Modding Project all-plexi keyboard --KONG is a god!! -- no really! he is!!!

starting.... now!!!

found a keyboard

is an old PS2 Fugitsu one, think i will put in a USB adapter then a shiny cable which i have dunno about that yet is a bit early...... anyway im going to take it apart now!!

Front


Back


side





im not going to do an MDK either

 

ok taken it apart and things are looking good!! the traces are completely clear apart from being dark grey and light grey this really helps the PCB is really small as well in one corner of the board, with reroutable LEDS for the numlock capslock and scrolllock i may even be able to reroute the PCB


check it out

with the keymat::



without the keymat::

 

"im not going to do an MDK either"



Looks good. I'm actually going to go to the basement and kill an old keyboard too now (to get traces for my magical coasters). How did you get yours open without doing an MDK? Mine has no screws, only some sort of weird rectangular holes in it...

Keep us updated, malcs! (Have you ordered the parts + the LED for me now?)

 

am going to do that this evening when i know exactly what i need ah mine had 3 screws and then a lot of rectangular holes which had little clips which just pulled out from the wrong side once i had the screws out

 

ok have just made myself a little hole for a button and a button-- now all i am trying to do is figure how i am going to attach the two so that the button can still move up + down yet wont fall out if the keyboard is turned upside down??


pics (scuse the quick + rough dremel cutting )








bard??? got any ideas i though about using the keymat and sticking the buttons on... but i dunno if that would work well and look good still as the keyboard would have to be a looot thicker?

 

The original rubber mat is one idea, but as you mention, it will make the keyboard thicker. But I have an idea. You could use a transparency foil (like you use for overhead projectors) and just glue all the keys to it with a tiny drop of glue. That way it will still be as clear and as thin as before.

(remember to order the LED for me too!)

 

actually that idea is brilliant

*goes off to find some transparency foil


by the way for all that see the button and think -- Hah!! what shoddy workmanship!! thats just a tester made in 2 mins from a piece of spare plexi i am going to get the final thing CNC cut with curved buttons-- i think that the buttons shalll be slightly raised above the surface of the keyboard, maybe slightly curved-- shall have to see what the CNC can do tho?

 

Gone for a day, and look at this

I am glad someone has come up with the challenge.

I would say to do this you could use a keyboard similar to the one I used on my LAN PC.
It had nearly 1/2" of space under the keys (Enough for two cathodes and an inverter.

This would leave room for any size capacitor you would need.
And you could even use normal LEDs (much easier to put together)

Then all you would have to do is make a PCB that can go up and behind the keys.

Each key then would have to be CNCed, or Better yet, find a place that can do 3D Printing.
(From what I have heard it doesn't cost much more then CNCing)

--------------------

The other option could be to start from scratch.
(Like the keyboard you have now)

Basicly you would have to build a circuit that will read the pattern that is output to the controller, and activate the right LED.

You could probably do this best with a microcontoller of some kind.
That can read the code (before the keyboard controller)
Then output that to a LED driver, that is made to drive a grid of LEDs.

Like this:
http://www.armory.com/~spcecdt/electronics/LED_matrix/

Adding a capacitor in parallel with each LED will then provide the fade effect (I hope)

 

yeah thats an idea but before i do that i have just had another brainwave-- if the traces themselves carry current i could use that-

but have to find the old multimeter


and i need at least 5mA


oh yeah i am going to CNC the actual keys and keyboard i dont think that i am up to the challenge of cutting each one out by hand lol havent heard of 3d printing tho?? will google it

 

The traces should be able to handle the current load just fine.

 

I just got an idea! Malcs, you could use two sets of sheets. One set for the keyboard signals, and one that controls the LEDs. Put these two sheets on top of one another.

 

LOL bard I was thinking that also.
I was thinking that you could use conductive paint on the back of the top sheet.

The hard part would be to keep them apart from each other when you arn't typing.
(Mabye three layers?)

You then would have totaly seperate circuits for the LEDs and keyboard.

 

difficult but yeah i can see where you are going i guess i would have to buy two identical keyboards tho?

 

nah i meant would they have any current from the keyboard? would that work?

 

It would not be too hard to run a thicker wire to power the LEDs.
The problem is that each LED will have to be run in parallel.
So even at 10mA that is 1 amp of power total.

More then the PS2 or USB ports can handle.

 

But surely since they're not all one at once it wouldn't ever get near that high current would it?

 

DOH!!!
No duh!

Ya, your average current load would most likely be only 30-150mA

 

I might still be best to take a power line from the PSU rather than using the USB or PS/2 connector though just in case?

I'm just thinking in case someone decided to mash all the keys

 

also i cant find any 3d- printing available in the uk except to buy for £20,000 so i think i will go for CNC even though thats not my preferred option i think it will do the job fine

 

have been working on some circuit diagrams



this should be ok i think i can get a smt transistor which i can use with the capacitor and LED... if i put this on the positive side of the keyswitch then it should be able to trigger the transistor, which will allow the capacitor to charge-- it will need to be a really quick charging capacitor -- and then discharge through the LED... have just thought... do capacitors go in parallel with the LED? but still zap will that circuit work? it is reasonably simple just requires a lot of components i will do a 3ds diagram of how i am planning to have the keyboard layered up