Author Topic: Questions about SMK 2nd generation Cherry MX mount (Read 9347 times)

Kevadu · « **on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 14:25:09 »

This switches are from the same family as the more famous 'Monterey' alps mount switch, but I'm having trouble finding much information about them. They appear to come in both linear (orange) and clicky (white) varieties, but are the clicky ones as good as the alps mount version? I really have no idea.

While the keycap mounts may be Cherry compatible it should be noted that the switch housings are not. So you can't just throw these in a Cherry board. I think an alps-style board will work, though I haven't actually tried it yet...

They do have two big advantages over the alps mount version which is why I'm interested in them. The first is that obviously since they support Cherry keycaps you will have a whole lot more options available for keycaps in today's market. The second even bigger advantage is that you can actually buy them. Aliexpress is selling lots of what they at least claim are new switches as prices that don't seem entirely unreasonable.

So building a board with these switches seems sort of appealing...that is if the quality of the cherry mount switch is on par with the alps mount. Does anyone have experience with these switches?

fohat.digs · « **Reply #1 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 15:46:12 »

I have a "Laser" branded keyboard with them and it is very nice. I only wish that it was true-ANSI layout.

Daniel Beardsmore · « **Reply #2 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 16:56:23 »

Quote from: Kevadu on Sat, 16 December 2017, 14:25:09

Aliexpress is selling lots of what they at least claim are new switches as prices that don't seem entirely unreasonable.

Yes, they are new old stock.

pixelpusher · « **Reply #3 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 17:39:06 »

Quote from: Kevadu on Sat, 16 December 2017, 14:25:09

This switches are from the same family as the more famous 'Monterey' alps mount switch, but I'm having trouble finding much information about them. They appear to come in both linear (orange) and clicky (white) varieties, but are the clicky ones as good as the alps mount version? I really have no idea.

While the keycap mounts may be Cherry compatible it should be noted that the switch housings are not. So you can't just throw these in a Cherry board. I think an alps-style board will work, though I haven't actually tried it yet...

They do have two big advantages over the alps mount version which is why I'm interested in them. The first is that obviously since they support Cherry keycaps you will have a whole lot more options available for keycaps in today's market. The second even bigger advantage is that you can actually buy them. Aliexpress is selling lots of what they at least claim are new switches as prices that don't seem entirely unreasonable.

So building a board with these switches seems sort of appealing...that is if the quality of the cherry mount switch is on par with the alps mount. Does anyone have experience with these switches?

I have some. They don’t work in alps boards bc SMK pins are slightly differently placed. There is a board being developed on deskthority called the Bleach60. The person working on it is busy so the project is currently not moving. I’m thinking about hand wiring my first time and using these switches (I have the white ones). They are similar to Monterrey blues, but it’s hard to tell from single switches.

_haru · « **Reply #4 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 19:02:34 »

Couple things:

SMK switches' pins are different to BOTH Alps and MX. To properly mount them to a PCB, you need a SMK-compatible one, like the Bleach60, OR if you're willing to do some pin bending, you can use MX/Alps flippable mounts like the ones on the Let's Split.

In terms of plates, the SMK switches are in theory compatible with MX ones, but they clip in from the sides, rather than the tops and bottoms. This means that universal MX plates that you can find on eBay and such will work, but not very well. For the best effect, you need MX plates that do not have the switch top opening cutouts.

DON'T buy them from Aliexpress. Use TaoBao instead. They are much cheaper there, about $0.15 AUD for the Clicky ones and $0.40 for the linears. My internet is acting up at the moment (perks of living in Australia), so I'll post the links to both when I find them.

pixelpusher · « **Reply #5 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 19:24:01 »

Here's the link to the Bleach60 PCB thread:
https://deskthority.net/group-buys-f50/bleach60-aruz-and-smk-compatible-60-t16384.html

anode · « **Reply #6 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 21:47:43 »

I have a bag of these on my desk. Without having one in front of me, the MX version feels like the ALPS version is described. I have a few ALPS switches here too and they feel very similar to a click-modded Orange ALPS (it's what I have for reference), but with the tactile bump and click points lower down the switch. They're also extraordinarily smooth.

