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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Cynez on Sat, 20 October 2012, 01:55:06

Title: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Cynez on Sat, 20 October 2012, 01:55:06
Really want one but hate how Das keyboards look and don't like their size. Any suggestions on the best way to get one?  Hated soldering in my engineering classes but can alway consider it I suppose.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: TheProfosist on Sat, 20 October 2012, 02:04:31
Get some blue + clears and solder ;)
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: The_Beast on Sat, 20 October 2012, 02:27:29
Have someone do it for you.
Title: Re: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: TheProfosist on Sat, 20 October 2012, 02:32:42
Have someone do it for you.
like me? ;)
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: The_Beast on Sat, 20 October 2012, 03:00:55
I wouldn't mind doing it if I had more time/didn't have such a mixed up schedule :'(
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Cynez on Tue, 23 October 2012, 10:27:42
Have someone do it for you.
like me? ;)


I've seen where some people have comments in their sigs that they'll do it, and messaged one of them but haven't heard back.  I know how to solder but kinda suck at it and have no real interest to get good enough to mod switches :P  So I need to find someone willing to mod a Filco for me with clears.  Just hard to find someone when the only person I've seen hasn't responded :(
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Burz on Tue, 23 October 2012, 11:28:13
Based on my cursory knowledge of modding switches (i.e. just what I pick up reading GH and DT threads) the easiest way to get ergo clears would be to buy a keyboard with clears that are PCB mounted. You can open up these switches without de/soldering.

Then get some of those Korean springs everyone talks about, and use them to replace the original clear springs. If you can't get just the springs, then buy some brown switches and take the springs from them.

BTW, I never owned a board with Cherry switches.
 
 
 
(Okay experienced GHers... How did I do?? :) )
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: The_Beast on Tue, 23 October 2012, 11:45:31
Based on my cursory knowledge of modding switches (i.e. just what I pick up reading GH and DT threads) the easiest way to get ergo clears would be to buy a keyboard with clears that are PCB mounted. You can open up these switches without de/soldering.

Then get some of those Korean springs everyone talks about, and use them to replace the original clear springs. If you can't get just the springs, then buy some brown switches and take the springs from them.

BTW, I never owned a board with Cherry switches.
 
 
 
(Okay experienced GHers... How did I do?? :) )


It's kinda hard to find clear switches on any keyboard so most of the time people buy a PCB mount board with browns/blues/reds and then buy clear switchs and do the stem swap like that
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 23 October 2012, 11:55:22
Right besides Cherry and Deck that use clear on thier standard models only Leopold and Keycool had limited version with clear.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Cynez on Tue, 23 October 2012, 13:54:25
Yeah, I've been contemplating just getting a Deck somewhere somehow and then finding someone to take the clears from it and put them in a Filco (as a last resort).  Otherwise just keeping an eye out for clears in the classifieds.  Bid on DanG's but couldn't be on for final hours of the auction and lost by $11 :(  Would have gladly out bid that guy.  Sad times.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 23 October 2012, 14:00:23
Here's one with a few legit colored Cherry keys, and it's MX clears too... G80-1819HEU (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=2013.1.0.123.caf687&scm=1007.77.0.0&id=15194352176&ad_id=&am_id=&cm_id=&pm_id=). Appears to have been a custom order for bank teller station. Would probably be about $80-85 all in with agent fees and reshipping to USA.
Pretty nice board really. Even if you not interested in the entire thing, you should be able to at least break even sell the keycaps and case/pcb.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Cynez on Tue, 23 October 2012, 14:44:49
Here's one with a few legit colored Cherry keys, and it's MX clears too... G80-1819HEU (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=2013.1.0.123.caf687&scm=1007.77.0.0&id=15194352176&ad_id=&am_id=&cm_id=&pm_id=). Appears to have been a custom order for bank teller station. Would probably be about $80-85 all in with agent fees and reshipping to USA.
Pretty nice board really. Even if you not interested in the entire thing, you should be able to at least break even sell the keycaps and case/pcb.

Just bought MagicMeatball's Ergo clear board that he put in the classifieds haha.  Very excited.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Tue, 23 October 2012, 14:49:17
Congrats. That is a very nice one for sure.
Title: Re: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: TheProfosist on Tue, 23 October 2012, 14:55:59
Here's one with a few legit colored Cherry keys, and it's MX clears too... G80-1819HEU (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=2013.1.0.123.caf687&scm=1007.77.0.0&id=15194352176&ad_id=&am_id=&cm_id=&pm_id=). Appears to have been a custom order for bank teller station. Would probably be about $80-85 all in with agent fees and reshipping to USA.
Pretty nice board really. Even if you not interested in the entire thing, you should be able to at least break even sell the keycaps and case/pcb.

Just bought MagicMeatball's Ergo clear board that he put in the classifieds haha.  Very excited.
dang wanted the phantom pcb :(
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Appeac on Tue, 23 October 2012, 15:40:31
I was able to find a clear leopold from sherryton (at the time, he had one more available), and I had another leopold with browns. Now I have a tkl with ergoclears and a fullsize with stiff browns, pretty much feel like broken blacks, but it's my work kb so it's all good.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Caaaarrrt on Tue, 23 October 2012, 16:09:30
I was able to find a clear leopold from sherryton (at the time, he had one more available), and I had another leopold with browns. Now I have a tkl with ergoclears and a fullsize with stiff browns, pretty much feel like broken blacks, but it's my work kb so it's all good.

I was wondering what browns with clear springs would be like since I was going to use springs from browns in clear switches for ergo clears. But if they just feel like broken blacks then there probably isn't much point worrying about putting the browns and clear springs together.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: Appeac on Tue, 23 October 2012, 22:02:23
I was able to find a clear leopold from sherryton (at the time, he had one more available), and I had another leopold with browns. Now I have a tkl with ergoclears and a fullsize with stiff browns, pretty much feel like broken blacks, but it's my work kb so it's all good.

I was wondering what browns with clear springs would be like since I was going to use springs from browns in clear switches for ergo clears. But if they just feel like broken blacks then there probably isn't much point worrying about putting the browns and clear springs together.

From the boards I've tried of friends and such, reds are the obviously best choice to steal switches from if you're going to use the resultant board, and blues a pretty distant second with browns way out the end. I already owned it so I couldn't help it.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: jdcarpe on Tue, 23 October 2012, 22:08:58
Brown stems with clear springs are almost like blacks = no point.
Title: Re: Best way to go about ergo clear board?
Post by: zmurf on Sat, 27 October 2012, 00:55:43
You don't HAVE to solder to change spring... It's only the plate mounted switches that have to be de-soldered before you can open them. I didn't solder when I changed my springs.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=24449

Yes.. there is a soldering iron on the pictures... But I didn't use it to de-solder the switches.