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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: gameaholic on Thu, 04 August 2016, 15:14:27

Title: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: gameaholic on Thu, 04 August 2016, 15:14:27
http://www.pcgamingrace.com/collections/glorious-gaming-modular-cherry-gateron-kailh-mechanical-keyboards/products/glorious-modular-mechanical-pc-gaming-keyboard-full-size-104-key-gateron-cherry-kailh-switches (http://www.pcgamingrace.com/collections/glorious-gaming-modular-cherry-gateron-kailh-mechanical-keyboards/products/glorious-modular-mechanical-pc-gaming-keyboard-full-size-104-key-gateron-cherry-kailh-switches)


(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0549/2681/products/Keyboard_Red_1.jpg?v=1468524895)

(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0549/2681/products/Keyboard_switch_keycap_removed.jpg?v=1468524895)

(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0549/2681/files/modularMX.jpg?6843194798424433768)

hopefully they come out with a TKL version
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: y11971alex on Sat, 06 August 2016, 03:22:26

hopefully they come out with a TKL version
(https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9624bbdf022e3b5395236d5cf8.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/Product-800x800/d3ad9d67-60c4-471b-ac59-82b581ed86bd.jpg)
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: tp4tissue on Sun, 07 August 2016, 14:06:29
I get it...  But who goes in and replace switches all the time... I'd rather have soldered for continuous UN-interruptable performance..
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Sun, 07 August 2016, 14:40:42
I get it...  But who goes in and replace switches all the time... I'd rather have soldered for continuous UN-interruptable performance..
Anyone who can't be bothered to get soldering equipment. I'm very satisfied with my zhuque, I've ordered one of those 82key layout one with easy swap PCB as well, gonna be nice.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: chyros on Sun, 07 August 2016, 15:47:50
I'd say the idea is solid and it doesn't even look anywhere near as vulgar as most gaming keyboards nowadays. Shame they went with the wrong type of switch :p .
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: Jpecina on Sun, 07 August 2016, 16:00:02
This would be great for someone who wants variety of switches on one board.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: xtrafrood on Sun, 07 August 2016, 16:22:49
Looks like a solid board; it's a shame that the keyboard is a 'PC Gaming Race' product :-[
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: SBJ on Mon, 08 August 2016, 00:44:47
I'd say the idea is solid and it doesn't even look anywhere near as vulgar as most gaming keyboards nowadays. Shame they went with the wrong type of switch :p .
Agreed the switch choice makes this utterly uninteresting for me.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: jaffers on Mon, 08 August 2016, 02:13:52
More like glorious 1337 piece of ****

Can't wait for the day that switches stop working cause the contacts are worn on the PCB and people all get in a fluster because their boards don't work
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Mon, 08 August 2016, 08:45:05
Why, can't handle the glorious PC master race bantz?  :p
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: Lepidus on Mon, 08 August 2016, 09:00:39
More like glorious 1337 piece of ****

Can't wait for the day that switches stop working cause the contacts are worn on the PCB and people all get in a fluster because their boards don't work

Exactly my thoughts. I mean, if even solder points eventually break, how can a mechanism that relies only on pressure be reliable?
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: mind_funeral on Mon, 08 August 2016, 11:12:06
After swapping switches in my Cooler Master switch tester a lot, I can tell you that the retention clips that hold the switch to the plate wear out fast and you end up pulling the whole switch out every time you try and remove a keycap.  These hot-swappable keyboards are a bad idea.

To properly move forward with hot-swappable keyboards, the switch and its electrical connection need to be purposely designed and built for hot-swapping.  At the moment people are trying to take 33 year old technology and ghetto rig it.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Tue, 09 August 2016, 04:16:37
After swapping switches in my Cooler Master switch tester a lot, I can tell you that the retention clips that hold the switch to the plate wear out fast and you end up pulling the whole switch out every time you try and remove a keycap.
How is this any different from keycaps/stems becoming loose if you swap em around for too much? Even if it says "hotswappable" I wouldn't say that it has anything more in mind than customizing the switch layout for keyboard without soldering tools getting involved.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: xtrafrood on Tue, 09 August 2016, 04:22:08
After swapping switches in my Cooler Master switch tester a lot, I can tell you that the retention clips that hold the switch to the plate wear out fast and you end up pulling the whole switch out every time you try and remove a keycap.
How is this any different from keycaps/stems becoming loose if you swap em around for too much? Even if it says "hotswappable" I wouldn't say that it has anything more in mind than customizing the switch layout for keyboard without soldering tools getting involved.

