I see, the tiny wire I had was the problem then, it has multiple filaments that kept going off

I'll try this one today!

You normally just use very tiny wire. Anything is technically fine but certain types make it easier. Generally something solid core, 30-40AWG. Some people have a specific preference for Kynar or Teflon but there's no hard and fast rules.

Hmmm, you mean a special wire for soldering right? I was initially thinking in soldering some scraps from a copper cable I had laying around but quickly realized it was not going to work

Yeah, it is evident that I am very bad at this hahaha, the other RGBs work fine (at least for now), but this SW8 is gone.

What do I need to buy to clean the PCB? (I'm based in Portugal BTW), I tried to use something that was labeled as a 'pickling agent', but that didn't work out well (as we can see in the picture)

Solder to the the far point first, lay down the wire, glue it in place, then solder the other end of the wire to the component.

Or one can scrape off the enamel coat from the trace, solder the bodge wire to the trace, and then tack it to the component.

Be sure to get the parts thoroughly wet with solder to cover any exposed copper. It will prevent corrosion.

You mean SW8? Hard to tell anything given how dirty the PCB is. You might need to clean everything to actually see the traces. The RGB above it does also look damaged.

If you have lifted the pad off, the only way to fix it is to use a bodge wire. You should be able to run a wire between the broken pad and the previous functional one in the network. If you look up bodge wire you'll see this is a pretty standard practice, especially when prototyping PCBs.

This looks like the fake keyboard I would build to bring me comfort after my time machine broke and stranded me in the past

Oh yes, sorry.. I meant shifting upward. That makes sense about not going sideways on the Voyager, but I'm ok with that I think. I'm curious how the voyager stagger will feel compared to the grid I have.

I was just looking at the Piantor. Seems like a contender, but priced like the voyager (if you get the aluminum case), and in that case maybe it's worth going with a more established company.. (I am actually trying not to buy a dozen keyboards, haha!)

If you want to shift your hands around on the voyager, you can only really shift up/down and not left/right because of how steep the middle finger is shifted up (aka how staggered the columns are).

Compare that to the moonlander where the columnar stagger is smaller so it's easier to shift left/right as well.

If you want a left/right shift and you're okay with two close thumb buttons, it might be worth going with the moonlander and add these key caps to "bring" the thumb cluster closer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4948862

Yeah, switch tester is a good idea. Better than settling on something sight unseen.

The Moonlander is such a beast. (yay for colemak btw!) I see what you mean about the thumb clusters vs the Voyager. I have been wondering though, if I get the voyager whether to use a shifted layout, that is, no number row, and using the bottom row as a mod row of some kind. Which is how my current 40% kb is set up. But then the thumb keys would be farther...

I recommend getting a switch tester with a bunch of "silent" tactile switches.

They have a muted thock that is much less annoying to be around.

For me I settled on Gazzew Boba U4 Silent Tactile Switches (the 62g clear version) in my moonlander (also using colemak-dh). I've also been looking at the voyager since the thumb clusters look like they're in a much better spot than the moonlander's which can feel like you have to pull your thumb back further than it goes to reach the keys if you don't mod your board (I have no idea what they were thinking with that positioning, it's so unnecessarily far away from the base keyboard compared to their other keyboards).

But definitely get the switch tester, because everyone's preferences are so different and finicky.

You have a good point... I kind of forgot about that. Thanks.

Well.. Maybe I need the voyager for quiet, and something else (preferably also split) to satisfy the thock...

Oh behalf of everyone else around you.

Please don't put loud switches on a portable keyboard you're going to take around with you.

If you're taking them in public, you're probably going to be wearing noise cancelling earphones and you won't hear the noise anyway, but everyone else will.

I believe for the Norwegian layout they are functionally identical. 😂

The meetup was organized on the Texas Mechs Discord server. The HWDY keys are a custom tag they have there. They’re just “novelties” and people can put them anywhere they like. I imagine most of these will end up on a fidget toy or small macro pad, if not simply added to a collection or personal parts box.

So I used a diode laser, but with Cricut “infusible ink” markers, which are basically a form of dye sublimation. Heating up the specific spot enough to get transfer without bleeding is tough, though. I end up with less vibrant colors than I’d like, and this particular batch of blanks sometimes just doesn’t “take.” Mostly I end up with good detail and nice pastel colors that are on there better than paint or stickers, but not nearly as deep as proper dye sublimation.

Excellent, thanks for the recommendation!

Wait a second, did you laser colour? What kind of laser are you using?

it's obviously the second notch on the scale "don't panic" to "panic"

It's for measuring other buttons.

Another former Model M user here. Take a look at the Kailh Box Navy's too. After killing my second Model M (not sure how, the boards just died), I dug deep into the force curves and it seemed like a better match even than the Holy Pandas. Kitted out a 40% ortho keyboard with the box blues and was quite pleased with the results.

Since then I managed to get a new Model F Kishsaver on deep sale, but living situation changed and haven't been able to touch either of them in over half a year.

Obviously it’s for the “Home” key because there isn’t any home like a Texas Home

One question: tf is the Texas button/key for?

Edit: Oh my, I should not have asked :D

Looks like there were a couple of group buys a few years ago, the "LZ Ergo" and the "FLX Virgo" but both were limited and very pricey. Still, expanding your search to split TKL or Ergo TKL might help, as "Alice" boards usually have a specific way of doing the mods and nav keys. Have you considered going DIY? This is the sort of thing I could probably laser cut, 3D print, and hand-wire, though it doesn't fit my half-assed typing style to use a split board of any kind.