building my first keyboard

[findingthelimit]

Hey all, I've been into keyboards for a long while now, and i have finally raised enough money to buy myself a GON keyboard. The only problem is I have never built a keyboard before, and have a ton of questions. I understand that there are a lot of resources online, so if anyone can just point me to the right direction, i would really, really appreciate it.

Also, I would really like to build my first board, so i would rather not have GON assemble it for me.

Here are some questions:

What is the advantage of buying the NerD 60 PCB over getting any other pcb? All i want is one custom function layer, and i don't care about macros. What does it mean when they say the PCB supports "Full LED"?

What are resistors? How do i solder in LEDs and diodes? What are bolts?

How are the side LEDs done? Do they come with the case, and all I have to do is put on the pcb, or do i need to tune it a little further?

Finally, how come the GON NS NerD 60 package does not seem to come with a back plate? I thought most keyboards have back plate to support the switches.

Thanks in advance for answering my newbie questions!

[ceflame]

Hey there, you asked me some questions on reddit, but I just saw this thread here so I thought to pop in here as well to answer some questions!

What is the advantage of buying the NerD 60 PCB over getting any other pcb? All i want is one custom function layer, and i don't care about macros. What does it mean when they say the PCB supports "Full LED"?

NerD 60 PCB allows you to use the GUI that GON made to easily manage your LEDs and configure your keyboard layout along with 2 function layers. PCB supports "Full LED" as in backlight LED as well as PCB mounted Side LEDs.

What are resistors? How do i solder in LEDs and diodes? What are bolts?

Resistors are what power the LEDs for your switches and side LEDs. You solder in LEDs following polarity of the LEDs, the longer end in the (+) hole and the shorter end the in (-) hole. You'll see markings on GON's PCBs which make it easier for you to see. The bolts are just what attach the case together.

I'm stealing this from yuiop's build thread: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57408.0


Each key requires a (1)diode, (2)LED, (3)resistor for LED and (4)switch to be soldered on.
(5)side LEDs and (6)resistors.

How are the side LEDs done? Do they come with the case, and all I have to do is put on the pcb, or do i need to tune it a little further?

If you're fully assembling by yourslef, Side LEDs are put on by having to both
1) Solder on the resistors for the side LED
2) Solder on the SMD(surface mount) LED
When doing the SMD Leds, you'll see on the backside there's a marking.
GON himself made a small tutorial for this: http://www.gonskeyboardworks.com/manuals/129-nerd-side-ledsmd-led-soldering.html

Finally, how come the GON NS NerD 60 package does not seem to come with a back plate? I thought most keyboards have back plate to support the switches.

With the GON NS housing, the housing itself acts as a plate. So the top part of the housing that you see will be the plate for the PCB, where you attach switches to it.

[SpAmRaY]

Do you have soldering equipment to do the assembly?

Also if you don't have any soldering experience you are going to want to practice on something else before soldering on a GON PCB.

[findingthelimit]

Do you have soldering equipment to do the assembly?

Also if you don't have any soldering experience you are going to want to practice on something else before soldering on a GON PCB.

I don't, but I plan on buying a soldering kit. I'm thinking of ordering the smallfry kit, just because it provides another pcb in case i mess up. I will definitely practice my soldering skills before doing that on a GON PCB. Thanks :]

[findingthelimit]

Hey there, you asked me some questions on reddit, but I just saw this thread here so I thought to pop in here as well to answer some questions!

What is the advantage of buying the NerD 60 PCB over getting any other pcb? All i want is one custom function layer, and i don't care about macros. What does it mean when they say the PCB supports "Full LED"?

NerD 60 PCB allows you to use the GUI that GON made to easily manage your LEDs and configure your keyboard layout along with 2 function layers. PCB supports "Full LED" as in backlight LED as well as PCB mounted Side LEDs.

What are resistors? How do i solder in LEDs and diodes? What are bolts?

Resistors are what power the LEDs for your switches and side LEDs. You solder in LEDs following polarity of the LEDs, the longer end in the (+) hole and the shorter end the in (-) hole. You'll see markings on GON's PCBs which make it easier for you to see. The bolts are just what attach the case together.

I'm stealing this from yuiop's build thread: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57408.0

Show Image

Each key requires a (1)diode, (2)LED, (3)resistor for LED and (4)switch to be soldered on.
(5)side LEDs and (6)resistors.

How are the side LEDs done? Do they come with the case, and all I have to do is put on the pcb, or do i need to tune it a little further?

