Simple Questions, Simple Answers (FAQ in the OP)

[SpAmRaY]

Is it ever recommended to try and lube switches without actually opening them up?

[CPTBadAss]

Is it ever recommended to try and lube switches without actually opening them up?

I would recommend opening the switches up. There's not guarantee the lube will get to the friction points if you don't open it up and just put lube in the top. I've been reading that it works but I'd rather just do it the right way. Lubing my Epsilon took about 2 hours. It wasn't bad in terms of a time investment.

[jdcarpe]

Is it ever recommended to try and lube switches without actually opening them up?

You participated in this thread...

You can try shooting some lube with a needle while pressing on the slider though lol

I actually don't recommend this. You can only get the top part of the rails on the housing by doing this. And in order for the lube to disperse (even while repeatedly pressing down), you'll need to put a decent amount. With lubing switches, you only want a thin but even layer, not a lot and all in one place.

OP, just do it the correct way. Otherwise, I personally don't think it'll be worth the time to ghetto lube them.

any grease form of lube when not apply specifically (meaning a thin film where it should go) will most like clog up the entire switch. I wouldn't advise it at all, unless you want to desolder that switch later and swap it out.

source; personal experience, but not on a plate mounted board.

A low viscosity grease would work for lubricating the internals of a switch, thus, if the mechlube2 is one, there should be no issue using it for lubricating stems indeed. I believe it was The_Ed who tried the original mechlube and reported that it was a bad idea.

Case in point - Superlube grease that I've been using for the past few months, works fine.

But the OP is basically asking if he could simply stick the syringe in and squeeze, then hope for the best in terms of improving the switch feel, without actually opening up the switches to do a proper lube job.

That will not work, because as WFD noted - grease does not flow. There's not much chance that the grease will be applied to the exact contact points required in proper switch lubing. In fact, the only way that can be done is to flood the switch with it, which is a terrible, terrible idea with grease, mainly because the grease will gunk up the entire switch.

When lubing with grease, only a thin film is required in specific locations of the switch. Oil on the other hand, will flow, but still not a great idea to flood your switches with it either, as it could leak to the pcb in the process.

TLDR, don't ghetto lube. You might get lucky, but chances are, it won't end well.

[SpAmRaY]

You participated in this thread...

You say that like I never do

Ok here's another one and this I actually am interested to know, how do you program a G80-3700?

[adhoc]

Where can one get ISO Poker II?

[BlueBär]

Ok here's another one and this I actually am interested to know, how do you program a G80-3700?

DT has some info on that: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_G80-3700

Where can one get ISO Poker II?

There is no ISO variant of the Poker II afaik. However the Ducky Mini is a ISO 60%, another alternative is of course the GH60.

[adhoc]

Ok here's another one and this I actually am interested to know, how do you program a G80-3700?

DT has some info on that: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_G80-3700

Where can one get ISO Poker II?

There is no ISO variant of the Poker II afaik. However the Ducky Mini is a ISO 60%, another alternative is of course the GH60.

There is ISO variant of Poker II, but I can't find it.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.566784136722634.1073741835.241720585895659&type=3
http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8/faulty-poker-2-t7007.html

Where could one find this ducky mini and/or GH60?

[BlueBär]

There is ISO variant of Poker II, but I can't find it.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.566784136722634.1073741835.241720585895659&type=3
http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8/faulty-poker-2-t7007.html

Where could one find this ducky mini and/or GH60?

Huh how did I miss that... German Amazon has them, check out your local one.
Ducky Mini is available on a Finnish site: https://www.teraset.net/ducky.php
Again, there might be local sources. The GH60s will pop up in the classifieds when people start receiving them - that might still take a while.

[adhoc]

Yeah exactly, from what I read GH60 aren't really available yet...

we don't have a local Amazon, I order from .de thanks for the tip!

[swill]

Is it ever recommended to try and lube switches without actually opening them up?

I would not say that it is ideal by any stretch, but I did not want to have to desolder my Filco and I wanted to smooth out my browns a bit.  I just painted a thin layer on the side rails with the switch depressed and it 'helped'.  I would not consider it a true lube job, but for 20 mins of work, it improved my board...

