Simple Questions, Simple Answers (FAQ in the OP)

[Dubsgalore]

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

[SpAmRaY]

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

It's not hard and if you comment on every other posts you can get to 18 posts a day! Of course when you get done and look around a day or two might have past bye.

[Dubsgalore]

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

It's not hard and if you comment on every other posts you can get to 18 posts a day! Of course when you get done and look around a day or two might have past bye.

jesus man 18 a day?
none other then the spamray xD

i've dropped down to 9.4...which i think is a good thing haha

[CPTBadAss]

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

You don't. Get out of the game and gimme your Poker

[Photekq]

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

Literally impossible.

[Dubsgalore]

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

Literally impossible.

so much has changed...oh this is gonna take a while
i return to the IRC tonight! funks makes a return

how hard will it be to catch up on missing like 5 days at Geekhack? xD

You don't. Get out of the game and gimme your Poker

Not today!
need dat legendary pink mods pink alphas purple clusters GB

[jdcarpe]

Anyone know the part number for Cherry plate mount stabilizers? Also, do they make 7x plate mount stabs?

Mouser #: 540-G99-0224

They come with 2x wires. If you want a 7x wire, you'll have to get some wire and bend your own, I'm afraid.

[MKULTRA]

Completely noob question here, what are the diodes inside of some Cherry MX switches for?  Advantages/disadvantages of having them/not having them?  Do all custom kb PCB's support them?

[CPTBadAss]

1)Completely noob question here, what are the diodes inside of some Cherry MX switches for? 
2)Advantages/disadvantages of having them/not having them? 
3)Do all custom kb PCB's support them?

1) You need them to regulate the electrical flow in the board.
2) It's not an advantage or disadvantage to have one. You must have one. The diodes can either go into the switch or they're already soldered to the board.
3) Some boards have the diodes in the switch that you have to add in separately like my Epsilon and KMAC. Others might have the board populated already.

[MKULTRA]

1)Completely noob question here, what are the diodes inside of some Cherry MX switches for? 
2)Advantages/disadvantages of having them/not having them? 
3)Do all custom kb PCB's support them?

1) You need them to regulate the electrical flow in the board.
2) It's not an advantage or disadvantage to have one. You must have one. The diodes can either go into the switch or they're already soldered to the board.
3) Some boards have the diodes in the switch that you have to add in separately like my Epsilon and KMAC. Others might have the board populated already.

OH okay thanks.  Does the GH60 have them on the board, or do they need to be in the switch?

[kenmai9]

Does anyone know if Cherry's POM caps for the G80-3000 would match the round 1 PBT dye subs? In profile I mean. Thankss

Also does anyone have a pic of a full size keyboard with black on white alphas and white on black mods? And vise versa?

[CPTBadAss]

OH okay thanks.  Does the GH60 have them on the board, or do they need to be in the switch?

Not sure, I think no. Hopefully jdcarpe will poke his head in here and answer.

1) Does anyone know if Cherry's POM caps for the G80-3000 would match the round 1 PBT dye subs? In profile I mean.

2) Also does anyone have a pic of a full size keyboard with black on white alphas and white on black mods? And vise versa?

1) Don't know about the POM caps but my GMK caps have the same profile as the Imsto Dye Subs. I have the R1 Black on Blue Set.

2) I don't have this, sorry. But maybe this and this will help.

[kenmai9]

OH okay thanks.  Does the GH60 have them on the board, or do they need to be in the switch?

Not sure, I think no. Hopefully jdcarpe will poke his head in here and answer.

1) Does anyone know if Cherry's POM caps for the G80-3000 would match the round 1 PBT dye subs? In profile I mean.

2) Also does anyone have a pic of a full size keyboard with black on white alphas and white on black mods? And vise versa?

1) Don't know about the POM caps but my GMK caps have the same profile as the Imsto Dye Subs. I have the R1 Black on Blue Set.

2) I don't have this, sorry. But maybe this and this will help.

What is GMK?I'm not  familiar with the company

[CPTBadAss]

What is GMK? I'm not  familiar with the company

They're the ones who bought the Cherry ABS molds. That's how we're getting new Cherry caps in various GBs.