If you're fully assembling by yourslef, Side LEDs are put on by having to both
1) Solder on the resistors for the side LED
2) Solder on the SMD(surface mount) LED
When doing the SMD Leds, you'll see on the backside there's a marking.
GON himself made a small tutorial for this: http://www.gonskeyboardworks.com/manuals/129-nerd-side-ledsmd-led-soldering.html

Finally, how come the GON NS NerD 60 package does not seem to come with a back plate? I thought most keyboards have back plate to support the switches.

With the GON NS housing, the housing itself acts as a plate. So the top part of the housing that you see will be the plate for the PCB, where you attach switches to it.

Thank you so much for your elaborate responses both here and on reddit. You'll be the first guy I reference when I make a build log for my first keyboard! :]

[ceflame]

No problem, though I really emphasize Hoff's point of practicing somewhere else first. Make sure to look at any soldering/desoldering instructions you can before just jumping in.

I know he's not the most popular guy here anymore, but I recommend looking at some of "WhiteFireDragon"'s youtube videos on soldering before you start.

I actually screwed up when desoldering on an even more expensive project (Duck Eagle), so I'm glad to help anyone else out so they don't make the same mistake.

[Oobly]

This is a good reference: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=42824.0

And as ceflame mentioned, WhiteFireDragon's youtube videos are also great.

There's a saying that goes "Measure twice, cut once" which essentially means do as much preparation and checking you can before starting on the task. I recommend practising soldering on some scrap boards to learn. Once you have enough confidence then go ahead and move onto assembling / soldering your GON. They're truly awesome boards and the feeling of using a board you have assembled yourself is really nice.

[findingthelimit]

I'll be ordering this tonight! I'm thinking of jumping in the group buy for the white PCB, and adding everything else so I don't have to pay for shipping twice.

I have a few questions...

1. Do I need to buy a plate for the board? Where they specified parts I need to build a board, they didn't say I need one either. If this helps, I'm thinking of getting the acrylic case.
     i.e. do i need this : http://www.gonskeyboardworks.com/housings-and-related-parts/17-universal-frameplate-for-60.html
           if i'm building with this? http://www.gonskeyboardworks.com/housings-and-related-parts/103-acrylic-housing-for-nerd-60.html#/countersink-no_fastening_with_button_head_bolts
           Also, it doesn't say whether the bottom row allows for 1.5 - 1 - 1.5 - 7 - 1.5 - 1 - 1.5, or I have to go winkeyless without the 1x winkey?
2. What's the difference between buying "tuned" switches from GON and buying regular ones off of other vendors?
3. How many stabilizers do I need? Regular 2x backspace, 2.75 right shift, 1.5,1,1.5,7,1.5,1,1.5 bottom row.
           My guess is I need 5 for backspace, enter, 2x shift, and spacebar. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
4. How many diodes for DIP do I need? Do they corresponding 1 to 1 to the backlight LEDs?

5. Thanks for taking the time and reading through my questions. This will be my first build ever, and I'm very excited for it.

[dorkvader]

1A. Not necessarily, but the plate might be necessary for your case. If you are just using a cheap poker case or poker replacement case then no plate is needed. Most of the GON cases require (and come with) a plate.
1B. The acrylic housing comes with an acrylic plate. The gon universal aluminium plate won't work with it (afaik)
1C. the PCB supports either.
2. switch tuning means changing the spring, adding a sticker and lube. I don;t think these make a noticeable difference (with the exception of the spring) but lube might make a slight difference (especially on linear stems). Up to you if you think it's worth it or not.
3. stabilizers for any key 2x or larger. That's backspace, both shifts, enter, and spacebar. 5 total, though the spacebar requires a different wire.
4. you need one diode per key: so about 62. If you are wanting LEDs, you'll need the number of LEDs you want (up to ~62 the number of keys) If you want the underglow, you will need about 33 SMD LEDs. You  need one resistor per LED. Normal switch diodes do not require anything else.
5. It's always exciting. Glad to help.

[findingthelimit]

One last question; for the acrylic housing listed here:
       http://www.gonskeyboardworks.com/housings-and-related-parts/103-acrylic-housing-for-nerd-60.html#/countersink-no_fastening_with_button_head_bolts

1. What is a countersink? Are there pictures to illustrate them?
2. when you select the color of the top, frame, mid, and bottom of the case, am I selecting the color of the LEDs, or the color of the acrylic casing? I'd like the acrylic to be clear, with colored side LEDs. If they are for the side LEDs, After I put everything together, am I allowed to change the LED color using the NerD GUI, or am I stuck with those colors for this case?

Sorry, thought I was done with questions, but more keep creeping up!