[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=106648.0][img width=400 height=140]https://i.imgur.com/lQSCdM5.png[/img][/url]
Make the pcb use gh60 mounting points and it’ll be easier to sell. Many 60% cases will fit that, so it opens things up.
Also, ignore the idea that most people want customs. The mega survey has shown each and every year that most people _do not_ purchase or own customs. The vast majority have 1-2 keyboards that cost less than $200 (with caps).
Also, as a pcb designer myself, would love to see the footprints you make in kicad. I would love to support the switches, but I haven’t done research on them yet.
I would surely buy, if only I had a pcb with ISO layout... where to get one? :(
not sure you can make a universal (ansi/iso) pcb, but can't you make a iso only version? there are already regular hot swap ISO pcbs available, for instance the HS60: https://mechboards.co.uk/shop/parts/hs60-hotswap-pcb/Show Image(http://groupbuys.mechboards.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/JPEG_20180404_181638-1.jpg)
Make the pcb use gh60 mounting points and it’ll be easier to sell. Many 60% cases will fit that, so it opens things up.
Also, ignore the idea that most people want customs. The mega survey has shown each and every year that most people _do not_ purchase or own customs. The vast majority have 1-2 keyboards that cost less than $200 (with caps).
Also, as a pcb designer myself, would love to see the footprints you make in kicad. I would love to support the switches, but I haven’t done research on them yet.
Make the pcb use gh60 mounting points and it’ll be easier to sell. Many 60% cases will fit that, so it opens things up.
Also, ignore the idea that most people want customs. The mega survey has shown each and every year that most people _do not_ purchase or own customs. The vast majority have 1-2 keyboards that cost less than $200 (with caps).
Also, as a pcb designer myself, would love to see the footprints you make in kicad. I would love to support the switches, but I haven’t done research on them yet.
I agree with this. While "I" would like to see PCBs for customs, because thats what I use, the real potential is in making PCB's for stuff like Ducky's and Anne Pro's. You pull that off and that would be extremely exciting. Even people in the customs scene like myself would dabble in that I think. Like if I could get an optical PCB for my GMMK or Drop Ctrl I would jump right on that.
Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
You didn't even know what firmware was until yesterday, I'm not sure if you are capable of making a PCB.Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
The existing one are cheap but I am going to do a groupbuy for a different material and since I can’t afford nor store enough switches to continuously stock and resale I feel a group buy is the smarter option also I don’t plan on doing the switch group buy nor working with a vendor until I finish the pcb.
Chill dude no need to throw sinks...You didn't even know what firmware was until yesterday, I'm not sure if you are capable of making a PCB.Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
The existing one are cheap but I am going to do a groupbuy for a different material and since I can’t afford nor store enough switches to continuously stock and resale I feel a group buy is the smarter option also I don’t plan on doing the switch group buy nor working with a vendor until I finish the pcb.
Dont pay comments like that any attention, cause when the pcb is here it doesn't really matter what people thought.Chill dude no need to throw sinks...You didn't even know what firmware was until yesterday, I'm not sure if you are capable of making a PCB.Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
The existing one are cheap but I am going to do a groupbuy for a different material and since I can’t afford nor store enough switches to continuously stock and resale I feel a group buy is the smarter option also I don’t plan on doing the switch group buy nor working with a vendor until I finish the pcb.
Dont pay comments like that any attention, cause when the pcb is here it doesn't really matter what people thought.Chill dude no need to throw sinks...You didn't even know what firmware was until yesterday, I'm not sure if you are capable of making a PCB.Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
The existing one are cheap but I am going to do a groupbuy for a different material and since I can’t afford nor store enough switches to continuously stock and resale I feel a group buy is the smarter option also I don’t plan on doing the switch group buy nor working with a vendor until I finish the pcb.
What an idiotYou didn't even know what firmware was until yesterday, I'm not sure if you are capable of making a PCB.Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
The existing one are cheap but I am going to do a groupbuy for a different material and since I can’t afford nor store enough switches to continuously stock and resale I feel a group buy is the smarter option also I don’t plan on doing the switch group buy nor working with a vendor until I finish the pcb.
What an idiotYou didn't even know what firmware was until yesterday, I'm not sure if you are capable of making a PCB.Opticals are already so cheap so why would there need to be a ****ing group buy for them? At least partner with a company
just don't later try to make them sign an illegal contact and threaten to sue them. ok don't make this the ori drama again please
The existing one are cheap but I am going to do a groupbuy for a different material and since I can’t afford nor store enough switches to continuously stock and resale I feel a group buy is the smarter option also I don’t plan on doing the switch group buy nor working with a vendor until I finish the pcb.
Sent from my GM1911 using Tapatalk
I don't really care much about the 'custom' scene, that's not important for me.
