Leeku 3000 PCB Troubleshooting (Fixed)

[SpAmRaY]

UPDATE: swapping out the cherry MX clear stems with other stems has fixed the issues.

I've got a leeku 3000 PCB that worked fine after initially being built.

I swapped stems and springs and now no key presses register in windows.

When I load jigon it recognizes key presses for mapping purposes.

So far I've tried reflashing firmware and key map both default and new and tried both USB and ps2 mode. Also tried uninstalling all keyboards in device manager.

Neither aquakeytest nor switch hitter recognize any key presses.

Anybody have any other ideas?

[joey]

Sounds very similar to the issue I have with my 1800 pcb. Keys register in JigOn but nowhere else.

[SpAmRaY]

Sounds very similar to the issue I have with my 1800 pcb. Keys register in JigOn but nowhere else.

Did you get anywhere with yours?



Leeku has been very helpful going back and forth through multiple PM's suggesting things to try to fix it but I still haven't figured the problem out.

I tried the board on another PC to verify it wasn't the computer or driver issues. I also messed around with the firmware some more with no luck.

All I can get is still key presses in jigon and even got it to do this (see the input in the file name box)



I'd prefer not to have to ship the PCB back to him to get it fixed so my next step is to reexamine all diodes and possibly swap out the switches. But it all worked fine to begin with so I'm not sure that will gain me anything.

The LED's for num lock, caps lock and scroll lock respond to other keyboards connected to the computer but not to the keyboard itself.

This has been the strangest issue I've ever had with a keyboard.

[joey]

I didn't fix it, and that dialog box with the input name looks vaguely familiar. Feel like I had a similar issue.

[SpAmRaY]

So it would seem the combination of gateron switch bodies, MX clear stems and qmx clips causes the switches to randomly stay activated at least according to the multimeter.

I wish I would have tested the board before putting all the key caps back on.

Now to figure out what switches and stems to use.

[SpAmRaY]

The plot thickens.

After removing all of the QMX clips the board is recognized and works.

The only issue now is switch chattering showing up in switch hitter. It is really hit or miss, no pun intended.

Swapping switch bottoms seems to help some however swapping the mx clear stem for the stock gateron brown stem also seems to fix the issue.

So it would still seem that the particular gateron housings I have don't play with with cherry mx clear stems, which is a bummer. And regardless of stem they don't seem to play well with QMX clips.

I'm considering just removing all of the current switches and going with stock cherry mx clear switches and then try the QMX clips with those.

[E3E]

Oh yes, I believe that stock Gateron housings have an incompatible contact leaf with Cherry MX Clear stems, which is why Zeal worked with Gateron to redesign their contacts to work with his ergo clear-inspired design.

Exitfire did a stem swap into gateron housings, but he also performed the tedious and delicate task of swapping genuine MX contacts into the housings in order to get them to work. Yeah, that's probably the issue you're facing. I think I tested clear stems in a normal Gateron housing just to confirm that they did not work properly, and it's like the switch either had a very high actuation and chatter issues or it was always activated.

Good luck sorting this out, man!

[ika]

Sounds very similar to the issue I have with my 1800 pcb. Keys register in JigOn but nowhere else.

Did you get anywhere with yours?



Leeku has been very helpful going back and forth through multiple PM's suggesting things to try to fix it but I still haven't figured the problem out.

I tried the board on another PC to verify it wasn't the computer or driver issues. I also messed around with the firmware some more with no luck.

All I can get is still key presses in jigon and even got it to do this (see the input in the file name box)

Show Image

I'd prefer not to have to ship the PCB back to him to get it fixed so my next step is to reexamine all diodes and possibly swap out the switches. But it all worked fine to begin with so I'm not sure that will gain me anything.

The LED's for num lock, caps lock and scroll lock respond to other keyboards connected to the computer but not to the keyboard itself.

This has been the strangest issue I've ever had with a keyboard.

I'm not sure if this is basic troubleshooting or not but those outputs mean that the keyboard is still in "bootmapper" mode. In Jigon, if you go to Keyboard>Disconnect it should put it back into regular keyboard mode. Also note the default layer it's on, my TX1800 with Leeku 1800 likes to reset its default layer for no apparent reason all the time.

[LunarisDream]

I'm not sure if this is basic troubleshooting or not but those outputs mean that the keyboard is still in "bootmapper" mode. In Jigon, if you go to Keyboard>Disconnect it should put it back into regular keyboard mode. Also note the default layer it's on, my TX1800 with Leeku 1800 likes to reset its default layer for no apparent reason all the time.

Saw those input codes and immediately thought this. Happened to me a couple times w/ the ps2avrGB bootmapper. Doesn't explain the random chattering, though.

[SpAmRaY]

Cross posting to say after swapping out the MX clear stems all is good.

It now has mainly 55g gateron clears with 65g gateron browns with stock MX greens for the locks and a couple other random different switches including a stock MX gray on the spacebar, gateron black with stockx clear spring on escape and an 80g gateron clear on f5.

I also used MX tops on gateron bottoms with QMX clips everywhere they would fit.

[merlin64]

Which Gateron switch bodies did you use? The milky bottom ones are different than the black bottom/transparent top versions both in contact mechanism and the shape inside.

[SpAmRaY]

Which Gateron switch bodies did you use? The milky bottom ones are different than the black bottom/transparent top versions both in contact mechanism and the shape inside.

The milky bottoms.

I'm curious to hear about the black bottom clear top gateron switches though, are they better?

[merlin64]

I have no evidence or info regarding the actual leafs but what I can say about the housing is that the milky bottom ones most closely represent the cherry bottoms. The black bottom with transparent top ones look like the cherry  bottoms but they have an additional plastic tab on the bottom preventing the stem from hitting the very bottom.

I would theorize that if Gateron did change the leaf design, having them out with the exact same switch housing as the milky ones would be confusing for everyone. Hence, they also needed to differentiate it somehow by changing the housing to the black bottom and transparent top. The added tab in the black bottom probably also helps to prevent chatter as it stops the stem from going all the way down by about a millimeter or two.