Hello @kidpixo My controller suddenly had a short and idk if I can replace it, do you know how? Went to the technician yesterday but their fee is almost as the same as the price of the tester. I really love this keeb, it has been my daily driver ever since. I want to fix it :<
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Hello and welcome!
It’s hard to say exactly what it needs without having it in front of me - but IIRC this keyboard has two connection modes - bluetooth, and a 2.4ghz wireless USB receiver.
If you’ve been using the usb receiver that came with the keyboard and that’s what has a short, you might try connecting through bluetooth, which might need its own receiver depending on your computer. If you’ve already been using bluetooth and that’s what is having trouble, try the 2.4ghz receiver - it should be stored in the battery compartment. Here’s a little info on switching modes:
Press FN+Q to switch to 2.4G mode. Press FN+Q for 5s to pair the RF receiver.
Press FN+W for 5 seconds to enter Bluetooth detectable mode, for pairing the first device.
Press FN+E for 5 seconds to enter Bluetooth detectable mode, for pairing the first device.
Hello! I have been using the 2.4ghz. But the problem is, it wouldn’t even turn on. :< I wanted to see to maybe I can connect through bluetooth but it doesn’t show its led light anymore when you turn on the keyboard.
That does sound a little more serious - I’m guessing you’ve tried new batteries. It’s possible the wires connecting the battery compartment to the PCB have become disconnected. I think all you need to open the keyboard is a small phillips + screwdriver; you could look inside to see if the terminals are still connected.
Yup, I tried new batteries too. And I have already opened the keyboard and the terminals are still connected.
Hard to say what the issue is - was the shop able to tell you where the short is?
I think we could just add a microcontroller like a promicro or sth. And hand wiring all the rows and columns by ourselves. But that would make no use of the PCB anymore, It will be more like a hand-wired keyboard with lots of wires than a ‘Cheap functional tester’.
It will still be a cheap hot-swap by the way. but the wireless and Bluetooth won’t work.
Well I did think about it again.
Since all I was about to do was just add some wires and a microcontroller to the pcb.
Then if I am not mistaken, the old pcb will still work with no problem at all because it just has wires connected and nothing has been removed.
Now my PC will recognize one 1 keyboard as 2 devices because it has 2 separated microcontrollers in it(which input will be the same since both share same keys).
and a mcu like promicro will also has pins for power output (3.3 and 5V) and that is enough to power the original pcb or even recharge a li-po battery incase we are going to take out the AAA and place a li-po battery instead.
Now with this sketchy concept, everything should work as you guys expect. The wired connection, QMK, via,vial. Bluetooth and rf2.4 are still there and the battery too. inside the case there are plenty of space for all of those or even for more additional mods.
update on my project.
adding matrix layout and a microcontroller work just fine. And now I can flash qmk and vial supported firmware to it.
But sadly because of how matrix is designed, the original pcb and its controller won’t work anymore. Like what @beni2am had mentioned, there is no rows, columns layout and all the pins lead directly to the controller.
my newly added column cables and diodes will short those pins together and it might damage the controller.
so it cannot be used both wired and wireless at the same time as I thought. mission partially failed.
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So how about ignoring the existing MCU and going for something like ZMK for the wireless connection? Also I’m not really into detail but I have seen a few diode-less builds now using a RP2040 based MCU.
Hello¡ Is there anyway to add a usb interface?
Hello! I haven’t found a way simple enough to make it worth it, but there is an updated version of this keyboard that is tri-mode, which includes USB connectivity. I’ve sometimes seen it on sale as low as $18, but it’s usually closer to $35.
That seems more like ok in pricing for me, especially with the added RGB. I paid something around 20 for mine without RGB.