Author Topic: GH60 Group Buy (Salvage Mode: Enabled - Update in OP)  (Read 1612737 times)

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Offline multipla

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #150 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:03:24 »
Is this limitation to PCB mount Cherry stabs with the universal plates only for keys in the large cutout holes, or for all?
Can I use regular plate mount Cherry stabs for the spacebar and enter (with the universal ISO Plate)?

Offline cobraj

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #151 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:06:21 »
Hmm.
Want to get a layout different from the Poker, but I don't want to have to go around finding special sized keycaps etc :(

Offline elton5354

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #152 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:09:53 »
Can universal plate fit the GH60 layout?

Offline tjcaustin

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #153 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:12:26 »
I don't think the OP specifies what the plates are made out of.  Can we assume SS?

Myrrh

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #154 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:15:22 »
Ok cool. Are a few LEDs going to be an option? Can I as that in the comments?

Only 1 LED is supported, on Caps Lock. Not sure about color options...

Aw damn, I was hoping the board had backlight support and just didn't come with LEDs.

Guess I'll have to keep my pure around for that.

Offline 7bit

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #155 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:21:07 »
Ok cool. Are a few LEDs going to be an option? Can I as that in the comments?

Only 1 LED is supported, on Caps Lock. Not sure about color options...

Aw damn, I was hoping the board had backlight support and just didn't come with LEDs.

Guess I'll have to keep my pure around for that.

Just wait for the HyperMini. It will at least come with holes for the LEDs, but might happen that some need to be wired manually.

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Offline tjweir

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #156 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:28:36 »
I'm going to sell the ErgoDox I ordered to get one or two of these.

Great work by all involved!

Offline jdcarpe

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #157 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:32:38 »
Ok cool. Are a few LEDs going to be an option? Can I as that in the comments?

Only 1 LED is supported, on Caps Lock. Not sure about color options...

Aw damn, I was hoping the board had backlight support and just didn't come with LEDs.

Guess I'll have to keep my pure around for that.

Just wait for the HyperMini. It will at least come with holes for the LEDs, but might happen that some need to be wired manually.



You'll have to wait for Round 4 to complete first, sometime next year, is it?
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Offline The_Beast

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #158 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:33:52 »
Ok cool. Are a few LEDs going to be an option? Can I as that in the comments?

Only 1 LED is supported, on Caps Lock. Not sure about color options...

Aw damn, I was hoping the board had backlight support and just didn't come with LEDs.

Guess I'll have to keep my pure around for that.

Just wait for the HyperMini. It will at least come with holes for the LEDs, but might happen that some need to be wired manually.



You'll have to wait for Round 4 to complete first, sometime next year, is it?


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Offline Loligagger

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #159 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:36:43 »
On WFD's case there are tabs that stick out of the plate that sandwich between the top and bottom pieces of the case. Would it be possible to have those on the plates ordered here? Or should I just wait until the GB for the GH70 case starts up to grab a plate?

Just to confirm, the plates will be stainless steel right? Also if LED color options become available I'd go for white.

Offline jdcarpe

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #160 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:38:17 »
Yes, I believe these plates will be stainless steel.

If you want the integrated plate, you'll have to wait for the case GB.
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Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #161 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:39:37 »

Just wait for the HyperMini. It will at least come with holes for the LEDs, but might happen that some need to be wired manually.

As nice as that would be, the wiring manually is kinda a deal killer for leds. As far as I'm concerned it's every key, indicators only, or no keys. And every key would be such a pain to wire. And messy.

Offline WhiteFireDragon

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #162 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:49:37 »
On WFD's case there are tabs that stick out of the plate that sandwich between the top and bottom pieces of the case. Would it be possible to have those on the plates ordered here? Or should I just wait until the GB for the GH70 case starts up to grab a plate?

Also if LED color options become available I'd go for white.

Dedicated plates for my case is separate, only available when that GB opens. I'm not completely done with prototyping that whole case/plate combo yet. But good news for plates offered here, is that you can just directly drop it with my case with no modding. It'll just sit on the standoff (like stock plastic poker case) instead of being screwed down to the case.


As of now, the only LED is the capslock (maybe WASD later on), so all the PCBs will come with one color. It's just too complicated for many options and to manage/match up orders for a single LED. They're only around 20cents so if you don't like the color it comes with, feel free to source your own.

Offline pasph

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #163 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:53:53 »
The problem is the spacebar wires. They can't be bought anywhere, so they'll have to be made. I'll post a guide so you can make your own. I'll make as many as I can, but it takes me ~10 minutes each, so I don't think I'll be making 200+ of them.

