’ll go down that route.

I have tried out some clear switches and these seem to be the tactile ones I thought browns where so it will probably be either clears or ergo clears with linear mods. Need to test it out on a proper layout before I finally decide on spring weight though.

But before I start punishing the wallet even further by buying the materials I thought I do a reality check with you guys. I’ve googled ergo clear mods aplenty and I have found some tutorials and I think I know decently well what to do but:

• There’s plenty of desoldering – far more then I have ever done before. I have a decent temp regulated soldering iron and solder sucker/wick, but will I need something more industrial to pull this off? It’s 200+ soldering points that needs removal after all. I’m not in a hurry though.
• My soldering skills are most likely a bit rusty. Been a few years since the last electronics project. Is any of the (de)soldering work delicate/hard? The Cherry switches seem fairly sturdy and not too temperature sensitive, but I might be wrong here. The soldering involved seems fairly straight forward as well.
• Where do I get the springs if I want heavier springs then browns? I have seen that originative sells some (plenty were out of stock) but are there other sources?
• I have seen some people do small cutouts on the plate to make it possible to change springs etc without desoldering the switches. This seems like a really good idea if I notice the ergo clears getting stuck (weak spring/bad lube etc). How large do these little cutouts need to be and how hard is that steel plate Filco uses?
• Not exactly a critical part of the mod, but has someone tried to replace the insanely bright blue leds that Filco uses? I think a red led would go pretty well with the red escape keys of round 5 but that would most likely involve changing the voltage across the led.

Sorry for the massive wall of text. If I ever get this done I make it up with some pretty pics along the way...

Flintfish wrote:There’s plenty of desoldering – far more then I have ever done before. I have a decent temp regulated soldering iron and solder sucker/wick, but will I need something more industrial to pull this off? It’s 200+ soldering points that needs removal after all. I’m not in a hurry though.

A solder sucker will do fine for the switch contacts themselves, though at times you might have to add some fresh solder and heat / suck again.

The more problematic part is any jumpers or LEDs inside the switches. Those mostly have smaller holes and pads, making a solder sucker less ideal. You might have to leech out the solder using wick if you have lots of those.

Flintfish wrote:My soldering skills are most likely a bit rusty. Been a few years since the last electronics project. Is any of the (de)soldering work delicate/hard? The Cherry switches seem fairly sturdy and not too temperature sensitive, but I might be wrong here. The soldering involved seems fairly straight forward as well.

The switches aren't really heat sensitive - after all, they have some contact plates inside which can still absorb some heat. You should be fine if you just don't do such a bad job that you're lifting pads from the PCB.

Flintfish wrote:Where do I get the springs if I want heavier springs then browns? I have seen that originative sells some (plenty were out of stock) but are there other sources?

Either buy a "switch donor" board and open lots and lots of black or clear switches, or try to find more info on Korean spring group buys. Sometimes, people might sell a sew in the Marketplace forum, though that's just small numbers.

Flintfish wrote:I have seen some people do small cutouts on the plate to make it possible to change springs etc without desoldering the switches. This seems like a really good idea if I notice the ergo clears getting stuck (weak spring/bad lube etc). How large do these little cutouts need to be and how hard is that steel plate Filco uses?

I haven't got any experience with this, but you might want to check out the design specs of the Phantom plates.

There are also some other threads about this, e.g. http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/que ... t7381.html
Feel welcome to bump another thread (if its not terribly out of date) instead of starting a new one.

Flintfish wrote:Not exactly a critical part of the mod, but has someone tried to replace the insanely bright blue leds that Filco uses? I think a red led would go pretty well with the red escape keys of round 5 but that would most likely involve changing the voltage across the led.

I've seen lots of mods, ranging from replacing the LEDs with red or amber ones, to people putting some electrical tape over the LED or making it darker using a black permanent marker.

Flintfish wrote:Sorry for the massive wall of text. If I ever get this done I make it up with some pretty pics along the way...

Careful, we might keep you to that!

I desoldered my clears using a pump/sucker... even the jumpers/leds. Wasn't really a problem, just make sure to get a big pump

Flintfish wrote:I have tried out some clear switches and these seem to be the tactile ones I thought browns where so it will probably be either clears or ergo clears with linear mods. Need to test it out on a proper layout before I finally decide on spring weight though.

[*]Where do I get the springs if I want heavier springs then browns? I have seen that originative sells some (plenty were out of stock) but are there other sources?[/*]

If you have no clears to populate your board, you should buy directly from 7bit. If you have browns and only want heavier springs to make "anti ergo" browns (the opposite of ergo clears ) you can find someone who made ergo clears or ghetto reds and want to sell the rest or only for heavier springs you can find some MX blacks from old boards (those vintage MX Black springs are lighter than new clears and blacks but still heavier than browns, reds or blues) In this last solution if you purchase a broken board, you can also improve your desoldering skill

Well. Seems I will be able to pull this off. Thanks for the quick replies

In the end I went with 65g korean springs from Originative. Ordered some stickers and lube as well while I was at it. Should be a tad bit heavier then regular brown springs but lighter then stock clears and that feels like nice balance.

I also sent in an order to 7bit for a big bunch of clears and a few greens. Thinking about putting the greens on the lock buttons to simulate an actual mechanical switch being changed when you hit it. Also makes it possible to hear hitting caps instead of shift when your touch typing which might be nice.

Think I'll start working on the numpad first while waiting for the orders to come in. Should be decent small scale desoldering practise and if it all goes up in flames it's not a finacial ruin to replace it... Once I get going I'll put some pics up in the workshop but don't expect any soon. Work will consume most of this month sadly.

What is ergo clear with linear mods exactly?
I've changed springs to 62g korean from Originative and i don't like them very much to be honest, they feel very "rough"*, it's even more noticeable with the lighter spring.

Is it possible to reduce the friction somehow?

CJNE wrote:What is ergo clear with linear mods exactly?
I've changed springs to 62g korean from Originative and i don't like them very much to be honest, they feel very "rough"*, it's even more noticeable with the lighter spring.

Is it possible to reduce the friction somehow?

lubed?

I haven't tried lubing, not sure i want to go down that path, unless it's sufficient to do it just once?
But as i understand it you usually just lube the sliders and the spring ends?
I think the friction comes from the tactile bump mechanism.

Ergo clears and linear mods refers to ergo clears on the alphas, and blacks or reds on the mods. Different switches for different keys.

If ergo clears are too tactile for you, go brown. Browns have a different, smaller, tactile leaf.

Ah, i thought it was mods as in modification

The mods on my Ergodox are already brown, so maybe all brown is the way to go then...
I have all blue on my other dox and i much prefer the feel on that one but i don't want the click sound.

Muirium wrote:Ergo clears and linear mods refers to ergo clears on the alphas, and blacks or reds on the mods. Different switches for different keys.

Yes, that's what I meant. I seem to button out on the modifiers anyway so the heavy tactile bumb would just get in the way.

As for lube it's a one time thing I think. You use a pretty thick one for the stems so it should stay in place.

A non-clicky blue would definetly be a brown switch, but for me they're a bit light and the bump is a bit too small but thiS is of course all down to personal preference.

Yeah, i'll give "anti-ergo" a try before i decide, it could be the ideal combo for me.

This is offtopic I am sorry but when is it planned to release the Novatouch?

I think that CM said second-quarter of 2014. AFAIK, that's as specific as they got.

Check out this thread: Topre switch / Cherry MX compatible on page 8 we have

CM Bram wrote:I cannot confirm a release date yet... What I can say it will be the first half of 2014 (And then not just right at the end haha, do not worry )

That's the best info I have.