So, AboStudio's GHpad+backlighting board ... is PCB-mount without some hoop jumping that I had assumed I didn't need to go through because it's a small board and I thought I'd play with the PCB mount thing with it.
I put switches in (clears, fwiw) and have flashed the board with meaning (not in that order - tested firmware with aquakeys then soldered switches. Missed a pin too). and said alright, time for keycaps.
I don't have much of a system for storing keycaps I'm not using so I just grabbed a bunch and started putting them on but decided no, I want this somewhere else. So, tried to pull the Tai-Hao ABS cap off, and the switchtop came with it, slider in a death grip that took some doing to remove.
Found the spring, the slider, the switchtop ... and now the clear is linear. Was afraid to plug the board in, honestly but eventually I tried it, and found that, yep, that key sends nothing.
Opening the next one (same way but was ready this time; no wild parts-flying-through-air thing) I compared, and I believe the contact plate is mangled, although I can't see in there real well so I couldn't tell you exactly how / in which direction. This is about the third switch I've destroyed vis-a-vis the switchtop, albeit the first where I was actually just trying to get the keycap off.
Is there any hope for a mangled contact plate, or should I just toss this as a bad experience?
edit: something else I realized; what's in common for these three switches I destroyed (well, two of them including this one) is: I put the switch top back on, upside down. This board has you put all the switches in with the LED holes at the top; I had tried to put in back together with the "conventional" orientation, and it was all the way on before I realized my mistake.
