Custom Keyboard Advice

[4eyeguy]

I plan on building a custom keyboard with the Drop + Holy Panda X Switches and need to know if I should get the three pin or five pin version. The 3 pin says it is for plate mount while the five pin says it is for PCB mount. Here is the base I will be using for the keyboard(I will be replacing both the keycaps and switches with different ones). If you need any other information to determine which version I should get, please let me know.

 

Thanks!

[johnt]

It doesn’t matter which one you get for this keyboard. The PCB supports both the 3 and 5 pin arrangements, but the keyboard has a plate, so you only need the 3 pin. Get whichever is cheaper.

 

The 5 pin “PCB” mount are for soldering to the PCB, so the extra two pins help stabilize the switch until you solder. Otherwise, some tubers claim the extra two pins help stabilize for plate mounted, and this is untrue. The only issue you run into with 5 pin switches is if you ever buy a board with a PCB that only has support for 3 pins (no cut outs for the extra 2 pins). I would say this isn’t a big deal, but nearly all of Drop’s older PCBs only support 3 pin switches.

 

It’s your call depending on what you plan to get in the future. The hot swap trend has nearly killed the soldering thing. I’d go for the 3 pin myself knowing you will always need to buy a keyboard with a plate, but honestly that is nearly all the keyboards on the market currently.

[saintlouisbagels]

It doesn't really matter if you get 5-pin or 3-pin.

The keyboard you're buying has a hot-swappable PCB that accepts 5-pins if you choose 5-pin.

 

Otherwise, if you encounter a 3-pin PCB board and if you have 5-pin switches, you just need to use diagonal cutters or clippers to remove the plastic pins.