All kind of spacebar wires or only Cherry type?
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Offline jdcarpe

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #164 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:56:21 »
6.25x Costar wires available. I don't think anyone is bending 7x Costar wires.
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Offline pasph

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #165 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 16:57:20 »
Dedicated plates for my case is separate, only available when that GB opens. I'm not completely done with prototyping that whole case/plate combo yet. But good news for plates offered here, is that you can just directly drop it with my case with no modding. It'll just sit on the standoff (like stock plastic poker case) instead of being screwed down to the case.

What plate layouts you are going to offer?
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Offline longweight

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #166 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:04:30 »
We need a HHKB case!

Offline Jocelyn

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Re: Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #167 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:06:04 »
We need a HHKB case!

There's one on the way, just have to wait :)

Offline tricheboars

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #168 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:15:33 »
I feel sorry for The_Beast and WhiteFireDragon's GH inboxes.  I can only imagine how many messages they got about cases today.  I shall wait.

For us first time DIY builders, do you guys have a book or guide I could check out for soldering?  This is something i have always been interested in since my A+ days in the 90's.  Plus, i am obsessed with keyboards so the time is now.  I am stocking up expecting my first attempt to be disastrous (i learn best through failure for some damn reason) but if at all possible I would like to go into the GH60 with a practiced hand or at least some base knowledge of what i am doing.  I found some photo guides but I have trouble understanding the processes that take place between the photos.  I also checked out our wiki with no positive results for soldering and desoldering plate mounted switches onto PCBs.   I am sure there are many like minded people like me who could use some advice from the experts.  I also understand that the only real way for me to learn how to do this is to actually do this. I just dont have any idea what i am doing.

I could document my full build process with videos and what have you, but you guys cant ridicule me when i set my table on fire and melt my PCBs while crying.  However, if it gets laughs it could be worth it.



« Last Edit: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:17:57 by tricheboars »
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Offline Jocelyn

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Re: Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #169 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:17:09 »
For us first time DIY builders, do you guys have a book or guide I could check out for soldering?

Subscribe to WhiteFireDragon's channel on YouTube.

Offline ishumprod

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #170 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:19:12 »
look on youtube for people soldering swithes, i know there are some. i can't really help you through internet, i am very bad at it
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Offline myndzi

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #171 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:22:50 »
Oh yes please! I'm not feeling adventurous to make this my first soldering project, but will gladly pay for assembly. Do I need to order the DIY kit if I'm going to go that route?

Edit: I can see the volunteers getting swamped easily, so I suppose it'll depend on the load. Anyone have a ballpark figure for how much the soldering stuff would cost?

Offline metalliqaz

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #172 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:26:12 »
Assembly service is $25, according to the OP

Offline Loligagger

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #173 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:27:30 »
Dedicated plates for my case is separate, only available when that GB opens. I'm not completely done with prototyping that whole case/plate combo yet. But good news for plates offered here, is that you can just directly drop it with my case with no modding. It'll just sit on the standoff (like stock plastic poker case) instead of being screwed down to the case.


As of now, the only LED is the capslock (maybe WASD later on), so all the PCBs will come with one color. It's just too complicated for many options and to manage/match up orders for a single LED. They're only around 20cents so if you don't like the color it comes with, feel free to source your own.

Alright sounds good, threw in a request to change my order then. You planning on SS for your plates as well?

Offline myndzi

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #174 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:29:29 »
Yeah, but I'm not sure whether I need to put the DIY kit on the order form to provide the parts or if that's assumed.

Offline duq

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #175 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:37:54 »

http://pcbwing.com/Surprise.php#

This was on PCBwing's website today. IDK if you guys know already.

Offline jdcarpe

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #176 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:49:03 »
Thanks, duq. That's been there like forever. Haha.

myndzi, don't order the DIY PCB if you want assembly. That's only for people who want to do ALL the soldering, including the SMD soldering, by themselves. If you want an assembled PCB with switches soldered, firmware loaded, etc., you need to order the standard PCB ($40) plus the assembly service ($25), plus switches, stabilizers, and plate if you want a plate.
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Offline ishumprod

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #177 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:50:01 »
hmm there was a thread on classifieds where some guy sold all mounted pokers for monies, you could check there.
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Offline jdcarpe

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #178 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 17:51:30 »
What would the price of a poker, with MX blues, costar, and fully put together be?

Assuming you mean GH60 with Poker layout plate. I'm assuming 61 MX Blues would cost around $50, plus $90 for the rest you mentioned. About $140 total.


hmm there was a thread on classifieds where some guy sold all mounted pokers for monies, you could check there.

