Before I buy a Kmac, is there anything I should know?

[rockhawksam]

I am completely new to soldering and I have never built a keyboard myself before, but I am pretty motivated and I believe I can do this. I have been looking at the Kmac 2, but are there any other options I should check out? Beginner mistakes that I should avoid, or is it as straightforward as it is made out to be? Any help is appreciated, thanks! 

[Beca]

I would just make sure you practiced soldering on something else first. And get decent soldering equipment or it will be a lot more difficult. Personally I would just pay someone else to assemble it for me, lol.

[cphead]

Make sure you know where you're getting all the parts from because waiting for one component when you have all the rest is really annoying 

[rockhawksam]

I would just make sure you practiced soldering on something else first. And get decent soldering equipment or it will be a lot more difficult. Personally I would just pay someone else to assemble it for me, lol.

I might actually have my friend solder it while I do everything else, would you recommend that? I don't want to screw anything up!

Make sure you know where you're getting all the parts from because waiting for one component when you have all the rest is really annoying 

Haha good advice!

[SpAmRaY]

Do you have a keyset to use with it?

Are you sure you are ready to invest so much into a keyboard?

[Beca]

I would just make sure you practiced soldering on something else first. And get decent soldering equipment or it will be a lot more difficult. Personally I would just pay someone else to assemble it for me, lol.

I might actually have my friend solder it while I do everything else, would you recommend that? I don't want to screw anything up!

Make sure you know where you're getting all the parts from because waiting for one component when you have all the rest is really annoying 

Haha good advice!

I would probably recommend that especially if they have nice equipment. I've only done soldering of switches, so i'm not sure what else is there to do unless you are looking to mod the switches!

[cphead]

Since you're investing this much into a really nice keyboard you might want to lube and sticker the switches just to make it perfect. Maybe do custom switch like ergo-clears (personal favorite)

[riotonthebay]

I really messed up the first custom board that I built. Everything looked right when it was coming together, but it was only after I got the caps on that I realized that I had put everything together upside down.



It was totally unusable. I eventually had to sell it to someone in Australia.

[intelli78]

I really messed up the first custom board that I built. Everything looked right when it was coming together, but it was only after I got the caps on that I realized that I had put everything together upside down.

Show Image

It was totally unusable. I eventually had to sell it to someone in Australia.

At least you managed to put the space bar on the right way. 

[rockhawksam]

Since you're investing this much into a really nice keyboard you might want to lube and sticker the switches just to make it perfect. Maybe do custom switch like ergo-clears (personal favorite)

I am planning on kyrtox lubing it and using vinyl stickers from techkeys on the 62g ergo clear switches!

[rockhawksam]

Do you have a keyset to use with it?

Are you sure you are ready to invest so much into a keyboard?

Yes, Dolch and Yes (I think!)

[Defect]

I hope you have had soldering experience before!

Only things I'd point out are: Practice soldering and make sure you have the switch that you really want!

It's a pretty simple concept but a lot of people do not get the concept (melt the solder, not the pcb) and it can cause a lot of heartbreak.

I would recommend buying a beater board or just a cheap plate to try out a bunch of switches (I tried nearly every switch/spring combination I could find.  Then again I only had Red springs, Black springs, Clear springs, and 62g Springs. 

Trying them on a board is way different from trying them individually.  I loved ergo clears conceptually and in single switch form, but on a full board I found I actually preferred panda clears (and am now wishing I bought 65g springs to try out).  Also ghost blues sounded like they'd be awesome, but all I got was a heavy non-tactile soft click switch instead of what I was hoping for (Buckling Spring killer!)

[dorkvader]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

[kohi]

I would just make sure you practiced soldering on something else first. And get decent soldering equipment or it will be a lot more difficult. Personally I would just pay someone else to assemble it for me, lol.

how much would it cost - on average - to have someone else assemble a board

[zig_ziglar]

Originative will assemble it completely for you if you want. Their charges are very reasonable. That's the option I'd go with myself, given the cost of the investment and the low percentage the assembly represents of the total price.

[exitfire401]

I would suggest getting a techkeys card to try soldering on first. That's what I used. Very inexpensive, and if you **** it up, who cares? It's something very easy to get your feet wet.

[tjcaustin]

Originative will assemble it completely for you if you want. Their charges are very reasonable. That's the option I'd go with myself, given the cost of the investment and the low percentage the assembly represents of the total price.

Ha, I wouldn't trust originative to do a build, especially since they can't mail packages right now.

[SpAmRaY]

Originative will assemble it completely for you if you want. Their charges are very reasonable. That's the option I'd go with myself, given the cost of the investment and the low percentage the assembly represents of the total price.

Ha, I wouldn't trust originative to do a build, especially since they can't mail packages right now.

I gotta agree with TJ on this one.

[zig_ziglar]

Originative can't mail things?

[tjcaustin]

Nope.

[riotonthebay]

Originative can't mail things?

See this and other threads in the Originative sub-forum.

[zig_ziglar]

Originative can't mail things?

See this and other threads in the Originative sub-forum.

Oh I see. That is ... discouraging!

[rockhawksam]

Originative can't mail things?

See this and other threads in the Originative sub-forum.

Oh I see. That is ... discouraging!

****. I ordered a Dolch extension kit from them. But I got a shipping confirmation, so it should be fine right? That's also where I was planning on ordering the Kmac from!

