deskthority

After testing the most common cherry switches, buckling spring and topre I decided for myself that mx black I like the most.

Personally I don't know how to mod a keyboard or anything but I would also like to try all the variants of mx black. With different gold springs etc. Is there a way I can test that?

Your best bet would be to get an old Cherry G80 which has PCB-mounted switches that you can easily pop the top off of. Thus switch modding, like changing springs and the like, is quite easy. Custom springs can be sourced from sprit.

As Khers says, a g80-3000 is the easiest to mod. This is a black one for example. I've got the clear switch mode and this is my experience:

Pros:
- Not expensive
- Very easy to mod
- PBT keys

Cons:
- Design

I personally don't like the spacebar upstroke, is the thing that annoys me the most on this keyboard.

I have a Raptor K1...can I use that somehow?

Which cherry MX variant does it have?

Raptors are MX Blacks afaik and pcb mount, but with some weird plastic stuff around the switches that you need to get rid of in order to pop the tops off

Khers wrote: Raptors are MX Blacks afaik and pcb mount, but with some weird plastic stuff around the switches that you need to get rid of in order to pop the tops off

Indeed. They are one of the better Cherry boards though IMO, I love my Raptor.

I have some vintage mx blacks FS currently if anyone is interested. I will be making a thread in the market place today. Be sure to be checking the market subforum at around 4 or 5! US central time.

Yes, the raptor has cherry mx black switches and I enjoy them a lot. Is there a guide on how to remove the plastic?

Because since I don't like the layout of it that much anyway I could use it as a test board or something.

Being PCB mounted, once you remove that plastic (I don't know what that plastic is) you can easily open switches and change springs.

On the other hand, it seems quite a shame to damage a keyboard with a nice black case, NKRO and USB cable when a used G80-1800 (same layout, beige, -KRO, PS/2) can be had for less than 10€ shipped in Europe.
I have several, if you are interested. Which national layout is your Raptor K1?
Sev: http://deskthority.net/help-f53/please- ... t1386.html

I am austrian and my keyboard is french :p

Oh yeah, the K1 has those plastic blocks around each switch... so it's about the same as if they had used a plate as the prevent the tops from opening in the same way... would have to desolder all the switch and pull them off. Probably better to find one of those €5 G80-1800 basic models, or maybe see if you can find a cheap price G80-1000/1500 and use that for your experiments.

Sev wrote: I am austrian and my keyboard is french :p

I am german and my keyboard is american. And tomorrow it might be korean, but not french. That's for sure.

seebart wrote:

Sev wrote: I am austrian and my keyboard is french :p

I am german and my keyboard is american.

I am Irish and my keyboard is Japanese! (Are we playing a game?)

scottc wrote:

seebart wrote:

Sev wrote: I am austrian and my keyboard is french :p

I am german and my keyboard is american.

I am Irish and my keyboard is Japanese! (Are we playing a game?)

this game could go on quite a long time scott, but it might get a bit dull in the long run.

Oh, you guys are playing a game! Can I join? I'm Swedish and my keyboard is Japanese

IvanIvanovich wrote:Oh yeah, the K1 has those plastic blocks around each switch... so it's about the same as if they had used a plate as the prevent the tops from opening in the same way... would have to desolder all the switch and pull them off. Probably better to find one of those €5 G80-1800 basic models, or maybe see if you can find a cheap price G80-1000/1500 and use that for your experiments.

Wait, what? I have a K1 (the DS version) and it's just a regular pcb mounted cherry board.
Already swapped out the stock black springs for gold 65g ones. I love the keyboard, just wish it was Winkeyless.

Some have these little plastic shims around the switch base, prevent opening.

Yeah mine didn't have them either, which I don't mind

But CeesA told me about those pesky little things. He said he just uses a sharp knife and a pair of small pliers, and got rid of them on several K1s already.

Stabilized wrote: Already swapped out the stock black springs for gold 65g ones. I love the keyboard, just wish it was Winkeyless.

sigh... same.
I use the G80 118000 now - it's only one row wider than the 1800, I modded it with MX blacks, its winkeyless with 1.5u mods and a 7u spacebar - that means Cherry Doubleshots fit perfectly
It feels a bit more solid than the 1800's, too. No tabs, but a lot of screws.

BUT the wonky layout means your F-row is essentially botched and you have to reach a lot further just to hit ESC and the navigation cluster. At least the position of the numpad right above the trackball is perfect. It can easily replace the functionality of the PGup, down, home etc. keys.

Love the WKL 1800 too a Goupil one is my daily, really wish it could be nkro.. but don't know if 1800 WKL nkro were ever made.. I mean without trackball/pad just regular ones.Only way is to cut/mod one pcb of a 3000 or so to fit regular 1800 case, many of this mod have been made already I think, however quite serious one !

Not all Raptors have those plastic skirt things. Mine don't!

vsev, you could maybe try to find a Leeku 1800 PCB It has full NKRO through PS2 or USB.

Do the Leeku PCB's support ISO?

I modded one of my Raptors to have 1.5u mods on the left hand side, that was pretty cool comprimise I found. I'm not sure where that went now that I think about it...

Ah, bollocks. I forgot about that. They don't support ISO

HzFaq wrote: Do the Leeku PCB's support ISO?

I modded one of my Raptors to have 1.5u mods on the left hand side, that was pretty cool comprimise I found. I'm not sure where that went now that I think about it...

How did you do this?

Drill and an old winkeyless PCB to use as a template.

Similar principal to that, the hardest part was repairing the traces I drilled through, I ended up having to do a load of handwired repairs to get the board up and running again.

I'm sure I posted pictures of it, but looking back can't seem to find them...

I will do that to my 5000.. One day..

I've been putting off buying a drill press for about 6 months

You've got bigger balls than me, I don't mind taking a drill to a €15 Raptor but to do it to a £250 board is something else .

Big risk, big reward. Better spending £250 and drilling it to ANSI than spending $750 on an ANSI one!

I would take all the necessary precautions, of course. I'd get a guide laser cut.

True, fair point.

I wasn't particularly clever about the way I did it to the Raptor; using a blunt drill bit in a hand drill between my legs, drilling through a hacked up PCB as a guide .

Your way sounds way more sensible.