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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => DIY Discussions ARCHIVE => Topic started by: erricrice on Sun, 24 October 2010, 21:42:03
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For anyone interested, I have more pictures of the 'board here (http://s838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/).
So here's what we start with:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/DSCI0001_2.jpg)
Beauty, ain't it?
Basically what I am doing with this mod is taking out the helical spring in all the MY switches of a G81-3000 and leaving just the leaf spring(which also happens to be the actuator leaf).
This takes the force of actuation from about 60cN(and up to 120cN to bottom out!) or so to 20-25cN! This makes a G81 feel like typing on air! More on the feel later though, onto the mod! (Also, there is NO, I repeat, NO hysteresis on MY switches, so gamers, fire away!)
Continues in the discussion section...
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First, pop out them little clips keeping the 'board together:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0024.jpg)
Pretty easy, just a flathead screwdriver is necessary. Make sure to do the end first, so you can keep it apart as you hit all 10 of the clips. Starting in the middle will get you nowhere.
Here's what you end up with:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0038.jpg)
Cute little controller, huh?
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0031.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0058.jpg)
Interesting, it just smashes down against the membrane contacts, and there's a rubber bumper underneath to be sure it makes tight contact.
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0060.jpg)
Anyways, take out the hex screws from the controller and the metal plate and lift out the metal plate:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0053.jpg)
Now how do you take the switches apart? They're open on the top, but the sliders don't fall out, so what's next? Well, let's take a look at the back of the metal plate.
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0061.jpg)
And a bit closer:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0089.jpg)
Aha! So give those little black clips a little smack and they pop right off!
Here's what the switches look like after you get them off:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0066.jpg)
So!
On to the actual mod!
Back end of the switch:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0077.jpg)
The metal you see there is the actuator leaf, you should take that out before attempting to remove the spring. You don't HAVE to, but it kind of gets in the way, and if you mess it up, that switch work work properly afterwards.
To remove, just put a precision flathead underneath as shown:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0078.jpg)
And shimmy it up while rotating the driver:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0079.jpg)
Now to the not so easy part. Getting the slider out of the switch housing.
Even Sandy55 had trouble with this one. Rough translation seems to imply that he just gave up and destroyed the case:
The right where I gave up the axis because I am hard to take it off very much is a photograph of the backside. (http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/g81hbu.htm)
But alas, I had to make this happen and put them back on the 'board, so no switch destroying for me.
In comes plastic toothpics to save the day!
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0081.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/swtich.jpg)
What's happening here is that there are two tabs(on the left and right) that click into place and hold the switch from coming out of the housing. So you have to press those two tabs in toward the center of the slider while pulling it out.
Also, there are two tabs on the top and bottom that seem to be a second means for holding in the slider, but these don't seem to actually get in the way once you get the other two pressed in, they just click out of place and the slider comes out.
Unfortunately this is not easy until you've done about 20 of them, then it starts to speed up.
Basically you just insert the toothpicks from the top of the switch and confirm that they are coming out the other side(above pic is an exaggeration, they should only stick out enough to see them, otherwise you'll have trouble getting the slider to move).
It will look something like this:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0092.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0093.jpg)
Then once you've got them in place you use a blunt object to push the slider from the bottom.
Something like a larger hex driver like this:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0095.jpg)
Don't use a flathead or phillips, there's a chance you might gouge or break the internals of the switch and make it useless.
But watch out! When then slider gets to the end of the casing, everything will go flying as all the energy from the spring and from the toothpicks will be released!
Then you just remove the spring from the slider:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0083-1.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0086.jpg)
Teesy little things, but so much force!
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=2396&stc=1&d=1241639504)
So you remove the spring, take the slider and put it back into the housing. The slider goes in only one direction, there is a corner that is larger than the rest, it goes on the corner opposite to that big lump of plastic on the housing:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/lump.jpg)
You will hear a click as the plastic tabs go back into place, then the slider will move freely.
Re-insert the actuator leaf and you're done!
Then to get the switch back on the 'board, just put it in place on the metal plate, then push down on each corner(with a screwdriver or something) that has a tab one at a time until it pops back into the plate.
Rinse, repeat.
Then put the keycaps back on and you're finished!
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0099.jpg)
There, doesn't she look better now? Wait...
I have a few cautions for those of you that may actually attempt this mod.
