How to desolder a keycool 84, change springs?

[Naweo]

Hello!

I think I am using a Noppoo choc mini with commercial plate mount, I am curious if it is possible to just change the springs without desoldering?

EDIT: Decided to try soldering. Need help!

I ordered a desoldering unit kinda equal to the one shown in the video above, the soldering guns I could find in Denmark were all like 250$+

I ordered this: http://www.amazon.com/ECG-J-045-DS-Watt-Desoldering-Iron/dp/B00068IJSG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1463544105&sr=8-4&keywords=desoldering

so I also ordered:

0.5mm non-lead soldering wire
Some steel/brass sponge I think for cleaning.

120x 40g and 35g cherry mx springs. (I could not find other springs, please let me know if you can)

So I should be good to go in like 10-14 days.

In the meantime I decided to open the case as per instruction in the above video, and here is my result:

https://gyazo.com/366d851103b07be4d7ae394249c3baaf
https://gyazo.com/1a4c303226708d57666e3a4d2a9da37c

Does it look like I have done it correctly?

Is my Weller WHS 40 sufficient for soldering? at 350 degrees? Should I get a different one?

Do I have to desolder the LEDS even if I only intend to change/lubricate springs, stems etc, but let the housing sit?

I understand I have to desolder the two bigger pins, but I also have to desolder the LEDS? I do not care about LEDS for my board, but I understand I have to do it anyway. How should I proceed, and where should I desolder? As far as I can see, these 4 locations are where I have to desolder, but I am not sure exactly when sufficient melting of the metal is actually enough to pull keycap/led out. I marked 4 locations with black to show how I understand the soldering process:

https://gyazo.com/de05a5b6d771f4b3d24e1bb098d66d55

Additional images of my keyboard keycool 84 Kailh red without case:

https://gyazo.com/185d2e2b3199d1303fc3fb83a6eb1960

It looks like I cannot being soldering untill I get my solder sucker, but I am curious if there is a way I could start right now. I plan to do this in my garage with open doors so fumes shouldnt be an issue.

I can however perhaps borrow a solder sucker from a carpenter friend of mine who may have one I can use.

And if everything goes smooth, are there any cleanup procedures I need to do? I have isopropyl alcohol but would that + some papertowels be fine?

If you have any other information, please let me know, Thanks!

[SpAmRaY]

No, you would have to desolder.

[Naweo]

No, you would have to desolder.

Yes OK,

I want to try and change the springs from 35g to 40g, but I also have an issue with wiggling in the housing. I think it is because it is transparent housing instead of black?

[SpAmRaY]

I'm not sure what board you would have that has 35g springs?


if you are referring to this keyboard


http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Plum84-electrostatic-capacitive-mechanical-keyboard-topre-clone-compact-gaming-keyboard-PBT-keycap-detachable-cable-84-mini/32598836635.html


That is entirely different than what I was thinking you meant.


The weight comes from the rubber domes not from the spring and no soldering is involved, however replacement parts are likely not available outside of buying another similar keyboard with differently weighted domes to try and swap out with the current domes.

[Naweo]

I'm not sure what board you would have that has 35g springs?


if you are referring to this keyboard


http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Plum84-electrostatic-capacitive-mechanical-keyboard-topre-clone-compact-gaming-keyboard-PBT-keycap-detachable-cable-84-mini/32598836635.html


That is entirely different than what I was thinking you meant.


The weight comes from the rubber domes not from the spring and no soldering is involved, however replacement parts are likely not available outside of buying another similar keyboard with differently weighted domes to try and swap out with the current domes.

Noppoo choc mini gateron 35g clear.

If I were to desolder this keyboard, would I be able to replace the springs and housings as I please? I would want to try my cherry housings that are colored black cuz I think they have less wiggle room.

So can I take a random cherry board and all the housing from there and mod with 35g and 40g switches as I please on any keyboard?

[SpAmRaY]

I'm not sure what board you would have that has 35g springs?


if you are referring to this keyboard


http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Plum84-electrostatic-capacitive-mechanical-keyboard-topre-clone-compact-gaming-keyboard-PBT-keycap-detachable-cable-84-mini/32598836635.html


That is entirely different than what I was thinking you meant.


The weight comes from the rubber domes not from the spring and no soldering is involved, however replacement parts are likely not available outside of buying another similar keyboard with differently weighted domes to try and swap out with the current domes.

Noppoo choc mini gateron 35g clear.

If I were to desolder this keyboard, would I be able to replace the springs and housings as I please? I would want to try my cherry housings that are colored black cuz I think they have less wiggle room.

So can I take a random cherry board and all the housing from there and mod with 35g and 40g switches as I please on any keyboard?

Yes that should work. I did not know those 35g switches were put in any stock boards.

