Keyboard Nut Thread

[DeathByIp]

Keyboard arrived at my parents

 

[PandaAttack1]

My lube experiment is going according to plan. I'm reserving my initial impressions until I spend some more time with the tester.

For each test lube, I lubed 2 random switches. I used the same application method for all of them, however for the thinner stuff it's extremely difficult to gauge how much is applied. I tried applying as thin and consistent coat as I could manage.

This is no way a scientific or accurate test. It's only for me to determine if the other lubes are viable, and which I can use in the lesser used boards where Krytox feels that tiny bit too expensive to use.

My picky roommate did a blind test. He ranked the Krytox switches in almost last place and preferred the sound and feel of the unlubed, control switches.

 

[Cookieninja7872]

My lube experiment is going according to plan. I'm reserving my initial impressions until I spend some more time with the tester.

For each test lube, I lubed 2 random switches. I used the same application method for all of them, however for the thinner stuff it's extremely difficult to gauge how much is applied. I tried applying as thin and consistent coat as I could manage.

This is no way a scientific or accurate test. It's only for me to determine if the other lubes are viable, and which I can use in the lesser used boards where Krytox feels that tiny bit too expensive to use.

My picky roommate did a blind test. He ranked the Krytox switches in almost last place and preferred the sound and feel of the unlubed, control switches.

Great, excited to hear the results as my gateron red switches are arriving tomorrow. Could you feel a significant difference between the lubed and unlubed switches?

Also, for anyone that might know. I'm thinking about maybe sticking Glorius PBT keycaps on my Redragon Draconic, but was wondering if anyone has experience with those key caps on redragon keyboards and are the LED's strong enough. Cause from what I see on youtube they look good, but would just like to get another persons point of view of experience with them.

 

[PandaAttack1]

Great, excited to hear the results as my gateron red switches are arriving tomorrow. Could you feel a significant difference between the lubed and unlubed switches?

Also, for anyone that might know. I'm thinking about maybe sticking Glorius PBT keycaps on my Redragon Draconic, but was wondering if anyone has experience with those key caps on redragon keyboards and are the LED's strong enough. Cause from what I see on youtube they look good, but would just like to get another persons point of view of experience with them.

Most definitely! Lubing changes the entire characteristic of a switch. The feel and sound changes. I haven't had success in lubing tactiles in the past, but I'm going to put Krytox on my Glorious Pandas regardless. The sound after lubing is awesome. You will have enough switches to build your 60% with lubed and non lubed switches though. Give it a try when you've spent some time unlubed switches.

I'm going to modify my reds tomorrow or Saturday to fit into the outemu sockets. I'll record them without lube and then with lube and share the video with you.

 

[Cujo26]

So the TRRS Jacks I got from micro robotics still have the wrong pin out

Popped into communica today to get more jacks but those also don't fit

Anyone know of a parts supplier that has PJ-320A Jacks? They look like this US $1.5 |20PCS DIP PJ320A 3.5MM Headphone Audio Socket PJ 320A PJ320 PJ 320 4 pins Audio interface|interface watch|audio usb interfaceinterface auto - AliExpress

The footprint needs to be roughly the same for my pcb

 

[Gar]

@Cujo26

Will this work for you? The pins are flat and not upright like in the photo you posted but maybe you can bend them before you solder.

I have 6 available

https://imgur.com/dALfaVD

 

[Cujo26]

@Cujo26

Will this work for you? The pins are flat and not upright like in the photo you posted but maybe you can bend them before you solder.

I have 6 available

https://imgur.com/dALfaVD

Thanks for the offer! I think they might actually just work only thing is that I'm going to have to wait a bit before I can handle any more shipping, it's a bit hectic for me this month as I've spent all my available "extra" money on this damn keyboard

 

[PandaAttack1]

Thanks for the offer! I think they might actually just work only thing is that I'm going to have to wait a bit before I can handle any more shipping, it's a bit hectic for me this month as I've spent all my available "extra" money on this damn keyboard

You and me both. But I spent a bit more than I should've. No holiday this year means I can splurge on some desk items right?

 

[ghostR]

Great, excited to hear the results as my gateron red switches are arriving tomorrow. Could you feel a significant difference between the lubed and unlubed switches?

Wew weee, so gateron reds are really great lubed, same can be said for the gateron browns. It's like a night and day difference. Lubed linears to me, feel like 2-3x better than without lube.

 

[Mike]

Lube just makes things better ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[ghostR]

Lube just makes things better ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Agreed, just don't spit on your switches, please. It's not the same...

 

[Mike]

Agreed, just don't spit on your switches, please. It's not the same...

Coconut oil it is! 🥥💦

 

[PandaAttack1]

Wew weee, so gateron reds are really great lubed, same can be said for the gateron browns. It's like a night and day difference. Lubed linears to me, feel like 2-3x better than without lube.

Nice! What did you lube yours with?

 

[ghostR]

Nice! What did you lube yours with?

