Change cherry mx by just removing stems/springs?

[amospalla]

Hello,

I have a simple question. Is it posible to convert, say, a black cherry mx keyboard, by just changing stems/springs of a blue one?

[Muirium]

Yes. All MX housings are compatible, besides MXLOCK (the rare latching switch). So you can make your own combinations.

So long as the switches are not plate mount, or the plate has the notches required for this kind of work (most do not). Otherwise the switches are trapped and you can't open them.

[amospalla]

Thank you Mu.

[Muirium]

You're welcome. But beware that I made a typing mistake: NOT plate mount. What you need is a PCB mount keyboard, or a custom with the right kind of plate with cutouts.

[amospalla]

Right, I get it now, both are soldered, so plate mount means one should first desolder switches, and after that, extracting them from the plate. Is that correct?

Thank you again.

[Broadmonkey]

Most modern boards come with plate mount, so you would have to desolder the swithes in order to open them.

[Muirium]

Here's a video showing the whole process, for a plate mounted board. Skip around to get the overview. But the whole thing is worth a watch because Whitefiredragon explains it nicely:

[amospalla]

I think I could buy a Cherry MX Clear keyboard, and play with it some time, and progressively go down through vintage black or blue springs I've got from another old keyboards.

I've searched and G80-3000 is PCB mounted, so I could easily mod it.

I'm quite new to this world, I already bought an IBM M2 (using right now), an Acer one (using it on job, I really enjoy it a lot, but their PrintScreen/Block/Pause non standard row kills me) and a couple of old found MX.

I am examining the combinations of buying a new keyboard and frankenstein it with my two Cherry MX ones.

[Laser]

Well, i can almost predict that, if you buy a PCB mount keyboard, after a while you will still want a plate-mounted one ... (for stability, feeling etc.) If you would *knew* that you want the clears for sure, than maybe better buy a plate-mounted keyboard with mx clear directly (i.e. skip the cherry g80 board). There are still such keyboards available (mech_greendhand has a thread here: http://deskthority.net/marketplace-f11/ ... t7182.html and you can choose your keyboard size too)

[davkol]

derp

[Laser]

Sure, why not, that's why i said "almost"

[amospalla]

Well, i can almost predict that, if you buy a PCB mount keyboard, after a while you will still want a plate-mounted one ... (for stability, feeling etc.)

I have a PCB mounted blue keyboard, the CM plate mount tester, and a PCB mount tester. I feel a big difference between the CM plate mount blue switch and the others, it is like a stronger feedback, more firm, and I like it. Is this related to what you mean with plate mount stability/feeling, or just my imagination?

I want an ISO layout, and from what I've seen, there are not much options, being the g80-3000 the only I've seen being currently sold. Besides that, it is quite cheap, which nowadays is something I have to consider seriously, and if it is easy to mod, the better.

[Laser]

Yes, that's what i meant If you really like a plate mount, you can add later a custom plate with "ears" near each switch hole, that will allow removing the top part of the switches without desoldering when you want to mod them (you will still need to desolder all the switches once, if/when you mount that plate). You can see how the holes for such a plate looks at minute 47 in this video:

I suppose the CAD files for a full size ISO plate do exist, somewhere. If you have the connections, you can order such a laser cut plate. Of course, all this is optional, if you don't want a plate so badly

[amospalla]

Thank you, I am starting to understand lots of things and terminology I see when I read.

Now I see having the ideal keyboard that suits one needs is something difficult, in terms of commercial availability.

EDIT: I've seen that being an ISO layout user doesn't help neither

[Laser]

Hehe, sometimes using ANSI layout, in Europe, is also a disadvantage
(e.g. if you want Ducky keycaps, or keycaps from old German keyboards)