Take the switches one row at a time, don't do them all at once. They are the only thing keeping the membranes attached to the metal plate, so if you remove them all, the membranes could get out of place, making the 'board useless. I'm sure you could get it back into place, but it's much more hassle than it's worth I think.
Also, be sure not to force the actuator leafs too much, if they bend out of place, you're basically all done.
Alright, so the reason I did this in the first place: switch feel!
Once you get everything finished and back together, it's a wonderful feeling! It really is like typing on air! I would say they are smooth, but you can't even feel them enough to tell smooth vs. rough. Truly a light switch at 20-25cN!
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0105.jpg)
That's not very many RIPs! Even you cherry blue lovers out there will have twice that many nickels on your caps.
Also, give it some time, but you WILL have problems with accidental keypresses. There is no switch currently on the market that even comes close to being this light except those crazy 30g topres, and even those are heavier by 5g. Again, give it some time and you will get used to floating your hands above rather than resting them on the keys.
Also, it's obviously very very easy to bottom out on these, but if you don't and really get used to the switch it's a very unique and pleasurable experience.
I'm gonna take this baby to work and see how she runs for a couple of days, maybe it'll replace my G80 with browns...
Another thought on this is about the longevity of the switch. I'm not sure if putting all the force onto the actuator leaf will cause them to fail prematurely, but we shall see. Just something to think about.
Great feel, I would recommend to anyone with $10 to grab a g81 on ebay and about 4-5 hours to do the mod. Worth it just to say you've used 20g switches!
I'll close with some of the 'boards more interesting features:
Awesome stabilizers on the spacebar, they do a great job!
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0100.jpg)
The modifiers are staggered, rather than centered...interesting!
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0103.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0104.jpg)
I don't have a pic of this, but the membrane has contacts(and the metal plate has holes) for all different layouts it appears, as there are two places to put the enter switch(for the vert. enter key) and an extra contact near the left shift for euro layout. Theoretically you could reuse the plate and membrane for a different layout 'board, though I'm not sure why you would want to.
And my failed attempt to create a tool that would lift the slider right out(my GF was pissed):
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0106.jpg)
And this one's for you Itlnstln, I know you were waiting for it, the insides of the case:
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI0091.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz302/erricrice/g81%20lighter%20mod/DSCI00290.jpg)
Dunno if it's G80 compatible, I've never had a standard layout G80, but there it is.
If anyone wants more pics or information, let me know and I'd be happy to post it!
Thank you and goodnight!
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Very interesting, Great post! I'll have to see if i still have any MY boards around to try this on. I wonder how it will do long-term, thoughts anyone?
Man, if this mod is any good, I'm going to seriously regret tossing the lot of these that I harvested double shot caps from last year.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_-sQ6TN93LvU/Sx6dwd7_XhI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/qBSLtR1Vo54/s800/10%20112.jpg)
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_-sQ6TN93LvU/Sx6dzJZcdDI/AAAAAAAAAKM/S-r63uwFpVc/s800/10%20104.jpg)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-sQ6TN93LvU/S2xG7EI3sjI/AAAAAAAAAf4/aUvXI0J98KE/s800/10%20080.jpg)
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Ooh, how many do you have?
I might nab some off of you sometime in the future.
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I sold all but 1 set last year, many went to Geekhackers. The keys were mint because the keyboards had covers on them, but since they were used in mechanic shops, the edges and backs of keyboard cases and cords were damaged from oil and grease. It's a shame too because they were some of the best made Cherry cases I've ever seen. But Petrolium + Plastic + time is never good.
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I see the price for used black G81-1800s go up considerably.
You put a lot of work into this, thank you.
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I may just have to try this.
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Thanks guys!
And yeah, I don't know how long it's going to last with just the leaf in there, but so far I'm not having any trouble with keybounce, but the keyboard is brand new otherwise, so we'll see.
I'm using this one at work now, so it'll get a LOT of use, I'll let you guys know if I come across any problems with it.
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Jeez, if nothing else, just make this a typing learning 'board! It really makes you lift your fingers and type properly, if you hit anything on accident it actuates!
Really makes you type more accurately, I can really recommend it for that purpose.
More as I type on it some more...
I'd be a bit worried about long term use - it would seem 25g is very light to reliably get membranes to activate - doesn't seem to be any long leverage bar there either to magnify the force.
Ahh, but about that, the leaf is pushed down in one corner, but actuates in the other corner, so the force needed is a lot less than what is put on the membrane. I've been working on it all day so far with no problems, so no short term problems for sure, but we shall see about the longterm ones.