[kenmai9]

What is GMK? I'm not  familiar with the company

They're the ones who bought the Cherry ABS molds. That's how we're getting new Cherry caps in various GBs.

Alright thanks Cap!

[MKULTRA]

OH okay thanks.  Does the GH60 have them on the board, or do they need to be in the switch?

Not sure, I think no. Hopefully jdcarpe will poke his head in here and answer.

Oh that question is answered in the GH60 thread!  They are soldered on.  So if I order switches with diodes in them do I HAVE to remove them?  Or can they be left in?

[CPTBadAss]

OH okay thanks.  Does the GH60 have them on the board, or do they need to be in the switch?

Not sure, I think no. Hopefully jdcarpe will poke his head in here and answer.

Oh that question is answered in the GH60 thread!  They are soldered on.  So if I order switches with diodes in them do I HAVE to remove them?  Or can they be left in?

Well that's good to know. You'll have to remove the diodes, I'm like 90% certain.

[MKULTRA]

OH okay thanks.  Does the GH60 have them on the board, or do they need to be in the switch?

Not sure, I think no. Hopefully jdcarpe will poke his head in here and answer.

Oh that question is answered in the GH60 thread!  They are soldered on.  So if I order switches with diodes in them do I HAVE to remove them?  Or can they be left in?

Well that's good to know. You'll have to remove the diodes, I'm like 90% certain.

Alright good to know.  Thanks for the help mate.

[dndlmx]

Any sign of this thing yet? Does it even actually exist? (LED Poker 2)

[CPTBadAss]

Any sign of this thing yet? Does it even actually exist? (LED Poker 2)

No, and not yet.

[jdcarpe]

The GH60 will come from the fab with SMD diodes already soldered to the PCB.

If you have switches with diodes (or jumpers) inside them, you will have to remove them from the switch before you can solder the switch to the GH60 PCB.

[CPTBadAss]

If you have switches with diodes (or jumpers) inside them, you will have to remove them from the switch before you can solder the switch to the GH60 PCB.

The jumpers are the little wires that I've been removing from the area where the diodes go correct? If it helps, I'm putting diodes into the MX Black switches that you sold me. What do the jumpers do?

[jdcarpe]

If you have switches with diodes (or jumpers) inside them, you will have to remove them from the switch before you can solder the switch to the GH60 PCB.

The jumpers are the little wires that I've been removing from the area where the diodes go correct? If it helps, I'm putting diodes into the MX Black switches that you sold me. What do the jumpers do?

A Simple Question from the man himself!

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

[Photekq]

If you have switches with diodes (or jumpers) inside them, you will have to remove them from the switch before you can solder the switch to the GH60 PCB.

The jumpers are the little wires that I've been removing from the area where the diodes go correct? If it helps, I'm putting diodes into the MX Black switches that you sold me. What do the jumpers do?

A Simple Question from the man himself!

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

So if I were to buy an old Cherry board with 2KRO could I swap the jumpers with diodes to give it NKRO? Or is it not that simple?

[jdcarpe]

If you have switches with diodes (or jumpers) inside them, you will have to remove them from the switch before you can solder the switch to the GH60 PCB.

The jumpers are the little wires that I've been removing from the area where the diodes go correct? If it helps, I'm putting diodes into the MX Black switches that you sold me. What do the jumpers do?

A Simple Question from the man himself!

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

So if I were to buy an old Cherry board with 2KRO could I swap the jumpers with diodes will it have NKRO? Or is it not that simple?

No, not if the controller they used doesn't support NKRO. And why would it, when they didn't bother to use diodes?

You would have to replace the jumpers with diodes AND replace the controller with a Teensy or similar.

[Photekq]

No, not if the controller they used doesn't support NKRO. And why would it, when they didn't bother to use diodes?

You would have to replace the jumpers with diodes AND replace the controller with a Teensy or similar.

Oh I see. Thanks.

[CPTBadAss]

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

Does that mean my statement was incorrect; You don't need diodes and only need the jumpers?

[jdcarpe]

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

Does that mean my statement was incorrect; You don't need diodes and only need the jumpers?