That was me (one of the threads, anyway). And both of the Pokers have been sold.
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Offline Brown

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #179 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:13:36 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Offline IvanIvanovich

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #180 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:15:40 »



Looking forward to number 2.

Offline csimi

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #181 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:20:28 »
Why do you mention FLIP in the Windows firmware guide but not DFU? Java is an exploit and virus landmine.
DFU works well on Windows with the HID Liberation Device. Is it different for the GH60?

Offline Luke

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #182 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:24:20 »
WOOP!!!! :D Oh and are we still having LED's on WASD? :)

Offline deazncy

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #183 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:29:51 »
Wow! How much would it cost to have a basic kb with a Pure layout and mx blacks assembled?
« Last Edit: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:31:36 by deazncy »
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Offline ApocalypseMaow

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #184 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:32:09 »
Ordered! Thanks guys!
Beast I ordered 3 so I hope you will be down to do some more work in the future.
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Offline jdcarpe

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #185 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:35:00 »
Wow! How much would it cost to have a basic kb with a Pure layout and mx blacks assembled?

Probably around $124, not including a case.

Remember, this keyboard is fully programmable, every key. This isn't just an off-the-shelf 60%.


Ordered! Thanks guys!
Beast I ordered 3 so I hope you will be down to do some more work in the future.

Once you go Beast, you never go...east? :P
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Offline esoomenona

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #186 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:38:34 »
You never go yeast. Flatbread it is.

Offline eyesmiles

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #187 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:40:58 »
You know it's all bad when you're in a meeting and all you can think about is placing an order for the gh60 GB. :p I was counting off in my head how many plate-mounted cherry stabs I needed. I am assuming that it would be ok to just gather parts and PM people at a later date for assembly. I have an acquaintance with a shop that wants to mess around and powder coat the poker plate that beast has a GB for. I know the cases that beast and WFD are still coming together as well. And of course, 7bit's switch order won't come around until Sept/Oct.

Anyhoo, thank you to everyone who's made the gh60 come to fruition. I can't even imagine the numerous amounts of PMs WFD, jdcarpe, komar, etc. have in their inboxes.

Offline WhiteFireDragon

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #188 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:58:23 »
There are more DIY PCB kits ordered than I thought. I know price is attractive, but I want you to make sure you know exactly what you're getting into when getting a DIY kit. This is not your typical soldering of large through-hole switch pins. All the SMD components are provided, but you'll have to solder them on yourself. The pre-soldered boards have all the SMD done at the factory by a pick-and-place machine.

There is a ATmega32u4 controller, few capacitors, resistors, single crystal, switch, USB, and roughly 61 diodes that needs SMD soldering. Parts are very small, so it's not recommended if you've never done SMD soldering before. The crystal was near impossible to do with a fine iron tip, I used hot air to solder up all the prototype boards. If you mess up, it's very hard to desolder these parts because both ends of the pads must be desoldered at the same time. You'll either need 2 irons, hot air, chipquik, or desoldering tweezers to remove the components. Wick braid could work, but I wouldn't bank on it. So with that many components you'll have to solder, don't plan on messing up.

This is a run through of the whole SMD process if you're getting DIY kits. It's 2-3 hour process assuming you don't mess up. Make sure you're absolutely clear on what you're doing. I'll link this in the OP as well


« Last Edit: Thu, 21 March 2013, 18:59:56 by WhiteFireDragon »

Offline The_Beast

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #189 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:11:11 »
Ordered! Thanks guys!
Beast I ordered 3 so I hope you will be down to do some more work in the future.

Depends on when these come. If it's during my summer break, I'd be game for some soldering and modding
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Offline justin one

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #190 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:14:23 »
I ordered one assembled and one not. Can't wait!
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Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #191 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:19:11 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

Offline duq

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GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #192 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:23:34 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

In a lot of ways, having just the smt soldered for $25 is nice as it's tedious and time consuming for something that is relatively easy.

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #193 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:33:03 »

In a lot of ways, having just the smt soldered for $25 is nice as it's tedious and time consuming for something that is relatively easy.

Though still not something that great for someone who has never smt soldered before seeing as it's only 15 bucks more for all those tough parts to be pre-soldered.

Offline samwisekoi

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #194 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:34:54 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

Wow.  People are buying the DIY kit for the build-it-yourself experience?  I have decades of soldering experience, and don't think WFD went far enough in explaining just how delicate and unforgiving SMD soldering is.  It is (literally) like soldering an ant to a piece of screen.  One tiny ant-leg at a time.  There is a reason these are done with pick-and-place machines.  It is really, really hard.  And VERY hard to undo mistakes.

