Question about LED's

[A_Person]

I am building my first mech(like I am actually building my first ever mechanical keyboard, I have never owned another before), and my budget is pretty limited. I have figured out pretty much all the parts but 2. Number one, I was thinking about getting the KBD75 rev 2.0 PCB, but then I came across another. The YMDK YMD75 PCB. I think that the latter has all the functions that I would need, but I wanted to make sure that it would be a good choice as oppose to the rev 2.0. Also, I am using a Kailh BOX switch, I don't know whether it well be Pale Blue or Navy, but I know that they will not fit 3mm LED's and can only fit 2x3x4 and 1.8mm by first putting in the leds, then the switches, and that they can also fit SMD's, but I could only find LED's in the color that I want, cyan, in 2x3x4 and 3mm, with the former being 26$ for 100 pcs! Is that expensive, and also, is it possible to have RGB LEDS for each key in the keyboard? Should I use SMD or THT(through hole technology)? Also, do any of the aforementioned PCB's have compatibility with SMD'S? I will be happy to take any info anyone has on the topic. Thank You!

[A_Person]

plz im just a noob that needs answers

[Findecanor]

It looks like the YMD75 supports only through-hole LEDs.
If $26 is too much, keep looking!

[A_Person]

Ok, thanks so much i waited an entire day for that!

[robo]

Just to set expectations, this forum tends to focus on vintage keyboards (or at least vintage technology keyboards) and tends not to be into any keyboard that might be mistaken for a Christmas tree. Not that there's anything wrong with Christmas trees

[A_Person]

Ok, thanks, I actually did not realize that! I have always wanted a vintage keyboard or at least vintage switches but I prob will never get one due to cost and availability.

[Findecanor]

Ok, thanks so much i waited an entire day for that!

You had to wait for three effing hours before I read your post, checked up the PCB you hadn't look at properly yourself, checked a couple of stores I knew could have LEDs for what prices they had and then answered.
And you still bumped and complain that it took "all day" to get an answer.
Be happy that anyone bothered to react to your obnoxious post at all!

LEDs should cost a little less than $26 / 100 and I've seen all kinds of colours out there before, so there is a good chance that you will find what you are looking for. But I can't give you a hint of a specific store where also shipping to your location is within reason to make a difference.. You find one yourself!
And ... custom mechanical keyboards is an expensive hobby - get used to it!

And by the way, I'd recommend against using blue or cyan LEDs. It is not good for the eyes.
Best for night vision is red. Better is to have some low ambient lighting in the room and not rely on backlight.

[kbdfr]

Times change.
My parents did not even have a telephone,
now everybody wants even their most outlying questions answered at once.
Next step will probably be people complaining their thoughts can't be read.



Findecanor, there's a reason I nominated you for the Deskthority award two years ago

[vvp]

I heard that the best for preserving night vision is lower intensity green. The point was that eye is more sensitive to green and that allows lower light intensity. And the benefit of lower intensity is higher than benefit of red compared to green. Red better than green at the same intensity.

Blue is bad in the evenings because it confuses sleep cycle more. Blue scatters more and allegedly that also leads to eye to focus worse. But it makes you more alert and that may compensate.

If somebody knows more please point it out. I'm no expert on this topic but these colour side effects are interesting. I would read more about it

[Rayndalf]

Ok, thanks, I actually did not realize that! I have always wanted a vintage keyboard or at least vintage switches but I prob will never get one due to cost and availability.

If you look around there are excellent vintage boards for $100 or less (it might be hard to find anything you'd want to type on for less than $50, but that's true of most boards). It wasn't long ago Wyse boards were consistently $50 or less, but many high quality boards with great switches and keycaps are out there. Just keep your eyes peeled and before you know it you'll be able to tell key manufacturers apart based on subtle differences between the Q keys

Vintage MX switches aren't worth the hype though. Tangerine switches (or any Durock/ JWK linear) are just as good as vintage blacks and don't require harvesting a board or cleaning and lubricating the switches. The relative rarity or cost of different switches doesn't really correspond to their quality, Hirose Cherry Oranges belong should stay in their QX3s where they belong.

I heard that the best for preserving night vision is lower intensity green.

The soft pale green LEDs that used to be everywhere are great. Comforting in a kind of off white plastic computer and wood panelled basement kind of way. And they're still extremely cheap and easy to find. I have a small supply of them, if I find any boards with blue indicator lights I'll swap them, but backlighting feels kind of useless when I can just turn lights on.

Edit: LEDs are crazy cheap if you don't mind waiting a week or two and are placing a larger order with a electronic component seller. Mouser or any other well known company would work, but I had to order some USB C connectors that were only stocked by LCSC.

[Burton]

Listen, isn't it easier to just buy a keyboard and that's it? It is certainly not as interesting as assembling it with your own hands, but much faster and easier.

[A_Person]

Wow. That was way more replies than I expected. In fact, I didn't expect anyone to answer at all, that's why I said "Wow, I waited a whole day for that." I don't have a lot of experience with forums, so I'm sorry if I offended anyone. Also, I didn't exactly know what to look for on the pcb, as I'm new to the hobby, so I couldn't tell by myself if the pcb could support smds. I'm kinda sorry I didn't read this before I jumped the gun and bought the components(I did end up finding a cheaper set of leds, but I had to settle on ice blue, which honestly I might use for something else. I think my board will still look great without a backlight, and apparently it is bad for the eyes according to you guys), because I might have found something better. As for Burton's Q, I think that that is a good point, but I just really get overinterested in things, and eventually find the most niche part of anything after a lot of nosing around(and I had a lot of time to look into every part of the hobby for various reasons. *cough*-covid-*cough*), I found out that you could actually build a mechanical keyboard. Then, I started looking, and got super interested, and at that point my personality doesn't let me just turn around and buy a prebuilt. Thanks for all the feedback, and again, I'm really sorry if I offended anyone.