OC & Modding Rebuilding an old and mostly problematic TVS Gold Keyboard

@SunnyBoi

Thanks for the help, I could fix some of the keys by just tracing the connection, but the P and / keys are still not working and its been 6 hours I am trying to fix it up.
Doing hit and trial.
Can you explain a bit how this PCB has columns and rows and how can I fix those two remaining ones ?

thanks for all the help, I've got min fixed.

Will share the photos soon.

@SunnyBoi ?

Did you also think about having backlit RGB on TVS Gold, I am sure we would need some sort of controller, but did you see any possibility as the Cherrys also have the hole to have RGB LEDs hooked into.
 
abheedevta said:
I could fix some of the keys by just tracing the connection, but the P and / keys are still not working and its been 6 hours I am trying to fix it up.
Click to expand...
If the traces are fine but keys arent working, the switch might have gone bad. If you have a multimeter, check the continuity between the switch pins when you press the keys. It should close when key is pressed - the key wont work if it doesnt work or if its closed shut permanently.
 
SPIMaster said:
How did you put back the Enter key on the TVS Gold. So far I have been able to attach just one stabilizer to the key.
Click to expand...
Lift and take off the shift key below. Fi the smaller stabiliser then the second. Replace the shift key It will be much easier if you remove the screws and separate the case. This will give you lot more room to work with.
 
SunnyBoi said:
Lift and take off the shift key below. Fi the smaller stabiliser then the second. Replace the shift key It will be much easier if you remove the screws and separate the case. This will give you lot more room to work with.
Click to expand...
Thank you, removing the face plate and the shift key helped a lot. Cleaned out the whole keyboard while I was at it. Very satisfying.
 
So what is the one thing people associate with TVS Gold keyboards? For me, its the clickety clacky sound when typing on it, courtesy of the venerable Cherry MX Blue switches. Although I liked them at first, I soon got tired of the sound from the TVS Keyboards. The click sounds weren't sharp - sounds muddy.

Enter the TVS Gold Pro. It came with Kailh Box White switches and the unusual clickbar setup in its switches for the click noise. I bought one just to see what the fuss was and by god I LOVED it! I used it for a while, only to realise that the switches were too light and I needed something with more weight. This is when I came across Novelkeys and their version of Box Jade switches. They are much louder versions of Box whites and they were heavier, which is something I wanted too.

I got the box jades switch but then I got distracted away from the world of TVSes. I was playing around with my Ajazz, Tartan and now the Planck. I did want to pay a great homage to the TVS by having a one of a kind TVS Gold with hotswap capability with Box jades.

This morning I was just looking idly at OLX and I spotted one fellow selling a TVS Gold keyboard, he was quite close to my place. SO I called him and immediately went and picked it up. Paid 300rs for it.

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There is an old adage, you get what you pay for. Opened the keyboard and I was not disappointed.

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Ugh, it was full of either cat or dog hair. The whole board inside was also smelling of piss lol. Took off the keycaps and there was more

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Oh well, I got cleaning. The cases and keycaps got a good rinse with soapy water and left to dry.

Meanwhile I got started on desoldering the Cherry MX Blue switches off the keyboard. Managed to get them all off without damaging the PCB!

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I then soldered on Milmax 0305 sockets into the PCB which give the keyboard its hotswap capability

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The switch plate was damped with foam as usual. Then began the process of assembling the PCB and switch plate

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Quick test to ensure everything was working. I was so excited to begin when I got the keyboard, I forgot to plug it in and test1 Thank the lord its working!

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Things never work out as intended. I'm not missing the keycap for H. oh well will look for it tomorrow. In the meanwhile, I borrowed the missing keycap from my other TVS

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Everything assembled and looking good!

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I just cant get over how tiny the Planck is, It is literally 20% of the TVS!