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Ahh, but about that, the leaf is pushed down in one corner, but actuates in the other corner, so the force needed is a lot less than what is put on the membrane. I've been working on it all day so far with no problems, so no short term problems for sure, but we shall see about the longterm ones.
This lever setup is pretty neat actually, they just ought to combine it with some better, preferably tactile mechanism - I have suggested something OKI-style before. Apparently they already switched to a longer and weaker helical spring at some point (try bottoming out a pre-1996 or so sample, just about impossible), but the feel still isn't exactly satisfying. Friction levels are one reason.
25g is crazy light. That makes MX reds look like switches for weightlifters.:shocked:
And they're that light even with stock friction levels. I don't want to know what happens if one decides to grease the slider corners...
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how does hitting one of these keys off axis feel? That's the problem I Have with my FTSC boards, that hitting a key off axis the actuation force increases considerably.
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It's not bad. Even with the old springs in, it didn't increase the friction too much. This seems to vary from 'board to 'board. Probably how much it has been used plays a big factor.
Without the springs, you can't tell any difference between hitting it center and off center at all.
But yeah, I'm sure if you grease it up, it would be even lighter, which would be just nuts!
And after a day of using this, coming back to my cherry brown G80 feels like pounding away at white ALPS or a Model M. No joke, I actually have to focus to press the keys down, it's nuts!
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And after a day of using this, coming back to my cherry brown G80 feels like pounding away at white ALPS or a Model M. No joke, I actually have to focus to press the keys down, it's nuts!
LOL.
I think that sort of force levels would be far too light for me. I like some 30 g or so to rest my fingers upon the keys. People have complained about accidental keypresses with MX reds already, and those need 50 g!
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It's not bad. Even with the old springs in, it didn't increase the friction too much. This seems to vary from 'board to 'board. Probably how much it has been used plays a big factor.
This. In addition there are atleas two different variations of the FTSC switches; one with white stems and one with black stems, but both version are labeled with same model numbers. The black stemmed version is noticably lighter, I guess that they have different springs in it.
I just tryed this mod on one swtich of my G81-1800, and I really dont like to wobbly feel of the switch with the spring removed, but I didn't like it before either. To me, is basically a waste of time, as I wouldn't like using such a board.
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Finally got around to trying this mod on my G81-1800LUMUS-2.
A while back I tried it on two switches, and sorta liked it (it's not like MY switches can get much worse).
However, being lazy, I decided to use a quicker, more destructive method to remove the springs (not reversible).
Pics where taken around midnight, so lighting is crap.
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfU8nMfbuI/AAAAAAAADN8/coznvXuW0GE/s800/2010-11-20%2008.54.47.jpg)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUklQixeI/AAAAAAAADN8/pqe-LR9aEqY/s800/2010-11-19%2021.56.26.jpg)
So yeah, I didn't do all of the switches, left the spacebar as a heavy key. Along with the Esc, Enter, Backspace and Function keys.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUErHhUQI/AAAAAAAADN8/33XFZ8CQONA/s800/2010-11-19%2021.51.42.jpg)
Controller seems sorta big for what's on it.
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUIVgDCEI/AAAAAAAADN8/enSRfL4tV9s/s800/2010-11-19%2021.52.21.jpg)
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUKP5SdPI/AAAAAAAADOI/oUcNmG_iUBk/s800/2010-11-19%2021.52.52.jpg)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUMDixIwI/AAAAAAAADN8/yZcwHl5TCG4/s800/2010-11-19%2021.53.06.jpg)
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUTRLifrI/AAAAAAAADN8/MacKjwBnWrQ/s800/2010-11-19%2021.53.47.jpg)
Sharpie seemed like a good way to indicate which switches I didn't want to take off.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUfoZBzgI/AAAAAAAADN8/Y1zVpPcOvxM/s800/2010-11-19%2021.55.49.jpg)
Switches before mod.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUmoaUDrI/AAAAAAAADN8/Nawb4Va7Mp8/s800/2010-11-19%2021.58.36.jpg)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUoYnXD7I/AAAAAAAADN8/SOF-9qiANss/s800/2010-11-19%2021.59.03.jpg)
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUqcdw6yI/AAAAAAAADN8/eNiIBnYgsnI/s800/2010-11-19%2021.59.18.jpg)
Leaf spring (a small flathead screwdriver, does work very well to remove these).
