The following is a summary of the build process that I went through modifying a stock Poker X with MX-Black switches. I don't have a lot of free time at the moment, so I broke up the build over the course of six weeks. I would just focus on one stage at a time. I've included a few photos in the post, but you can see the full gallery at
this link.
Modification Summary (aka TL;DR) - Lubricated the switches
- Installed a plate
- Swapped out LEDs
- Installed stickers
- Replaced key caps
Getting StartedI bought a KBC Poker from MechanicalKeyboards.com at the last minute when they were selling out a few months ago. The rumored Poker II was coming out "soon", so it was clear that if I wanted an original Poker this might be the last chance to get one new. All they had left was one with MX-Black so I bought it thinking that I'd replace the switches with something else down the road. Surprisingly, I fell in love with the switches and now use it as my daily driver at work because it's so much quieter for others in my office.
As I fell in love with the stronger springs of the MX-Blacks and the quietness of the switches, I began trying out different key caps and sourcing various parts and tools for the build. The overall theme seemed to be the color black.
The PlateThe first modification I knew I wanted to make was to install a plate. I had purchased three different plates since joining GeekHack and I opted to use the one from
iMav's DIY Poker group buy. Unfortunately, I wasn't a member of GeekHack at the time of the group buy, but I was able to source one from
BossBorot. In fact, it was one of the first purchases I ever made from another forum member (Dec. 2012).
I chose the DIY plate because it was black and matched the theme of the build. It doesn't allow for the modification of switches without desoldering, but that didn't seem like that big of a deal since I was going to modify the switches before installing the plate.
DesolderingDigging through my old electronics toolbox, I came across a
Radio Shack desoldering iron. WhiteFireDragon had
recommended this tool as a budget desoldering iron and since I already owned one, I figured I'd at least try it. And did I mention it's old?
"How old is it?" I'm glad you asked! The last time I used it was in the late 80's when I was building a MIDI switcher. Yes, it's over 20 years old.
)
Much to my surprise, the old girl performed perfectly. The desoldering process was fairly easy and straightforward. I'd squeeze the blub and then place the soldering iron over the switch post for a few seconds. When the joint would melt, I'd release the bulb and remove the soldering iron from the switch. Sometimes I might have to do it more than once, but it was a pretty simple process. The only part that were a little more difficult were the LEDs because the joints were much smaller.
Desoldered PCB Closeup by
cpkey, on Flickr
I didn't time myself, but the whole process didn't take more than 30 minutes and when it was complete. When it was done, I had a container of switches, a few LEDs and a PCB. Pretty simple.
Installing Switch StickersMost people seem to think that swtich stickers are mostly for cosmetic purposes and don't serve any other function. Others will argue that it makes the switches feel more solid. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but I figured if I was going to open and lubricate all the switches, I might as well install stickers while I was at it.
I had ordered a complete set of stickers in all colors from
The Originative when they first launched their site. At the time I bought them, stickers were really hard to come by, so I bought one in every color they had: black, blue, green, red and white. They were made in Korea and come with 110 stickers per sheet.
When disassembled, each switch brokedown into: a switch top, a switch bottom, spring and stem. Given that it might be weeks until I had the time to lubricate all the switches, having containers was critical. Using a small screwdriver, I took each switch apart and separated each piece into a different container.
With the switches disassembled, I then took some tweezers and pulled a sticker off and applied it to the bottom of the swtich housing. This part was somewhat tedious due to how you have to line up the sticker before applying pressure to stick it to the bottom of the casing. Then again, it might be easier for those with younger eyes than mine.
Eventually I found a rhythm that worked and was able to install a sticker in about 30 seconds per switch. All-in-all, the process took about one hour. I did take a couple of breaks to strech my neck and rest my eyes. The fact that I also refilled my
glass with scotch was completely irrelevant.
Lubricating The SwitchesGoing into this, I knew that this would be the most tedious phase of the build process, so I put it off for several weeks until I had the patience and time. I couldn't think of a good way to break it up in to smaller steps, so I knew I'd have to do everything in one fell swoop.
I used WhiteFireDragon's method, which you can
see a video of here, going through the following steps:
1. Using a 50/50 mixture of Krytox 205 grease and Krytox 103 oil, I applied a small amount on the left and right inside guides.
2. Using Victorinox Oil, I lubricated the inside of the stem housing.
3. Using Victorinox Oil, I lubricated the springs.
4. Returning to the Kyrtox mixture, I lubricated the sides of the MX-Black stem
5. The final step was to use the Victorinox oil on stem
Since I don't have a
lubing station I chose to rig up something using the iMav DIY Plate and a couple of clear boxes instead. It worked out OK and I didn't have any real issues with it, however, I do think if you plan on doing any kind of lube work , it'd definitely be worth the investment.
I did each step for all switches in one pass. In other words, I applied the Krytox mixture to the inside of the guides for all the switches (step 1). Then I'd move on to step 2 and oil the inside of the stem housing. I walked through all the steps like this except for the final one. When I finished a row of the MX-Black stems, I would close up the switches just to break up the monotony, stretch, rest my eyes, fill my glass... you get the idea. :-)
Total time was about 2.5 hours, which was a bit alarming. It was one of those moments where you look up at the clock and are shocked to see what time it is.
It was totally worth it though. The feel of lubed linear switches is really, really nice. The switches seem to just float under my fingers. After a few TypeRacer races, I don't see that I'm typing any faster, but I really do enjoy the feeling.
Soldering The SwitchesIt took me a good two weeks to work up the time and energy to lube the switches, but with that out of the way, I was eager to solder up the board and begin using it. So a couple of days later, I was back in the garage and ready for the fun stuff.