But I want more adoption for optical switches now that I can see that they are very affordable, so I appreciate posts like this. There's definitely potential for them imo.
Haven't tried a whole bunch of optical switches myself though, but the ones I tried were very smooth. You've already assured me that long term reliability won't be an issue, so that's my biggest worry gone.
any news on plate/case designs? as someone already pointed out, it should be compatible with Poker style holes, as 90% of the 60% custom cases
any news on plate/case designs? as someone already pointed out, it should be compatible with Poker style holes, as 90% of the 60% custom cases
Gateron Inks Confirmed!!!! :D
Gateron Inks Confirmed!!!! :D
Good **** man.
Genius move for Gateron. Why fix the leaves on inks when you can just remove them completely?
....
Q3. With the existing PCB that are on the market can I put them in a standard case?
A3. maybe it depends because I have three 60% optical keyboards and only 1 really is capable of matching the screws to any case and you might need to get a custom plate that will support plate mount stabs or just file the corners as the plate is long.
[/size]
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Q3. With the existing PCB that are on the market can I put them in a standard case?
A3. maybe it depends because I have three 60% optical keyboards and only 1 really is capable of matching the screws to any case and you might need to get a custom plate that will support plate mount stabs or just file the corners as the plate is long.
[/size]
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I'm interested in the Gateron optical switches as well as the Gateron ink switches.
It would be great if this GB (still IC, I know) can include a whole kit that includes a set: PCB that fits the usual 60% case, plates, and stabs - if the stabs need to be mounted on the plate instead of on the PCB.
YAAA YEEET Test pcb works with QMK the future is on its way!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
Great! Plate mount stabs would be a big bummer!....
Q3. With the existing PCB that are on the market can I put them in a standard case?
A3. maybe it depends because I have three 60% optical keyboards and only 1 really is capable of matching the screws to any case and you might need to get a custom plate that will support plate mount stabs or just file the corners as the plate is long.
[/size]
...
I'm interested in the Gateron optical switches as well as the Gateron ink switches.
It would be great if this GB (still IC, I know) can include a whole kit that includes a set: PCB that fits the usual 60% case, plates, and stabs - if the stabs need to be mounted on the plate instead of on the PCB.
Great point and that is what we are trying to do there won't be stabs because we are gonna support any 60% plate that has standard screw holes. I plan on making it that you can chose to get the pcbs and/or plate and maybe run the switches at the same time since they are confirmed. I will have the finalized plan once I get all the vendors, but thank you for the suggestion!
YAAA YEEET Test pcb works with QMK the future is on its way!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
I know it's still in IC form, but this is the sort of good news we all needed!
Great! Plate mount stabs would be a big bummer!....
Q3. With the existing PCB that are on the market can I put them in a standard case?
A3. maybe it depends because I have three 60% optical keyboards and only 1 really is capable of matching the screws to any case and you might need to get a custom plate that will support plate mount stabs or just file the corners as the plate is long.
[/size]
...
I'm interested in the Gateron optical switches as well as the Gateron ink switches.
It would be great if this GB (still IC, I know) can include a whole kit that includes a set: PCB that fits the usual 60% case, plates, and stabs - if the stabs need to be mounted on the plate instead of on the PCB.
Great point and that is what we are trying to do there won't be stabs because we are gonna support any 60% plate that has standard screw holes. I plan on making it that you can chose to get the pcbs and/or plate and maybe run the switches at the same time since they are confirmed. I will have the finalized plan once I get all the vendors, but thank you for the suggestion!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
YAAA YEEET Test pcb works with QMK the future is on its way!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
YAAA YEEET Test pcb works with QMK the future is on its way!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
One more important request:
South-Facing LED slot please.
This company that produces all those GK61/GK61s and SK61/SK61s have North-Facing LED switch orientations in all their PCBs. As we all know, North-Facing switch orientation will have interference to Cherry profile keycaps on Row 3, i.e. the keystroke will be stopped by the impact of underside of Cherry profile keycaps with the switch top housings, instead of by bottoming out of the switch stems inside the switches. This problem is there regardless of there is an LED installed or not on a switch, as the contact points are on the switch top housings, and therefore I expect this possible interference too for gateron optical switches that feature a very similar top housing to their non-optical counterparts.
So please design a PCB with south-facing led (lens) design and get rid of all those North-Facing orientations especially in the middle rows.
YAAA YEEET Test pcb works with QMK the future is on its way!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
One more important request:
South-Facing LED slot please.
This company that produces all those GK61/GK61s and SK61/SK61s have North-Facing LED switch orientations in all their PCBs. As we all know, North-Facing switch orientation will have interference to Cherry profile keycaps on Row 3, i.e. the keystroke will be stopped by the impact of underside of Cherry profile keycaps with the switch top housings, instead of by bottoming out of the switch stems inside the switches. This problem is there regardless of there is an LED installed or not on a switch, as the contact points are on the switch top housings, and therefore I expect this possible interference too for gateron optical switches that feature a very similar top housing to their non-optical counterparts.
