Author Topic: Good board for modding?  (Read 2729 times)

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Offline DrinkTea

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Good board for modding?
« on: Sun, 09 June 2013, 19:41:21 »
I'd like to try my hand at modding, but I want to start slow at first. What I'd like to do is swap out the springs on blue or brown switches with something heavier. Also, for my first try, I'd like something PCB mounted so I don't have to solder. And I'm partial to tenkeyless or smaller boards.
I've seen the KBC Poker which looks like a decent option, but it seems a bit costly. Ideally, I'd try something cheap for a first mod since I wouldn't feel as bad if I break something. Although, if there's a compelling reason to spend more, I'm not opposed to it.
Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

Offline davkol

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 10 June 2013, 05:27:01 »
Cherry G80-18xx and similar

Offline IvanIvanovich

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 10 June 2013, 09:23:02 »
Cherry G80-1800, Plum 96, or Neo Zelia would be what I would recommend. 1800 is not too tough to find for a good price on taobao or other used. Might as well do your best to go with G80-18**H** so you can get some nice keycaps out of it too. The Plum and Neo will probably cost about as much as a Poker/Pure non LED but they are some other choices. If you feel like playing with backlight the Pure non LED, Plum and Neo all support full led on the PCB so all you have to do is add your own.
« Last Edit: Mon, 10 June 2013, 09:24:38 by IvanIvanovich »

Offline DrinkTea

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 10 June 2013, 19:04:21 »
Thanks for the tip. I'll probably get one of those soon. Now, another question.
Which of the following do you think is best?
MX brown stems with MX black springs
MX blue stems with MX black springs
either of the above with MX clear springs
MX white with either black or clear springs

I have whites and clears, and I generally like them, but I thin the MX white might be a tad too heavy. So I was thinking of trying to create something clear-like which those springs by either modding up a blue or brown or modding down a white. Also, I do like the click too. And I like blues, but I think they would be even nicer a wee bit heavier. Are "ghetto greens" with mx black or clear springs?

Offline IvanIvanovich

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 11 June 2013, 17:50:22 »
MX brown stems with MX black springs - terrible and gritty feeling nearly linear. Might as well just install blacks as they are much better feeling.
MX blue stems with MX black springs - nice step between blue and green. I did a full keyboard of these and used it for awhile.
either of the above with MX clear springs - never tried.
MX white with either black or clear springs - haven't tried, but I did like white with blue springs a lot. Just be careful not to wipe off all the lubrication from the stems when handling or they will loose the quiet click.

Offline tp4tissue

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 11 June 2013, 18:01:09 »
Don't you think you should try ergo clears then? the clear with blue springs or brown springs

Offline DrinkTea

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 12 June 2013, 00:25:01 »
Man, tp, you really love pushing those ergo-clears, huh? Perhaps I should make myself ergo-clear. I think the springs in the browns and blues are too light and enjoy the heavier clears and whites at least some of the time. Also, because of the strong bump I find myself bottoming out less on the clears, so the overall force isn't even that high.
At first, I found whites a bit tiring. But then I decided rather than trying to make my switches lighter, my fingers should be stronger. This, I believe, is the right attitude, at least for me, and echoes how I think one should approach life in general.

Now, regarding the various combinations. Why would browns be gritty but clears aren't considered so? Since, if they both have heavy springs, the only difference is that the bump on the clear is more? Is the bump just so light on the browns that if you add spring weight it doesn't feel much like a bump at all?
Also, am I correct in assuming that the clear springs are somewhat stronger than the black ones, but not by much? So if I want to have keyboards with a wide gamut of force, I should use the black, so I have something lighter than clears but heavier than stock blues or browns?

Offline PointyFox

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 12 June 2013, 00:34:20 »
Man, tp, you really love pushing those ergo-clears, huh? Perhaps I should make myself ergo-clear. I think the springs in the browns and blues are too light and enjoy the heavier clears and whites at least some of the time. Also, because of the strong bump I find myself bottoming out less on the clears, so the overall force isn't even that high.
At first, I found whites a bit tiring. But then I decided rather than trying to make my switches lighter, my fingers should be stronger. This, I believe, is the right attitude, at least for me, and echoes how I think one should approach life in general.