It is literally the opposite of pulling a switch stem out. After normal use with a keycap set you're less likely to pull the stems out. I don't think these boards were made for people that want to do switch swaps once a week. I think the intention was to allow the user a few swaps during the lifetime of the keyboard.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Tue, 09 August 2016, 04:27:43
By keycap/stem becoming loose I mean as in the keycap easily falls off.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: klennkellon on Tue, 09 August 2016, 04:53:24
It's an interesting idea. I may pick one up for the hell of it since I have been curious about how some other MX and Gaterons feel.

The next step is to make a modular design so you could have anywhere from a 60% to a 100%
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Tue, 09 August 2016, 08:51:45
It's an interesting idea. I may pick one up for the hell of it since I have been curious about how some other MX and Gaterons feel.

The next step is to make a modular design so you could have anywhere from a 60% to a 100%
It's a waste of money looking at the pricetag. Theirs is up for $120 when there's team wolf full (full), qhuque (tkl) and KANANIC DKD (82 key) and none of those go above $40 in cost.

The only better thing about this one is that it has a detachable cable plus the paths which allows you to pick where the cable exists from the keyboard.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: mind_funeral on Tue, 09 August 2016, 20:24:10
By keycap/stem becoming loose I mean as in the keycap easily falls off.

Because they're 2 different interfaces...  One is a press-fit based on fiction and the other is a retention clip.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: mind_funeral on Tue, 09 August 2016, 20:26:18
It is literally the opposite of pulling a switch stem out. After normal use with a keycap set you're less likely to pull the stems out. I don't think these boards were made for people that want to do switch swaps once a week. I think the intention was to allow the user a few swaps during the lifetime of the keyboard.

Not worth it for a "few swaps".  If it wasn't meant to be hot-swappable for more than a few times, then why even do it?
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: xtrafrood on Tue, 09 August 2016, 20:46:06
It is literally the opposite of pulling a switch stem out. After normal use with a keycap set you're less likely to pull the stems out. I don't think these boards were made for people that want to do switch swaps once a week. I think the intention was to allow the user a few swaps during the lifetime of the keyboard.

Not worth it for a "few swaps".  If it wasn't meant to be hot-swappable for more than a few times, then why even do it?

That's just my take on why they decided to go ahead with this keyboard. I could be dead wrong. From a technical perspective, I can't imagine them designing this to be used as a test bed for every Cherry MX / Cherry MX clone on the market. The price is way too low for the keyboard to offer that kind of ruggedness. Like I said tho, just my 2 cents.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: Micdeez on Tue, 09 August 2016, 21:33:13
I love their extended mousepads!

Very interesting board nonetheless. Would love a TKL
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Wed, 10 August 2016, 01:37:51
By keycap/stem becoming loose I mean as in the keycap easily falls off.

Because they're 2 different interfaces...  One is a press-fit based on fiction and the other is a retention clip.
It's not a retention clip. The switch is held onto place using the same way as how the contacts for GU4 lamps are held onto place.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: xtrafrood on Wed, 10 August 2016, 02:35:11
By keycap/stem becoming loose I mean as in the keycap easily falls off.

Because they're 2 different interfaces...  One is a press-fit based on fiction and the other is a retention clip.
It's not a retention clip. The switch is held onto place using the same way as how the contacts for GU4 lamps are held onto place.

Check out the keycap & switch swapping tutorial just below the photos/advertised bundles. I would link the *.mp4 file but this forum allows embedding of youtube and vimeo only
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Wed, 10 August 2016, 03:22:02
You do realize that you're telling someone who owns two keyboards with the same PCB about how they're supposed to work based on your own judgement from merely looking at a video right?

Those plastic "retention clip" parts on the switch exists most regular mx switch designs and do almost nothing. You can have switches with those broken (in fact I do!) and they'll still stick onto the PCB nicely and won't even budge when removing the keycap, unless if it's one of those ultra tight fit gateron slider on deformed thick PBT caps where you had to hammer the cap down to get it on.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: mind_funeral on Wed, 10 August 2016, 11:00:26
You do realize that you're telling someone who owns two keyboards with the same PCB about how they're supposed to work based on your own judgement from merely looking at a video right?

