- I - SalutationsAbout a week ago, I was inspired to attempt a project which is far beyond my experience or capacity. Utilizing Google-Fu, I embarked upon a journey of gathering the necessary understanding... or perhaps to determine why this should not be attempted.
A pattern soon emerged wherein every third page or so was either on geekhack or referenced a thread on geekhack. I have since spent a good portion of the week reading as much of this forum as possible, so as not to pose a redundant question or appear as an under-informed novice (despite the reality that I am, in fact, an under-informed novice). I am very appreciative of the resources available on this site and if nothing else have learned a great deal from the experience so far.
Thus while I am not certain that this is precisely the proper forum or section for this sort of post, I am unaware of an equally knowledgeable website or forum for which this would be more suited. My apologies in advance if I am in err: It is a rather elaborate attempt at achieving a specific aesthetic found in a rather gimmicky keyboard, without compromising the quality experience provided by mechanical switches.
- II - A DisclaimerI apologize for the length of my post, but I felt that a sparse post would lead to a thread where, coming off as a typical forum newcomer, I would be informed of things I either already know or have seen on this forum already (I already have about twenty threads bookmarked for an assortment of reasons).
A second disclaimer and request:
Please tear my idea to shreds. Because of my longwinded typing style, I have a tendency to sound like I know what I'm talking about.
I don't. Additionally, I would appreciate it if criticism included reasoning that I can learn from.
- III - My StoryFor most of my childhood and adolescence, my keyboard was a handmedown relic. In 2006, my aggressive adolescent typing style, almost a martial art in the way I struck the keys, had damaged the Spacebar beyond all functionality. I jumped at the opportunity to get something new and full of shiny LEDs.
I immediately noticed something was amiss in my new keyboard. Mentioning this to a friend, he informed me the older was a "mechanical" keyboard versus the "membrane" one which I now possessed, and what precisely that entailed. While I was disappointed I had spent $35 on the keyboard and decided to make the money count. After a while, my annoyance was replaced by complacency (and an inhibited tying speed).
Fast forward to today. I am currently traveling in Japan and am only equipped with a tiny old laptop, but my decidedly inglorious keyboard back home has finally given up the ghost and I plan on replacing it upon my return armed with the lessons of the past. My initial debate was between two keyboards that, as I gather, no one on this forum would dare approve of.
[[ I do not plan on purchasing either of these. They were a starting point and are included as part of the story. ]]Das Keyboard Ultimate: A blatantly commercialized shot at attracting the performance crowd.
Luxeed Dynamic LED: The definition of form over function. Probably goes against everything thinkgeek believes.
As I said, I spent a week reading every thread I could on this forum and am well aware of the inadequacies of Das Keyboard.
But what's with the glaringly out-of-place Luxeed? Frankly, I stumbled upon it by accident and even though my eyes were rather offended, for some reason I decided to look at the specs, which are more focused on the flashy "features" of color-programmable LEDs. What caught my eye was the "Spark" feature, where keys are dark but light up when pressed. However,
some video evidence reveals that this feature is implemented rather poorly. Simultaneous keypresses do not "Spark" and there is a noticeable delay, I assume from some driver interaction.
But by the time I discovered this disappointing video, I had become enamored with the idea of a keyboard that lights upon keypress.
- IV - My QuestAlas I could not simply purchase my dreams. However, I was struck by a stray thought: Why not make such a keyboard and base it upon a quality mechanical keyboard? In this I could satisfy not only my momentary aesthetic obsession but also my longstanding desire to return to a mechanical keyswitch environment!
Little did I know I would waste a week just reading about keyboards, circuits and LEDs. I really don't know half as much as I need to in order to tackle this.
- V - The Initial IdeaMy initial idea was to fit an LED underneath each key which lights when the key is pressed. Sounds simple enough. It has evolved over the past week of reading, and I will try and keep the specifics as concise as possible. The initial problems I hit were understanding the terminology and process of replacing keys, followed by concerns about the actual electronics involved.