If you are a pretty good at soldering, then spend the $40 and get the ":assembled" board.  You will stil have to solder 120+ switch leads, at least one LED, burn the firmware, customize it if desired, etc.  And that is with the NON-DIY kit.

If you've never soldered before, don't even think about the DIY kit.  If you're handy with tools or have just a little soldering experience, then go to the local electronics recycling center, grab a few large circuit boards and spend a few evenings de-soldering and re-soldering the components with wire leads that go through the board.  That should give you plenty of experience to make this almost fun.

Also, get a good soldering iron.  I only use Weller irons, although there are some other good brands.  There is a reason that some irons are $50 and some with the same specs are $5.  Think of Weller as the Cherry MX of soldering equipment.

This is a keyboard forum, not a ham-radio forum.  Absolutely zero people here will think any less of anyone for skipping the SMD part of this.  And for sure you aren't going to save money unless you already have the equipment to do that delicate of a job.

If you have enough dexterity to care about keyboard switches, you can probably build one.  But let the robots do their job first.

</rant>

WFD, thank you very much for the warning message and the video!

Yet another good job in the GH60 stack of good jobs!

Cheers!

 - Ron | samwisekoi
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Offline Dubsgalore

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #195 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:35:47 »
if the keyboard is fully programable, how do we assign what key to what? i  am planning on getting a hhkb layout, but i want the two keys in between the space bar and Alt keys to be winkeys..i think on the real hhkb they are 2 'meta' keys which i would switch to winkeys. also, i heard if i want hhkb, i should be ordering a ANSI 1.5x plate. on the real hhkb, there is a small right shift, just like the pure, with fn (instead of ` on the pure). should i be ordering ANSI 1.5x PURE plate instead? to incorporate the fn key on the hhkb?

Offline cobraj

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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #196 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:36:52 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

Wow.  People are buying the DIY kit for the build-it-yourself experience?  I have decades of soldering experience, and don't think WFD went far enough in explaining just how delicate and unforgiving SMD soldering is.  It is (literally) like soldering an ant to a piece of screen.  One tiny ant-leg at a time.  There is a reason these are done with pick-and-place machines.  It is really, really hard.  And VERY hard to undo mistakes.

If you are a pretty good at soldering, then spend the $40 and get the ":assembled" board.  You will stil have to solder 120+ switch leads, at least one LED, burn the firmware, customize it if desired, etc.  And that is with the NON-DIY kit.

If you've never soldered before, don't even think about the DIY kit.  If you're handy with tools or have just a little soldering experience, then go to the local electronics recycling center, grab a few large circuit boards and spend a few evenings de-soldering and re-soldering the components with wire leads that go through the board.  That should give you plenty of experience to make this almost fun.

Also, get a good soldering iron.  I only use Weller irons, although there are some other good brands.  There is a reason that some irons are $50 and some with the same specs are $5.  Think of Weller as the Cherry MX of soldering equipment.

This is a keyboard forum, not a ham-radio forum.  Absolutely zero people here will think any less of anyone for skipping the SMD part of this.  And for sure you aren't going to save money unless you already have the equipment to do that delicate of a job.

If you have enough dexterity to care about keyboard switches, you can probably build one.  But let the robots do their job first.

</rant>

WFD, thank you very much for the warning message and the video!

Yet another good job in the GH60 stack of good jobs!

Cheers!

 - Ron | samwisekoi
Show Image


It's good you are clearing this all up =D
Would hate if people bought it, and couldn't even use it, especially after all the anticipation for this board :P

Offline Brown

  • Posts: 31
  • Location: Toronto, Canada
  • Mechanical Keyboard Virgin
Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #197 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:42:51 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

Wow.  People are buying the DIY kit for the build-it-yourself experience?  I have decades of soldering experience, and don't think WFD went far enough in explaining just how delicate and unforgiving SMD soldering is.  It is (literally) like soldering an ant to a piece of screen.  One tiny ant-leg at a time.  There is a reason these are done with pick-and-place machines.  It is really, really hard.  And VERY hard to undo mistakes.

If you are a pretty good at soldering, then spend the $40 and get the ":assembled" board.  You will stil have to solder 120+ switch leads, at least one LED, burn the firmware, customize it if desired, etc.  And that is with the NON-DIY kit.

If you've never soldered before, don't even think about the DIY kit.  If you're handy with tools or have just a little soldering experience, then go to the local electronics recycling center, grab a few large circuit boards and spend a few evenings de-soldering and re-soldering the components with wire leads that go through the board.  That should give you plenty of experience to make this almost fun.