So please design a PCB with south-facing led (lens) design and get rid of all those North-Facing orientations especially in the middle rows.
That is a great point, although we dont plan on having leds in this run I would like to let you know that there is an advantage to optical switches since they dont have pins you can easily just flip the switch to have to light pass through both north or south facing. You also gave me a good idea I will do some test after this run and put leds on both sides that way its friendly to either way. Hope this is good news to you!
YAAA YEEET Test pcb works with QMK the future is on its way!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
One more important request:
South-Facing LED slot please.
This company that produces all those GK61/GK61s and SK61/SK61s have North-Facing LED switch orientations in all their PCBs. As we all know, North-Facing switch orientation will have interference to Cherry profile keycaps on Row 3, i.e. the keystroke will be stopped by the impact of underside of Cherry profile keycaps with the switch top housings, instead of by bottoming out of the switch stems inside the switches. This problem is there regardless of there is an LED installed or not on a switch, as the contact points are on the switch top housings, and therefore I expect this possible interference too for gateron optical switches that feature a very similar top housing to their non-optical counterparts.
So please design a PCB with south-facing led (lens) design and get rid of all those North-Facing orientations especially in the middle rows.
That is a great point, although we dont plan on having leds in this run I would like to let you know that there is an advantage to optical switches since they dont have pins you can easily just flip the switch to have to light pass through both north or south facing. You also gave me a good idea I will do some test after this run and put leds on both sides that way its friendly to either way. Hope this is good news to you!
Optical switches can be installed either in a north-facing or a south-facing orientation? That's great to hear.
One thing though is that in the Gateron optical switch top housing where there was a slot for LED installation, now there is a thick lens for making the SMD LED light shines through and focuses better from below the switch:Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/oD5eU5U.jpg)
https://imgur.com/gallery/EnGb0ad (https://imgur.com/gallery/EnGb0ad)
According to some reviews, these switch-top housing lens make the SMD LEDs shine much better.
If the PCB has SMD LEDs (which SK61, SK61s, SK64, SK64s all already have SMD LEDs) and are all north-facing LEDs, and that the user just flip the switches to be artificially south-facing to avoid Cherry profile caps (e.g. GMK) keycap interferences -- the light will then just pass through the wrong part of switch-top housing, which is not the focusing lens but through the Gateron logo at the top.
North-facing LEDs with optical switches installed in a south-facing orientation - it may still work but we can see that's not the best...
I guess this is the idea, so you can use the switch north or south facing:Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/MEDmFuP.jpg)
either the way, at least for me is useless since I don't like to use leds ;D ;D
I really like the idea and gonna keep following it very closely.
Already filled out the form as well. Though I just want to make sure I understand the part about the pcb correctly:
the 60% pcb is already guaranteed and therefore not included in the options. Is that correct? (bc that’s really my thing ^ㅂ^)
Really interested to see where this goes, just wanted to share my thoughts.
On paper, Gateron optical should be ideal for a gaming daily driver (smoothness, no debounce, MX keycaps). It would be game changing to put together a nice optical keyboard.
I am really glad you are working on a PCB, thats a huge piece. A QMK compatible, HHKB/Tsangan style PCB would be perfect for me personally. If I had one, I would put it into an MX hotswap case with an integrated plate (where the PCB screws into the plate).
I couldn't find a datasheet for Gateron optical switches, so I bought an iGK61p and a bag of silver switches to check them out. As I suspected, there is absolutely nothing to keep the switches in the PCB, it is going to be entirely on the plate to keep the switches in place. The good news is that it looks like the distance from the top of the plate to the bottom of the switch housing is the same as it is for MX switches, so I think there is a good chance MX integrated plate cases will work well. I just hope the standard poker pcb mounting holes will be sufficient, because I don't think you can afford to have your PCB flex much with optical.
And of couse I would try the new switches too! Also if you really want to go above and beyond with the PCB you could include an optional JST connector for a usb daughter board, so it is compatible with some high end MX cases.
Hopefully some of this was worthwhile. Keep up the good work!
any updates on the optical inks as well?Yes, They are gonna be making samples but they are busy right now due to new products releasing, but we have made actual progress.
Do you happen to have any updates? ;)
Just a small bump to let yall know this project is alive,
1st we are nearing the final version of the PCB just taking a lot longer due to MCU shortage
2nd The switches are confirmed and protos are made just waiting to be able to show you on pcb I have posted photos of them in the discord if you wanna see
3rd expect the GB to happen around end of Q3