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Author Topic: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)  (Read 4357 times)

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Offline MGMorden

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My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« on: Thu, 08 February 2018, 21:05:06 »
Since 104-key components for a from scratch build seem to be through the roof in price I decided to sacrifice a $29 E-3lue mechanical I bought of Aliexpress a while back.  The cheapo Cherry blue clones that came with it kinda sucked and the left Ctrl key was spotty anyways. 

Went ahead and desoldered all the existing switches, clipped the stabilizers, sanded off the old logos, and installed some NovelKeys Box Jades.  Still have to grab some new keycaps though as these are horrendous.  Still, I was happy the thing actually worked when I got it back together.




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Boards: Unicomp Spacesaver (Buckling Spring) - IBM Model M (Buckling Spring) - Scorpius iOne M10 (Cherry MX Blue) - Logitech K840 (Romer-G) - E-3lue Cobra (replaced with NovelKeys Box Jades) - Smith Corona 6311 (Acer switches) - Matias Tactile Pro PC (Matias Click Switches) - Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (Alps SKCM Orange)

Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 08 February 2018, 21:17:16 »
I did the same thing to a cooler master masterkeys with the pbt caps, really nice to type on and the pbt caps make it that much better for such a cheap combo.
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Offline Kevadu

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 08 February 2018, 21:38:47 »
So how do you like the jade switches?
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Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 08 February 2018, 22:12:49 »
Quote from: Kevadu on Thu, 08 February 2018, 21:38:47
So how do you like the jade switches?

Personally they are really nice to type on, but because of the lower spring rate, it tends to be super snappy and can affect typing speeds negatively. But they aren't bad at all, I would only change the spring by +5 to +8 grams to make them a little smoother and to make them return faster(which is something that some people don't like about them). The sound is also super loud and can probably wake the dead...so keep that in mind.
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Offline MGMorden

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 08 February 2018, 22:42:33 »
Quote from: Kevadu on Thu, 08 February 2018, 21:38:47
So how do you like the jade switches?

Personally I'm liking the feel so far, but I am having a wee bit of trouble with the space bar returning consistently.  Haven't had any issue with other keys and the switch feels good with the cap removed, but I think the weight of that big key is a bit too much for it to return.

I think at a minimum I've going to have to put a different switch in for the spacebar.
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Boards: Unicomp Spacesaver (Buckling Spring) - IBM Model M (Buckling Spring) - Scorpius iOne M10 (Cherry MX Blue) - Logitech K840 (Romer-G) - E-3lue Cobra (replaced with NovelKeys Box Jades) - Smith Corona 6311 (Acer switches) - Matias Tactile Pro PC (Matias Click Switches) - Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (Alps SKCM Orange)

Offline MGMorden

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 11:03:23 »
FWIW if anyone cares - I tried a different spacebar cap and it's returning normally.

Weighing the one that returns ok I get a weight of 6.84g, whereas the other one I had on was 8.99g.  I don't know exactly what the threshold is, but somewhere between those weights the switch is unable to return the key consistently (it would return if I quickly removed the weight and let it spring up, but if you slowly lifted up on the key it would stick on the click bar).
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Boards: Unicomp Spacesaver (Buckling Spring) - IBM Model M (Buckling Spring) - Scorpius iOne M10 (Cherry MX Blue) - Logitech K840 (Romer-G) - E-3lue Cobra (replaced with NovelKeys Box Jades) - Smith Corona 6311 (Acer switches) - Matias Tactile Pro PC (Matias Click Switches) - Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (Alps SKCM Orange)

Offline Techno Trousers

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:44:05 »
Do we know what the characteristics of the Jade spring are? Can we replace the springs with some Sprit versions that are just a few grams heavier? I have some jades on order, so I'm really interested in how to perfect them.
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Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:51:31 »
Quote from: Techno Trousers on Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:44:05
Do we know what the characteristics of the Jade spring are? Can we replace the springs with some Sprit versions that are just a few grams heavier? I have some jades on order, so I'm really interested in how to perfect them.

