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MakotoKurauchi / helix

A compact split ortholinear keyboard.
MIT License
842 stars 183 forks source link

Removing LED cutouts #19

Closed joric closed 4 years ago

joric commented 4 years ago

What was the reason behind those LED cutouts? Are they for reverse mount LEDs? I was under impression there are no reverse mount adressable LEDS. Why did you make those cutouts? Are they for compatibility with non-RGB switches only? The board will be better without cutouts and will support SMD reflow process without soldering each LED with individual solder bridges. Was there even a real reason?

joric commented 4 years ago

OK we've had a discussion on Discord, key points:

  1. JP community values the process of hand-crafting keyboards from the bare PCB up rather than buying a near-complete kit and simply throwing in switches. As such, the helix and derivatives were all designed without PCBA as a goal. (c) ai03

  2. There are enthusiast switches that have RGB properties without having the RGB cutout, such as Zeals and generally all switches with transparent casing.

3) Choc switches also won't be compatible (communuty loves choc switches). They have RGB cutouts, but, like, smaller, for 2525 LEDs or something so they won't sit flush as well.

4) There are proper reverse mounted switches https://yushakobo.jp/shop/a0800rl-10/ but they're not adressable so this keypoint does nothing.

The general idea was, community doesn't mind handsoldering and hates PCBA so reverse mounted SK6812 is the "ideal" option. Also YOU CAN FORK.

Closing for now.

Discord rant, jast for laughs:

I understand that from your perspective, our ways may seem ridiculous. However, don't come in shitting on us and our factories and expect us to adapt to your ideals. As strange as our community and products may seem, they are tailored to the exact needs and use cases of the community which it is designed for. Yes, stuff like hand-soldered reverse mounted SK6812 may be unideal to you, and you may want to remove it. Yes, you can fork and make your own version of an existing design to overcome it. Yes, the conthrough connectors may be difficult to track down outside of Japan, and yes, it is possible to substitute other parts. However, don't come to us expecting that we'll adapt our products and community to your needs. Our products are designed to serve the exact needs of our own community first. Thus we focus on the hand-assembly factor with boards built from the bare PCB up, and the majority of the kits are designed around parts purchasable in retail stores easily accessible by foot. It does not make sense to optimize for PCBA demanded outside of the community when the main demand is to tailor to the DIY factor within the community, and it does not make sense to build around parts which must be imported for each and every build when domestically available parts can be had for far cheaper and much more reliably. So if you're using the source of these products, you must keep in mind that they are not designed with you as the target end user, and that priority goes to who the products are designed for. Spamming us with complaints will NOT grant you any understanding from us.