[HPE1000]

1. What color are the indicator leds on a mx blue filco majestouch 2
2. Where can I get a custom filco usb cable besides pexon (the shipping is painful)

[CPTBadAss]

1. What color are the indicator leds on a mx blue filco majestouch
2. Where can I get a custom filco usb cable besides pexon (the shipping is painful)

1) I have a Ninja MJ2 with MX Blues. Has blue LEDs.

2) I recommend mimic-cables.com (run by tjcaustin)

[BlueBär]

1. What color are the indicator leds on a mx blue filco majestouch 2
2. Where can I get a custom filco usb cable besides pexon (the shipping is painful)

1. Quick search says blue, keyboardco's site says that as well.
2. Paranoid, MiMic cables, nubbinator; I think that should be about it.

Sniped again...

[HPE1000]

Thanks again people 

[jonathanyu]

does ergodox has stabilizer in the key that under the thumb?

[SpAmRaY]

does ergodox has stabilizer in the key that under the thumb?

I believe most people use them without stabilizers

[MKULTRA]

does ergodox has stabilizer in the key that under the thumb?

I believe most people use them without stabilizers

Really?  What is the reason for that.

[SpAmRaY]

does ergodox has stabilizer in the key that under the thumb?

I believe most people use them without stabilizers

Really?  What is the reason for that.

They don't fit properly. I believe you have to glue them in if you want to use them.

And it's not like they really need stabilizers anyway.

[yicaoyimu]

does ergodox has stabilizer in the key that under the thumb?

I believe most people use them without stabilizers

Really?  What is the reason for that.

I asked a similar question a few pages earlier. I took a close look at pictures of Ergodox PCB. The wholes under thumbs don't look like those wholes for Cherry stab. So you will have to use plate mounted stab. And as ealier post indicates, a small modification of the clip is required to use plate mounted stab on Ergodox. Even though you could do the mod, it's perfectly fine to use Ergodox without stabs anyway.

[Melvang]

Here is a simple question with a simple answer.  Ivan has confirmed that 15x space bars do exist.  My question is this, what keyboards did the come on and is there any chance that they would be cherry MX mounts?

[MKULTRA]

Here is a simple question with a simple answer.  Ivan has confirmed that 15x space bars do exist.  My question is this, what keyboards did the come on and is there any chance that they would be cherry MX mounts?

PM Ivan 

[CPTBadAss]

Ivan said in another thread he cant remember the model MKULTRA

[MKULTRA]

Ivan said in another thread he cant remember the model MKULTRA

Ohhhh my bad didn't know this.

[Pacifist]

is there a kit like the moogle and tsang kits where there are 2X shift and 7 1X bottom row mods?

[CPTBadAss]

is there a kit like the moogle and tsang kits where there are 2X shift and 7 1X bottom row mods?

No

[Melvang]

Ivan said in another thread he cant remember the model MKULTRA

Yeah I pm'ed Ivan and he said that while he can't remember what it was exactly but it was similar to a wyse 30 and that it wasn't terminal board.

[Nixietube]

the kbt poker 2  has no numblock and i was wondering if there is a way to add a unicode sign to the pn layer. i know workarounds like ahk and such but i am looking for a pn layer solution.

[For]

Where the hell can I get a Ducky shine 3 with Cherry MX green (or alternatively blue) switches, white LEDs and US int layout that will ship to europe.

I have looked everywhere but the green switch white LED combo can't be found anywhere and the blue switch white LED combo seems to either be in UK layout or not shipped to where I live.
Do you guys have any ideas on where I can find one, I heard you are the experts.

[CPTBadAss]

the kbt poker 2  has no numblock and i was wondering if there is a way to add a unicode sign to the pn layer. i know workarounds like ahk and such but i am looking for a pn layer solution.

I'm not sure on this. Maybe you can do that with the update?

Where the hell can I get a Ducky shine 3 with Cherry MX green (or alternatively blue) switches, white LEDs and US int layout that will ship to europe.

I have looked everywhere but the green switch white LED combo can't be found anywhere and the blue switch white LED combo seems to either be in UK layout or not shipped to where I live.
Do you guys have any ideas on where I can find one, I heard you are the experts.

vun (who is in the EU) told me that Teraset is probably the best source for Duckys in Europe. Someone in IRC also linked mechanicalkeyboards.nl which seems to have what you want. And vun also suggested maxfps.no/.se and gamegear.be.