Also, get a good soldering iron.  I only use Weller irons, although there are some other good brands.  There is a reason that some irons are $50 and some with the same specs are $5.  Think of Weller as the Cherry MX of soldering equipment.

This is a keyboard forum, not a ham-radio forum.  Absolutely zero people here will think any less of anyone for skipping the SMD part of this.  And for sure you aren't going to save money unless you already have the equipment to do that delicate of a job.

If you have enough dexterity to care about keyboard switches, you can probably build one.  But let the robots do their job first.

</rant>

WFD, thank you very much for the warning message and the video!

Yet another good job in the GH60 stack of good jobs!

Cheers!

 - Ron | samwisekoi
Show Image


I don't plan on buying the DIY kit, just the $40 one.  I've already watched the video on soldering the chip, and I know I won't be trying that.  I was just wondering if it is that hard to solder the switches onto the board and such. 

Offline CommunistWitchDr

  • Posts: 479
  • Location: St. Louis, MO
  • >implying keyboards
Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #198 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:43:17 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

Wow.  People are buying the DIY kit for the build-it-yourself experience?  I have decades of soldering experience, and don't think WFD went far enough in explaining just how delicate and unforgiving SMD soldering is.  It is (literally) like soldering an ant to a piece of screen.  One tiny ant-leg at a time.  There is a reason these are done with pick-and-place machines.  It is really, really hard.  And VERY hard to undo mistakes.

If you are a pretty good at soldering, then spend the $40 and get the ":assembled" board.  You will stil have to solder 120+ switch leads, at least one LED, burn the firmware, customize it if desired, etc.  And that is with the NON-DIY kit.

If you've never soldered before, don't even think about the DIY kit.  If you're handy with tools or have just a little soldering experience, then go to the local electronics recycling center, grab a few large circuit boards and spend a few evenings de-soldering and re-soldering the components with wire leads that go through the board.  That should give you plenty of experience to make this almost fun.

Also, get a good soldering iron.  I only use Weller irons, although there are some other good brands.  There is a reason that some irons are $50 and some with the same specs are $5.  Think of Weller as the Cherry MX of soldering equipment.

This is a keyboard forum, not a ham-radio forum.  Absolutely zero people here will think any less of anyone for skipping the SMD part of this.  And for sure you aren't going to save money unless you already have the equipment to do that delicate of a job.

If you have enough dexterity to care about keyboard switches, you can probably build one.  But let the robots do their job first.

</rant>

WFD, thank you very much for the warning message and the video!

Yet another good job in the GH60 stack of good jobs!

Cheers!

 - Ron | samwisekoi
Show Image


Now I wasn't recommending the DIY kit, just saying that Brown wouldn't have much trouble with the standard no switches soldered (but smt pre-soldered) on board. As long as he's had soldering experience.

And agree 100% on the good iron thing. I use a Hakko FX-888 myself. Hakko and Weller are the two of the big consumer irons (Complete **** next to professional ones, but you're lookin at another 0 on those). Can't go wrong with either of them.

Also, look at ones with a seperate unit for temperature control. They tend to be a lot nicer than wands with a dial on the wand or no dial at all.

Offline samwisekoi

  • MAWG since 1997
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  • Location: Mt. View, California
  • Sorry, moving houses. Be back ASAP.
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Re: GH60 Group Buy
« Reply #199 on: Thu, 21 March 2013, 19:46:00 »
On a scale of 1 - 10 how hard would this be for a person who has some soldering experience but hasn't dealt with mechanical keyboards at all?  I'm very interested and want to make my first keyboard the best.

Shouldn't matter if you've ever touched a keyboard if you can solder.

<skip>


It's good you are clearing this all up =D
Would hate if people bought it, and couldn't even use it, especially after all the anticipation for this board :P

Sorry for the rant.  It is really hard to do, and it would in fact be a serious bummer if people saved $15 on what could be an awesome board and then couldn't get it to work.

Brown, to answer you specifically, the normal kit requires normal dexterity.  Go for it.  Practice first!  My rant was not pointed at you.

I am now going to go have some sake and sashimi.

Peace to all, and to all a good evening!

 - Ron | samwisekoi
I like keyboards and case modding.  Everything about a computer should be silent -- except the KEYBOARD!

'85 IBM F-122/Soarer Keyboard |  Leopold FC200 TKL (Browns) + GH36 Keypad (Browns/Greens) | GH-122 (Whites/Greens) with Nuclear Data Green keycaps in a Unicomp case