Those plastic "retention clip" parts on the switch exists most regular mx switch designs and do almost nothing. You can have switches with those broken (in fact I do!) and they'll still stick onto the PCB nicely and won't even budge when removing the keycap, unless if it's one of those ultra tight fit gateron slider on deformed thick PBT caps where you had to hammer the cap down to get it on.

The clips hold it to the plate. If you have a broken clip you're relying on the friction of the switch leads and the contact hole on the PCB.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: xtrafrood on Wed, 10 August 2016, 17:57:10
You do realize that you're telling someone who owns two keyboards with the same PCB about how they're supposed to work based on your own judgement from merely looking at a video right?

Those plastic "retention clip" parts on the switch exists most regular mx switch designs and do almost nothing. You can have switches with those broken (in fact I do!) and they'll still stick onto the PCB nicely and won't even budge when removing the keycap, unless if it's one of those ultra tight fit gateron slider on deformed thick PBT caps where you had to hammer the cap down to get it on.

The clips hold it to the plate. If you have a broken clip you're relying on the friction of the switch leads and the contact hole on the PCB.

Sorry, I didn't see your keyboard macro shots in this thread. No need to get upset about a Glorious PC Race keyboard yikes. If you're holding out on the photos I would love to see them and learn a few things ;)
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: FoxWolf1 on Wed, 10 August 2016, 18:56:54
Good to see more keyboards with this feature. To me, it's less about modding than maintenance. Swapping out switches is still a pain in the ass compared to just switching to another keyboard, but on the other hand, it does mean that if a switch starts to chatter or gets damaged (from spills, tight keycaps, whatever), you can replace it without having to take a soldering iron to the PCB.

As I've said elsewhere, though, I wish they'd socket the LEDs, too (maybe using top mount LEDs rather than surface mount). LED failure seems to be a frequent issue on backlit keyboards, so it'd be nice to be able to replace them with less risk and effort.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: tp4tissue on Wed, 10 August 2016, 21:00:41
If they really wanted to do this..

They would need  a spring tensioner on both the cherry prongs..

They can't rely on some looped copper to stay TIGHT...
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Fri, 12 August 2016, 01:14:51
The clips hold it to the plate. If you have a broken clip you're relying on the friction of the switch leads and the contact hole on the PCB.
The  clip has the function of holding it to the plate. However it has pretty much no grip and can easily be broken. like 95% of what keeps switch in place is the friction from the contact on the PCB.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: mind_funeral on Fri, 12 August 2016, 07:34:04
The clips hold it to the plate. If you have a broken clip you're relying on the friction of the switch leads and the contact hole on the PCB.
The  clip has the function of holding it to the plate. However it has pretty much no grip and can easily be broken. like 95% of what keeps switch in place is the friction from the contact on the PCB.

IF the clip is broken the PCB/switch lead friction holds the switch in place.  That's exactly what I'm saying.  That friction interface is weak.  I'm done arguing with you, though.  If you enjoy they keyboard, great.  It's just not a very refined design and going forward with this concept a better switch retention method should be developed.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: saxophone on Sat, 13 August 2016, 04:14:22
We've been arguing?. Your posts has boiled down to "I have a misconception about a keyboard I've never tried, well it's still bad". Can that even be considered an argument? Feels like I'm trying to explain how something works to someone with negative reading comprehension.

Retention Clip
No. Friction based held into place in the same way the contacts of a GU4 lamp is. GOOGLE IT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS

It goes bad after few swaps
No. I have replaced switches in a single socket 8+ times it hasn't become worse in any noticeable fashion.

Friction based hold of switch is poor
No. You need to exert quite some force straight upwards for it to come off. More than that for removing keycaps.
Title: Re: Glorious PC gaming modular keyboard
Post by: xtrafrood on Sat, 13 August 2016, 07:17:11
Yikes. My reading comprehension is simply beyond the pale!

Those lights you love so much--do the users switch out the bulbs once or twice a day for 5-10 years? I would think those bulbs would last a season before the user needs to change it out, I mean, people use them in fountains. Glorious Gaming Race is a pretty well-known brand and for them to sell a sub $200 keyboard with that kind of mechanism makes me wonder. For them to sell a $120 keyboard with that kind of mechanism makes me wonder a lot less. They could sell a keyboard for $120 WITHOUT the switch changing ability and people would buy them. What's their endgame with this keyboard?

But I digress.

Copper is pretty fricking soft. When I first learned how to braze I burned through a few pieces :-[ If they had a spring loaded mechanism like tp suggested I would expect the price to be much higher than $120 but that's just my opinion.