Keyboard Help: Hotswap Pad pulled away

Learning and discussion Custom keyboards
#1

Well that didn’t last long. My less than a week old NK65 has partially failed.

I removed the BOX Whites from the board using a proper IC Puller tonight. I couldn’t handle the clickies. I then put in some Gateron Yellow switches. They seem to go in fine. But I quickly found that Backspace, Enter, and the left arrow would not register. I checked for bent pins, but my heart sank a little when I found none. I then checked the PCB and found that the right pad on each of the corresponding Kailh hotswap sockets had pulled away. I’m pretty bummed for that to have happened on my first switch swap out. I’ve emailed Novelkeys and I’m sure they will take care of it though, as they have great customer service.

A short 9 second video of the issue.

#2

:frowning: for some reason your video doesn’t load for me (I see what is probably the first frame with ‘No video with supported format and MIME type found’) but it could probably be patched up pretty easily with some little wires if you are willing to do a bit of soldering. Did you have the PCB sitting flat on a table or something when you installed the switches? I’ve broken sockets every time I’ve used them if I didn’t have something behind to absorb the force instead of just knocking the socket off.

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#3

Same.
Video not working.

Also, it’s a very common hotswap socket issue. You can flow some solder in most likely and fix it.
Remember to always hold the socket with the other hand when install switches.

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#4

Is it better to hold the socket with the other hand when install switches or to take some soft object under the PCB?

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#5

The interesting part, is that this is on the new NK65. So, that board is 1. entry level, and 2. does not come with any instructions or guidance, and 3. is not intended to be taken apart. I am wondering how much of an issue this is going to be with these boards if new comers to the hobby have no idea that you have to support the back of the socket when inserting a switch. To have three fail the second time a switch was put in seems like a high failure rate.

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#6

Yes, either hold it or have the pcb resting against a surface while you install swithces. I always do this with Kailh sockets and I’ve never had issues.

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#7

Yeah for people having their first go with them its going to be not a good time. This has always been a problem with hot swaps, there are no good ones.

#8

I am quickly learning this. This is my second hotswap board. The first was a Tokyo60 and that was hot garbage, and I sold it off right away. I had hoped that this one was going to be better, but seems no such luck. I assume NK_ will replace the PCB, but if not then I will explore options to fix it myself.

#10

would you be willling to give me your nk65 ee case if this is not fixed or if you have not thrown this away?

#11

I have a nk65, and I’ve swapped switches a few times without taking anything apart. I even used it as a tester with a dozen switches before choosing what it has now. Haven’t had any problems with keys actuating yet that I’ve noticed. I wouldn’t be happy if that happened to me either. Hope NK does something for you