I mounted three switches into the plate -- spacebar, escape and backspace for -- and then placed them into the holes on the board. This allowed me to easily match the plate to the PCB and then have a solid mounting surface in which to install the remaining switches.
Speaking of switches, the Poker came with PCB mount switches, since it didn't come with a plate, and you can
convert PCB mount switches by trimming off the pins, but I opted not to. I left the pins in place. There didn't appear to be any difficulty leaving them in place and if anything provided a much more solid feel.
After the first three alignment switches were in place, I went row-by-row snapping the switches into place and then soldering them. When a row was finished, I'd re-tin the tip of the soldering iron and then inspect my work to see if I had any bad joints. There were a couple I wasn't happy with, so I'd touch those up, but not many.
After all the switches were soldered in place, I hooked up a USB cable to the board and plugged it into my laptop. Normally, I get a prompt when a new keyboard is plugged into the laptop asking me to press a couple of keys and identify if the board is ANSI, or ISO, etc. I didn't get that prompt. Figuring I had screwed up something royally, I fired up a text editor and was delighted to see that everything was fine! I didn't get the prompt because I'd already used this board on the laptop. Duh!
I tested each key and confirmed that it was actuating properly and even mashed a bunch of keys and ran my thumb down each row. Anything I could think of that there was a problem, but everything tested fine.
Soldering LEDsAt this point I felt like I was on a roll, so I pushed forward and tried soldering in the LEDs. I'd never done this before, so I was a bit hesitant. I just knew that I'd have the wrong LEDs, or install them backwards and thus end the evening on a sour note. I'm happy to say, it was quite the opposite.
Based on feedback I received from one of my threads, I ordered two different types of LEDs from
SuperBrightLeds.com in two different colors: standard round top and flat-top. There were certianly less expensive options, but I didn't need that many LEDs, and didn't want to wait for a bag of 100 to arrive from China
and I really didn't know what I was ordering. So I figured a small order would be the best bet.
Since they don't make black LEDs, the white ones seemed the most approporiate for this build and I decided to use the flat-top versions. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the longer lead is the "+" side of the LED, so I looked on the board to see if there was any indication of a positive symbol. I found one, so I put in one LED and bent the leads so that they touched the side and plugged in the Poker again. Like everything else in this build, I was surprised to find that it worked!
Unplugging the keyboard, I inserted LEDs into all the switches that had traces to them and bent one of the leads to hold them in place. I then flipped the board over, trimmed the unbent led and soldered it in place. With all the LEDs secured, I straightened each remaining lead, trimmed and soldered it in place. Flipping the board back over, I plugged in the USB and then tested it to make sure they all worked and they did!
One of the interesting discoveries that I noticed was the fact that I installed the caps lock LED in a different place than where it was originally. Since I couldn't remember where all the LEDs went, I referred to
an earlier picture I posted and after I was done, I noticed that the caps lock LED in the original photo had the LED in the switch, not off to the side. Clearly it can go in either location, or in both if you were so inclined.
Replacing The Key CapsWith the board re-built, I brought it into work with some CCnG key caps and gave it a work over. For two days, I spent 12 hours a day typing away and not a single issue cropped up. It was a dream to type on and it felt so good to know that I'd customized it to nearly exactly what I wanted. The biggest thing remaining was to replace the key caps.
The first time I saw
WhiteRice's Poker, I fell instantly in love with his key caps and scrambled to try and find a set. My best bet was to find a set of
Round 3 Style, but that group buy was already approaching it's second year and there was little hope of me finding a set.
As luck would have it, back in April I came across someone looking to
sell their TKL set and quickly snatched it up. 7bit was gracious as always in facilitating the exchange of his order over to mine and I knew then that I'd found the perfect key cap set for this board. Three days after I completed the build, the set arrived on my doorstep.
I bought the keyboard in February and four months later, I had done a complete modification from end-to-end. It was a delightful and fun experience overall and full of surprises at just how easy it was to modify this keyboard. It's clear to me now why so many people love this keyboard.
What's Left?It seems like a build is never complete and there are just a couple of small things that keep this board from being marked off as "complete".
I Have A Screw LooseWhen I went to screw in board back into the case, I found that the mounting hole in the plate behind the Tab key was too small. The screws that came with the keyboard have a washer type head and it's too large. It hasn't stopped me from using it and I don't see that affects the performance in any way, but I would like to replace it. Thankfully, a quick search here and
jdcarpe to the rescue! He found the exact screw and for $6, I have a bag of 100 shipping to me on Monday.
MX-Grey Swap OutI'm a big fan of strong springs, and I wanted to put an MX-Grey (linear) switch in for the backspace and spacebar locations.
Pexon ran a GB for them, but the USPS lost my shipment.
Photeq to the rescue! I had to force him to take my money, but Photeq has 5 MX-Grey switches in route to me from England.
Custom Grey USB CableNow that the Round 3 key caps are on the keyboard, it feels like I need a custom cable to go with it.
Pexon to the rescue! Although my lost switches from his group buy are in now way his responsiblity, or fault, he insisted that he at least send me a cable, so a MDPC Titanium Grey is being shipped to me. In fact, I had to force him to allow me to pay for shipping as well.
GeekHack Is An Amazing CommunityI have to give thanks to everyone in this community for all the many ways I was helped along the way with the build. Yes, there have been some real heroes who have gone far and above what an average person would do in order to help me -- Pexon, Photeq and jdcarpe -- but there are many, many more that have helped as well.
This project wasn't done in a vacuum, it was done reading thread-after-thread and learning all the various details that went into me undertaking this project. So many people contribute so much information and time into this hobby that I can't begin to thank them all. Just know that I am very, very thankful.
Thank you my fellow GeekHack members for giving me such a wonderfully excting, fun and interesting hobby.
