Roccat Vulcan TKL Mod - Lube, Tape & Foam Mods, Soldering (ASMR-ish)

[@zWxve]

I was searching for exactly this video for a year or two. thanks man

[@xPhantomMC]

Samw

[@Edyremoh]

I very much appreciate this!

[@thepopeofkeke]

So glad I got my hakko-FR-301 before I try this. Also DUDE you are the freaking man for sitting there and using a hand pump to do that! Mad respect!!!

[@rascaldamaster381]

so underrated needs more views

[@zWxve]

fr

[@Atrict.]

underated as hell

[@STRIX357]

what are the tools at 0:56 pls?

[@ProArt18]

It's a cheap desoldering pump and soldering iron, you can find them on amazon too, just be careful if you never soldered before - practice on some broken device first ;)

[@STRIX357]

@@ProArt18 Allright thank you very much for your time

[@beausabian905]

Hey! How do I lube the TKL Vulcan Pro? It has the loudest sprint ping.

[@ProArt18]

for vulcan Pro you can remove all the switches as they're not soldered, and then lube one by one by putting liquidish lube via sides of the pin. If you use thick lube then it might not get into the spring without opening the whole switch. Just let them air dry for a day or so on a paper towel to prevent that the oil leaks on the optical sensors on the main board.

[@beausabian905]

@@ProArt18 What tube of lube would you recommend?

[@ProArt18]

@@beausabian905 Super Lube Pen might be a good starting point

[@beausabian905]

@@ProArt18 thank you!

[@beausabian905]

@@ProArt18 Do I just squeeze the lube inside the spring by pushing down the cross looking thing? Also what sides of the cross looking things to i apply the lube on?

[@Daktub]

1:00 what was that for?

[@ProArt18]

the pump/syringe? for the solder to come out from the whole - otherwise it stays attached.

[@Wiki.-.]

It does come out easily

[@kampret43]

wow you are the first youtuber lube-ing switch with sewing machine oil...

[@Czaplo_]

Do I have to remove all the switches?

[@ProArt18]

Hi, first, I'd try applying a tape mod and some foam on the bottom without desoldering the switches. If then you feel it still needs improvement then go ahead and desolder the switches and put some non electrically conductive foam between baseplate and the main board

[@Czaplo_]

I cant get the base of, can you help me?

[@ProArt18]

@@Czaplo_ let's try. You have screws under top removable foots and under bottom center feet, also under the center label you have two screws. If those and the rest are removed, try to squeeze a plastic card between plastic and metal plate on the side of the keyboard to wiggle and lift the plastic shell out

[@Czaplo_]

Ill try

[@Czaplo_]

But I have the pro version, does it also work?

[@stjepanmemedovic5883]

Thanks for this video mate 😍

[@8Hexa]

I can't remove the screws. Even with big force they don't move

[@ProArt18]

hmm, if you have the right screw size then maybe they're just seized. You could try to put some wd40 on a needle and touch screws with it, then let the oil sink a bit and tork again.

[@coco--7978]

I just can’t get my tkl pro to open any tips

[@ProArt18]

look for hidden screws - under the feet and the stickers

[@Tovn_tw]

How do you remove the two keyboard risers? I can't.

[@ProArt18]

Place something thin like a plastic card or plastic prying tool between the case part and the leg. Gently twist the tool/card toward the leg and it should help displace it from the case - that's why there are little grooves on the inner part of the legs so to allow plastic holders to twist.

[@ProArt18]

let me know if you need a quick youtube shorts guide on how to do it.

[@Jynos01]

So the switch for my ESC is broken on my Vulcan tkl. I thought I just couldt swap the swich from another button I don't use.. Bought the tool to pull them out, but now I realise that it's not that easy. I'm not a keyboard connoisseur, so I guess my keyboard just broke now?

[@ProArt18]

All good, you can replace the switches if you proceed slowly. You need to make sure though that you have that little pump/syringe to get solder out of the holes. If you're at throwing it away I would give it a try - not much to lose.

[@Evgeni491]

What temperature is your soldering iron set to? Do the solder joints hardly melt at all?