I'm not really up on my European distributors though since I'm in the USA. Hopefully someone who knows better can get you an answer.

[For]

vun (who is in the EU) told me that Teraset is probably the best source for Duckys in Europe. Someone in IRC also linked mechanicalkeyboards.nl which seems to have what you want. And vun also suggested maxfps.no/.se and gamegear.be.

I'm not really up on my European distributors though since I'm in the USA. Hopefully someone who knows better can get you an answer.

Thanks for the reply I'll see if any of those have them or know when they'll get them in stock.
If anyone else has any more post them please.

[Keytrun]

I have a question about clacks. There are people who take pictures of clacks filling their entire top number row with clacks. How would that work for people who play games that require lots of numbers to be hit? I use numbers constantly in starcraft 2. Double tapping them aggressively for hours. Are clacks made well enough to withstand that type of torture? How difficult are they to actually press, given their unique texture. Is it really counter intuitive?

They'll be fine and feel a little raised or textured. I've been using Clacks on my daily drivers on the arrow keys for a while. No issues.

Also, the WASD clacks - what profile would they be considered? I have to assume that one of the 4 (the one that would be placed on W) is taller than the other 3, correct?

Clacks have their own profiles I think. They're taller than cherry and I think slightly shorter than OEM. They're all the same so W is the proper height for the "Clack" profile. Not any taller. I have an arrow cluster, it's the same thing.

I'm asking if the W is taller than the ASD, as it should be on any keyboard since it is in a higher row.

[CPTBadAss]

I'm asking if the W is taller than the ASD, as it should be on any keyboard since it is in a higher row.

Higher row =/= taller. Looking at my W and S from my GMK set and these clacks. There are no height differences; it's angle of the keyboard.

Never mind, bad lighting my room. GMK W and S are different heights but my arrow cluster clacks are the same height.

[Keytrun]

Not sure what GMK is. I was asking more specifically about getting some of those neat WASD clacks. Is the clack arrow cluster the same as the clack WASD? If not, should I assume that the W and the ASD will be the same height for them? Clack makes those black ones with red spots and those colored ones ( like the octo pink). How weird would that be on a cherry profile keyset? Having different height keys on the board while typing (not gaming) may be really odd, right?

[Pacifist]

Not sure what GMK is. I was asking more specifically about getting some of those neat WASD clacks. Is the clack arrow cluster the same as the clack WASD? If not, should I assume that the W and the ASD will be the same height for them? Clack makes those black ones with red spots and those colored ones ( like the octo pink). How weird would that be on a cherry profile keyset? Having different height keys on the board while typing (not gaming) may be really odd, right?

GMK is a company that bought cherry's molds.
Arrow cluster has a different profile.
Bloodsplat is pretty rare.
The profile is different from cherry or any other profile, so if you're really picky, its a big deal, otherwise not so much

[Puddsy]

Not sure what GMK is. I was asking more specifically about getting some of those neat WASD clacks. Is the clack arrow cluster the same as the clack WASD? If not, should I assume that the W and the ASD will be the same height for them? Clack makes those black ones with red spots and those colored ones ( like the octo pink). How weird would that be on a cherry profile keyset? Having different height keys on the board while typing (not gaming) may be really odd, right?

I can answer the different profiles for gaming question.



I gamed on this for almost 8 months. During that time, I became a top-tier TF2 medic. I've won some ESEA tourneys in my time. Trust me, it's not that weird, it just takes some getting used to.

GMK is another OEM for keycaps. They own all the original cherry tooling.

[CPTBadAss]

Not sure what GMK is.

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=50532.msg1103648#msg1103648

Is the clack arrow cluster the same as the clack WASD? If not, should I assume that the W and the ASD will be the same height for them?

Arrow cluster and WASD will have the same profiling.

How weird would that be on a cherry profile keyset? Having different height keys on the board while typing (not gaming) may be really odd, right?

They will have mismatched profiles. That's why I only have them on the arrow cluster. They're slightly off from the Cherry profile in the WASD cluster and wouldn't feel right for me. Which is what I was getting at in this post.

Clacks have their own profiles I think. They're taller than cherry and I think slightly shorter than OEM. They're all the same so W is the proper height for the "Clack" profile. Not any taller. I have an arrow cluster, it's the same thing.