[Naweo]

I'm not sure what board you would have that has 35g springs?


if you are referring to this keyboard


http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Plum84-electrostatic-capacitive-mechanical-keyboard-topre-clone-compact-gaming-keyboard-PBT-keycap-detachable-cable-84-mini/32598836635.html


That is entirely different than what I was thinking you meant.


The weight comes from the rubber domes not from the spring and no soldering is involved, however replacement parts are likely not available outside of buying another similar keyboard with differently weighted domes to try and swap out with the current domes.

Noppoo choc mini gateron 35g clear.

If I were to desolder this keyboard, would I be able to replace the springs and housings as I please? I would want to try my cherry housings that are colored black cuz I think they have less wiggle room.

So can I take a random cherry board and all the housing from there and mod with 35g and 40g switches as I please on any keyboard?

Yes that should work. I did not know those 35g switches were put in any stock boards.

Yes thank you.

And If I were to follow this guide, should that apply to noppoo board as well?

I actually want to change the springs from 35g to 40g and then use black housing instead of white housing, plus I think I would do in-spring lubcriation, but lubrication only seems necessaery for cherry.

But I may want to try a lot of different combinations, springs, housings etc. in the future. Would you recommend also getting a switchtester that is non-plated just for testing? Preferebly one that is programmable if possible.

I need all the tools, but I have a soldering station from 3m with like temperature control. What temperature do I aim for?

[SpAmRaY]

Yes that video should help you.

I'm on my phone at the moment or I'd try and give more details.

There's a subforum here called making things together that has a wealth of soldering information.

If no one else pops in I'll try and give a better answer later.

I think my soldering station is set around 350C, but that's highly dependant on your station and whatever solder you are working with.

What matters most is that your solder melts quickly and you aren't staying in one spot too long and causing damage to any parts or the PCB.

For desoldering I mainly use a hakko 808 desoldering gun. For one or two switches I occasionally use an edsyn soldapult.

[Naweo]

Yes that video should help you.

I'm on my phone at the moment or I'd try and give more details.

There's a subforum here called making things together that has a wealth of soldering information.

If no one else pops in I'll try and give a better answer later.

I think my soldering station is set around 350C, but that's highly dependant on your station and whatever solder you are working with.

What matters most is that your solder melts quickly and you aren't staying in one spot too long and causing damage to any parts or the PCB.

For desoldering I mainly use a hakko 808 desoldering gun. For one or two switches I occasionally use an edsyn soldapult.

Well I have a board or two I can experiment with first to get the hang of it, so I suppose I will find out.

[Badwrench]

Yes that video should help you.

I'm on my phone at the moment or I'd try and give more details.

There's a subforum here called making things together that has a wealth of soldering information.

If no one else pops in I'll try and give a better answer later.

I think my soldering station is set around 350C, but that's highly dependant on your station and whatever solder you are working with.

What matters most is that your solder melts quickly and you aren't staying in one spot too long and causing damage to any parts or the PCB.

For desoldering I mainly use a hakko 808 desoldering gun. For one or two switches I occasionally use an edsyn soldapult.

Well I have a board or two I can experiment with first to get the hang of it, so I suppose I will find out.

That is the best way to go about it.  Practice until you are comfortable with your gear and settings.  Remember, adding more solder to desolder is a good thing.  If there is only a tiny bit left, it is much harder to get good heat transfer.  resolder the pin and try again.   

[Naweo]

Yes that video should help you.

I'm on my phone at the moment or I'd try and give more details.

There's a subforum here called making things together that has a wealth of soldering information.

If no one else pops in I'll try and give a better answer later.

I think my soldering station is set around 350C, but that's highly dependant on your station and whatever solder you are working with.

What matters most is that your solder melts quickly and you aren't staying in one spot too long and causing damage to any parts or the PCB.

For desoldering I mainly use a hakko 808 desoldering gun. For one or two switches I occasionally use an edsyn soldapult.

Well I have a board or two I can experiment with first to get the hang of it, so I suppose I will find out.

That is the best way to go about it.  Practice until you are comfortable with your gear and settings.  Remember, adding more solder to desolder is a good thing.  If there is only a tiny bit left, it is much harder to get good heat transfer.  resolder the pin and try again.   

Yes!

Although I might like 35g springs over 40g springs for my noppoo, but what I wanna do is change the housing to reduce wiggle room and travel distance. To do this I was thinking about putting the gateron 35g springs into a kailh housing, but I read that open kailh switches is next to impossible without breaking it because they do not want people to copy the switch. What do you guys think?

The problem with noppo gateron 35g is that the white stem and the white housing has a lot of wiggle room, so when using even just a 2mm dampener, it double taps because it goes back and forth as you have fully pressed it. To fix this I was thinking about either replacing the stem from a red to a white, which might be slightly bigger and therefore solve the problem, or both the stem and the housing to basically get a kailh switch but with 35g spring.

