First off, I had read horror stories of the micro USB connectors being damaged. It looks as though, at some point, Matias reinforced this with a huge block of plastic which seems to be screwed directly to the PCB:
First off, I had read horror stories of the micro USB connectors being damaged. It looks as though, at some point, Matias reinforced this with a huge block of plastic which seems to be screwed directly to the PCB:
It's called a strap, I bielive it was actually added to the Micro-B USB spec after the newer reinforced Micro-B connectors proved to still be too failure prone. It was a stopgap before we got Type-C.
Straps proved to be effective but were only used for a year or two before most higher end cell phones went Type-C. The Galaxy S4 (and possibly the S3) had the reinforced Micro-B, the S5 and S6 had a strap and proved to be much better while the S7 was Type-C.
Very cool that the PCB has an explanatory table on the back.
Was it tricky to solder those resistors in? Looks like it would have been quite difficult (or I just suck at soldering).
We've talked about that before. A giant hunk of plastic would also be called a strap as well? I thought they were usually pretty thin metal. I have seen metal ones even on USB type A connectors in some newer Chromebooks, type C too.Typically they are but maybe this was cheaper for them. I've never seen a plastic one either but if I could make my own in plastic for far less, I would.
We've talked about that before. A giant hunk of plastic would also be called a strap as well? I thought they were usually pretty thin metal. I have seen metal ones even on USB type A connectors in some newer Chromebooks, type C too.Typically they are but maybe this was cheaper for them. I've never seen a plastic one either but if I could make my own in plastic for far less, I would.
In manufacturing everything "becomes a hammer".
Got a 3d printer, everything is a 3d printing job.
Got a woodshop, every problem can be solved in wood.
Got a metal shop, every problem is a metal working problem.
In this case they had access to injection molding and so they solved it using that. It's not always the best way to deal with problems but it's usually the first thing you reach for.
Interesting info, the Erge Pro has dipswitches under the spacebar to tweak the layout but this is nearly as good. Great to see the preciously maligned socket reinforced too and if the worst does happen it's easier to remove to replace the port than soldered metal.
Thanks for documenting this :thumb:
Do all of the Ergo Pros have that, or was there a redesign in this regard? I thought I read somewhere that they were made programmable somewhat recently.
Matias posted this image in one of the big threads. The switches are located under the right command key (mac)Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/EUMQ8Cp.png)
This really makes me appreciate the design of Matias boards. Basically nobody is ever going to look at those, and from what you've told me, they basically also don't service them, but they made sure to put in a ton of effort into this stuff.
I've also been subtley worried about the longevity of the board. Not that it feels bad or anything, I was just wondering how long it was going to last, and it seems like their investment into the switch design isn't just to bring the lifespan up to par with Cherry, but it was actually part of a larger plan to create an exceptionally well made keyboard. I love it.
Any places they cheaped out that you've seen?