LFKeyboards offers a few different PCBs for SMK switches: https://www.lfkeyboards.com/pcbs.html

I'm interested in what plate solution is found. I have a stock Filco plate coming in in the mail so I'll give that a shot and report back.

pixelpusher · « **Reply #7 on:** Sat, 16 December 2017, 23:31:44 »

I was thinking about grabbing a tada68 aluminum case and plate from KBDFans and using the SMK65 from LFKeyboards. I think that should all work, but it's a lot of clams just to be able to use my GMK caps on Monterrey-like switches.

Kevadu · « **Reply #8 on:** Sun, 17 December 2017, 00:08:43 »

Thanks for the great info guys. So from what I'm reading it sounds like while you do need a special PCB the switches will actually fit in a standard MX-style mounting plate. Could be a lot worse. It sounds like if I bought the TKL PCB from LFKeyboards there ought to be a lot of options for plates and cases.

It would be a fun project. There's something appealing about sticking a somewhat obscure but high-quality vintage switch into a modern case design

_haru · « **Reply #9 on:** Sun, 17 December 2017, 01:03:17 »

Quote from: Kevadu on Sun, 17 December 2017, 00:08:43

Thanks for the great info guys. So from what I'm reading it sounds like while you do need a special PCB the switches will actually fit in a standard MX-style mounting plate. Could be a lot worse. It sounds like if I bought the TKL PCB from LFKeyboards there ought to be a lot of options for plates and cases.

It would be a fun project. There's something appealing about sticking a somewhat obscure but high-quality vintage switch into a modern case design

Yes, though I suggest you look into getting your own plate cut that does not have Alps support or MX switch top opening cutouts, to give a firmer mount for your switches.

ollir · « **Reply #10 on:** Sun, 17 December 2017, 06:05:25 »

Quote from: Kevadu on Sun, 17 December 2017, 00:08:43

It would be a fun project. There's something appealing about sticking a somewhat obscure but high-quality vintage switch into a modern case design

Especially when majority (if not all?) of the boards with the original Monterey switches come in rather flimsy and lightweight shells. It'd be nice to experience them
in a more sturdy overall package. Typing this on my Monterey K108 which feels damn nice, but again, the case is not the most impressive in terms of sturdiness.

rich1051414 · « **Reply #11 on:** Mon, 18 December 2017, 07:05:46 »

anode · « **Reply #12 on:** Thu, 21 December 2017, 14:49:54 »

The Filco plate I got ended up having the switch opening cutouts on the side of each hole, so the SMK switches are a little loose. That's what I get for buying sight unseen.

So I guess I'll get my own plate cut. Only thing I'm concerned about is the bend in the plate to fit the standard Filco case, of which I'll be getting the aluminum replacement case. Is there a solution to that?

Kevadu · « **Reply #13 on:** Tue, 23 January 2018, 23:55:00 »

Mwuahaha! It's coming along.

Now I need, like, a case...and keycaps.

pixelpusher · « **Reply #14 on:** Wed, 24 January 2018, 00:54:22 »

Quote from: Kevadu on Tue, 23 January 2018, 23:55:00

Mwuahaha! It's coming along.

Show Image

Show Image

Now I need, like, a case...and keycaps.

NICE! My SMK65 is on the way from LFKeyboards! I'm going to see if I can get it to work with my m65-a. I doubt it will, but I'm gonna give it a go. Backup plan is tada68

anode · « **Reply #15 on:** Sun, 11 March 2018, 01:57:36 »

Got my SMK TKL PCB in today from LFKeyboards. I have basically everything I need to build the board, minus a few aesthetic parts. Just waiting for a day that's above freezing so I can paint the plate.