Well, I'm no genius when it comes to electronic circuits. But I think that if you need diodes, then you need diodes. If you need jumpers, you might be able to use diodes in their place, if installed in the right direction.

Also, you're installing diodes for the Epsilon, right? You definitely have to use diodes, not jumpers, in that case.

[MKULTRA]

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

Does that mean my statement was incorrect; You don't need diodes and only need the jumpers?

Well, I'm no genius when it comes to electronic circuits. But I think that if you need diodes, then you need diodes. If you need jumpers, you might be able to use diodes in their place, if installed in the right direction.

Also, you're installing diodes for the Epsilon, right? You definitely have to use diodes, not jumpers, in that case.

If you have diodes on the board why would the switches need jumpers?

[jdcarpe]

The jumpers do the same thing as diodes in Cherry boards, except that you only get 2KRO. Cheap bastards, how hard is it just to use diodes and add support for NKRO to the controller?

Does that mean my statement was incorrect; You don't need diodes and only need the jumpers?

Well, I'm no genius when it comes to electronic circuits. But I think that if you need diodes, then you need diodes. If you need jumpers, you might be able to use diodes in their place, if installed in the right direction.

Also, you're installing diodes for the Epsilon, right? You definitely have to use diodes, not jumpers, in that case.

If you have diodes on the board why would the switches need jumpers?

Epsilon doesn't have diodes on the board. You have to use in-switch diodes.

[MKULTRA]

Ah okay.  Thanks for the info jd.

[therecorder]

Can anyone tell me how similar in feel the Fc660c and the 87U All 45g are?

[CPTBadAss]

Can anyone tell me how similar in feel the Fc660c and the 87U All 45g are?

Not really a simple question since it'll be different per person.

[therecorder]

Can anyone tell me how similar in feel the Fc660c and the 87U All 45g are?

Not really a simple question since it'll be different per person.

I'm thinking of a comparison by one person who owns both.

[IvanIvanovich]

I have some insight to these questions about diodes vs jumpers on G80, as I have finally gotten around to making an experiment. I took old G80-3000 ISO board I had with jumper, 2KRO. I installed the diodes.
I plugged it into the PC and BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP. Then it died. The controller is cooked I think. Now, I have a controller from an old G80-1000 that had NKRO, so I am going to see if I can install that into the 3000 and get it working again.

All Cherry cylindrical keycaps from G80/G81 have the same profile regardless of ABS, PBT or POM. Mix and match to however you like it. I have some photos of Cherry 2tone white/black, black/white, etc combos on my photobucket, but it is turned off for excessive traffic so I guess that won't really help you much.

[DasHHKBProM]

HHKB PRO 2& Maple story
In maple story you cannot bind wasd and character can only be controlled with arrows
Is there any simple method out there to lock the [fn] key

atm i hold fn with pinky and use arrows aside from a tooth pick or tape is there any other way to hold this key down or lock the key in a capslock way

[CPTBadAss]

HHKB PRO 2& Maple story
In maple story you cannot bind wasd and character can only be controlled with arrows
Is there any simple method out there to lock the [fn] key

atm i hold fn with pinky and use arrows aside from a tooth pick or tape is there any other way to hold this key down or lock the key in a capslock way

You could try the key lockouts from SP or write an AHK script.

[Melvang]

Do any mechanical Compaq branded keyboards exist?  Also what kind of switches can I expect from older IBM keyboards?  A guy I work with says he has one or two IBM boards and an older Compaq and just want an idea what I might be getting into.

[CPTBadAss]

1) Do any mechanical Compaq branded keyboards exist? 
2) Also what kind of switches can I expect from older IBM keyboards?  A guy I work with says he has one or two IBM boards and an older Compaq and just want an idea what I might be getting into.

1) Ivan said that Compaq boards are often rebranded Cherry boards. So hopefully some MX boards
2) Rubber dome, proto-topre, M and F Buckling Spring switches are all possibilities. IBM is usually Buckling Springs though

[mr626]

Do any mechanical Compaq branded keyboards exist?