[@ProArt18]

@@Evgeni491 You could do with 240-300 degrees I believe, yet myself I was less careful and was doing quick touch ups under 400 degrees

[@Panginu]

could you do this with the vulcan tkl pro?

[@ProArt18]

Yes, you can foam and tape mod it too. However, please if you want to lube your switches - get them out from the board, lube them, and let them dry over 48hrs sitting on their bottom side, the optical switches have holes on the bottom so you want to make sure no excessive lube leaks on the pcb and tape

[@LesTutosStream]

Would love to do the same with my Suora. Do you know if it’s the same process?

[@ProArt18]

Hi, for this one I'm not sure, try to unscrew and see if the inside is somewhat similar, though these mods are pretty universal

[@LesTutosStream]

@@ProArt18 Alright I’ll check that. Thanks :)

[@birdcat25]

i got a question, when ripping off the tape can it damage the keyboard or anything??

[@ProArt18]

for the fresh tape the chances to rip something are low, but yeah if the tape is old you might have to go slowly

[@cutepikaboo]

How do I get the kick plates off? I’ve tried pushing up but I’m scared to break it.

[@ProArt18]

Hi! The 2 little plastic 🐾? you need to put something plastic like a credit card in between the feet and the case, then gently push towards the feet and it will disengage (that's why the feet have some empty slots on each side - to allow a bit of bending)

[@cutepikaboo]

@@ProArt18 thank you so much!!

[@johntitor1237]

Hi ProArt, dunno if you had a similar issue but i have the same model and the case is giving off a metallic hollow sound when typing. Before i get the tools to perform the mod do you think it will eliminate my issue?

[@ProArt18]

Hi John, metallic sound might come from 2 things : baseplate, switch springs. You can determine your specific root by finding the area or buttons that trigger this sound. Then, press the selected switch, move finger to the corner of the switch while still holding it pressed, and release the finger to the side to actuate the harsh quick switch movement. Repeat it few times and see if the sound you hear is the one you found before - then it's the spring. You can easily lube the switches with some silicone/vaseline lube or superlube pen, just be careful and spread it only on left right and up corners of the stem to not affect the electric contacts much. If you determine it's not the sound that bothers you, then yeah probably it's baseplate. In this case, I would suggest applying the tapemod and foam mods first, and if it's not enough then you'd need to unsolder the switches and put some dense non electrically conductive foam between baseplate and the main board.

[@johntitor1237]

@@ProArt18 I went ahead and did the tape mod unfortunately its the springs 😅

[@ProArt18]

@@johntitor1237 I'm still glad you gave it a chance, now once you lube your switches you're well settled with 2 mods in a pocket ;)

[@johntitor1237]

@@ProArt18 yeah man, thanks for the help i appreciate it

[@Lauscro]

hi, hope you can help me , i broke one of those small orange capatitators upon cleaning and cant find it on net to solder it. do you know name of it so i Can order one? Sam roccat aimo 121 thanks all best

[@ProArt18]

Hello, unfortunately I don't have visibility over the capacitors you might need as a replacement.

[@NWB_frosty]

I have a question i was wondering if u were removing the keycaps by hand or with a certain tool

[@ProArt18]

I was removing them by hand, due to their shape it was easy enough to start from corners and pinch them out one by one, but you of course you the keycap puller instead.

[@webmarketing40]

DON'T DO THIS DURING WARRANT PERIOD !!!

[@lionislost]

how do I remove the stands?

[@ProArt18]

Hi, the leg has a flexible piece on the sides where it connects to the board. You can place something plastic like a random shopping card in the space between the leg and the board, it should help tilt and pinch out the leg. Alternatively, you could you thin flat screwdriver instead of the plastic card, yet be careful not to scratch the pieces

[@m.boy-gaming2562]

i will do tape mod but i cant take the back off. how you do that ? pls help

[@ProArt18]

pasting here an existing comment for the similar question: "hmm, you removed hidden screws under the label (2) and under the bottom feets(1) and under the top feets(2)? In that case wiggle a plastic card between metal frame and plastic" bottom part and wiggle lightly until you get a click

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

i have the roccat vulcan 120 areo and some of the switches didnt quite work anymore and ive already desoldered all of them and am gonna replace them with some other switches and keycaps(im basically going with a full mod), should i care to put foam in then or would you consider it not worth it anyway no matter what you were planning?

