Author Topic: [GB] R3 Purple Zealio Switches (100% complete)  (Read 170003 times)

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Offline Zeal

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[GB] R3 Purple Zealio Switches (100% complete)
« on: Thu, 21 April 2016, 22:03:59 »
Hey guys, thanks for all the support the past 2 rounds. Sold out of majority of options sooner than expected, so that's why R3 came up ahead of schedule! :)

R3 should also be a quick one, with fulfillment scheduled for mid end of June. I've also gotten a bunch of 4 pin RGB LEDs custom made in waterclear that are low profile that do not interfere with Cherry profile keycaps! The goal is to push more aftermarket 4-pin RGB LED PCBs in the wild. 

Order Zealios here>>> http://zealpc.net/collections/group-buy-pre-orders/products/zealio
Order 4 pin RGB LEDs here>>> https://zealpc.net/collections/group-buy-pre-orders/products/4-pin-rgb-led-through-hole


  • Zealio stems are now a different shades of purple (lighter to darker) to make it easier to differentiate!
  • 65g Zealios with transparent tops + milky white bottom housings in plate mount are now available. These switches can withstand the high heat of factory wave soldering and are super friendly for beginner solderers!


« Last Edit: Tue, 05 July 2016, 00:30:32 by Zeal »
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline Zeal

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Reserved for updates.

April 21, 2016
GB Opens!

May 31, 2016
Switches under production

June 13, 2016
Manufacturing complete, Packing

June 21, 2016
Switches shipped by Gateron

June 24, 2016
Switches received. Packing.

June 29, 2016
Update regarding Canada Post strike happening on July 2, 2016. Only affects international customers that chose "Canada Post Int'l 6-10 Business Day" shipping option.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=81520.msg2208429#msg2208429

June 30, 2016
Everything shipped, minus the remaining 22 orders via Canada Post. Thanks for joining the GB folks<3

July 3, 2016
Remaining 22 orders were shipped as the strike hasn't officially started.

« Last Edit: Tue, 05 July 2016, 00:30:18 by Zeal »
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline kawasaki161

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Well, there goes my wallet again.

Also, thank you for the awesome support.

Offline xondat

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A lot sooner than expected, thank you.

Offline GiveCandyy

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R3 already? that was very, very quick. gotta get dem zeals
I wish it wasn't soon

Offline ika

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No changes from R2 to R3?

Offline Phenix

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Is it also possible to buy just the stems?/if so how. Much?
Winter is coming.

Offline ccarlitos2

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What pcbs support the 4pin RGB?


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Offline Saiph

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No changes from R2 to R3?
Ya, he mentioned there's no changes somewhere else. This round is to keep up with the demand since R2 extras sold out so quickly.

Offline Zeal

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No changes from R2 to R3?

No changes this round.

Is it also possible to buy just the stems?/if so how. Much?

Sorry, but stems are not being sold separately.

What pcbs support the 4pin RGB?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are a few makers designing their own PCBs atm, one is open source'd and posted here:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=81026.0
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline krisst

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Thanks Zeal. Just bought more to prepare for VE.A, at least that's the plan. Or I could feelios the filco...

Offline Elrick

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Or I could feelios the filco...


Do the Filco, we want to see that  :thumb:

Offline empnero

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Wow, just used my R2's and R3 is here already.Unfortunately I already have like 400 other types switches laying around or bundled with kits. So I think I have to have some self control for a change.

Maybe only 100 or so. I should get one pack if 100 67's to try. I only had 65s last time and loved them, but would like to try the 67s. Oh maybe 78's too, probably should try those out. Zeal's description of similar force with cusioned bottom sounds nice. Just a hundred of each. No more than 300 all together between the two. Unless I get more 65s, but 400 total is where I draw the line. Couldn't do more than 450. See, I have discipline.
Ducky Zero 2108SZ MX Browns (x2)

Ergodox Infinity MX Clears, white LEDS, Black translucent legends/blank black modifiers

Winkeyless b.mini 65g Zealios, white LEDs, Frosted case/RBG Diffuser. White caps/GMK Electric Bluegaloo Modifiers + matching b.pad.

OLKB Atomic w/ blue gats.