Sure do. Probably the most common is the MX 11800, which has mx browns and a trackball. The were originally designed for server rooms / comms racks from what I understand.

And now for my question: what would be the cheapest place to get a set of thick dyesub pbt for my Poker 2?

[CPTBadAss]

And now for my question: what would be the cheapest place to get a set of thick dyesub pbt for my Poker 2?

Um...Poker 2 comes with PBT caps. See picture #4 here.

[mr626]

Yes, I realise that. But I would like to get a more 'cherry-like' set (in terms of fonts, colouring etc).

[CPTBadAss]

Yes, I realise that. But I would like to get a more 'cherry-like' set (in terms of fonts, colouring etc).

You can try getting actual Cherry PBT caps. I just got a set for the cost of shipping from a G81-7000. There is also a GB going on now for BSP caps. The company BSP bought the Cherry PBT molds, much like how GMK bought the ABS molds, and is making new Cherry PBT caps. You can also try getting in on Ivan's PBT R2 GB, but these won't be Cherry color or font. Finally, you can try scoring a good deal on Imsto's R1 PBT caps, which are Cherry replica in profile, but again, not color or font.

[mr626]

Yes, I realise that. But I would like to get a more 'cherry-like' set (in terms of fonts, colouring etc).

You can try getting actual Cherry PBT caps. I just got a set for the cost of shipping from a G81-7000. There is also a GB going on now for BSP caps. The company BSP bought the Cherry PBT molds, much like how GMK bought the ABS molds, and is making new Cherry PBT caps. You can also try getting in on Ivan's PBT R2 GB, but these won't be Cherry color or font. Finally, you can try scoring a good deal on Imsto's R1 PBT caps, which are Cherry replica in profile, but again, not color or font.

Thanks, that was the kind of info I was after. Much appreciated.

Might have to keep an eye out for a G81-7000 to appear

[CPTBadAss]

Might have to keep an eye out for a G81-7000 to appear

Be careful, G81-7000's are pretty common but they have both ABS and PBT caps. I *believe* that the white on black/black on beige caps are ABS while the black on white are PBT.

[Sai]

Yes, I realise that. But I would like to get a more 'cherry-like' set (in terms of fonts, colouring etc).

You can try getting actual Cherry PBT caps. I just got a set for the cost of shipping from a G81-7000. There is also a GB going on now for BSP caps. The company BSP bought the Cherry PBT molds, much like how GMK bought the ABS molds, and is making new Cherry PBT caps. You can also try getting in on Ivan's PBT R2 GB, but these won't be Cherry color or font. Finally, you can try scoring a good deal on Imsto's R1 PBT caps, which are Cherry replica in profile, but again, not color or font.

i believe the font is the cherry font only the color is different way.

[CPTBadAss]

Yes, I realise that. But I would like to get a more 'cherry-like' set (in terms of fonts, colouring etc).

You can try getting actual Cherry PBT caps. I just got a set for the cost of shipping from a G81-7000. There is also a GB going on now for BSP caps. The company BSP bought the Cherry PBT molds, much like how GMK bought the ABS molds, and is making new Cherry PBT caps. You can also try getting in on Ivan's PBT R2 GB, but these won't be Cherry color or font. Finally, you can try scoring a good deal on Imsto's R1 PBT caps, which are Cherry replica in profile, but again, not color or font.

i believe the font is the cherry font only the color is different way.

What set exactly are you referring to?

[Sai]

i am referring to Cherry Replica GB R1 and R2 by Lysol.
i forgot to mention it.

[CPTBadAss]

i am referring to Cherry Replica GB R1 and R2 by Lysol.
i forgot to mention it.

The Round 1 Imsto Cherry Replicas were lasered I believe and the legends were disappointing IMO. They're fuzzy, not crisp like Cherry or GMK fonts. Hopefully R2 is better.

[mr626]

Might have to keep an eye out for a G81-7000 to appear

Be careful, G81-7000's are pretty common but they have both ABS and PBT caps. I *believe* that the white on black/black on beige caps are ABS while the black on white are PBT.

From my reading, you should be able to tell via the codes cherry uses. For dyesub PBT 'S' is the magic letter :-)