NCR 80 plastic kit

This is also true for mx clears and mx black switches.
MX Browns, Clears, and Blacks have all been used on OG plateless OEM boards :+1:

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Yes, good point. In the case of Browns, some think that Browns in particular suffer from being put in restrictive metal plates, and softer plates like polycarb are often recommended.

So plateless/PCB-mount for Browns could be especially beneficial.

I have not been able to find a shot of the plate in the NCR 80. It is carbon fiber, but I donā€™t think it is attached too anything. It must just solely be used for 3-pin switches to be viable.

5-pin Clears are pretty hard to find. I have only seen CannonKeys carry them. I have some Ergo Clears that would be pretty cool for an NCR build, but I would need that plate :confounded:

I purchased my kit with the CF plate (not that Iā€™m using it) and it also came with 4 or so plastic spacers. I think this is for the longer screws to screws to secure the plate to the bottom of the case

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Thank you! I guess following that logic, you could still use the plate but attached it via the PCB. Althoughā€¦ might be difficult to get your screwdriver in at that angle to achieve thatā€¦ :thinking:

Not if you went the hotswap PCB route hehe, then you could secure the PCB to the bottom of the case, then pop switches into plate, and pop the switch/plate assembly onto the PCB

I think pretty-much all of the Clears Iā€™ve ever bought from MechanicalKeyboards.com and Novelkeys were 5-pin Clears. Just standard Cherry Clears, 3-pin wasnā€™t even an option half-the-time.

Iā€™ve always had to clip them to get them into hotswap, at least some of them are soldered into a Leopold now.

Blacksimon has a decent review of this. Looks to be pretty good.

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The solder PCB setup might be different, but I can speak to the hotswap version. The PCB attaches to the bottom case, but the plate cannot be secured with screws ā€“ it does however, have holes above the PCB screw locations to access them. Itā€™s setup up like a typical bottom mount (think Tofu setup). The plate is really just meant to hold the switches in place for the hotswap version (thatā€™s why it is an addon for the solderable version). There are so many screw points for the PCB that I donā€™t see a typing experience difference between using a plate or going plateless (no flex to be had), but there will be a difference in sound.

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Oh the PCB gets screwed directly into the bottom case with this kit. I was thinking it was just a friction fit like OG Cherry boards.

I picked up EPBT Black Japanese to tide me over till CRP R4 delivers as I didnā€™t have a good beige & cream set.

(Also available from Kbdfans if not in NA)

Iā€™m glad to report that all the spacebars are straight as an arrow. On a side note, they are SO dramatically better than my GMK sets as of late, especially the bananas that shipped with Modo Light (though Garret didnā€™t think it was a problem unless my spacebars didnā€™t return at all). Who would of thought EPBT eclipsing GMK in some facets ā€“ weird times.

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There are a number of things to take away from your post.

First, it seems as if the typing feel isnā€™t truly plateless even with PCB-mount, since there isnā€™t the kind of flex associated with plateless?

This means that it doesnā€™t really replicate a G80-feel, and also that there is no reason to go with the PCB-mount except to get it soldered?

Second, the hotswap / plate version will sound different. This is also helpful. Youtube sound tests suggested that the hotswap / plate version can sound good.

In terms of sound and feel of PCB / solder vs hotswap / plate, I still havenā€™t completely figured out the differences.

Iā€™m glad to report that all the spacebars are straight as an arrow. On a side note, they are SO dramatically better than my GMK sets as of late, especially the bananas that shipped with Modo Light (though Garret didnā€™t think it was a problem unless my spacebars didnā€™t return at all). Who would of thought EPBT eclipsing GMK in some facets ā€“ weird times.

As I said seven months ago to someone who bought GMK Bleached,

"Iā€™m going to get downvoted for this, but

Should have bought ePBT Spectrum if you wanted straight spacebars."

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/lkrgvz/gmk_bleached_warped_spacebar/gnllurq/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

[I got downvoted -5 points.]

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That is some BS IMHO. If the spacebars are bent all with ABS itā€™s defective to me, regardless if it binds the stab or not. Pretty shiesty stuff there, although there is a reason I very rarely if ever order from Dixie/Omnitypeā€¦

Man, I couldnā€™t believe how straight Spectrumā€™s bars were. I knew that epbt used their new molds for it, but I figured the real reason was because EnjoyMyInSec and Kbdfans promised that they would be. It really just surprised me to see straight bars on a more generic set like this one though ā€“ maybe they have it figured out now.

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Itā€™s not even worth bringing it up to those guys anymore. Unless they have enough complaints to approach GMK (like they did with the last round of 9009), the best that they will offer is to return the whole damn purchase (with no real guarantees that you will get what you originally paid and waited 18 months for). Ultimately, I know that GMK is dropping the ball, but itā€™s nice to have the vendor in your corner. What really irks me about GMK these days, is that Iā€™ve ordered numerous sets in the past year and a half alone based on the great experiences that Iā€™ve had in the years prior, and during the long wait through 2020 and 2021, they managed to lower the bar on QA which I couldnā€™t have seen coming.

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I have Spectrum spacebars and they seem straight so far, I am using one from Grayscale with GMK 9009.

Iā€™m in a similar boat as yourself. I ordered 9009 R3 way back when, and it finally arrived during the pandemic. I heard about the spacebars and legends issue, and thought about selling the set. But the keycaps turned out a nice colour and texture, and Omnitype was able to get GMK to send me new spacebars. So the set is fine now.

But yes, there was a significant drop in quality during 2020-2021, so if you werenā€™t following closely what happened to 9009 and other sets around that time, you might place an order and receive something dubious like Modo Light.

I didnā€™t quite learn my lesson as I ordered a couple of sets during the pandemic. Donā€™t know how one of them turned out, because I already sold it. Still waiting on one, hope it is alright.

But yes, ePBT and CRP were seemingly more reliable to order from during 2020.

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After much trial and error I have come to completely subscribe to this concept. Also MX Browns (or their clones) work very well in a POM plate.

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Yes, POM seems to have similar characteristics to polycarb with light tactiles, and I have been looking into getting a POM plate for upcoming HMKB [since POM is a little more readily-available from cutting shops].

I saw the difference polycarb made with the KBD8X MKII and Everglide Jades, so I am in favour of softer or even no-plate options for these kinds of switches.

Iā€™ve ordered an MK870 TKL, and thereā€™s an aftermarket polycarb plate for it that could make it much nicer to use with Gateron Cap Browns, for example.

Iā€™ve been hearing the Cap Browns are really good. Alsoā€“I feel like Iā€™ve been a broken record on thisā€“Greetech browns are :+1: :+1: :+1: