I’ve assembled a frame that happily holds the v5 boards so I can use the zynth and build tracks while I’m prototyping the cosmetics of the build. One thing has crossed my mind- the aesthetic I’m going for in my design would benefit from keyboard keys, and I have extra cherry switches lying around. How could I mod switches over the control board meant for the silicone pad? I’d like to take advantage of the LEDs on the board to shine through. Using switches for a tactile “click” would be perfect, but if not I could compromise with just keycaps and conductive contacts to simplify the mod.
Hi @crowboat !
The control board is designed for the silicone pad / conductive contacts. I can’t see an easy way of replacing the conductive contact pads with mechanical switches. You would need to solder thin cables to each contact and then connect to the switches. Good luck with it if you want to try 
IMHO, if you want to use mechanical switches, you should design your own control board PCB. The schematic would be the same as published in the zynthian-hw github repository.
Kind Regards
1 Like
You could add a board like this Neokey Ortho Snap-Apart available from Adafruit (5157). I used that in my homebuilt big screen V5.1 acrylic.
If you follow the arrows with the LED chain (LEDs on the user-side of the keyswitches), then the LED snake/chain is identical to the one in V5 and compatible. Then you’ll need to solder a wire from each switch to the contact on the control board and from each row to GND and one 5V wire of power supply for the LEDs. If you need small diodes, you could take them off the Neo Key.
Ah yeah, and the LED data wire to the DI on the top row.