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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: dman777 on Thu, 01 June 2017, 22:58:59

Title: Which LED lighting is better... through holes or surface mounted?
Post by: dman777 on Thu, 01 June 2017, 22:58:59
Which RGB LED keyboards give the best lighting... the ones where the lights are surface mounted or the ones that shine through PCB holes?
Title: Re: Which LED lighting is better... through holes or surface mounted?
Post by: SpectreiiI on Thu, 01 June 2017, 23:12:06
Quote from: dman777 on Thu, 01 June 2017, 22:58:59
Which RGB LED keyboards give the best lighting... the ones where the lights are surface mounted or the ones that shine through PCB holes?
I have no idea what you are asking.
Title: Re: Which LED lighting is better... through holes or surface mounted?
Post by: Parva Ovis on Thu, 01 June 2017, 23:16:41
I've casually compared an SMD RGB keyboard with a single-color through-hole LED keyboard and the backlighting seemed close to equal in both, but I've never seen an RGB through-hole keyboard for true comparison.
Title: Re: Which LED lighting is better... through holes or surface mounted?
Post by: Eszett on Thu, 01 June 2017, 23:20:16
Quote
the ones where the lights are surface mounted or the ones that shine through PCB holes?
LEDs that shine through PCB holes are surface mount too
Title: Re: Which LED lighting is better... through holes or surface mounted?
Post by: dman777 on Fri, 02 June 2017, 15:19:21
Quote from: Eszett on Thu, 01 June 2017, 23:20:16
Quote
the ones where the lights are surface mounted or the ones that shine through PCB holes?
LEDs that shine through PCB holes are surface mount too

That is what I was thinking also... but reviews imply  that LED shine through PCB holes, like Ducky, give better light so I was wondering why/how.
Title: Re: Which LED lighting is better... through holes or surface mounted?
Post by: Tactile on Fri, 02 June 2017, 15:35:10
Quote from: dman777 on Fri, 02 June 2017, 15:19:21
That is what I was thinking also... but reviews imply  that LED shine through PCB holes, like Ducky, give better light so I was wondering why/how.

I have a Ducky One RGB. The LEDs shine up through the holes in the PCB into the - and here's the key - clear housings of the Cherry RGB switches. Most of the light shines through just where you'd expect but the entire housing picks up some of the light & glows a bit also, so there's a little more spread to the light. It just makes the lighting a bit more even front-to-back and on the sides.