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUsK6YN9I/AAAAAAAADN8/djF4sFipgJc/s800/2010-11-19%2022.01.03.jpg)
Leaf spring removed.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUuFS2jZI/AAAAAAAADN8/2FYFg2ilMp8/s800/2010-11-19%2022.01.26.jpg)
Spring removed.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfUx6P_68I/AAAAAAAADN8/ZNF2CH0JAGo/s800/2010-11-19%2022.03.19.jpg)
Ok, so what I did:
- Took a pair of scissors, and cut the plastic between the spring
- Then just used a small philips screwdriver to fish out the spring (tended to get caught on the plastic remnants)
Still took a long time, but is less tedious (and you end up getting pretty darn fast at it, provided you have decent sheers).
What's removed:
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfU13KhDJI/AAAAAAAADN8/jxmawi-fox0/s800/2010-11-19%2022.04.00.jpg)
All leaf springs removed.
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfU3cKjUPI/AAAAAAAADN8/97u_C4pMooA/s800/2010-11-19%2022.24.07.jpg)
All springs removed.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6WOoTO_7VuQ/TOfU5n-oCQI/AAAAAAAADN8/Qps3SQ2Zklg/s800/2010-11-19%2023.40.00.jpg)
Overall, I think the mod is neat. The MY switches still feel like MY switches, just very light (not that I minded MY switches before).
A really good practice board for touch typing, as it shows you all of your bad habits of resting you fingers on the keys.
Another thing I've noticed. To actuate the keys I just let my fingers fall into the keys (with a little bit of force), and the switches actuate. This makes using the board, sorta relaxing, compared to say before, where you really had to hammer, or fall (with your whole body) into the keys, to get enough force in your arms, to easily get enough force to press the keys.
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Nice! Yeah, I was getting to the point where I thought I might start cutting plastic too when I first figured this out, but I thought I would avoid that for the time being.
Must be so much faster that way!
Let me know what you think of them after a little while.
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Hah, I did it the same way. :)
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Well, it's a been a week, and I still don't regret doing the mod :biggrin:
Must mean I like it.
Unfortunately, now that I'm getting used to the 20-25cn switches, I'm itching to try lighter ones...
As a bonus, the 30g Topre is easy to use now (minimal typos).
Problem is, switches lighter than 20g don't really exist in a keyboard atm (at least that I know of).
Guess I'll have to find a keyboard to mod (or build).
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Well, it's a been a week, and I still don't regret doing the mod :biggrin:
Must mean I like it.
Unfortunately, now that I'm getting used to the 20-25cn switches, I'm itching to try lighter ones...
As a bonus, the 30g Topre is easy to use now (minimal typos).
Problem is, switches lighter than 20g don't really exist in a keyboard atm (at least that I know of).
Guess I'll have to find a keyboard to mod (or build).
Haha, great! Glad I could introduce something new to the community.
Let me know if you find anything lighter...I'm stuck with cherry Browns for now, but I'm always willing to try new ones...
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I'm studying at a German Uni. Today I opened a cupboard and saw a g81 staring back at me. Last night I read about this mod. That's great timing!!!
I've opened up the keyboard but am stuck at the hex screws part until I find a hex wrench from somewhere... I'll be trying out this mod for sure.
Question - what are the spring like? Are they the same as MX Blacks? Do any of you guys have some available for comparison? When I get my hands on an MX black g80 I'll try a ghetto red mod there by cutting springs. If these MY ones are the same that gives me a safety net.
I don't really want to buy Cherry blue switches just for the springs...
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They are NOT the same size as any cherry MX spring, unfortunately.
They are much shorter(about half the length) and much thinner(about 2/3 the diameter).
Great to hear you're considering the mod!
There's probably a comparison of size of the springs in the wiki somewhere.
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I assume you have to bottom these out to actuate, though? Or is the actuation point higher? I guess at 20-30g it wouldn't really matter if you were, that's very light typing.
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No, the actuation point is still at the 2mm point, just like standard Cherry MY. Take a look at the cherry Wiki, all the details on it are there. Basically it uses a leaf spring to actuate by pressing down the membrane.
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No, the actuation point is still at the 2mm point, just like standard Cherry MY. Take a look at the cherry Wiki, all the details on it are there. Basically it uses a leaf spring to actuate by pressing down the membrane.
Silly of me to have missed that link in it ^.^;
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These are Torx screws, not hex. A set of bits for the common medium sizes should get the job done.