Author Topic: [GB] The Smallfry Keyboard Kit (Closed for Orders, 97% shipped. SEE LAST POSTS)  (Read 381386 times)

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Offline SpAmRaY

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The problem isn't the stabilizer housing, but rather that the bar hits the plate.  The notches in the plate are on the wrong side of the holes for the way the stabilizer fits into the PCB.  I ended up filing away part of the plate so my space bar wouldn't be permanently stuck in the down position.

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The black stabilizer housings won't fit in my plate notches, that I'm sure of. The wire might be a problem also but I haven't gotten that far.

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Offline Tindron

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The black stabilizer housings won't fit in my plate notches, that I'm sure of. The wire might be a problem also but I haven't gotten that far.

I was able to get them inserted by starting at an angle and then rocking back and forth with my thumb.  Some plastic got shaved off by the sharp edge of the plate but I didn't need to do any filing.

Offline Photoelectric

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Hmm, I've not had the bar hitting the plate problem so far when assembling these kits for others.  Make sure the spacebar stabilizer orientation is such that the wire is over the switch (north), not closer to you (south).  Usually if the stabilizer bar hits a plate, it means it was inserted in incorrect orientation.

Ray, if you want to send me your kit, I can assemble it (or at least insert the spacebar stabilizers).  The stabilizer "posts" do require a fair bit of filing to fit the plate.  I will be away until June 20th, but you can send it to arrive by around that date, and I'll send the kit back soon after.  Some of the plates have larger holes for stabilizers, others have smaller holes--I think there were different manufacturers or methods of polishing the edges used in the production. 
« Last Edit: Mon, 21 May 2018, 17:37:55 by Photoelectric »
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
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Offline Tindron

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Hmm, I've not had the bar hitting the plate problem so far when assembling these kits for others.  Make sure the spacebar stabilizer orientation is such that the wire is over the switch (north), not closer to you (south).  Usually if the stabilizer bar hits a plate, it means it was inserted in incorrect orientation.

Were you able to see the images I included in my post?  Don't I have it installed the way you're describing?

Offline Photoelectric

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Hmm, I've not had the bar hitting the plate problem so far when assembling these kits for others.  Make sure the spacebar stabilizer orientation is such that the wire is over the switch (north), not closer to you (south).  Usually if the stabilizer bar hits a plate, it means it was inserted in incorrect orientation.

Were you able to see the images I included in my post?  Don't I have it installed the way you're describing?

Unfortunately the images do not open, so no, I couldn't see how you have set up the stabilizers.  I can only go off my own experience with assembling a bunch of these kits now.  In the past I did install a stabilizer wire in incorrect orientation because there was an inconsistency between a 60% plate and PCB I was using, so the Enter key stabilizer wire was reversed and the wire was hitting the pate as you describe.  Thus, to avoid problems down the road, I even added to my assembly guide here to check that the stabilizer is assembled and installed correctly by using a spacebar cap and checking the movement before soldering everything together.
« Last Edit: Mon, 21 May 2018, 20:13:40 by Photoelectric »
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
- Keyboard Case Painting Tips -
- Join Mechanical Keyboards photography group on Flickr -

Offline Photoelectric

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Just FYI for anyone reprogramming their Smallfry kit - Metalliqaz's EasyAVR software works great, and you're able to control in-switch LEDs:

Link to Easy AVR USB Keyboard Firmware and Keymapper

In the main Layout section in any layer, you can assign a key to :

BL Enable : turns in-switch LEDs on/off
BL Dimmer : 5 brightness levels for all in-switch LEDs
BL Mode : not very useful, but a couple of breathing modes

(To find these options, please read through the thread above, but the TLDR is to click on a key slot on the layout map, in the new box that opens up click on Key Assignment -> Scancode -> ... button, find BackLight functions in the bottom right section of the full possible function layout).

If you're too lazy to do this and want a premade .hex file for JD40 Mark II PCB to program with FLIP, here's a version for you:

(The Toggle Left Shift Function is mostly for the number row symbols, if you need to type out multiple ones in a row and don't want to press down Shift continuously).

200949-0
« Last Edit: Sun, 29 July 2018, 14:03:07 by Photoelectric »
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
- Keyboard Case Painting Tips -
- Join Mechanical Keyboards photography group on Flickr -