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I actually tried taking my tvs gold apart and trying to make it sound better and to do a through cleaning but i took off the keycaps in 2019 and had zero dedication to finish the build. But this diwali i wanted a new keyboard and my mom told me that she had kept my old keyboard and keycaps but unfortunately for the space key one of the white hooks you use to attach the stabilizer to is not there and i cant use the spacebar without it. Did you find any parts that you had to replace, If yes could you tell me where i cant buy replacement hooks. Thank you so much
 
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I have a TVS mechanical Keyboard its some key give problem. I Wanted to Repair it & reuse. I see this thread and do same. Its work fine
Thanks
 
I bought a Key Puller from one of the members but afraid to clean the keys because I could misplace them wrongly on the keyboard again.
Should I give it to a professional to clean it?
 
bssunilreddy said:
I bought a Key Puller from one of the members but afraid to clean the keys because I could misplace them wrongly on the keyboard again.
Should I give it to a professional to clean it?
Click to expand...
Key puller or keycap puller? Anyways, all keys/switches are same. You can place whichever wherever you want.
If you're talking about keycap then take a pic before pulling them out.
 
enthusiast29 said:
Key puller or keycap puller? Anyways, all keys/switches are same. You can place whichever wherever you want.
If you're talking about keycap then take a pic before pulling them out.
Click to expand...
Yes I am talking about keycaps.
I think I will give it to a professional service man rather get confused later on.
Thanks for advice though.
 
SunnyBoi has a keyboard spa.
Honestly, it's easy peasy. Just pull it gently with the puller. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be yanking it out like you don't care.
 
bssunilreddy said:
Yes I am talking about keycaps.
Click to expand...

roofrider said:
Honestly, it's easy peasy. Just pull it gently with the puller. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be yanking it out like you don't care.
Click to expand...

Very true. Maybe dont take out stabilised keys like Enter, space, shift and +, enter from numpad. Rest are all very easy to remove and put back.

Take a picture of the keyboard and keep as a reference where all keys go. The only confusing keys will be arrow keys and backspace, might confuse and use them with a wrong orientation. For those. take off the keys one at a time and keep them separate
Akshat166 said:
I actually tried taking my tvs gold apart and trying to make it sound better and to do a through cleaning but i took off the keycaps in 2019 and had zero dedication to finish the build. But this diwali i wanted a new keyboard and my mom told me that she had kept my old keyboard and keycaps but unfortunately for the space key one of the white hooks you use to attach the stabilizer to is not there and i cant use the spacebar without it. Did you find any parts that you had to replace, If yes could you tell me where i cant buy replacement hooks. Thank you so much
Click to expand...
Its not possible to get replacements, your only hope is to find someone similar who has taken apart their keyboard and have some as spare
 
Nice thread.
I had a couple of these sticky switches on my TVS gold keyboard which has Cherry blue switches. I removed all keycaps, cleaned everything properly and reassembled everything. And although it was mostly ok after this, I realized that the issue still remains even though it's nowhere near as bad or as frequent. I don't think I have the patience to do all the things you described here and I am pretty sure I will destroy a few switches trying to desolder them, etc. Will probably put it up for sale in classifieds if someone is interested.

I would like to ask the experts if this is standard behaviour when it comes to mechanical keyboards? If I buy a new KB, will I have to eventually deal with the same issue and need to desolder/ replace switches? If so, then a good old membrane kb looks like a better option. Any inputs will be appreciated.
 
bhp91 said:
I would like to ask the experts if this is standard behaviour when it comes to mechanical keyboards? If I buy a new KB, will I have to eventually deal with the same issue and need to desolder/ replace switches?
Click to expand...
Are you referring to keys that get stuck? This is a problem only for "blue" switches, i.e., mechanical switches that use a click jacket. The regular tactile and linear switches ( brown and red for example) are far more reliable.
 
SunnyBoi said:
Are you referring to keys that get stuck? This is a problem only for "blue" switches, i.e., mechanical switches that use a click jacket. The regular tactile and linear switches ( brown and red for example) are far more reliable.
Click to expand...
Yeah I am talking about the sticky keys. So does that mean that if I buy a keyboard with different (brown?) switches, then it would be more reliable and I won't have to do any complicated maintainance, say 1 year after buying?
 
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