[@ProArt18]

I'd still put foam and tape if it fits, hollowness rarely produce any benefitial results so reducing it might not hurt :)

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

@ProArt18 speaking of, could other materials work besides foam? I don't really got foam on hand but I've got a lot of cardboard. I was also thinking about burger moding it

[@ProArt18]

@ you need something that can dampen the sound, foam is good because it's soft and airy, trapping a lot of sound inside of it and not reflecting it much. cardboard is very reflective so I'd avoid using it.

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

@@ProArt18 would dryer lint be a bad idea? I figure it would cause a fire so I paid that idea no mind

[@ProArt18]

@@chucklesdeclown8819 yeah, skip on that one, too hazardous

[@Gianluuu__]

how do i open the things at second 7-10?

[@Leozaure]

It’s just a clip so pull gently on n both and they will come off

[@carbonbased7291]

Does anyone know if there are replacement switches that work with this keyboard? Roccat doesn't sell any AFAIK.

[@ProArt18]

So far in my research I found that you can replace the switches but you also need to replace keycaps in a lot of cases

[@carbonbased7291]

@@ProArt18 Okay! I have a single faulty key, so I could live with one cap that's a little different. I just don't know how similar mechanical keyboard switches of different manufacturers are and if they might send a different signal in some way.

[@iffa.]

i dont know if you will read this but how do you take off the keycaps so easily?? or without breaking anything

[@ProArt18]

Hi Iffa, I try to apply equal pressure and force while pinching out the keycap with at least two fingers. If you never removed yours, first time they might feel like stuck but continue to apply that gentle pinching out force and you might succeed. In case you can try to wiggle them a bit while pinching. After the first time they became much friendlier, probably also because of the excess lube on the stems.

[@iffa.]

@@ProArt18 thank you!

[@killjan8925]

@@ProArt18 Hey, i cracked my stabilizers from mey space bar while removing it... so i glued it with some idk, "usual-home-glue" back together, but on the spacebar it's self, so i havent tried to remove it tho because im scared of bracking it. How woud you trying to remove it, because i need to change my L key does not work so i have to copy paste it all the time. ... Thank you in advance

[@ProArt18]

@@killjan8925 if I understand you correctly your "L" key malfunction. In this case, you'd need to disassemble the board and unsoldier the "L" key switch, then better to replace it. You can find some guidelines on how you could theoretically open that roccat ttc switch but it has a very weird pins so it's not too easy. I'd rather order another one switch of similar profile and soldier it into place. Please double check that you have mechanical switches and not optical ones. If your switch is not soldiered in place then it's optical - it means you can only replace it with another optical switch type.

[@killjan8925]

@@ProArt18 Thank you for replying. I have the optical one and I have read that you cannot buy those switches from ROCCAT neither others, after a quick research. So I thought on replacing it with another 3 pin red transparent Switch. When I reset the Board via swarm Software, the L key is pressed continually till I press an different key. Then it stops and does not work anymore.

[@billpaxton1345]

is it all those screws to take just the back off? or just a select few? i know this video is a bit old but imma do the tape mod and some foam on the bottom of the case in a couple days

[@ProArt18]

Hi Bill, on the back - yeah, all of them, remember about the ones hidden under foots and under the central sticker. At least that many screws probably prevent plastic body to creek much :D

[@billpaxton1345]

@@ProArt18 thanks for getting back at me boss.

[@jasonhamilton3126]

Can you help me out with what knob I need to buy to replace the stock one? I've purchased a Vulcan tkl 2nd hand and it's missing the knob. Looks like a push on?

[@ProArt18]

Hi Jason, quickest way is to check with closest audio store, they will spot the size of the stem depending on where you are ;)

[@captain_kirkyt2481]

Can the stabilzers be lubed on the TKL pro?

[@ProArt18]

Yes, in theory it's same exact stabilizers

[@nightmode8098]

Has anyone ever tried to replace the stabilizers? I just tried with some Durocks, but the cut out for the stabilizers are not standard which means that they didn't fit. The problem is: one of the stabilizers broke on one side and I want to replace the whole space key stabilizer.

