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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: hineybush on Thu, 03 May 2018, 03:04:29
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Hey guys, just wanted to document the journey of my trusty Leopold FC980M so far.
It started out in July with Cherry MX Browns, I got it from mechanicalkeyboards.com for around $100 as a returned/RMA'd item. I wasted no time at all swapping in Outemu Teal switches, with a Kailh Burnt Orange spacebar switch. The first keyset I put on was GMK Coniferous.
(https://i.imgur.com/sBFEatS.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/efLFU2h.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/Xp2YbA9.png)
In October 2017, I decided I didn't like the teals, so I desoldered it again and put in ergo clears - 78g spring, Tribosys 3204 lubricant (test version) from SwitchMod, and standard MX clear stems/housings. At this point I've traded Coniferous for GMK Honeywell, and received GMK Plum as well.
(https://i.imgur.com/NM4tgLZ.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/KUpoOqc.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/04hJVGX.png)
Sandwich for scale.
I got bored of Plum and found a great opportunity to trade it for GMK Muted, one of my favorite keysets in late December. It immediately went on this board alongside GMK CMYK.
(https://i.imgur.com/YztizGN.png)
The board was my daily driver for a few more months, until my G80-1800 was completed in February with the shipping of GMK 9009 R2.
(https://i.imgur.com/OaMpO3c.png)
One of my biggest gripes about the board was the bottom row layout and having to use a non-stepped caps lock key (the original Leopold caps lock is slightly stepped). I set out to fix these problems by designing my own PCB, something I've done a few times in the past (most notably the G80-1800 above). The most annoying part of this process was getting the spacing correct - Leopold doesn't use 19.05 or 19.00mm spacing. I've found 19.03mm is about as perfect as I can get it. The Fn row, arrow keys, and numpad are also slightly weirdly spaced; I can't remember the exact numbers on those. I actually purchased a set of 5 PCBs before I realized my spacing was slightly off, because I used 19.00mm initially. I was able to fix this with the second version of my PCB.
(https://i.imgur.com/HW4yOoU.png)
Ver. 2 of the prototype PCB. IT's 1.2mm thick. I went with a standard 1.5-1.5-7-1.5-1.5 bottom row, stepped caps, as well as the split - and + keys on the numpad.
I just built this board tonight and tried to document the process a bit:
(https://i.imgur.com/4QRFbdk.png)
67g Zealios, with switch film and Tribosys 3204 lube (MX Tactile Grey stem w/ 78g spring for spacebar)
(https://i.imgur.com/AlWxBMb.png)
Soldering the PCB, I used mini MELF diodes because they have a cool vintage kinda look to em and are super easy to solder.
(https://i.imgur.com/UpuSuTf.png)
I made the PCB 100% compatible with the stock Leopold USB board. I'm awaiting smaller JST connectors in the mail to connect the cable, so I just soldered this one directly to the USB board.
(https://i.imgur.com/RNrBpvU.png)
GMK screw-in stabilizers w/ band-aid mod, Krytox GPL 205 g0 (switchmod again) lube, and snipped.
(https://i.imgur.com/fa5inAw.png)
This showcases the modifications I had to make to the plate, was pretty straightforward with a dremel tool. Decided not to paint the plate after the fact.
(https://i.imgur.com/BwnBRq5.png)
Picked up this rebranded Dolch PAC (I forget the brand/model, sorry) from a friend a few months ago. These caps would be perfect.
(https://i.imgur.com/RCBuKJd.png)
They are! Done just in time for the Indy meetup this weekend.
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As I've stated before, so interested in a 980 pcb if they ever go up for sale. :thumb:
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As a fellow Leopold 980 fan, this is awesome. :thumb:
How well does the stock PCB hold up to the desoldering and soldering back in of switches??
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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As I've stated before, so interested in a 980 pcb if they ever go up for sale. :thumb:
I'd like to do that eventually - it'd require modding your plate, etc. just as a warning.
As a fellow Leopold 980 fan, this is awesome. :thumb:
How well does the stock PCB hold up to the desoldering and soldering back in of switches??
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
It surprisingly was fine each time.
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As I've stated before, so interested in a 980 pcb if they ever go up for sale. :thumb:
I'd like to do that eventually - it'd require modding your plate, etc. just as a warning.
That shouldn't be a problem, I've modified more than a few keyboards in the last few years.
Looking forward to these coming out. I've always liked the 980M but that bottom row wasn't for me and it needs a 7u spacebar.
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Hey, as someone who is also working on a mixed-switches build, can you explain why you used Kailh Burnt Orange for the spacebar? Thanks.
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Hey, as someone who is also working on a mixed-switches build, can you explain why you used Kailh Burnt Orange for the spacebar? Thanks.
I didn't like the idea of a clicky spacebar and had this one on hand, i also wanted to try the quicker bump which was meh imo.
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As a fellow Leopold 980 fan, this is awesome. :thumb:
How well does the stock PCB hold up to the desoldering and soldering back in of switches??
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
It surprisingly was fine each time.
[/quote]
Do you know if the stock PCB can be modded with hot swap pins?
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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As a fellow Leopold 980 fan, this is awesome. :thumb:
How well does the stock PCB hold up to the desoldering and soldering back in of switches??
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
It surprisingly was fine each time.
Do you know if the stock PCB can be modded with hot swap pins?
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
[/quote]
No clue, I've never really dealt with hotswap stuff so I wouldn't be the person to ask.