I assembled the stabilizer keys just to mess around and I'm not sure how I like the sound of the spacebar. I guess we'll see. One note is that for stabilizer wires that have the middle Z bend upwards instead of flat, I needed to file down the sides of the switch housings so they didn't get stuck.

rich1051414 · « **Reply #16 on:** Thu, 22 March 2018, 11:06:20 »

I just finished mine yesterday, still waiting on my case though, currently it's in an old Quick Fire Rapid case.

The only thing I don't like is that my keycaps seem to sit loosely on the stem.

Bent wire stabilizers don't work. They collide with the body of the switch. Straight stabilizer wires work though.

Kevadu · « **Reply #17 on:** Thu, 22 March 2018, 13:47:21 »

Quote from: rich1051414 on Thu, 22 March 2018, 11:06:20

Bent wire stabilizers don't work. They collide with the body of the switch. Straight stabilizer wires work though.

You mean for costar stabilizers? They work fine if you get the kind where the bend is 180 degrees from the hooks. That's what I'm using in fact. But the "Filco-style" where the bend is 90 degrees will not work.

pixelpusher · « **Reply #18 on:** Fri, 06 April 2018, 21:56:20 »

Can't figure out how to flash the firmware on my smk65, damnit. It uses an AT90USB64 chip. I finally figured out how to build the firmware with QMK but now i can't flash it. I can put it into flash mode but it won't connect with DFU or atmel flip.

Ideas?

rich1051414 · « **Reply #19 on:** Wed, 02 May 2018, 04:06:57 »

Quote from: Kevadu on Thu, 22 March 2018, 13:47:21

Quote from: rich1051414 on Thu, 22 March 2018, 11:06:20
Bent wire stabilizers don't work. They collide with the body of the switch. Straight stabilizer wires work though.

You mean for costar stabilizers? They work fine if you get the kind where the bend is 180 degrees from the hooks. That's what I'm using in fact. But the "Filco-style" where the bend is 90 degrees will not work.

The is what I meant. The ones that are bent off axis do not work as they collide with the body of the switch. Took me a while to find the stabilizers I needed, but all finished now.

andresteare · « **Reply #20 on:** Tue, 20 April 2021, 17:37:18 »

Sorry to revive this thread but does anyone know if I can put the click leaf in the orange linear variant?
I've only managed to find the orange linear one and the clicky Inverse cross mount, so I was wondering if maybe I can get both and put the click leaf of the clicky in the orange one to get a clicky cherry mount

Maledicted · « **Reply #21 on:** Wed, 21 April 2021, 09:24:51 »

Quote from: andresteare on Tue, 20 April 2021, 17:37:18

Sorry to revive this thread but does anyone know if I can put the click leaf in the orange linear variant?
I've only managed to find the orange linear one and the clicky Inverse cross mount, so I was wondering if maybe I can get both and put the click leaf of the clicky in the orange one to get a clicky cherry mount

I don't have any of the Cherry mount SMKs (yet), but the housings look identical to me between linear and clicky of the MX mount SMKs. These are Alps clones, which you can usually swap guts around in to your heart's content within a family.

The Deskthority wiki seems like it could use some work. Here's what it had to say about sliders ... which ignores linears altogether:

Quote from: Deskthority Wiki

SMK second generation switches are available in both clicky and tactile variants. These are differentiated by two changes in the internals:

1. Clicky switches have a right-angled edge on the base of the slider where it engages the click leaf; tactile switches have this edge chamfered off
2. The tactile leaf in tactile switches has more prominent engagement hooks — swapping in a click leaf still generates a click sound, as the more angled hooks are required in combination with the chamfered slider to keep the leaf spring from clicking

It would stand to reason that the linears follow either of the above patterns, since that right-angled edge should be totally pointless in them. Whether or not that edge is present on the sliders would probably determine whether or not a modification like that would feel and sound exactly the same as an original clicky variant of the switch.

News:

Author Topic: Questions about SMK 2nd generation Cherry MX mount (Read 9347 times)