Krytox 205g0 Lube (edit: or 205g2, amazon ship but it's not cheap), but I have a tub of G-Lube on the way from Glorious.

 

[PandaAttack1]

Krytox 205g0 Lube (edit: or 205g2, amazon ship but it's not cheap), but I have a tub of G-Lube on the way from Glorious.

Hmm, 205g2 is a thick boi on its own. You probably used g0.

How did the pin grinding go? (edit: wrong person xD)

 

[Jagibbe]

Has anyone here lubed gateron optical linear switches? If so is it worth while?

 

[Cavie]

Has anyone here lubed gateron optical linear switches? If so is it worth while?

You can do that???

I've lubed gateron ink black v2s though. SO smooth.

 

[Cookieninja7872]

Hmm, 205g2 is a thick boi on its own. You probably used g0.

How did the pin grinding go?

Finally done switching out the Outemu Browns for Gateron Reds, initially...... not impressed, first linear switch after 2 sets of brown switches and a set of purple took some getting use to, but now I absolutely loooooove these switches. They feel absolutely amazing and really excited to lube them and experience everything these reds have to offer. A bonus of these switches is they refract the light somewhat more and makes the white backplate look absolutely insane. (Added some pics for comparison to the previous ones).
Except for the loss of my CTRL and Windows key everything when smoothly and it's not to hard to replace the stock switches on the Draconic with gateron switches.

 

[Cujo26]

Has anyone here lubed gateron optical linear switches? If so is it worth while?

I might lube my friends Optical Blacks sometime, will definitely report back

 

[Cookieninja7872]

Finally done switching out the Outemu Browns for Gateron Reds, initially...... not impressed, first linear switch after 2 sets of brown switches and a set of purple took some getting use to, but now I absolutely loooooove these switches. They feel absolutely amazing and really excited to lube them and experience everything these reds have to offer. A bonus of these switches is they refract the light somewhat more and makes the white backplate look absolutely insane. (Added some pics for comparison to the previous ones).
Except for the loss of my CTRL and Windows key everything when smoothly and it's not to hard to replace the stock switches on the Draconic with gateron switches.

So I mentioned here that my Ctrl and Win isn't working and I just discoverd what it could be while reading another carb post. So I checked the top plate and realized I damaged the power line between the switches (Scratch in Socket A3), now if I bridge pin 2 in socket A3 to pin 2 in socket A2 and put a switch into Socket A1 the switch works. But when I remove the bridge then both Win and Ctrl doesn't work anymore. So I know that you can connect a wire between the sockets to bridge the connection. But I was wondering if does anyone know of another way I could fix this without replacing the entire PCB??

 

[PandaAttack1]

So I mentioned here that my Ctrl and Win isn't working and I just discoverd what it could be while reading another carb post. So I checked the top plate and realized I damaged the power line between the switches (Scratch in Socket A3), now if I bridge pin 2 in socket A3 to pin 2 in socket A2 and put a switch into Socket A1 the switch works. But when I remove the bridge then both Win and Ctrl doesn't work anymore. So I know that you can connect a wire between the sockets to bridge the connection. But I was wondering if does anyone know of another way I could fix this without replacing the entire PCB??

Oh no! I was afraid that was the case via whatsapp. Unfortunately the only way to fix a scratches PCB is to jump it at the back. You can use a very thin wire. If this happened on a more complex pcb, you would be probably jump from the controller pin etc. I'm just happy you found the doodoo.

How was the grinding of the pins? Any pitfalls when I attempt mine?

 

[ghostR]

Hmm, 205g2 is a thick boi on its own. You probably used g0.

How did the pin grinding go? (edit: wrong person xD)

I was confused with the pin grinding lmao. Was like hmm... I don't remember having to kill any pins.

It was 205g0, but I see Amazon has a lot of wrong branded ones where they say its 205g0 when it's actually 205g2. But, it does tempt me to try something like 205g2 to lube something like kailh speed silvers just to see what the effect is.

 

[Cookieninja7872]

Oh no! I was afraid that was the case via whatsapp. Unfortunately the only way to fix a scratches PCB is to jump it at the back. You can use a very thin wire. If this happened on a more complex pcb, you would be probably jump from the controller pin etc. I'm just happy you found the doodoo.

How was the grinding of the pins? Any pitfalls when I attempt mine?

Damn, alright I'll just have to do that then thanks for all the help. Anyways, firstly excuse any weird sentence construction or spelling, I need to go to bed xD

Alright so, firstly it was a lot easier than expected to file then down, I used 100P sanding paper ( Only sanding paper left in our workspace), the only problem I encountered with this was that the grains of the sanding paper would catch the pin and bend it as your sanding it. I would however recommend using a lot higher grit paper if your going that route, I was planning on using 1000p but I didn't have any. Then lastly, you will see in the image that the 2 points/edges I am pointing towards are the only pieces that you need to grind as they are the reason it doesn't fit. Do be careful though as some of the pins are actually the same thickness straight to the bottom and need to grinded/sanded down the entire length of the pin to fit or it start to go into the socket then bends at the end. Also if you didn't know only the pin I'm pointing to needs to be grinded/sanded as the other one fits perfectly (or did on my board). Lastly make sure that your sanded pin is still straight when pushing the pin into the socket otherwise it might miss and scratch your PCB (learned that one the hard way), other than that it's quite easy, the pins sand/grind easily and the rest of the stuff fit perfectly.
Best of luck with it.

