I think I was confusing when I said "top" and "bottom" of the PCB, sorry about that. I meant the top side of the PCB, like the side the switches are mounted to, not the top of the PCB, like near the function row. The way the MX Mini mounts the SMD controller is what I had in mind when doing my poor job of describing it.
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Sorry, I was replying in a hurry. I understood your suggestion, and have an MX Mini PCB for reference. In that form factor the spacebar is pretty much the only place to mount an SMD controller. And the top
side of the PCB could work, but I have not thought about that because SMD isn't in this version at all.
The reason I mentioned the top
row was because that is where the Phantom mounts the Teensy, and properly so to reduce the interference of the larger form factor controller. Filco mounts it above the arrow cluster, but the Phantom has switches there. And the GH75 doesn't even have a "there" there.
So I wanted to put the controller as close to the top row as possible to provide the maximum amount of room when the keyboard is at a normal angle. But because of the slicing that the PCB supports, I had to keep it one row away from anywhere someone might cut. And if you look at the latest version, there are now cut lines on three edges of the PCB! That placed the controller under the QWERTY row, just to the right of center so the USB cable can exit either top center or top left.
So that is that. FWIW, I think the MX Mini is a beautiful PCB. But it is missing many features the GH75 has or will have, all of which take up real estate. Holes for PCB-mount switches, holes for PCB-mount stabilizers, and extra mounts for different layout options are three that leap to mind, and all of them make the bottom row very crowded. Also, the top-mounted passives on the MX Mini make the plate have a gap under CV that looks ugly to me, must weaken the mounting for those two switches and probably the space bar switch as well.
Anyhow, the short answer remains "not for Alpha", but hopefully the long version above gives you a better explanation.
- Ron | samwisekoi