What the hell is a keycap anyway?I first Googled "clear keys" and found out that I have no idea how to ask for what I want. I want replacement keys which are, ideally a frosted/translucent clear. Do I want replacement keys, or do I want so-called "keycaps"? Frankly, it seems that terms are inconsistently used across the internet. Some places label replacement keys as "keycaps" whereas what some places call "keycaps" are hard-plastic "relegendable" key-covers. From what I gather the latter is the more accepted usage of the term "keycaps" and what I actually want are replacement keys? Maybe?
Terminology aside, the next question was obvious:
How the hell do I know whether the keys (keycaps?) I buy will fit the keyboard I use? This caused me the most trouble, especially because all of the providers of replacement keys are for industrial machinery rather than desktop keyboards. However, as I have settled on a Filco keyboard (more on that later),
this thread has seemingly solved the problem for me.
If for some reason the information in that thread is not accurate, it is of immediate concern to me. If it is all legit, then Chloe has my eternal gratitude for putting to rest my first major hardware concern.
- VI - Concerns and QuestionsFirst off:Is this a fool's errand? From all the pictures here, the Cherry keyswitches look like they're fairly chunky. Is it possible to even fit an LED underneath a key? Should it be shoved up into the key itself and move with it or be rooted in place? It's obviously done somehow, but is this achievable using household tools?
Assuming that it is possible, my remaining concerns are threefold:
- Power
Where could it or should it come from? Is is feasible to utilize USB power for something like this, and is that something that would actually be safe to do? Is futzing with the USB power a worthwhile venture or would it be easier to use a battery? My knowledge is limited but I'm willing to learn pretty much anything. Another concern is losing equipment if I screw up.
- Connectivity.
What would be a reliable manner to have the LEDs receive power when a key is depressed? Am I correct in thinking that in a mechanical board it is not feasible to work with the already-existing functionality/keyswitch in some way? I know so little about electronics that I don't know what type of "switch" I might utilize to, presumably, achieve contact of "something" to "something else" and form a circuit thus turning on the LED.
- More on keys that fit
See below in "The Current Plan" involving getting this to resemble what I envision.
- VII - The Current Plan and ConsiderationsIf all of the technical details are surmountable, I plan on going at this using a
Filco Majestouch "Otaku" with Cherry Brown switches. The justifications:
- Brown: From what I have read on this forum, I gather these make less noise than the Blue switches. No klacka-klacking to bother those I live with.
- No NKRO: Frankly, six keys is enough for me. I definitely run into issues with two or three, but I can't imagine that six plus modifiers will be an issue.
- User Majestouch: Having a such a community-involved vendor and contact point is something I highly respect, even if he might not approve of me wanting to go Dr. Frankenstein on his products.
- Replacement Key Availability: My original dream of translucent/frosted clear keys would have allowed me to use a combination of LED colors. Having yet to run across something like that, I'm looking at TIPRO Single Replacement Keys because the site claims "beige is opaque, all other colors are translucent", with my interest being in the translucent.
I'm fine with this. Instead of a gaudy cacophony of colors, I can use translucent blue keys and simply light them with Blue and White LEDs for slightly differing, but complimentary effects.
- Blank Keys: In a perfect world I could order a translucent, replacement spacebar for a reasonable price. I am assuming that from a practical standpoint I will only be replacing the 72 1x1 keys, possibly omitting the F and J to maintain the presence of nubs. As these replacement keys will be blank, it would be awkward to have the remaining regular black keys have text on them.
My final notable concern is key shape. I am curious about the shape of the original keys on the Filco board and whether or not it is sufficient to merely be compatible with the Cherry Brown keyswitch, or if there would be an issue with the key's shape and being too large or small for the board. On a similar note is the replacement keys being flat while the remaining keys I don't replace are either raised or scooped... if that makes any sense?
- VIII - ConclusionIf you have read my entire post, or even most of it, you have my thanks just for taking your time out to listen to my situation and idea. I understand that this forum and section are more interested in the efficiency and utility of individual keyboards. Thus if my questions are answered and the consensus gives a green light on the possibility of modding a mechanical keyboard in such a way, I will take it the next step of wiring, power and LEDs to more appropriate enthusiast forums, wherever they might be.
And lastly, to repeat, I know there are multiple problems with my idea. Please tear it apart. I would like to learn.
