Need suggestions regarding my POK3R.

[iichigoz]

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to this whole keyboard affair. I recently purchased a Pok3r and have been playing around with different keycaps. While pulling out the keycaps, the stem came out together with the cap and it happened to 3 of them. I'm unable to open up the top part of the switch as it is plate mounted and I think I spoilt one of it.

Do you guys suggest that
1. I unsolder all 3 of them and try to put back the stem.
2. Change to either the Zealios switch or the gray switch which I thought of trying. (first time unsoldering and soldering new switches in)
3. throw away the board.

Anyone have any experience with either the zealios switches or the gray ones? This board has cherry mx clears switches.


Thanks for the help and suggestions!

[merlin64]

Hello and welcome to GeekHack!

Do you suppose you could provide some photos so we can see what exactly happened?

[SpAmRaY]

Throwing away the board should not even be an option.

[eyedrop]

Throwing away the board should not even be an option.

+1.  I am sure if you provide a pic like merlin64 suggested, people here can give you a better suggestion.  Good luck!

[suicidal_orange]

Option 1 is free so that's a clear first choice - pulling the stem out will not have damaged anything but if you've tried too hard to put it back in you might have.

If you have damaged the switch you could try and find a couple of spares, as long as the spring and slider are not damaged you can swap them in to any coloured switch's housing.  You don't say where you are to advise where to look.

Zealios is going to mean lots of desoldering and a lot more money.  They are nice though...

If you do decide to buy a new board you can sell the broken one, there's no reason to throw it away!

[iichigoz]

I have attached the picture.

I might just have to desolder to fix it. I thought it might be fun to change the whole switch to the zealios or the grays. Haa

[Badwrench]

I have attached the picture.

I might just have to desolder to fix it. I thought it might be fun to change the whole switch to the zealios or the grays. Haa

You will definitely have to replace at least the top of the switch as those are pretty botched.  Very easy to desolder the 3 and replace them. 

[iichigoz]

Thanks! I will definitely do that.

Do you know where I can purchase these switches? I tried mechanicalkeyboard but it seems like they do not ship to Singapore.

[Badwrench]

Thanks! I will definitely do that.

Do you know where I can purchase these switches? I tried mechanicalkeyboard but it seems like they do not ship to Singapore.

I am not sure for your location.  It may be best to post in the thread title that you are looking for them, and hope that someone reaches out. 

[Otesanek]

If you decided to replace the 3 switches with some new ones, I would suggest making a post on /r/mechmarket. Someone will probably sell you 3 clear switches for a very reasonable price, or maybe even just send you some for free. I can't promise that that will be your experience, but I've had quite a few people reach out and be very generous when it comes to stuff like that. I would say that you should make a classfieds post on GH, but you I don't think you meet the minimun requirements. There are some super helpful and generous people in the mech community.

[iichigoz]

You're right. I've seen many really helpful people around. I'm also considering getting those lubed mx cherry black switches from GONs but they kind of cost a bomb. Anyone with any experience with those? Those GON keyboards look badass. Haa

[iichigoz]

Hi all,

I went to purchase a soldering iron and a wick. After struggling ALOT, I managed to to desolder the 3 faulty parts. 2 of which seems fine after I put back the stem but it seems that one of it has lost its tactility. I'm still thinking whether I should just find 3 new mx clear switch or change it to gateron blacks or the zealios tactile. It seems really fun to be doing all these and I have been looking at gonskeyboardworks as well as tenkeyless. Cheers!

[xtrafrood]

I see you have a pok3r without LEDs. It's obvious that you have a back up keyboard: if you feel comfortable with soldering I'd say go for it! Get those Zealios! 

[Capnmycraw]

Congratulations!

[quasistellar]

If you plan on doing some more soldering/desoldering in the future, I'd invest in a halfway decent adjustable iron and a solder sucker or desoldering iron.  No need to get too crazy with stuff that costs hundreds, just not the bottom of the barrel crap.  Trust me, you'll hate yourself if you try to use the cheapest Radio Shack iron with a wick to desolder a whole board. 

[iichigoz]

Are you able to recommend me any brand of soldering iron and wick? I'm not too sure which are the more reliable ones.

[merlin64]

Unfortunately, Cherry MX Clears, if these are what they really are, are notorious for having very very tight stems. This is an example of what can happen.

There's no guarantee that this won't happen again. Swapping out the 3 switches is your best bet and just being very careful in the future when changing keycaps.

Here's a source from Taiwan

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cherry-Clear-White-3-Pin-MX-Series-Mechanical-Switch-OEM-Keyboard-Replacement-/281823237404?hash=item419df9551c:g:GbQAAOSwtlhWF6aR

[xtrafrood]

Are you able to recommend me any brand of soldering iron and wick? I'm not too sure which are the more reliable ones.

As for soldering irons: Aoyue, Weller and Hakko seem to be fairly popular. Weller might be the easiest to find tips for.

[iichigoz]

Thanks! Ordered 5 clear switches and I think I will get a GON or winkeyless in the near future. Deciding on the switch type is going to be a headache. Anyone with those keyboards can share their experience?