Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
A trick I used when replacing the LED's on my Pure: You don't need to remove the solder in the holes. Trim the LED leads to the right length before you install them. Then place it in position in the switch, you can find the little holes in the bottom of the switch for the leads by feel. Keeping some pressure on the LED, apply a soldering iron with a little solder on the tip to both contacts of the LED at the same time. The solder that is in the holes will melt and the LED will sit down into position with the leads just poking through the board. After I put all the LEDs on the board I reflowed all the joints with a tinned iron just to make sure they were "wet".
The tricky part is cutting the leads to the right length. I used the old LED's as a reference, but you can judge it by eye for the first one and then adjust longer / shorter as needed. Having the right length leads prevents the lead from "wicking" the solder out the hole as it goes through and reduces the chances of a "dry" joint.
If you want to add stickers / change springs, etc. you have to do it while the switch is loose (not soldered to the board) since the plate prevents the switch from being opened. Unless you mod the plate by adding little gaps for the switch tabs on every hole, but that's a LOT of work. Would make it easier for modding the switches later, though. See here: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53722.0
Or you can replace the plate with a custom one that has the little gaps already. IMSTO has some aluminium ones made by Hammer in his store: http://imsto.cn/index.php?route=product/product&path=63&product_id=67
Please double check with imsto if the plates work with poker II. The space bar stabilizer orientation looks different.
Please double check with imsto if the plates work with poker II. The space bar stabilizer orientation looks different.
The Poker stabiliser bar sits below the plate, so it should fit just fine:Show Image(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4538/plate04.jpg)
The right hand LED may be a problem, though.
Is it possible to put WASD Costar-style stabilizers on the poker II?
They're Cherry stabs as stock.
Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
A trick I used when replacing the LED's on my Pure: You don't need to remove the solder in the holes. Trim the LED leads to the right length before you install them. Then place it in position in the switch, you can find the little holes in the bottom of the switch for the leads by feel. Keeping some pressure on the LED, apply a soldering iron with a little solder on the tip to both contacts of the LED at the same time. The solder that is in the holes will melt and the LED will sit down into position with the leads just poking through the board. After I put all the LEDs on the board I reflowed all the joints with a tinned iron just to make sure they were "wet".
The tricky part is cutting the leads to the right length. I used the old LED's as a reference, but you can judge it by eye for the first one and then adjust longer / shorter as needed. Having the right length leads prevents the lead from "wicking" the solder out the hole as it goes through and reduces the chances of a "dry" joint.
If you want to add stickers / change springs, etc. you have to do it while the switch is loose (not soldered to the board) since the plate prevents the switch from being opened. Unless you mod the plate by adding little gaps for the switch tabs on every hole, but that's a LOT of work. Would make it easier for modding the switches later, though. See here: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53722.0
Or you can replace the plate with a custom one that has the little gaps already. IMSTO has some aluminium ones made by Hammer in his store: http://imsto.cn/index.php?route=product/product&path=63&product_id=67
Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
A trick I used when replacing the LED's on my Pure: You don't need to remove the solder in the holes. Trim the LED leads to the right length before you install them. Then place it in position in the switch, you can find the little holes in the bottom of the switch for the leads by feel. Keeping some pressure on the LED, apply a soldering iron with a little solder on the tip to both contacts of the LED at the same time. The solder that is in the holes will melt and the LED will sit down into position with the leads just poking through the board. After I put all the LEDs on the board I reflowed all the joints with a tinned iron just to make sure they were "wet".
The tricky part is cutting the leads to the right length. I used the old LED's as a reference, but you can judge it by eye for the first one and then adjust longer / shorter as needed. Having the right length leads prevents the lead from "wicking" the solder out the hole as it goes through and reduces the chances of a "dry" joint.
If you want to add stickers / change springs, etc. you have to do it while the switch is loose (not soldered to the board) since the plate prevents the switch from being opened. Unless you mod the plate by adding little gaps for the switch tabs on every hole, but that's a LOT of work. Would make it easier for modding the switches later, though. See here: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53722.0
Or you can replace the plate with a custom one that has the little gaps already. IMSTO has some aluminium ones made by Hammer in his store: http://imsto.cn/index.php?route=product/product&path=63&product_id=67
Thanks for posting this! I also am thinking about buying a poker and swapping out the switches and this looks like it will be of great help!
Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
A trick I used when replacing the LED's on my Pure: You don't need to remove the solder in the holes. Trim the LED leads to the right length before you install them. Then place it in position in the switch, you can find the little holes in the bottom of the switch for the leads by feel. Keeping some pressure on the LED, apply a soldering iron with a little solder on the tip to both contacts of the LED at the same time. The solder that is in the holes will melt and the LED will sit down into position with the leads just poking through the board. After I put all the LEDs on the board I reflowed all the joints with a tinned iron just to make sure they were "wet".