All I know is that they are a custom size spring that is smaller than cherry and larger than alps, and that it is the same weighting as the BOX whites spring. So if you can find a spring that actually fits, that would be awesome.
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Offline Techno Trousers

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 14:24:30 »
Quote from: BlindAssassin111 on Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:51:31
Quote from: Techno Trousers on Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:44:05
Do we know what the characteristics of the Jade spring are? Can we replace the springs with some Sprit versions that are just a few grams heavier? I have some jades on order, so I'm really interested in how to perfect them.

All I know is that they are a custom size spring that is smaller than cherry and larger than alps, and that it is the same weighting as the BOX whites spring. So if you can find a spring that actually fits, that would be awesome.
Ouch, that will be a tall order for sure.
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Offline MGMorden

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #9 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 14:33:52 »
Quote from: BlindAssassin111 on Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:51:31
Quote from: Techno Trousers on Sun, 11 February 2018, 13:44:05
Do we know what the characteristics of the Jade spring are? Can we replace the springs with some Sprit versions that are just a few grams heavier? I have some jades on order, so I'm really interested in how to perfect them.

All I know is that they are a custom size spring that is smaller than cherry and larger than alps, and that it is the same weighting as the BOX whites spring. So if you can find a spring that actually fits, that would be awesome.

Yeah - I tried to put in a different spring from a regular Cherry switch and they didn't work quite right.  The Cherry spring will got into the Box base, but the slider's cutout is too small and the spring starts binding when you press the key.

For right now I'm using the lighter space bar and that will be fine, but when they're in stock again I'll probably just buy some Box Navy's and use one of those instead for the spacebar key.
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Boards: Unicomp Spacesaver (Buckling Spring) - IBM Model M (Buckling Spring) - Scorpius iOne M10 (Cherry MX Blue) - Logitech K840 (Romer-G) - E-3lue Cobra (replaced with NovelKeys Box Jades) - Smith Corona 6311 (Acer switches) - Matias Tactile Pro PC (Matias Click Switches) - Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (Alps SKCM Orange)

Offline Sup

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #10 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 14:57:17 »
Quote from: MGMorden on Thu, 08 February 2018, 22:42:33
Quote from: Kevadu on Thu, 08 February 2018, 21:38:47
So how do you like the jade switches?

Personally I'm liking the feel so far, but I am having a wee bit of trouble with the space bar returning consistently.  Haven't had any issue with other keys and the switch feels good with the cap removed, but I think the weight of that big key is a bit too much for it to return.

I think at a minimum I've going to have to put a different switch in for the spacebar.

People did report that the switches had a problem returning to the there original position. They blame the spring being to weak and seeing the problem on a space bar doesn't surprise me. Maybe a heavier spring ghetto mod would fix it.
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Offline Techno Trousers

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 15:54:33 »
I really think a spring in between the light and heavy would be perfect. We can call it the medium box switch mod, if we can find a source for springs like that.
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Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 17:07:54 »
Quote from: Techno Trousers on Sun, 11 February 2018, 15:54:33
I really think a spring in between the light and heavy would be perfect. We can call it the medium box switch mod, if we can find a source for springs like that.

I looked into the cost of doing it, but would have to have quite a few orders just to do that....
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Offline Techno Trousers

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #13 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 18:41:26 »
Quote from: BlindAssassin111 on Sun, 11 February 2018, 17:07:54
Quote from: Techno Trousers on Sun, 11 February 2018, 15:54:33
I really think a spring in between the light and heavy would be perfect. We can call it the medium box switch mod, if we can find a source for springs like that.

I looked into the cost of doing it, but would have to have quite a few orders just to do that....
What are we looking at in terms of cost and MOQ?
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Offline BlindAssassin111

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #14 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 19:41:20 »
Quote from: Techno Trousers on Sun, 11 February 2018, 18:41:26
What are we looking at in terms of cost and MOQ?

I just started to look into it, but I would say MOQ of 7,500 probably, but not sure of cost, have to get a quote first. All I need to do is figure out the spring rate for the stock jades and then I can spec a slightly heavier one out. But I have no way of measuring it accurately.
« Last Edit: Sun, 11 February 2018, 19:51:20 by BlindAssassin111 »
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Offline Techno Trousers

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Re: My ghetto Box Jade Keyboard :)
« Reply #15 on: Sun, 11 February 2018, 20:00:00 »
Maybe PM Ellipse about it. He's been all up in springs (though of the buckling kind) for the F62/F77 project.
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