[Nixietube]

I'm not sure on this. Maybe you can do that with the update?

I don't see how that would help. I doesn't add a numblock to any layer so i still can't use unicode. Or am i missing something in the update notes that would make unicodes possibble

[HPE1000]

Can I remove the ferrite bead from a fico usb cable without damaging the cable?

[jdcarpe]

Can I remove the ferrite bead from a fico usb cable without damaging the cable?

To what end? Are you trying to use the Filco in a Vortex aluminum case? I took a pair of pliers and crushed the ferrite bead, making the cable fit nicely in that case.

[HPE1000]

Can I remove the ferrite bead from a fico usb cable without damaging the cable?

To what end? Are you trying to use the Filco in a Vortex aluminum case? I took a pair of pliers and crushed the ferrite bead, making the cable fit nicely in that case.

Yup, that is what I am doing, I thought I could do that but wasn't sure.

I am going to put a custom cable on it soon but didn't want to not be able to use it until then.

[spremino]

Is the Unicomp SpaceSaver M for Mac OS X compatible with PCs?

I don't mind about different key codes because I can remap them, nor I care about key caps letterings because I use blank keys. I know I will have only two LEDs instead of three.

Thanks.

[dustinhxc]

Any talk of an HHKB Aluminum Case that can be built by anyone here or not here? I saw the Realforce cases and I saw an IC from May.

[Puddsy]

Any talk of an HHKB Aluminum Case that can be built by anyone here or not here? I saw the Realforce cases and I saw an IC from May.

The problem with and alu HHKB case is that the switches are mounted to the case.

The Realforce doesn't have that problem.

[ithinkimkorean]

http://uspsstore.stamps.com/Store/catalog/product.jsp?id=pmfrpe&navAction=jump&navCount=1

I can just buy something like this for shipping keys? And the mailman just picks it up? .-. Lol too lazy to go drive to the post office.

[SpAmRaY]

http://uspsstore.stamps.com/Store/catalog/product.jsp?id=pmfrpe&navAction=jump&navCount=1

I can just buy something like this for shipping keys? And the mailman just picks it up? .-. Lol too lazy to go drive to the post office.

What are you shipping and where??

You can get small flat rate priority boxes for free.

[ithinkimkorean]

http://uspsstore.stamps.com/Store/catalog/product.jsp?id=pmfrpe&navAction=jump&navCount=1

I can just buy something like this for shipping keys? And the mailman just picks it up? .-. Lol too lazy to go drive to the post office.

What are you shipping and where??

You can get small flat rate priority boxes for free.

need to sell keycaps. probably conus only.

[SpAmRaY]

http://uspsstore.stamps.com/Store/catalog/product.jsp?id=pmfrpe&navAction=jump&navCount=1

I can just buy something like this for shipping keys? And the mailman just picks it up? .-. Lol too lazy to go drive to the post office.

What are you shipping and where??

You can get small flat rate priority boxes for free.

need to sell keycaps. probably conus only.

You would be better off with the free small flat rate boxes, if it fits it ships for ~$5.15

[CPTBadAss]

Is the Unicomp SpaceSaver M for Mac OS X compatible with PCs?

I don't mind about different key codes because I can remap them, nor I care about key caps letterings because I use blank keys. I know I will have only two LEDs instead of three.

Should work. Not 100% sure.

I'm not sure on this. Maybe you can do that with the update?

I don't see how that would help. I doesn't add a numblock to any layer so i still can't use unicode. Or am i missing something in the update notes that would make unicodes possibble

Like I said, I was taking a random guess. I don't really know.

[dustinhxc]

Any talk of an HHKB Aluminum Case that can be built by anyone here or not here? I saw the Realforce cases and I saw an IC from May.

The problem with and alu HHKB case is that the switches are mounted to the case.

The Realforce doesn't have that problem.

Ohh I didnt know Realforces wernt. Thanks!

[kolonelkadat]

Is there a way to make capslock work with numbers and stuff in windows 7?
I hate when im typing long lists of consts (eg. SEARCH_PROFSLOT_BOTTOM_Y) and I have to still hit shift for the underscore.

Im sure I could use ahk but id rather have the OS handle it like it does the rest of my remappings.