Help with ideal setup hunt

[magicrobots]

Hello!
I've been daydreaming about my ideal setup, and am curious if it's possible without building a bunch of stuff myself, which I'm not sure I have the understanding or resources to do.

I'm also totally new to this, so please forgive me if my terminology and knowledge are not up to standard. I'm here to learn!

Here's what I'm looking to build / purchase / discover:
Leopold FC660C Layout.
Leopold FC660C Topre Switches.
Per-Key RGB Lighting
Mostly Black Keys with Characters Transparent, so they can take the color of whatever I set the LEDs to.

That's about it ... does that seem ridiculous, or am I silly to think such a thing is a challenge?

Thanks for your input!

[nevin]

topre is one switch that has the least amount of aftermarket parts.

parts:
exists               - Leopold FC660C - case
exists               - REALFORCE RGB - sliders, caps, domes (only rgb topre i know of)
create/custom   - custom pcb to get the rgb backlighting into the Leopold FC660C form factor

[magicrobots]

Thanks!
So you're thinking I should just get the R2TLA-US4G-BK (https://www.amazon.com/RealForce-keypad-Less-LED-Backlit-REALFORCE-R2TLA-US4G-BK/dp/B07MC7LLTR) or something to harvest the domes/ caps / sliders from, and then try to find a PCB builder to modify or build from scratch something that fits in the OG case?

Would I really need the RGB domes/caps/sliders, or could I just get by with new Key Caps if I already have a couple FC660C to pull the rest of the mechanism from? I don't know how the lighting works - does it just need to shine up through the cap, or does it go all the way through the dome?

Can you recommend someone I could contact about the PCB?

Thanks again!

[biothermal]

Thanks!
So you're thinking I should just get the R2TLA-US4G-BK (https://www.amazon.com/RealForce-keypad-Less-LED-Backlit-REALFORCE-R2TLA-US4G-BK/dp/B07MC7LLTR) or something to harvest the domes/ caps / sliders from, and then try to find a PCB builder to modify or build from scratch something that fits in the OG case?

Would I really need the RGB domes/caps/sliders, or could I just get by with new Key Caps if I already have a couple FC660C to pull the rest of the mechanism from? I don't know how the lighting works - does it just need to shine up through the cap, or does it go all the way through the dome?

Can you recommend someone I could contact about the PCB?

Thanks again!

The problem from my perspective with what you're looking for, is that no one has been able to successfully create third-party/aftermarket topre-compatible PCBs. I'm fairly certain that just simply doesn't exist at this point. You might be better off looking for a board like the Volcano 660 (same layout, mx compatible, soon to be alps-compatible) and seeing if the creator could add per-key rgb. You would have to find a keycapt set, and of course switches that were up to your standards. So that's also quite the hefty task.

[nevin]

look at pics or tear down vid of the REALFORCE RGB, i said caps, sliders, etc... because they are clear/white parts, where the Leopold is all solid black parts (from what i can tell from the photos i can find) the light would not shine through these parts. the leds are on the pcb and not in the switch like older mx LEDs. you could use whatever domes you want. watch video, he eventually gets down to the PCB and the LEDs are clearly visible.

pcb could be QMK/TMK programmable, which would be a great thing to have a QMK pcb for the Leopold (if there isn't already an aftermarket controller replacement)

i can't offer any help with the per switch rgb stuff when creating a pcb from scratch (i don't have any boards with lights) but i'm sure some people here on the forum would be able to give assistance.

[magicrobots]

Thanks y'all you've given me a lot to think about!

This stuff is fun.

I'll keep folks updated on progress if I discover anything interesting.

[nevin]

just did a quick search... yes, there is a drop in alternate controller. and of course, created by our own wonderful Hasu
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88439.0

...as for the per switch RGB, that's a whole other story....

[magicrobots]

Oh wow great find! Thank you!
I'll keep an eye on that and think about the LED aspect...

[nevin]

if you find an clear/frosted case or a case with a clear layer/cutouts, you could do underglow instead of per key. would definitely be a lot easier to implement especially if you end up retrofitting lighting into the existing PCB.