Razer Orbweaver Stealth gamepad, Razer Orange switches (similar to MX browns)

Offline popkorn62

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dis too fast
==============
https://mekibo.com/

Offline feralfoo

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78g for my future ergodox  ;D
HHKB Pro JP + Hasu controller, Realforce RF87U55G, G60 Retro, QK65

Offline LunarisDream

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Offline Jin

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zealios..... i want it but ETA is June......

Offline Elrick

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zealios..... i want it but ETA is June......


Didn't you know yet, that time really flies here on Geekhack Central  :thumb: .

The receival period shall arrive sooner than you think........

Offline mastermachetier

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So you are telling me these are compatible with the 4 pin leds ?

Offline Zeal

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So you are telling me these are compatible with the 4 pin leds ?

That's correct. The 4 pin RGB LED listing shows them inserted inside. :)
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline myotherteeshirt

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Hey zeal, I put 65g zealios Inn my orbweaver, and they seem to 'catch' a little when I bottom out - is this an issue with the R1s that are rectified with R2 or can I fix it with lube?

I don't have this issue with the blackwidow, maybe because I mainly use the orbweaver for gaming and the blackwidow  for typing?

It seems to only happen if the following two conditions are met:
1. Your switches are installed LED side "up" (facing away from you)
2. You bottom out heavily

I'm not exactly sure which part is touching that causes that slight feel at the bottom, but some people have reported that it goes away after some wear in. Most custom keyboards have the LED facing down, so it isn't an issue for a fair amount of builders.

Hey Zeal - would these LEDs help with (reduce) the catching?

Offline Zeal

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Hey zeal, I put 65g zealios Inn my orbweaver, and they seem to 'catch' a little when I bottom out - is this an issue with the R1s that are rectified with R2 or can I fix it with lube?

I don't have this issue with the blackwidow, maybe because I mainly use the orbweaver for gaming and the blackwidow  for typing?

It seems to only happen if the following two conditions are met:
1. Your switches are installed LED side "up" (facing away from you)
2. You bottom out heavily

I'm not exactly sure which part is touching that causes that slight feel at the bottom, but some people have reported that it goes away after some wear in. Most custom keyboards have the LED facing down, so it isn't an issue for a fair amount of builders.

Hey Zeal - would these LEDs help with (reduce) the catching?

It's not really the LEDs catching, more so the orientation of the switch. A bit of lube generally fixes what you were experiencing.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline myotherteeshirt

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It's not really the LEDs catching, more so the orientation of the switch. A bit of lube generally fixes what you were experiencing.

That's interesting. Which part is causing the catch and where would i have to apply lube to fix this?

Offline Zeal

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It's not really the LEDs catching, more so the orientation of the switch. A bit of lube generally fixes what you were experiencing.

That's interesting. Which part is causing the catch and where would i have to apply lube to fix this?

That I haven't figured out yet. :/ I do know that lubing the legs and the top part of the legs (rectangular area) reduce the feel you experienced, which eventually wears in over the course of a week-month.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline tofgerl

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I wonder about the RGBs... I don't actually have a PCB to install the switches I'm ordering on yet, but at the same time I don't know of a good board supporting RGBs yet.
Any tips? I need TMK and compatible with Pok3r cases and ANSI 60% layout, but otherwise I am wide open. Don't need a plate, since I'm using a really thick metal case, but if the board supports the ANSI layout any plate should fit either way.

Offline Data

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It would be totes amazeballs if the Input Club K-Type supported these Zealios with RGB LEDs.

Offline Phenix

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really thick metal case

What case are you using?
Winter is coming.

Offline tofgerl

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This one...
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/60-keyboard-case

I have no idea what it's called. Let's just call it Steve.

Steve is red :)

Offline dragonpower2000

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Yo! zeal, how do yoou get the leds to work, if it is as simple as conecting them together and then just putting 4 cables into the teensy, otherwise maybe not...

Offline Zeal

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Yo! zeal, how do yoou get the leds to work, if it is as simple as conecting them together and then just putting 4 cables into the teensy, otherwise maybe not...

