Do I Need to Lube My Keyboard Switches?
Figure 1: Sometime around here is a good time to ask that question... If you’re new to the mechanical keyboard hobby, I have no doubt that planning your first keyboard build is a bit of a daunting task. To be entirely honest with you, it’s only a tiny bit less daunting for your second or even third keyboard builds should you stay around a little while longer. You’ve got the keyboard itself to worry about, stabilizers, keycaps, and even switches on top of all of the intangible marks you want your dream keyboard to hit. Switches are especially daunting right out of the gate as there’s just so many options out there to pick from – each with their own unique specifications, manufacturers, and more. Yet, in spite of all of these differences between switches, time and time again I find people always asking about lubing switches as one of their chief concerns when it comes to picking some up. With countless numbers of content creators talking about lubing switches, its no...
Apr 17, 2024
While doing it, she could tell herself she was not doing a "good" job. I was sure all connections were solid though, and kept encouraging her not to worry with the looks. She only had a single mistake; she considered a LED connection done, still "solder blob" was levitating above pad.
After she was done, we plugged PCB, flashed it a LED enabled firmware and everything worked like a charm. There were certainly things that could be done better, and things that could be fixed, but none of them would help keyboard live any longer. I just cleaned it and bolted it down to its case. I am using it for three days in a row (typing this message as well) and it still works fine.
If you're afraid of learning against MiniVan PCB, you could buy a protoboard (e.g. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8619) and cheap passive components (e.g. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10969) and solder them to hell [links used as reference - you care not for quality - you got enough time till MiniVan is shipped - they are way cheaper in other places]. After 50 connections, you should be experienced enough.