Disassembly

Let us now take apart a switch since we have the rare opportunity to do so. This Tesoro/Gateron switch is very similar to the Bloody LK2 Blue switch in that both are Cherry MX-style switches with the cross-head stem on a 50 g spring. The mechanical part here lies in the metal leaf at the side that has a notch that interacts with the white plastic on the underside of the stem head such that you get a similar tactile bump as with the Cherry MX Blue for a clicky sound as feedback.


Disassembly of the keyboard as a whole begins with the removal of the seven Philips head screws on the back, followed by carefully prying out the interlocking plastic tabs in the top and bottom panel pieces with a flat object. Once done, the middle part - the steel plate (1.5 mm thick) with the PCB - can simply be removed from the other two. The keyboard's cable is not screwed into the bottom panel and the internal USB connector is actually glued in place via what looks like hot glue. It ended up being a messy application, and there are much better ways to go about it if I say so myself.


The PCB is black in color, and interestingly, Tesoro has applied a rather thick coat of glossy varnish or lacquer on top. This helps provide dust and fluid-spill resistance to the keyboard, and coupled with the switches not being electrically soldered in place, it should be mostly okay with a quick disassembly, wipe, and drying of the keyboard components if water gets in accidentally. This is not a waterproof keyboard, so please do not treat it as one.

The coating means that we can not see most of the PCB components, including the MCU that was impossible to identify even after scraping most of the coating off manually. All I do know is that there is an onboard 512 KB flash memory module - be it discrete or as part of the MCU itself - which helps retain all the settings and programmed macro/lighting options. There is not much else the keyboard promises, and the absence of a dedicated LED driver also indicates that keyboard lighting is not going to be very complex. Another thing to note here is that the steel plate and PCB are not held in place very strongly since the switches are not soldered through, so the extreme ends may seem to be loose, but it is normal in this case and nothing to worry about. The PCB itself is a multi-layered one, as is the case more often than not these days.

Before we move on, be advised that disassembly will void the warranty and that TechPowerUp is not liable for any damages incurred if you decide to go ahead and do so anyway.