[@ProArt18]

Hi! thank you for sharing your exp with durocks, sorry it didn't fit, let's see if anyone in this community found another set that fits!

[@nightmode8098]

Got one more question. I've got my TKL Pro for about 2 years now and lubed some of the stabilizers to reduce rattle. However I think most of the rattle noise actually comes from the stem that sits pretty loose in the housing (only for stabilizers). Do you notice any rattle for your space or enter key? I think the overall build is very solid but the stabilizers seems cheap. It's a pitty that they can't be replaced. @@ProArt18

[@ProArt18]

@@nightmode8098 Totally with you on that, I'm trying to use thick lube and spread it s bit of the stems too, but not too much as then it will make weird squishing sounds

[@nightmode8098]

I will try to lube them again tomorrow for the space and enter as they rattle the most! Thank you@@ProArt18

[@lxstsamy4309]

Nice Video, could you maybe do a tutorial in a little less faster paced Video, would be nice

[@simonhicken3892]

somebody got tips for the aimo 122?

[@cratecruncher4974]

I have the same keyboard with one LED that is not responding (home key). It just stays bright white while the others change normally. It will dim with the others when I use the brightness slider in the software but always stays white. Any idea where to start? LED? Resistor? Processor?

[@ALIENiAM]

hold the FN Key, re-press the HOME Key. In that Row, with the 6 Keys, you can actually activate/deactivate different Keyboard Features like GAME Mode and stuff. Cant remember what the HOME Key was used for. There are some hidden functions like putting the Windows Key to the FN Key and deactivating the Windows Key and stuff like that.

[@cratecruncher4974]

@@ALIENiAM Hey, thanks for the reply. I updated Swarm and deleting/reinstalling their software seems to have fixed it. I don't think it was something I accidentally changed. This LED was intense white ignoring all the RGB patterns. It was much brighter than the shift lock key when activated. Hope this helps someone.

[@ああ-s2j5b]

Is this a pro version?

[@ProArt18]

Hi, no, this is non-pro version with mechanical switches

[@ああ-s2j5b]

Thanks! I have it too, so I'll try it.

[@ProArt18]

@@ああ-s2j5b Awesome, let the community know how it went, hope it will be an enjoyable mod!

[@FantasticPotato-qb6xh]

Nice

[@MatikoxPL]

Jak wyjmę tylko te górne przyciski i psiknę lekko lubrykantem('mr.shen multipurpose' albo '3 in one multipurpose oil spray') - nie popsuję? Wylałem trochę herbaty na spacje i kilka obok klawiszy. Klika się nie przyjemnie z lekkim oporem. Co myślisz?

[@_f__n_j_a_s3749]

is there any difrents??

[@ProArt18]

Totally, my bad I didn't film before/after this time. With no mods keys are a bit scratchy which gives that sound like if you scorch one plastic pen again other, bottoming out is very stiff due to metal thick plate, the returning sound is plasticy and a bit hollow. Lubing gave the switches extra smoothness, foam brought some sound dampening and tape mod added that poppy/thhhhhocky sound. Lubing stabilizers also made them so much quieter and smooth though I'd admit they're also very good stock so don't feel pressure to desolder all just for the sake of lubing them but maybe try to lube them from outside with siringe or such.

[@latinstuff1]

Why are you keyboard people so weird with opening the keyboards and adding foam and lube and all that shit lol. You guys have too much time.

[@ProArt18]

it's a lovely meditative activity ;)

[@latinstuff1]

@@ProArt18 I Guess that makes sense. Some type of zen like activity ?

[@ProArt18]

@@latinstuff1 exactly, it encompasses few of the key sensations too including auditive and tactile, while to refine those sensations it gives you enough challenge with all that modding so it keeps your curiosity going and in the same time tempers your feeling of rush, empowering you to focus on one thing at a time - a.k.a. meditation ^_^

[@latinstuff1]

@@ProArt18 yes I understand the concept of meditation, it's simply to be conscious and build awareness on a daily basis. whether you are fixing a car or cooking. just being present and aware. course it goes beyond that but that is the basic principle. ;)

[@sdhiousdfyhsdioufsdoiufh]

what a waste of time