Now, regarding the various combinations. Why would browns be gritty but clears aren't considered so? Since, if they both have heavy springs, the only difference is that the bump on the clear is more? Is the bump just so light on the browns that if you add spring weight it doesn't feel much like a bump at all?
Also, am I correct in assuming that the clear springs are somewhat stronger than the black ones, but not by much? So if I want to have keyboards with a wide gamut of force, I should use the black, so I have something lighter than clears but heavier than stock blues or browns?

Yes.

Offline margo baggins

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 12 June 2013, 04:13:47 »
 Mx Blue with Clear spring is my favourite switch.
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Offline DrinkTea

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 12 June 2013, 07:55:57 »
Even better than with a black spring?

Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 12 June 2013, 08:14:53 »
Mx Blue with Clear spring is my favourite switch.

I will be trying this....soon....;)

Offline margo baggins

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 12 June 2013, 08:57:47 »
Even better than with a black spring?

Haven't tried with black springs - I have 90 or so at home that I was going to try with, but I was also turning some clear's ergo clears so I thought I would jump right in with the clear springs!

Mx Blue with Clear spring is my favourite switch.

I will be trying this....soon....;)

Do man! It's good. I really enjoy typing on them.
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Offline dadgh

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #12 on: Thu, 13 June 2013, 07:32:46 »
Cherry G80-1800, Plum 96, or Neo Zelia would be what I would recommend. 1800 is not too tough to find for a good price on taobao or other used. Might as well do your best to go with G80-18**H** so you can get some nice keycaps out of it too. The Plum and Neo will probably cost about as much as a Poker/Pure non LED but they are some other choices. If you feel like playing with backlight the Pure non LED, Plum and Neo all support full led on the PCB so all you have to do is add your own.

Neo Zelia is like impossible for me to find. Only 1 is in the States AFAIK.

Offline Masterchief79

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 13 June 2013, 07:44:43 »
If I might just use this thread for myself, modding switches is quite interesting. I have a lot of Cherry boards and think about modding them now as you can easily swap the interior around between them. What is a blue switch with a black spring like? Does this change affect the hardness of the click?
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Offline margo baggins

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #14 on: Thu, 13 June 2013, 09:35:38 »
If I might just use this thread for myself, modding switches is quite interesting. I have a lot of Cherry boards and think about modding them now as you can easily swap the interior around between them. What is a blue switch with a black spring like? Does this change affect the hardness of the click?

The click is made by the leaf spring rather than by the switch spring - after the actuation point the leaf spring forces the freefloating part of the stem downwards to strike the bottom of the housing which causes the click (at least that is how I understand it works). So it doesn't make them clickier, but it gives them more resistance and make the switch feel heavier.
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Offline DrinkTea

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 02:39:59 »
Well, I did my first mod tonight.
I put black springs into the white switches on a KBT Race.
Now, it could all be a placebo effect, but I think the switches feel a bit lighter. Also, a bit louder. Although I think the springs I had might have been inconsistent, because some felt as stiff as the white springs I took out.
I also had some clear springs, but they actually seemed heavier than the whites.
Next, I might try some of the Korean springs on originative just to see how they feel too (and maybe they'll feel more consistent, but again, could be confounding factors here). Which of the springs that they sell are heavier than what's in the MX blue but lighter than whites/greens?

Offline CommunistWitchDr

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Re: Good board for modding?
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 19 June 2013, 07:06:34 »
Well, I did my first mod tonight.
I put black springs into the white switches on a KBT Race.
Now, it could all be a placebo effect, but I think the switches feel a bit lighter. Also, a bit louder. Although I think the springs I had might have been inconsistent, because some felt as stiff as the white springs I took out.
Black is lighter than white/green, the linear switch up with them is gray.