Ducky Henshin: An Informal Quasi-Review of Zealios Switches and SA Profile Keycaps Told in a Narrative To Illustrate The Trials of Amateur Keyboard Customization
What you see above is a premium keyboard infused with the power of Zealios switches and Carbon SA profile keycaps. Like many great hero origin stories, the transformation of this board is the result of a serendipitous confluence of events. I’ve been planning on building my own keyboard for almost a year now. I’ve been buying components piecemeal as I’ve been able to scrape together funds. With no personal frame of reference, I bought round one 65g tactile Zealios as I’ve heard so many positive reviews of ergo Clear switches, and then Zealios, and I didn’t know when or if the opportunity to get these switches would occur again.
I’ve never typed on SA profile keycaps but I needed the options provided by the SA keycap group buys, and Carbon had a fantastic colorway and novelties. Along with all the child sets I purchased, Carbon is the single most expensive keyboard-related purchase I have ever made, by far, so I better get some use out of it. I put the Carbon set on my work board to get a feel for it. But I have all these extra keys I’m not using, so I decide to see how it looks on my Ducky Shine 3. Big Mistake! I immediately realize how awful stock Ducky keycaps are and can’t bring myself to take Carbon off my board. I can live with the stock keycaps on my Pok3r.
I was biding my time until the opportunity to buy the next component presented itself. Then, unexpectedly, a round 2 group buy of Zealio switches occurred. What should I do? I’ve read accounts of some people having problems with their round 1 switches. What if I encounter problems when I build my keyboard and don’t have enough switches to complete my custom board? I had to know what to expect from these switches, so I opened up my Ducky Shine 3 and swapped the well-worn Cherry MX Brown switches for the Zealios. Except, it wasn’t that easy.
I’m a total novice when it comes to keyboards. I couldn’t draw the solder off the switches with my Soldapullt or with solder wick. I went to my local Radio Shack to buy a desoldering iron. The salesman at Radio Shack told me how to use a solder pump. I was doing it wrong, so I decided to give it another try before buying the desoldering iron. I couldn’t get the solder off because I was taking the iron off the solder joint to completely cover the joint with the Soldapullt. This allowed the solder to solidify before I could activate the Soldapullt. This method only works when you have access to both sides of the PCB and have the iron applied to the solder joint on one side of the PCB and the Soldapullt applied to the joint on the other side of the PCB. The correct method for using the Soldapullt on the same side of the PCB as the iron is to apply the iron to one side of the solder joint and apply the Soldapullt to the other solder joint and activate it when the solder liquefies (it also helps to clean the Soldapullt out after desoldering 5 or 6 switches). I kept the Soldapullt tip as close to the solder joint as I could without touching it to the soldering iron.
I started to see some success desoldering the switches with this method but there were many stubborn solder joints. Perhaps the board had lead-free solder. I turned the iron from 730⁰ to 800⁰ and was more successful in melting the solder. In spite of making an effort to minimize heating the PCB, I managed to lift a pad off one of the LED traces. Fortunately, it still worked when I reassembled it.
With all the switches and LEDs removed from the board, it was time to install the Zealios. I managed to solder about one third of the Zealio switches when I realized some of the switches had a larger gap between the PCB. While I had made sure to seat the switches in the plate, I had not properly seated them all in the PCB. So, I desoldered the Zealios and started over. I had applied heat to the Zealios three times so I was very nervous about the condition of the switches. If I had messed them up, I would have to remove them and reinstall the Cherry MX Browns. I finished soldering the switches and the LEDs. I plugged in my board and… success! All the LEDs functioned and all the switches appeared to function correctly. The Ducky Shine’s transformation was complete.
But how do they feel? I have typed exclusively on Cherry MX Browns for the past 6 months. 65g tactile Zealio switches are noticeably heavier than the Browns, but not so heavy that I want to replace them. The tactile sensation is so noticeable (or perhaps the actuation force is so heavy) that it is now difficult to feel the tactile component of the Browns. I have been typing on Zealios for over two weeks now. The switches are very smooth and the springs are strong enough that bottoming out is never harsh. And when I do bottom out, the thick, heavy SA caps on Zealios produce the best sound I have ever heard a Cherry MX-style keyboard make. SA caps sounded good on Browns, but putting them on the Zealios took them to another level. SA profile keycaps and Zealio switches on the Ducky Shine 3 look, feel, and sound amazing.
To anyone looking for a Cherry MX-style switch heavier than a Brown, I highly recommend Zealio switches. They are possibly the best Cherry style switch on the market. I prefer a lighter switch but the 65g switches feel and sound so good, I’m not going to replace them. I did, however, buy 62g Zealios from the round 2 group buy for my next board. When I was trying to decide which switches to buy, everyone was talking up the 65g switches, and they are great. But I would have bought the 62g switches if they hadn’t sold out by the time I was ready to buy. I suspect that 62g switches will be preferable over 65g switches for people who like light switches. The only complaint that I have about Zealio switches is that I can’t see them when the keycaps are on the board. I would love to have a set of glass keycaps with etched legends (or without) so I could admire the switches while I use the keyboard.
