Omnikey Evolution quiet mod

[Timoth79]

I have an Omnikey Evolution ergo keyboard, and am wanting to replace the existing switches with the Matias quiet clicky switches from here: http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=478

At first I was just going to use the leaf, springs, and sliders from the quiet switches, but then I read this: "The metal tactile leaf on the quiet switches is held stationary to eliminate the click noise. On the clicky switches, it's loose." so I assume this means the switch housing itself is different then the stock alps housings?

If so, then I would need to desolder all the current switches and solder in the new ones. I don't have a lot of practice soldering/desoldering, so I'm kind of nervous about it. Has anyone done anything like this before? For desoldering, I was thinking of getting this model from radioshack: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062731&utm_source=GooglePLA&utm_medium=pla&utm_term=6402060&cid=iP:PLA:RSO:Google&gclid=CJGWwObvqcECFQNeKgodkxAA_A&gclsrc=ds

and for soldering, all I have currently is a cheap walmart iron. I've done some research and it seems the Hakko fx-888 is a good model, but others have reported problems with it. I've also looked at a Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station but it seems to have some issues too (i.e. cheaply made, etc) I'm not looking to spend a ton on equipment, but I'd still like to get something with good quality.

So I guess I'm looking for any helpful advice before I dive into this. I really don't want to ruin the PCB, thanks for any help!

[jacobolus]

Yes, you need to desolder all the switches on the existing board and then solder in the Matias switches.

The housings on Matias quiet / clicky switches are the same as each-other, the “tight”/“loose” thing refers to the shape of the corners on the click/tactile leaf. However, they differ from the housings on “complicated” Alps switches like the ones in your keyboard.

I’ve found a Hakko 888 to be great as a relatively cheap hobbyist soldering iron. It doesn’t heat up as fast as some fancier models, but it’s been more than sufficient for all my keyboard soldering and desoldering needs.

For desoldering, you might prefer a Soldapullt to that Radio Shack thingy.

You might find this thread useful:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=42824.0

[Timoth79]

Thanks for the info, good to know about the Matias click leaves corners. I wonder how different the feel would be from just putting the dampened slider, leaves, and springs from the Matias switches into the complicated alps vs completely changing over to the Matias quiet switch?

[jacobolus]

I wonder how different the feel would be from just putting the dampened slider, leaves, and springs from the Matias switches into the complicated alps

It might work, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. The housing, slider, and tactile leaf aren’t quite the same shape between complicated Alps and simplified/Fuhua/Matias switches. You could probably use the tactile leaf and spring if you really want.

[Timoth79]

That makes sense, sounds like I would be best off just completely replacing the switches with the Matias ones. I'm doing this because the stock white alps were too noisy for my work office environment. I have been using dampened sliders from an old Apple keyboard, but the click hasn't been consistent ever since.

[jacobolus]

I have been using dampened sliders from an old Apple keyboard, but the click hasn't been consistent ever since.

The housing is also different between the dampened complicated Alps switches and standard ones (e.g. your clicky white switches): there are extra little plastic bumps that the little dampers run into. I’m not sure the damping quite works the way it’s intended to if you swap the dampened sliders into other housings; I haven’t extensively experimented though.

Anyhow, I find the original dampened Alps switches to be not tactile enough, and a bit too stiff. They end up feeling kind of mushy. Matias quiet switches have really satisfying tactile leaves, I think.

In fact, I think my favorite combination out of the parts you have available would be the the housings from the dampened switches from your Apple keyboard, possibly the springs from the white Alps switches (I’m not precisely sure, these might be the same as the springs in the dampened switches), and the tactile leaves from the Matias switches. The Matias tactile leaves are a slightly different shape, but I think they’d still fit in the complicated Alps housings. If feeling really ambitious, I’d even cut a few loops off each spring, to reduce the switch stiffness a bit.

[Timoth79]

Thanks, I wasn't aware that there were additional plastic bumps. I did some searching and found this image which shows this:
http://deskthority.net/w/images/d/df/Alps_SKCM_Cream_Damped_vs_White_--_slider_stops.jpg

It looks like the little bumps in my current housings may not even come into contact with the rubber dampener because they aren't wide enough.

Your suggested combination of equipment sounds interesting, unfortunately I threw out the Apple keyboard because I had no more use for it at the time. Now I wish I'd known about those plastic bumps sooner. Oh well, live and learn I guess 

[jacobolus]

Your suggested combination of equipment sounds interesting, unfortunately I threw out the Apple keyboard because I had no more use for it at the time. Now I wish I'd known about those plastic bumps sooner. Oh well, live and learn I guess 

I hope you at least kept the keycaps: those AEK IIs have pretty much the nicest Alps keycaps anywhere, very thick PBT dye-subs. Much nicer than whatever ABS caps are on your Omnikey. (Though some people seem to despise Apple’s condensed oblique Univers legends.)

[Timoth79]

Oh wow, unfortunately I didn't keep the keycaps either  As for an update, I did manage to desolder all the switches on the board. Now just waiting for the Matias switches to arrive. The radio shack desolder tool was really easy to use and made quick work of it.