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Author Topic: cherry clear switch questions  (Read 1283 times)

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Offline N8N

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cherry clear switch questions
« on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 06:42:26 »
Before I get to the questions, here's why I'm asking - I'm seriously considering doing something really stupid.  I've decided that I really like Cherry clear switches but I would like to have a high quality, bone-standard ANSI layout 104 key keyboard as my "perfect board" that I can just sit on my desk and not obsess about or think "this is almost right, but I wish..." so I'm seriously considering buying something like a Filco and swapping out the switches to clears.

Now I've looked @ Mouser and Digikey and it appears that the only clears available are PCB mount w/ jumper (MX1A-C1JW) but for a NKRO board you'd want diodes correct?  Additionally I believe that the Filco uses plate mounted switches, yes?

so the questions:

- were there ever any plate mounted clears made, and where could one find them?  (only ones I have are in a Cherry POS board which are PCB mounted - but oddly enough, that board is supposedly NKRO so it should have diodes, yes?)
- if answer to above is no, are all cherry plate mount housings the same, and if so, is it just a matter of swapping the stems and springs from clears?  If not, which ones would be clear compatible?
- am I experiencing one of those moments of questionable intelligence, and should I just be happy with my POS board and/or get a filco and o-ring it and shut the heck up?

I'm going to o-ring my Compaq w/ browns to see how I like it, but I have a feeling I'm going to come back to clears...
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Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline bpiphany

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cherry clear switch questions
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 07:39:24 »
These are the droids you are looking for. The diodes are mounted next to the switches on the PCB, there are no solder pads for switch mounted ones.

And yes, all housings are the same. You could have opened them all up after desoldering and swapped the stems/springs.
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Offline N8N

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cherry clear switch questions
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 08:03:41 »
Ah...  I assumed that those were browns.  I see now that I read the wiki too quickly and that full part numbers were in fact listed.

so if all the housings are the same I could theoretically take a Filco and just swap stems and springs?

I've been searching and reading...  seems like there is no practical way to do that on plate mounts w/o desoldering the PCB though?

I ask the dumb questions because I have keyboards with PCB mounted Cherries, plate mounted Alps, but no plate mounted Cherries, so I can't actually see the problem w/ popping the top on a plate mount.  Seems like those keyboards are the expensive ones :/

I thought about just drinking the kool-aid and buying a Deck, but I'm not sure about the all-the-same-profile keys and the funky font.
« Last Edit: Sat, 16 July 2011, 08:09:39 by N8N »
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Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline The Solutor

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cherry clear switch questions
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 08:18:55 »
Quote
Now I've looked @ Mouser and Digikey and it appears that the only clears available are PCB mount w/ jumper (MX1A-C1JW) but for a NKRO board you'd want diodes correct? Additionally I believe that the Filco uses plate mounted switches, yes?


You can mount PCB mount switches on plate boards, you can

#A Break/cut the two nubs and remove the jumper or diode

#B Use just the stem/spring on the old switch

Quote
- were there ever any plate mounted clears made, and where could one find them?


Any clear G80 board is good for the purpose  Cherry G80-3000LQCDE-0, Q is what matter here Q = clear

http://www.preisroboter.de/search.php?search=cherry+g80&min=35&max=

In us likely ebay is better from any e-seller, but never say never...
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The problem with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are true  (Abraham Lincoln)

Offline bpiphany

  • Posts: 1033
  • Location: Stockholm, Sweden
  • bpiph is a special type of crazy. //mkawa
cherry clear switch questions
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 08:33:44 »
I though the tactile feels were browns too the first time I ordered from mouser. I'm not so fond of clears, but on the other hand I wouldn't have found out if I hadn't ordered them. I have managed to use most of them up anyhow.

Just popping the switches open doesn't work when plate mounted,, unfortunately. Be careful when de-soldering if you are going to reuse the same PCB. Read up on the de-soldering guides that are floating around here.
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Offline N8N

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cherry clear switch questions
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 10:23:43 »
I guess I'm not seeing *why* you can't pop the switch open

http://keyboardporn.com/images/leopold_preview/7_keys.jpg

doesn't look to me like the two-screwdriver method wouldn't work, even after examining the browns on my Compaq board

Guess I just need to buy a good keyboard and prove it to myself, eh?
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Filco Majestouch-2 with Cherry Corp. doubleshot keys - Leopold Tenkeyless Tactile Force with Wyse doubleshots - Silicon Graphics 9500900 - WASD V1 - IBM Model M 52G9658 - Noppoo Choc Pro with Cherry lasered PBT keycaps - Wyse 900866-01 - Cherry G80-8200LPBUS/07 - Dell AT101W - several Cherry G81s (future doubleshot donors) (order of current preference) (dang I have too many keyboards, I really only need two)

Offline The Solutor

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cherry clear switch questions
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 16 July 2011, 10:32:21 »
On plate mounted board you can't because the square hole blocks the 4 tabs that keep the switch's housing assembled.

On pcb mounted switches you can easily open the switches w/o desoldering.
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The problem with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are true  (Abraham Lincoln)
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