Resistors, Diodes, and LEDs - Do you use them or no?

[DaveB]

My son and I are working together to build our first keyboards; 60% using the Satan GH60, blue cherries, and a skeleton case.  We're trying to decide about resistors, diodes, and LEDs.  Do you use 'em or not; why?  Would you recommend any in particular? Where's the best place to get them?

[suicidal_orange]

You need diodes for the keys to work, you only need resistors if you want to use LEDs.  Not sure if it's always the case but I thought the satan pcb came with presoldered resistors and diodes so you might want to check before buying any.

Personally I've never seen the need for lots of LEDs but if you like glowing keyboards go for it - it's a matter of personal preference.  Bear in mind you can easily add them later but it's a lot harder to take them out.  Unless you use SIP sockets...

[DaveB]

There are no diodes nor anything else soldered onto these boards yet. Thanks for the input; it helps. You said it was easier to add them later than to take them out.  I bet, but why would you need to take them out unless one needed to be replaceed?  The fella I bought the cases from gave me a link to the guy's page on eBay that he buys the SIP sockets from. He told me he uses nippers to cut them to length before soldering them, but that procedure isn't clear to me yet.  Do people get these diodes and resistors from somewhere like Mouser Electronics?  Do you know what diodes and resistors to look for?

[tofgerl]

There are standard diodes and resistors, yeah. LED's too, but there's a bit of a selection there. SIP sockets is a little more trouble than they're worth, IMO, but some people want to change the color of their LED's for some reason. At some point we'll all get onboard support for RGB LED's, but it's a little early and designing PCBs takes time, so that's early going yet.

However, I really think you should already have diodes and resistors on the PCB if you have either a GH60 or a Satan GH60. Could you take a picture of the board so we can see? And I'll dig up links to the diodes and resistors most used.

[tofgerl]

This is the standard "hobbyist" diode: http://no.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Fairchild-Semiconductor/1N4148/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMudZehw8RjeZWbu6z6oTQTL
And this is the standard preinstalled diode: http://no.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Fairchild-Semiconductor/1N4148WS/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtoHjESLttvkr4bXZrJfFziTdC5C0Y1oek%3d
This is ONE type of resistor, there are others: http://www.gonskeyboardworks.com/electric-parts/15-resistorssmd-100-pcs.html
And finally, the LED size you need is 2x3x4mm. ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X2x3x4mm+led.TRS0&_nkw=2x3x4mm+led&_sacat=0&afsrc=1

[DaveB]

Here's the image, but I think I see what I was missing, now.   Amazing.  I don't know what I thought those were.

[Sifo]

R = Resistor
D = Diode

All you have to do is solder the switches in, and if you choose to, solder SIP sockets/LEDs.

Cutting them to length is because the legs of the SIP sockets/LEDs are much longer than you need them to be so you simply cut them either before or after soldering onto the board.

[DaveB]

Thanks, yeah, it's dawning on me how much less there is going to be to solder than I'd been thinking.  If we decide against the LEDs, unless I'm forgetting something, we can get started on them this weekend.  I forgot to ask in my last post; there are 4 numbered solder holes. What goes where? And do the SIPs just solder in these holes?

[Sifo]

Thanks, yeah, it's dawning on me how much less there is going to be to solder than I'd been thinking.  If we decide against the LEDs, unless I'm forgetting something, we can get started on them this weekend.  I forgot to ask in my last post; there are 4 numbered solder holes. What goes where? And do the SIPs just solder in these holes?

1,4 aren't solder holes they're just for PCB mounted switches, they have little pegs at the bottom that fit into those holes to stabilize the switch.

2,3 are for LEDs, you have to figure out the polarity since it isn't labeled (just plug the board in and touch the 2 legs, if it doesn't work that way then flip it around)

The switch can only go in 1 way, you'll figure it out.

[margo baggins]

satan pcb has everything presoldered except the switches and LED.

though sometimes they come with no firmware on them. and sometimes they do. depends where you get them but i've done I think 3 and 2 of them had no firmware on them when they arrived, and 1 of them did.

Also, holes 1 and 4 in your picture aren't actually big enough to accept the pegs on cherry switches. I'm sure they were supposed to be - but they are fab'd too small so you will have to clip all your switches if you are using pcb mount switches. (5 pin ones instead of 3 pin ones)

[tofgerl]

That's not my experience at all...?
I've built... seven now? All have been with software, and all have used PCB-mounted switches.