You'll definitely need a few controllers that are more powerful than the teensy if you were to build a hand wired 4pin RGB keyboard...It would also require some serious tidiness!

As of right now, there are very few 4pin RGB PCBs out in the wild. Majorit of them come from "gaming keyboards" with a few 60% and 100% ones in China. Hoping that this year will change and we see more 4 pin RGB LED PCBs.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline Wilba

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You'll definitely need a few controllers that are more powerful than the teensy if you were to build a hand wired 4pin RGB keyboard...It would also require some serious tidiness!

Well, it's kind of possible with a Teensy, if you use LED driver ICs to handle the LED matrix.

As of right now, there are very few 4pin RGB PCBs out in the wild. Majorit of them come from "gaming keyboards" with a few 60% and 100% ones in China. Hoping that this year will change and we see more 4 pin RGB LED PCBs.

Zeal stocking these RGB LEDs has inspired me to work on some PCBs to support them. Unfortunately, they cause conflicts for overlapping switch footprints, i.e. supporting winkey and winkeyless layouts on the same PCB. That wasn't really a problem for 2-pin LEDs.



Offline dragonpower2000

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Yo! zeal, how do yoou get the leds to work, if it is as simple as conecting them together and then just putting 4 cables into the teensy, otherwise maybe not...

You'll definitely need a few controllers that are more powerful than the teensy if you were to build a hand wired 4pin RGB keyboard...It would also require some serious tidiness!

As of right now, there are very few 4pin RGB PCBs out in the wild. Majorit of them come from "gaming keyboards" with a few 60% and 100% ones in China. Hoping that this year will change and we see more 4 pin RGB LED PCBs.

any links to nay pcbs avavible right now?

Offline tofgerl

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You'll definitely need a few controllers that are more powerful than the teensy if you were to build a hand wired 4pin RGB keyboard...It would also require some serious tidiness!

Well, it's kind of possible with a Teensy, if you use LED driver ICs to handle the LED matrix.

As of right now, there are very few 4pin RGB PCBs out in the wild. Majorit of them come from "gaming keyboards" with a few 60% and 100% ones in China. Hoping that this year will change and we see more 4 pin RGB LED PCBs.

Zeal stocking these RGB LEDs has inspired me to work on some PCBs to support them. Unfortunately, they cause conflicts for overlapping switch footprints, i.e. supporting winkey and winkeyless layouts on the same PCB. That wasn't really a problem for 2-pin LEDs.
Because of the lack of space?

Offline MOZ

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I would not recommend a 4-pin RGB hand wired project, this is because it would be crazy to handle. If you want RGB and handwired, then use those WS2812B strips, each of those LEDs has an incorporated controller already to handle the the colors.

You could have all the LEDs connected to 4 pins on the Teensy, this will however allow you top have only one color for all the LEDs as there is no way to address the LEDs individually.

Products using 4 pin RGB LEDs handle the addressing and setting the value for each RGB channel using,
1. Individual controllers for each LED, like the WS2811 and then just chain the output from one LED controller to the next one's input. So only one pin goes from main MCU to the first LED controller.
2. Single or multiple dedicated LED controllers, depending on LEDs supported by controller and number of LEDs in use, eg IS31FL3732 supports upto 32 RGB and connecting each channel from the RGB in a matrix to the controller. The controller can communicate with the main MCU via I2C/serial/etc depending on IC.

Offline tkpresent

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Hi Zeal, do you have any GB plan for Zealios linear switches?
I know the purple is great but I'm a big fan of linears.
- HHKB
- Varmilo VA68M
- Octagon V2
- TX 87
- ZZ96
- TX1800

Offline Zeal

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Hi Zeal, do you have any GB plan for Zealios linear switches?
I know the purple is great but I'm a big fan of linears.

The demand isn't there for linears. :/ I still have a few hundred remaining 67g Linear Zealios on my site.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline tkpresent

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Hi Zeal, do you have any GB plan for Zealios linear switches?
I know the purple is great but I'm a big fan of linears.

The demand isn't there for linears. :/ I still have a few hundred remaining 67g Linear Zealios on my site.

