Oh, joy - I get to brush-up on my SMD skills today 
Decided to build the R2 Class80 I had laying around only to find the PCB missing a diode - lucky me, the R1 I’d bought previously came with some extras. Wish me luck!
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Update:
It works! Had a scare with a key not registering, but it was actually just the FN layer key being in a weird spot (RCTRL) by default, all-clear.
Not the prettiest job, but better than the last time I tried something this tiny. Getting some practice.
The diode wasn’t from the Class80 kit after all; it’s the same type as all the others, T4, but it’s physically half the size. Like a nub of couscous to a grain of rice, ha.
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It’s just a wee little guy! 
Nice job getting it to work though, I’ve been soldering for years & SMD stuff is still a pain for me to do with an iron!
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I started finally using a flux pen for SMD. Makes it an absolute breeze and almost easier than through hole
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Well I built yet another keyboard this weekend. I have a Lw-67 in white but I couldn’t pass on this one because it was ridiculously cheap on mechmarket.
Built with oil kings and clipped cherry stabilizers.
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It does the job, nice work !
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That really did help this time around.
It’s alive! Quite a few little bumps in the road, but I’m very pleased with how this turned out:
Class80 R2
- KBDfans Roller switches
- GMK CYL Olive R2 Dark
- POM Plate, top-mounted
- Designer Studio Adaptive stabilizers
- OLKB washers to prevent teeter
- Foams: both PCB, 2 smaller case
- Custom red light gel for indicator LEDs
- Solenoid omitted*
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Not great photos, not a complimentary desk mat, but you get the idea. Some really nice greens going on here.
The finish is so good.
Love the lip.
Whole board.
Some older pictures showing the case itself in outdoor light, as well as the weight on the bottom:
I did end up using the game screen. I’m not as fond of how the decorative weight works this time around, being magnetically adhered to the case, but I do love the design and it stays put well enough as long as you aren’t gripping the case by it while carrying.
The light module attaches differently this time around, and while it’s a little weird, I think it’s better - much less likely to damage the delicate ribbon cable.
Still loving the Adaptive stabilizers, still loving POM plates, still loving Roller switches - loving top-mount is new for me, though - just hadn’t tried it before and this was a great chance.
*y u no solenoid? For whatever reason, it seemed that the case wouldn’t close all the way with the solenoid in place. It might have just been the wire sneaking out of the trough when I wasn’t looking, but it kind of looks like the body of it is slightly too tall. It’s made of bent sheet, and I think it’s just a tiny bit wonky - I could probably file it down enough to fit into place, but I don’t know that I’ll ever get around to it with the keyboard sounding as good as it does on its own. If I ever want the electrified slapping goodness of a solenoid, I could always pull out my other Class80…
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This week I will be working on my M0lly. I would like to add LEDs under Capslock and Numlock and remap the indicators to shine through. I’m not a programmer but I have read a little on the QMK forums. Looking at the C and JSON files, not sure which one needs to be modified.
Is anyone familiar enough with this to give me some advice?
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I haven’t ever tried to do this, so I can’t help much. But it does appear that the JSON file is referencing values defined in the C file, so it makes sense that you would only need to edit the values in the JSON file.
Let us know if you figure anything out.
The only board I ever did this on was my Zeal60, because these options were easy to change in the old method of programming it
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Okay, that’s what I was thinking. Now I just have to sort out what those LED sockets are labeled as. I don’t see any markings on the PCB for anything other than key names. Could it be they are simply “CAPS” and “Num”? Will run some spaghetti testing.
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Built some more WS switches today. This time I used nylon tops (blue), UMWPE bottom (purple), and UPE stems (yellow). 63.5 Cannonkeys classic 15mm springs. 205g0 on the stems.
Very nice sound and feel. These are a close second to all Pom (pink) housings with LY (green) stem. POM makes a better sounding bottom hosing but these are still really good.
They do have more wobble than the other set I assembled. Not sure if it’s the top housing or the stem.
Mounted PBTFans Emma for the first time. I love the way the green alphas feel. The type of plastic and texture is perfection for me.
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Those are some nice looking novelty caps on this set.
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Emma is such a nice looking set. My friend just got it and now I feel like I need it.
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Same boat here, I’m still a little leary of PBTfans translucent caps due to the cracking issues they had but Emma is a stunning set!
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I’ve got Pyga and Vior, haven’t seen any cracking yet, fingers crossed. Only “issue” I’ve had is that I’ve enjoyed using them so much they’re shined to a chrome-dome polish on some keys
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Goo to hear cause i do like some of the designs ran with PBTfans translucent. Honestly I think it was just that Retro 100 or whatever that set was called that had the issues. That was enough to make me worry though
Built / rebuilt a few other boards this past weekend alongside the Class80 R2:
Put MTNU WoB on my daily driver Portico, which has a custom matte white POM plate and Snow Crash linears. A very pleasant keeb. Knight stabs on the mods, Maiz on space.
Moved Mictlán onto this Sense75, which has a gloss black POM plate and NK Silks in the matching Mictlán colorway. Designer Studio Adaptive stabs.
Built this Neo-kitsch NK87 with all the Cyberpunk goodies they offered; eye-burning pink case, phosphorescent yellow-green Silk switches (both glow furiously under blacklight), the Awaken keyset, and a carbon fiber plate to tie it all together. The Designer Studio Adaptive stabs barely fit through the cutouts, and some of the keys only barely avoid scraping the edge of the case thanks to a fairly tortured plate-fixing process. It’s inelegant, but striking - it fits the theme, at least.
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Due to a delay in parts shipping, I have had to pause work on M0lly. Today I started building the Daringrun DR-70F.
After moving the side PCBs around for a southpaw layout, I placed WS Stupid Stabs in the PCB and inserted Gateron Milky Yellows through the pretty gold ano sandwich mount plate. Then I connected all of the ribbon cables, plugged it in and started Vial. To my utter lack of surprise, there was an immediate issue. The 6 page navigation keys do not register keystrokes and the LEDs are stuck on blinding, bright red.
I triple checked all the connections, re-inserted switches and tried again, no change. I reset the board config in Vial, reloaded firmware in DFU mode, all to no avail. Reaching out to Daringrun for options.
Why am I not surprised? Because EVERY SINGLE keyboard I have ordered from overseas has some sort of issue. It feels like I’m on a list… 
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