[rockhawksam]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I have another question: do you think I should get the kmac or the lightsaver? I feel like the lightsaver is a little intimidating due to all the talk of firmware and the massive amounts of customization, but I also feel that it is better looking and cheaper which could be a smart purchase. There is also a group buy going on at the moment if I am not mistaken, right? So I am actually leaning more towards that now, what do you think?

[da20valve]

I am completely new to soldering and I have never built a keyboard myself before, but I am pretty motivated and I believe I can do this. I have been looking at the Kmac 2, but are there any other options I should check out? Beginner mistakes that I should avoid, or is it as straightforward as it is made out to be? Any help is appreciated, thanks! 

If you are forking out that sort of money take it to someone else, soldering is an art and although many people "think they can do it" its something that requires practice to be good at it, its like everyone is a computer tech or has a "friend" that's a computer tech, if you want to do it yourself practice, but by the time you buy a good soldering iron it would be nearly cheaper to take it someone, for instance my soldering iron was around $200 (without tips), although you don't need something that good, its a lot to pay for something you would only use a handful of times (if that) a year,

[cphead]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I have another question: do you think I should get the kmac or the lightsaver? I feel like the lightsaver is a little intimidating due to all the talk of firmware and the massive amounts of customization, but I also feel that it is better looking and cheaper which could be a smart purchase. There is also a group buy going on at the moment if I am not mistaken, right? So I am actually leaning more towards that now, what do you think?

It's really personal preference. The Lightsaver V2 groupbuy has a max amount of spots though, so if you want in on that you should contact elton asap. In terms of customization it just comes down to choosing your key layout, which is pretty simple. Don't let firmware scare you off from what you want man!

[rockhawksam]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I have another question: do you think I should get the kmac or the lightsaver? I feel like the lightsaver is a little intimidating due to all the talk of firmware and the massive amounts of customization, but I also feel that it is better looking and cheaper which could be a smart purchase. There is also a group buy going on at the moment if I am not mistaken, right? So I am actually leaning more towards that now, what do you think?

It's really personal preference. The Lightsaver V2 groupbuy has a max amount of spots though, so if you want in on that you should contact elton asap. In terms of customization it just comes down to choosing your key layout, which is pretty simple. Don't let firmware scare you off from what you want man!

Do I have to make a markup file to choose the layout, or do I just do all of that stuff when I get the keyboard. Ugh all of this **** is so confusing.

[minho]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I have another question: do you think I should get the kmac or the lightsaver? I feel like the lightsaver is a little intimidating due to all the talk of firmware and the massive amounts of customization, but I also feel that it is better looking and cheaper which could be a smart purchase. There is also a group buy going on at the moment if I am not mistaken, right? So I am actually leaning more towards that now, what do you think?

It's really personal preference. The Lightsaver V2 groupbuy has a max amount of spots though, so if you want in on that you should contact elton asap. In terms of customization it just comes down to choosing your key layout, which is pretty simple. Don't let firmware scare you off from what you want man!

Do you know the current cap for the group buy? It was originally 15 but it looks like he's accepting a lot more than just 15 now.

[rockhawksam]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I have another question: do you think I should get the kmac or the lightsaver? I feel like the lightsaver is a little intimidating due to all the talk of firmware and the massive amounts of customization, but I also feel that it is better looking and cheaper which could be a smart purchase. There is also a group buy going on at the moment if I am not mistaken, right? So I am actually leaning more towards that now, what do you think?

It's really personal preference. The Lightsaver V2 groupbuy has a max amount of spots though, so if you want in on that you should contact elton asap. In terms of customization it just comes down to choosing your key layout, which is pretty simple. Don't let firmware scare you off from what you want man!

Do you know the current cap for the group buy? It was originally 15 but it looks like he's accepting a lot more than just 15 now.

I pm'd him and he said it was full and he capped it at 30.

[minho]

I think soldering it yourself is entirely doable. Other than it being expensive, learning on a keyboard makes a lot of sense.  You see, the switch pins are far enough apart that it's easy to get in there, The PCB is usually got plated through holes, and the cherry switches themselves are generally very tolerant of temperature. You can still break things, but it's much more resilient than other projects. I learned to solder on a $200 amplifier kit and it worked out well due to the good PCB, but was much harder than a KB because of the component density.

Of course, reading tutorials and thinking about it (visualization can really help you learn new things, especially ones that require finesse. It is the reason I was so good at Gymnastics when I did it) will greatly help your soldering too.

Okay, thanks for the advice. I have another question: do you think I should get the kmac or the lightsaver? I feel like the lightsaver is a little intimidating due to all the talk of firmware and the massive amounts of customization, but I also feel that it is better looking and cheaper which could be a smart purchase. There is also a group buy going on at the moment if I am not mistaken, right? So I am actually leaning more towards that now, what do you think?

It's really personal preference. The Lightsaver V2 groupbuy has a max amount of spots though, so if you want in on that you should contact elton asap. In terms of customization it just comes down to choosing your key layout, which is pretty simple. Don't let firmware scare you off from what you want man!

Do you know the current cap for the group buy? It was originally 15 but it looks like he's accepting a lot more than just 15 now.

I pm'd him and he said it was full and he capped it at 30.

Oh damn. Well I was considering this a few days ago but I guess now I just saved 300 dollars?