Inside the Varmilo VA87M?

wafflepc · 27 Apr 2015, 01:02

Hey, I dont currently have a mechanical keyboard, but i am working on that, and have tested switches, and i want a Blue/Green KB, with blues for the letters numbers, maybe functions, arrow keys, but greens for everything else, and maybe even an mx lock for the caps lock switch, but i know there arent keyboards sold like that, so i want to make a custom KB. That is too expensive for me though, so i want to know if it is possible with the varmilo VA87M to desolder the switches, and replace them with mx greens. Also are they Plate or PCB mounted?

Thank you for whoever knows

Happy typing

ryebread761 · 27 Apr 2015, 01:11

From what I have seen in pictures it looks to be plate mounted, but I don't know anything else about the keyboard. You should most certainly be able to mod it though, as long as you are up for a little soldering and disassembly. I'm curious as to why you want light switches on the alphas and heavy switches on the mods - I think if I did a hybrid I would want it the other way around. Good luck

wafflepc · 27 Apr 2015, 01:18

ryebread761 wrote: From what I have seen in pictures it looks to be plate mounted, but I don't know anything else about the keyboard. You should most certainly be able to mod it though, as long as you are up for a little soldering and disassembly. I'm curious as to why you want light switches on the alphas and heavy switches on the mods - I think if I did a hybrid I would want it the other way around. Good luck

I want this because my pinkies are strong! jkjk. I dont want heavy on the alphanum b/c i play cs, and even though its clicky, its better than heavy, but i love the heavy feel. Also when i type fast, i hit the mods less and when i do i hit them hard. am a relatively heavy typer, because of my shitty membrane keyboard, and its just how i prefer to type. Sadly i have smaller hands tho, so i have to move my hands quickly to the higher switches like the functions and/or the arrow keys and ins, home, p up, p down, etc, so i have a naturally harder press on keys that are farther away. Thanks for the info.

wafflepc · 27 Apr 2015, 04:03

photekq · 27 Apr 2015, 04:10

wafflepc wrote: bump

This is a mostly European forum.. It's 3am in the morning here! You don't need to bump

I'm sure someone who has something meaningful to say will respond in the morning.

Welcome to Deskthority by the way!

derzemel · 27 Apr 2015, 08:51

Varmilo supposedly are made in the same factory as Leopold and it seems that everybody that owns one is very happy with the build quality.

Here is a close-up image where I see that the switches/stabs are plate mounted:

The Chinese blog I took it from: http://www.dgtle.com/article-7850-1.html

As much as I searched, I could not find one image with the Varmilo VA87M PCB, but I found this blog with a teardown and modding of the Varmilo VB660M (which is a Leopold FC660M with bluetooth):

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/3163371361?lp=5028&mo_device=1

I hope this could give you an idea on what's under the hood of the Varmilo VA87M

I think it should be fairly straight forward to get a MX-Blue Varmilo and desolder/solder the switches you want.

wafflepc · 27 Apr 2015, 23:51

photekq wrote:
wafflepc wrote: bump
This is a mostly European forum.. It's 3am in the morning here! You don't need to bump

I'm sure someone who has something meaningful to say will respond in the morning.

Welcome to Deskthority by the way!

oh thanks i didnt know that

thanks!

wafflepc · 27 Apr 2015, 23:54

derzemel wrote: Varmilo supposedly are made in the same factory as Leopold and it seems that everybody that owns one is very happy with the build quality.

Here is a close-up image where I see that the switches/stabs are plate mounted:

The Chinese blog I took it from: http://www.dgtle.com/article-7850-1.html

As much as I searched, I could not find one image with the Varmilo VA87M PCB, but I found this blog with a teardown and modding of the Varmilo VB660M (which is a Leopold FC660M with bluetooth):

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/3163371361?lp=5028&mo_device=1

I hope this could give you an idea on what's under the hood of the Varmilo VA87M

I think it should be fairly straight forward to get a MX-Blue Varmilo and desolder/solder the switches you want.

thank you very much! the first image didnt load btw, but i dont need it! thank you so much.

derzemel · 28 Apr 2015, 11:48

wafflepc wrote: thank you very much! the first image didnt load btw, but i dont need it! thank you so much.

No problem!

Take plenty of pictures of the inside if you plan to go forward with this project and share them

matt3o · 28 Apr 2015, 11:59

isn't Varmilo the manufacturer that makes the Leopolds?

wafflepc · 29 Apr 2015, 01:12

derzemel wrote:
wafflepc wrote: thank you very much! the first image didnt load btw, but i dont need it! thank you so much.
No problem!

Take plenty of pictures of the inside if you plan to go forward with this project and share them

I will

wafflepc · 29 Apr 2015, 01:13

matt3o wrote: isn't Varmilo the manufacturer that makes the Leopolds?

I think they are made in the same factory, yes.

mattbox · 02 May 2016, 08:07

There's a pretty good teardown of the Varmilo VB87M on reddit. http://imgur.com/a/4RuFJ It's essentially the same keyboard, just with bluetooth.

I have this keyboard, it's plate mounted, modding wouldn't be a problem. Personally I think it would be better to just stick to one switch if this is your first mechanical keyboard, use it for a few weeks before deciding if you want go hybrid.

phinix · 19 Jan 2017, 15:34

So if it's plate mounted, does it mean I can simply swap springs in them, without de-soldering switches?

Matt_ · 19 Jan 2017, 15:47

Just because it's plate-mounted doesn't mean you can swap springs without desoldering. For that, the plate needs to have cutouts that allow switches to be opened, like 2, 3 and 4:

From what I can see in the imgur album posted above, the cutouts in the Varmilo plate are square, which means that you can't open switches without desoldering them.

(pic from this Geekhack thread)