[margo baggins]

That's not my experience at all...?
I've built... seven now? All have been with software, and all have used PCB-mounted switches.

maybe it was becuase It was gateron switches? i think I read somewhere that the pegs on those are a bit thicker. But I couldn't get them into the pcb without a load of force.

and yeah I've had 2 arrive with nothing on them

[kasakka]

That's not my experience at all...?
I've built... seven now? All have been with software, and all have used PCB-mounted switches.

maybe it was becuase It was gateron switches? i think I read somewhere that the pegs on those are a bit thicker. But I couldn't get them into the pcb without a load of force.

and yeah I've had 2 arrive with nothing on them

Built a Satan GH60 with Zealios, had to push the switches pretty hard to get them into the holes. That said, enlarging them a bit or alternatively trimming the switch pegs down a bit should do the trick.

[margo baggins]

ye I just cut off all the pegs, it was zealious as well I think I was using. My sensitive little thumbs can't deal with pushing in that many switches D: makes them sore hehe.

[tofgerl]

I also use zealios... We must have gotten our boards from different builders or something...

[DaveB]

So, a Google search wasn't helpful; what is/are zealios?

[SpAmRaY]

So, a Google search wasn't helpful; what is/are zealios?

www.zealpc.net

Zeal a member here partnered with gateron to have some custom MX compatible switches made.

R4 GB thread here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=84248.0

[DaveB]

I need to get some stabilizers; are there more than one style?

[tofgerl]

Yep. Cherry are most common, Costar is generally considered better, but harder to install. There are tons of lesser other choices as well.
Regarding Cherry: Make sure you get actual Cherry-made, not Cherry-style.

[Findecanor]

Costar-style stabilisers snap into the top of a mounting plate with the stabiliser bar right under the keycap.
There are two different variants of Cherry-style stabilisers: plate-mounted and PCB-mounted.

If you have a plate then the shape of its cutouts determines which types of stabilisers it supports. It is common for plates for DIY enthusiasts to support both Costar and Cherry plate-mounted. Some more unusual "universal" plates with support both ISO and ANSI layouts have extra large cutouts for PCB-mounted Cherry stabilisers.
If you will post a link to or picture of the plate you are planning to buy (if any), then we could tell you which type of stabilisers it will support.

If you don't plan to use a plate then PCB-mounted Cherry-style stabilisers is what you should get.

Actual Cherry-made stabilisers have small dampening plastic legs on the bottom of the sliders. These cause some damping when you bottom out, which makes stabilised keys feel different from others - and that is the main reason why some people don't like them. You could clip those off yourself though.
Clones of Cherry stabilisers tend to not have those plastic legs on the sliders but depending on the manufacturer, keycaps could fit more or less tightly on them. I have some stabilisers that just don't work with some keycaps... If you get real Cherry-made stabilisers then you won't run into that problem.

[captsis]

just to add, if you get Zealios and a GH60 you may have trouble slotting them in... just make sure the switches/plate sit flush with the board. I wish I would have known this sooner with my build.

[DaveB]

I haven't done anything yet about purchasing these, so I appreciate all this information.  I've been trying since yesterday to upload an image of the plate, but I seem to be having an issue with my data connection. When that's resolved, I'll upload it and post it.

I really appreciate yall's comments. This is stuff I just wasn't finding anywhere else.

[DaveB]

Image of our plates:



Nothing's been soldered yet.  Recommendations welcome.

[tofgerl]

That's a nice plate. Steel? Seems much easier to work with than those generalized alu plates in all the colors of the rainbow, where you can't really use plate stabs due to the multiple cutouts.

If you need recommendations on the stabs, I still recommend either Costar plate stabs or Cherry PCB stabs. Cherry plate stabs will work fine on that plate, but I have some bad experiences with them personally.

[DaveB]

It's aluminium, and though I'd be even more pleased if it were ss, I was pleased with the cutouts. Each switch was quite snug in each slot. There's a back plate with matchingt him to this  screw holes. I had posted an ad here looking for parts to build two skeleton case 60s. Someone wrote that he'd seen something on Reddit, and that's how I found them.  It was a square deal all around. Curious that he isn't here, or at least didn't advertise them here.

[tofgerl]

I prefer to trade on Reddit as well.