I agree with that the demand isn't that much.
I'm pretty hesitating with linear and purple ones. ;D
- HHKB
- Varmilo VA68M
- Octagon V2
- TX 87
- ZZ96
- TX1800

Offline Wilba

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Zeal stocking these RGB LEDs has inspired me to work on some PCBs to support them. Unfortunately, they cause conflicts for overlapping switch footprints, i.e. supporting winkey and winkeyless layouts on the same PCB. That wasn't really a problem for 2-pin LEDs.
Because of the lack of space?

When switches overlap (for handling winkey/winkeyless, etc.) the 2-pin LED pads may only overlap on one pad, so you can just swap the orientation of the LED. When it's 4-pins, they may overlap on two pads. The same trick of swapping the LED orientation doesn't work as well. You end up with a blue cathode pin in a pad intended for a green cathode. It's not impossible, just messier to deal with - solder bridges to switch the pad's connection in the matrix, or firmware customization based on the key layout.
 

Offline dsm_mike

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Any plans for clicky switches in the future?

Offline Zeal

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Any plans for clicky switches in the future?

Idea has been scrapped for the time being due to cost issues. There is a mod you can do which I call "Zealiostotles" which uses Aristotle stems inside Zealio housings. The tactile bump is very satisfying, and the click is super crisp.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline TeeBaginDragon

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Hi guys, I am pretty new to the mechanical keyboard world and have a question on these switches.  In the future I plan to get a hot swappable keyboard and want to put some Zealios in it; that being the case, do I need to buy the PBC mount or plate mount switches?  Thanks!
CODE Clears 87

Offline Zeal

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Hi guys, I am pretty new to the mechanical keyboard world and have a question on these switches.  In the future I plan to get a hot swappable keyboard and want to put some Zealios in it; that being the case, do I need to buy the PBC mount or plate mount switches?  Thanks!

They'll both work. You'll most likely have to cut off the extra plastic legs on PCB mounted switches, whereas Plate mounted won't need any modding.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline TeeBaginDragon

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Hi Zeal, thanks for the quick reply!  I'm assuming that taking the PBC legs off is a pretty easy process; just go at it with a razor blade and smooth it out after?
CODE Clears 87

Offline Zeal

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Hi Zeal, thanks for the quick reply!  I'm assuming that taking the PBC legs off is a pretty easy process; just go at it with a razor blade and smooth it out after?

Flush cutters work best. :)
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline TeeBaginDragon

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Hi Zeal, thanks for the quick reply!  I'm assuming that taking the PBC legs off is a pretty easy process; just go at it with a razor blade and smooth it out after?

Flush cutters work best. :)

Ahh cool, thanks for the advice! I will be joining the GB later tonight; I'm excited for these!  :thumb:
CODE Clears 87

Offline Jedi

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I don't need this.  I don't need this.  I don't need this.
F**k it, I need this.

Zeal, does the 4pin LEDs work with the ErgoDox and does the ergodox support RGB?
« Last Edit: Mon, 02 May 2016, 00:13:15 by cswanic »

Offline MOZ

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Zeal, does the 4pin LEDs work with the ErgoDox and does the ergodox support RGB?

Ergodox (Even the infinity) doesn't support RGB LEDs

Offline roostrc0gburn

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can anyone give a description in the difference in feels between mounting zeals on a steel plate vs aluminum?

Offline Zeal

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can anyone give a description in the difference in feels between mounting zeals on a steel plate vs aluminum?

There's more to switch feels than just plate material. It also depends on how the plate is mounted.

General guideline is aluminum for tactile, steel for linear. That doesn't mean that you can't use different feeling switches in the other plates however.
        "Bird have wing, bird will fly. Henry had wings.  Henry now fly." -Sent

Offline roostrc0gburn

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can anyone give a description in the difference in feels between mounting zeals on a steel plate vs aluminum?

There's more to switch feels than just plate material. It also depends on how the plate is mounted.

General guideline is aluminum for tactile, steel for linear. That doesn't mean that you can't use different feeling switches in the other plates however.

right. i know it's apples and oranges, just thought someone might have an invariable comparison. i've got a steel plate and an aluminum plate for Octagon V2, and i was basically considering zeals on aluminum, linears on steel. thanks for the input!