The tricky part is cutting the leads to the right length. I used the old LED's as a reference, but you can judge it by eye for the first one and then adjust longer / shorter as needed. Having the right length leads prevents the lead from "wicking" the solder out the hole as it goes through and reduces the chances of a "dry" joint.
If you want to add stickers / change springs, etc. you have to do it while the switch is loose (not soldered to the board) since the plate prevents the switch from being opened. Unless you mod the plate by adding little gaps for the switch tabs on every hole, but that's a LOT of work. Would make it easier for modding the switches later, though. See here: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=53722.0
Or you can replace the plate with a custom one that has the little gaps already. IMSTO has some aluminium ones made by Hammer in his store: http://imsto.cn/index.php?route=product/product&path=63&product_id=67
I got this on Thursday: http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=95
It's absolutely amazing. No plate to cause pinging. MX Clears. Shaped like the IBM Model M, with the incline, so I didn't really have to adjust to a new feel of a keyboard.
One of the things other people around me complained about, is the spacebar makes like this weird boop noise? I ****ing love it. But other people said it made it more obvious when I hit the space bar as opposed to other keyboards and that it was distracting to them.
I love it though, and the MX Clears completely poop on the MX Browns. That extra length in the bump is very noticeable when playing games. Not so much when typing, they both feel the same when typing, although I type so fast, it'd be impossible to notice that kind of bump. When gaming, I totally feel the difference. The browns have a more subtle bump, where as the MX Clears have a more noticeable bump. I didn't notice much of a difference between the MX Browns and the MX Clears in terms of resistance. But, I'm using the the Model M buckling springs, but I'm a very heavy-handed typer, so I wouldn't notice much of anything less than 80g of resistance. The Reds/Blacks/Browns/Blue/Clear all felt the same to me in terms of resistance.
They're currently out of stock of it, because I bought the last one, but I'm sure you could find it elsewhere online, or try contacting the MFR.
Not many MFRs use the Clears, because they're rare. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Clear There's like 4 total keyboards on there that are still in production.
Most people would rather settle for the Browns, because of the lighter spring and less bump.
I just used this method and a fork to change the red switch on my spacebar to a black one. Maybe this could work for you?
I just used this method and a fork to change the red switch on my spacebar to a black one. Maybe this could work for you?
The poker 2 is plate mounted that video is of a PCB mounted keyboard.
Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
So I have been wanting to get a Poker II for a while now, but would like to get clears in them. And obviously can't find anyone that stocks them. Is replacing switches from a plate that much harder than from the board? I think I may just get the 110 switches from mechanicalkeyboards and doing it myself, along with an LED mod and probably stickers.
I don't see why that's a bad thing. I can't live without the numberpad.I got this on Thursday: http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=95
It's absolutely amazing. No plate to cause pinging. MX Clears. Shaped like the IBM Model M, with the incline, so I didn't really have to adjust to a new feel of a keyboard.
One of the things other people around me complained about, is the spacebar makes like this weird boop noise? I ****ing love it. But other people said it made it more obvious when I hit the space bar as opposed to other keyboards and that it was distracting to them.
I love it though, and the MX Clears completely poop on the MX Browns. That extra length in the bump is very noticeable when playing games. Not so much when typing, they both feel the same when typing, although I type so fast, it'd be impossible to notice that kind of bump. When gaming, I totally feel the difference. The browns have a more subtle bump, where as the MX Clears have a more noticeable bump. I didn't notice much of a difference between the MX Browns and the MX Clears in terms of resistance. But, I'm using the the Model M buckling springs, but I'm a very heavy-handed typer, so I wouldn't notice much of anything less than 80g of resistance. The Reds/Blacks/Browns/Blue/Clear all felt the same to me in terms of resistance.
They're currently out of stock of it, because I bought the last one, but I'm sure you could find it elsewhere online, or try contacting the MFR.
Not many MFRs use the Clears, because they're rare. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX_Clear There's like 4 total keyboards on there that are still in production.
Most people would rather settle for the Browns, because of the lighter spring and less bump.
If only that came in a tkl.
cool, I will order the rectangular LEDs. ty!So I have been wanting to get a Poker II for a while now, but would like to get clears in them. And obviously can't find anyone that stocks them. Is replacing switches from a plate that much harder than from the board? I think I may just get the 110 switches from mechanicalkeyboards and doing it myself, along with an LED mod and probably stickers.
I did just that. I didn't want to mess with the smd resistors, so I just did an LED test to find the brightest/most comfortable replacement LEDs for me:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=35152.msg1325298#msg1325298
Swapping the switches isn't too bad, with decent solder sucker it'll take a hour or so. Adding LEDs is a nightmare without a fancy desoldering pump, as you have to get the miniscule amount of solder out of the otherwise empty holes first.
But if he just gets a non LED version he has nothing to worry about.