Btw with regards to the lubing experiment you doing, which lube would you currently recommend and where did you get it? xD

 

[PandaAttack1]

Damn, alright I'll just have to do that then thanks for all the help. Anyways, firstly excuse any weird sentence construction or spelling, I need to go to bed xD

Alright so, firstly it was a lot easier than expected to file then down, I used 100P sanding paper ( Only sanding paper left in our workspace), the only problem I encountered with this was that the grains of the sanding paper would catch the pin and bend it as your sanding it. I would however recommend using a lot higher grit paper if your going that route, I was planning on using 1000p but I didn't have any. Then lastly, you will see in the image that the 2 points/edges I am pointing towards are the only pieces that you need to grind as they are the reason it doesn't fit. Do be careful though as some of the pins are actually the same thickness straight to the bottom and need to grinded/sanded down the entire length of the pin to fit or it start to go into the socket then bends at the end. Also if you didn't know only the pin I'm pointing to needs to be grinded/sanded as the other one fits perfectly (or did on my board). Lastly make sure that your sanded pin is still straight when pushing the pin into the socket otherwise it might miss and scratch your PCB (learned that one the hard way), other than that it's quite easy, the pins sand/grind easily and the rest of the stuff fit perfectly.
Best of luck with it.

Btw with regards to the lubing experiment you doing, which lube would you currently recommend and where did you get it? xD

Thanks for this!! I'll also go the sand paper route. Will try 800 and 1000.

I'll reveal my findings on Monday regarding the lube. Still need to lube some other switches and do some comparisons later today.

 

[Razia]

I'll need to see what I got in my Amazon order but it seems like a g2. Either way I decided to lube one of the fake holy pandas and I could definitely feel a beter result. I tried to apply it as thinly as humanly possible.

I also added some to my speed cube and Holy shit. That makes a massive difference.

 

[ghostR]

I'll need to see what I got in my Amazon order but it seems like a g2. Either way I decided to lube one of the fake holy pandas and I could definitely feel a beter result. I tried to apply it as thinly as humanly possible.

I also added some to my speed cube and Holy shit. That makes a massive difference.

Yeah, that's what I was talking about earlier. A decent chunk of the "205g0" is actually g2, while it's not the end of the world, its such a pain to lube with thick stuff like that, but hey it's possible.

 

[Cookieninja7872]

Krytox 205g0 Lube (edit: or 205g2, amazon ship but it's not cheap), but I have a tub of G-Lube on the way from Glorious.

Quick question, how did you get Glorius to ship to you??? xD I can't seem to get them to ship to Cape Town. Or did you use a different website?

 

[PandaAttack1]

Quick question, how did you get Glorius to ship to you??? xD I can't seem to get them to ship to Cape Town. Or did you use a different website?

You can ship through Scott's shipping, right here on carb. My pandas are in the mail.

 

[Razia]

You can ship through Scott's shipping, right here on carb. My pandas are in the mail.

Eeeek, what did everything total to?

 

[PandaAttack1]

As some of you know, I have been trying some alternative lubes. The purpose of this was to find a Krytox alternative that is available locally.

I have not found a 100% replacement yet, but what I have found is something still perfectly useable. Especially if you want to try your hand at lubing, and still experience the feel and sound without the major premium that comes with Krytox and the like, If you are are lubing expensive switches or want to have the best lube experience, stick with Krytox/Tribosys.

Our winner: Lucas oil's Factory Team Silicone Shock Fluid @ 80w. (1000cst) Coming in at R150 for 60ml. I bought mine from Jix Hobbies in Pretoria.

This sits perfectly between a thick and a thin lube. It's staying power seems to be fine and it is fairly easy to apply with a small brush. During all my tests, it did not become sticky after time and seems to hold up well. If this lasts a year, I would count it as a definite win.

I tested with Gateron Yellows, Cherry MX Reds, Gateron Reds and Outemu Browns. I also lubed the sample set with Krytox 205g0 and failed a blind test almost every time. The Krytox does have a slightly different sound, but they felt near identical to me. Without an A/B comparison, I wouldn't be able to say which is which.

Out of curiosity, I ended up lubing my entire Redragon 60% to see if I can improve the feel of Outemu browns. PS: Outemu switches are an absolute bitch to open.

Here's a short sound test comparing stock and lubed Outemu Brown switches with the Lucas oil product;