This board won't even have a caps/scroll lock LED.
So the one at keycon didn't, but I've heard conflicting reports on the existence of lock lights on this board.
Yea i think 2-3 LEDs are too expensive, forget about it, you're only paying 230$ for a board they can't spare the ca$h to add LEDs. You'll have to add them on your own, unless they make the PCB LEDs-ready, which i don't think they would...
Just in case you are being sarcastic and you think they're skimping out here:
If you want them to purchase a few LEDs and throw them in the box, sure it's cheap. But to design them into the board is not. You know that you can't put an LED through the rubber like you can put one through a Cherry switch. The design is still possible (as you can see from that photo), but it might be prohibatively expensive. We're already commenting on the cost as it is, it'd be a shame if it were even more expensive.
I understand but hell, it's a one-timer! Do it once then it's done! Your circuit is powered, it's not wizardry to add an additional component. I understand Topre switches design is being a little limited but since they created an additionnal MX compatible stem, why didn't they go FULL MX compatible since MX can handle LEDs, just like you said?
Look at the keycaps they defenetly look LEDs ready, at least backliting would justify using cheap abs caps on a 200$ pricing... and all it seems to bring as new is a plastic workarround-ish stem! Why couldn't they add actual electronics to their stem?
I mean even if i do not like backliting, i still consider newer boards should have it. Since it currently doesn't exist, that would be an incredible market advantage to add backliting to a Topre board!
To sort of revise what I just said, because I looked into it further. Topre switches only have 2 legs, no matter what, whatever, not important I guess.
But what is important is the design of a topre switch cannot properly support an LED(Without changes to the switch), just look at a mockup of one... Anywhere near the switch and there is a rubber dome down there, you can't just put a LED there.
To get the led on the switch, it has to be put off to the side of the slider, away from the rubber dome. As a result, the topre switch housing has to be modified if you want to backlight it in the same way that the realforce does on the caps lock, control, and num lock keys. As I said though, that makes the switches pretty wobbly and I would like my realforce much more if it has no leds on it.
The only way I can think that you could get away with backlighting a topre board without doing that is to somehow have light above the plate, something like how people do with EL wire mods, where they string it out all along the plate between the keys, but that would provide more of a underglow than anything else, not enough to actually light up keys.
I really don't see why a board has to be backlit just because it is "expensive"
I think in the end you should probably look more into topre switches and the design if you think that just because the slider now has a MX mount to it, that it should somehow be led compatible. The actual design of the board (PCB, Slider Housing, Plate, etc) is pretty similar to a realforce or any other plate mounted topre keyboard, the ONLY real difference is that the slider now has an MX stem mount.