Is my thought process wrong, and what do you guys think about opening kailh switches? Would it be possible to put a 35g or 40g spring into a kailh housing, if it is possible to open? If yes, is there a non-plate mounted mechanical keypad that I can test this on?

[SpAmRaY]

Swapping springs shouldn't be an issue.

And I haven't seen any MX compatible switches that you can't open they just might be easier to open before soldering in.

[Naweo]

Swapping springs shouldn't be an issue.

And I haven't seen any MX compatible switches that you can't open they just might be easier to open before soldering in.

Alright thanks man, appreciate it. I think it will be fun to try even if it fails, I am not gonna use my kailh keyboard anymore most likely and cant sell it cuz of the cord issue, but if I can mod it the way I want, then definitely.

I am thinking about ordering some 35g, 40g and 45g springs from MK.com. Do you have better spring solutions? I need between 30 and 45g springs.

Edit:

I ordered a desoldering unit kinda equal to the one shown in the video above, the soldering guns I could find in Denmark were all like 250$+

so I also ordered:

0.5mm non-lead soldering wire
Some steel/brass sponge I think for cleaning.

120x 40g and 35g cherry mx springs. (I could not find other springs, please let me know if you can)

So I should be good to go in like 10-14 days.

In the meantime I decided to open the case as per instruction in the above video, and here is my result:

https://i.gyazo.com/366d851103b07be4d7ae394249c3baaf.png
https://i.gyazo.com/1d66cc32cc9bd77b859f682c36590d41.png

Does it look like I have done it correctly?

Is my Weller WHS 40 sufficient for soldering? at 350 degrees? Should I get a different one?

Do I have to desolder the LEDS even if I only intend to change/lubricate springs, stems etc, but let the housing sit?

I understand I have to desolder the two bigger pins, but I also have to desolder the LEDS? I do not care about LEDS for my board, but I understand I have to do it anyway. How should I proceed, and where should I desolder? As far as I can see, these 4 locations are where I have to desolder, but I am not sure exactly when sufficient melting of the metal is actually enough to pull keycap/led out. Is it here, marked with black 4 circles?

https://i.gyazo.com/de05a5b6d771f4b3d24e1bb098d66d55.png

Additional images of my keyboard keycool 84 Kailh red without case:

https://i.gyazo.com/185d2e2b3199d1303fc3fb83a6eb1960.png

It looks like I cannot being soldering untill I get my solder sucker, but I am curious if there is a way I could start right now. I plan to do this in my garage with open doors so fumes shouldnt be an issue.

I can however perhaps borrow a solder sucker from a carpenter friend of mine who may have one I can use.

If you have any other information, please let me know, Thanks!

[SpAmRaY]

I can't get your pictures to load.

Yes if the switches have LEDs those will have to be desoldered also to remove the switch.

I've only used hakko and edsyn soldering irons but I know others have used Weller irons with success.

When desoldering you want all the solder removed from the solder pad so the switch pins or led pins are free to move.

 But be careful not to damage the solder pad as that is the issue most people seem to have when first starting with soldering/desoldering.

[Naweo]

I can't get your pictures to load.

Yes if the switches have LEDs those will have to be desoldered also to remove the switch.

I've only used hakko and edsyn soldering irons but I know others have used Weller irons with success.

When desoldering you want all the solder removed from the solder pad so the switch pins or led pins are free to move.

 But be careful not to damage the solder pad as that is the issue most people seem to have when first starting with soldering/desoldering.

I see, I will try my best.

Does the pictures work now?

[suicidal_orange]

I have a WHS-40 and I would rate it 'temperamental' - most of the time it's great but some days the tip doesn't stay hot enough for no apparent reason.  I bought mine modded to have a cooler minimum so that might be affecting it..

You'll probably need full power to desolder switches from the factory as they use slightly different solder but most of the time I use mine on around 5 (less than standard 5) so try starting at 4 and see how you go.  You can see when the solder melts as it looks wet - if it doesn't in a couple of seconds move to another pin (to avoid long heating which can damage the PCB) and turn up the heat

[Naweo]

Yeah mine doesnt seem to get hot enough, even at 450 degress either. Is there a relatively cheap soldering unit that could work, or maybe my friends which is more industrial but with no temperature control? How important is temperature control?

[suicidal_orange]

Is the tip all the way in? I did a switch swap on a Keycool board and it was easy, both other factory soldered boards needed hotter.  Could be from a different batch or even factory though...

I've had my weller years from my time building headphone amps and haven't felt the need to trade up so have no recommendations, I'm sure there's a helpful thread in 'Making Stuff Together!' but I can't find it using my phone.

Generally you want to use the lowest temperature possible to get the job done, if you do use the unknown industrial iron try and keep it quick - too much heat or too long hot means more chance of lifting the solder pads.

[Naweo]

I found another one without temperature control that is 30 watt and seems sufficiently hotter, but not sure if I should try yet. What do you guys think?