Plus I use the $15 radioshack desoldering pump and I can desolder LEDs quite easily. You just need to let it sit on top for a few seconds then suck.
I just realized that the clear mx at mechanicalkeyboards.com are PCB mount. Will it make a difference if I install it on on the poker II plate? Do I just cut off the extra stuff?
I just realized that the clear mx at mechanicalkeyboards.com are PCB mount. Will it make a difference if I install it on on the poker II plate? Do I just cut off the extra stuff?
I got mine from there too - they had both PCB and plate mount available. Double check the list?
I just realized that the clear mx at mechanicalkeyboards.com are PCB mount. Will it make a difference if I install it on on the poker II plate? Do I just cut off the extra stuff?
Either they removed that option or they sold out really quickly.
Then again I've never seen any poker 2 keyboards come with clears as a stock option
Yeah, the mods posted in the discussion saying that it was an error and they never had clear mx stock. Does anyone know if the pbt on the white and black(grey) version are the same thickness?
Either they removed that option or they sold out really quickly.
Then again I've never seen any poker 2 keyboards come with clears as a stock option
Yeah that's a shame the current standard MX are still Black Blue Brown Red while people are mostly considering newly popular MX like clears or greens. In my opinion boards that offers six MX choices are doing it right.
I'll have to mod my Poker this summer which is pretty lame considering i'll have to waste those still-good browns.
Either they removed that option or they sold out really quickly.
Then again I've never seen any poker 2 keyboards come with clears as a stock option
Yeah that's a shame the current standard MX are still Black Blue Brown Red while people are mostly considering newly popular MX like clears or greens. In my opinion boards that offers six MX choices are doing it right.
I'll have to mod my Poker this summer which is pretty lame considering i'll have to waste those still-good browns.
Well seeing that browns are generally regarded as the worst mx switch, just think of it as throwing away the trash or something lol. It's not as though its something like blacks or blues where it would be a waste taking them out hahah
Well seeing that browns are generally regarded as the worst mx switch, just think of it as [...]
Why do people want a poker II so badly? Wait for something that has better programability
If you look at the comments on MD, they've double checked with their vendor, and the backlit version will definitely be white with PBT caps.
I've ordered one, will let you know what I receive.
Hmm if you guys are all getting it on it maybe I should too
Hmm if you guys are all getting it on it maybe I should too
I think the white with PBT keycaps does not support backlit legends so the light just shines from below the caps.
If you read their latest commend, they're trying to get PBT legends that support backlighting on their next drop but with no promises
Those aren't very common. And TBH I'm more interested in the fact that it's all white and PBT than the backlighting (which I'll never use anyways).
Reasons for wanting a Poker 2:.
2. Fits all 60% cases..
I do wish it came with Clears, though.
The duck/eagle is also 2x+ the price of the poker, and I would love a gh60, but they are not out yet, like you mentioned, and the order closed months ago
The duck/eagle is also 2x+ the price of the poker, and I would love a gh60, but they are not out yet, like you mentioned, and the order closed months ago
Its actually 3x the price after you add switches, keycaps and stabilizers.
Either they removed that option or they sold out really quickly.
Then again I've never seen any poker 2 keyboards come with clears as a stock option
Yeah that's a shame the current standard MX are still Black Blue Brown Red while people are mostly considering newly popular MX like clears or greens. In my opinion boards that offers six MX choices are doing it right.
I'll have to mod my Poker this summer which is pretty lame considering i'll have to waste those still-good browns.
Either they removed that option or they sold out really quickly.
Then again I've never seen any poker 2 keyboards come with clears as a stock option
Yeah that's a shame the current standard MX are still Black Blue Brown Red while people are mostly considering newly popular MX like clears or greens. In my opinion boards that offers six MX choices are doing it right.
I'll have to mod my Poker this summer which is pretty lame considering i'll have to waste those still-good browns.
When I first got here, reds did not exist. At least they've done that at all.
In the same way, the only way to get clears was to manage to source something that already had them from back when they were still a switch that was produced. At least you can source them as individual switches now.
About a year ago the only way to get clears was off old Cherry boards, tg3 cop boards, ducky shine 2 (why I got mine), and that one deck board.Either they removed that option or they sold out really quickly.
Then again I've never seen any poker 2 keyboards come with clears as a stock option
Yeah that's a shame the current standard MX are still Black Blue Brown Red while people are mostly considering newly popular MX like clears or greens. In my opinion boards that offers six MX choices are doing it right.
I'll have to mod my Poker this summer which is pretty lame considering i'll have to waste those still-good browns.
When I first got here, reds did not exist. At least they've done that at all.
In the same way, the only way to get clears was to manage to source something that already had them from back when they were still a switch that was produced. At least you can source them as individual switches now.
Clears are not produced anymore? I'm pretty sure you can get some in here : Here LoL (http://bit.ly/1nU2J8E)
._.?