Author Topic: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue  (Read 19571 times)

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Offline Lightsource

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Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« on: Sat, 16 March 2013, 18:07:39 »
I have a (fairly new - about 3 months old) CMStorm Quickfire Rapid keyboard that I'm having an issue with. The micro USB connector underneath the keyboard will lose contact periodically (3 or 4 times a day) and I have to flip the KB over, unplug and replug it several times to get it to make contact. It is seated properly, all the way in, it's just not making contact.

I read about similar problems with this keyboard in the Amazon customer forums, but I can't find anywhere that anyone has posted an acceptable solution. I've tried spraying both the male and female ends with DeoxIT D5, but don't see any difference in the problem. I really like the feel of the keyboard, and don't want to dump it altogether.

Has anyone else seen this problem? Is there a simple fix? I suppose I could disassemble the thing and hard wire the connection, or just install a USB-A female connector, but that seems like a lot of trouble. Is it possible to bend the contacts maybe, in order to get a more solid connection?

Thanks - ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Offline dorkvader

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 16 March 2013, 18:57:40 »
Hmm this is interesting. ON all my QFR's, it looks like costar has gone with a different OEM for that subboard, and it's really good quality: much higher than the internal connector on the back of the KB PCB proper.

I haven't had this issue an any of mine, but I have a small sample size (only about 4) compared with all Amazon.

If you're willing, you can take it apart and check the solder joints. I don't think the connector would be physically bent. In my (limited) experience with such things, I would say that the connector would probably come off the PCB before it can be bent significantly. That said, it can't hurt to check.

Now this is all assuming that you'd rather repair it or whatever. If CM wants to replace yours under warranty or whatever, you might want to go with that. Me, I don't worry about warranties, because I'd much rather repair the keyboards I own.

Please don't "dump it altogether". I'm sure someone on the forum (me, for example) would like to repair it and get it back out in service, and many would harvest the switches and stabilizers at least.

Offline Lightsource

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 17 March 2013, 15:20:47 »
I think the next thing for me to try is going to be a variety of different micro-usb cables. I have a couple of charging cables from my phone, and several kindle cables - maybe I can find something that seats better in the socket. I read that Blackberry cables are a tight fit in most sockets, and there are a couple of different low cost gold plated end options out there.

If that fails, I'll probably just pop the case and solder the cable to the connector. Does anyone around here have a "how-to" on getting to the CMStorm circuit board without destroying anything else? There are no screws on the bottom, so I assume that I either need to pop some of the keycaps off, or pry the case open at the joint... Unless of course there are screws concealed under the rubber feet?

Offline dorkvader

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 17 March 2013, 18:52:46 »
There are screws in the bottom. Three I believe (one is under the QC OK sticker, the other two under the feet, I think). After that you can pry the case apart with a butterknife or with your hands. Once you've popped the lid, be very careful to not stress the PCB USB connector on the keyboard's mainboard (I broke mine off from opening it too many times). Unplug it carefully. I can post pictures of this process if you like.

Offline CM-Rajiv

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 18 March 2013, 13:59:05 »
I have a (fairly new - about 3 months old) CMStorm Quickfire Rapid keyboard that I'm having an issue with. The micro USB connector underneath the keyboard will lose contact periodically (3 or 4 times a day) and I have to flip the KB over, unplug and replug it several times to get it to make contact. It is seated properly, all the way in, it's just not making contact.

I read about similar problems with this keyboard in the Amazon customer forums, but I can't find anywhere that anyone has posted an acceptable solution. I've tried spraying both the male and female ends with DeoxIT D5, but don't see any difference in the problem. I really like the feel of the keyboard, and don't want to dump it altogether.

Has anyone else seen this problem? Is there a simple fix? I suppose I could disassemble the thing and hard wire the connection, or just install a USB-A female connector, but that seems like a lot of trouble. Is it possible to bend the contacts maybe, in order to get a more solid connection?

Thanks - ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Have you tried a different mini-USB cable?  I believe you can purchase one for a couple of bucks to test out (or find it used with other electronics).  Worst case, we can RMA it and get you a new keyboard ... just submit it and let them know you spoke to me in the notes.
Cooler Master USA - CM Storm Marketing Team - [CM Storm Trigger CherryMX Green Switch]

Offline Lightsource

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 23 March 2013, 10:51:36 »
I've found an old Nikon cable that seems to work perfectly - maybe in part due to the fact that it's stressed a bit fitting into the cutout underneath the keyboard (it's a tight fit due to the thick plastic shield around the connector end - looks good so far, my keyboard hasn't lost contact in several days using this.

Thanks for the suggestions; I just made the assumption that nothing could possibly be wrong with the fanciful braided gold contact cable that comes with the kbd. Really don't think the cable was at fault so much as the geometry of the contact - having a different cable wedged in tightly at a very slight angle seems to have done the trick. I think I'll experiment with placing a tiny wedge between the cable's plastic end and the connector to see if that solves the problem as well. It is a nice cable after all - at least, it LOOKS good.

-light

Offline Lightsource

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 07:22:12 »
Just a general FYI if this comes up for anyone else -

I found that this cable ($5.49 from Amazon) fits the bill perfectly:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TH7GUK/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The cable itself is quite heavy and the fit is very snug and tight, and I have not had a single connection loss since I switched it out.
(Image Attached)

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Offline dante

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 11:51:44 »
I never had issues with my QFR but one problem is the cable won't stay put in the channels.  Even if the connector is set the cable can slowly pop out and provide a little tension on the connector.  Maybe not enough to fail immediately but over time can slow cause something to happen.

Elite Keyboards also sells what appears to be a nice cable; though I haven't tested it.

Offline Lightsource

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 26 April 2013, 22:58:27 »
There are screws in the bottom. Three I believe (one is under the QC OK sticker, the other two under the feet, I think). After that you can pry the case apart with a butterknife or with your hands. Once you've popped the lid, be very careful to not stress the PCB USB connector on the keyboard's mainboard (I broke mine off from opening it too many times). Unplug it carefully. I can post pictures of this process if you like.

Hey, DV, I'd like to see that if you could swing it - I kind of have a candy apple red theme going on on my desktop, and I'm considering popping the top and repainting it.

Offline dorkvader

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 01 May 2013, 00:20:02 »
There are screws in the bottom. Three I believe (one is under the QC OK sticker, the other two under the feet, I think). After that you can pry the case apart with a butterknife or with your hands. Once you've popped the lid, be very careful to not stress the PCB USB connector on the keyboard's mainboard (I broke mine off from opening it too many times). Unplug it carefully. I can post pictures of this process if you like.

Hey, DV, I'd like to see that if you could swing it - I kind of have a candy apple red theme going on on my desktop, and I'm considering popping the top and repainting it.
Sorry for the late reply. Here it is:

Step 1. Locate the one screw holding it together (under the white sticker)


Step 2. Remove screw with a screwdriver


Step 3. You should get something to pry with. I can open these using my fingers, but I do this sort of thing every day for a living. I have shown a butter knife, though a nylon stick (or spudger) will work too. Your mileage may vary


Step 4. Push the casing away from the clip using the butter knife. I have the knife inserted near the first of the four case clips (locations shown later). Specifically, you want to insert your object and pry the outer case away from the case bottom. You should not have to pry hard or very far (only a few mm or so). The case should "pop out" slightly meaning you won't have to hold it from popping back in. This makes it easy, because now you only have to focus on simply popping the clips in succession. Thanks CM!

(note, my veins are not sticking out through great effort or anything. They just do that normally.)

Step 5. Release the other three clips in the back. It's hard to see in my quick photo, but the middle tow are visible and there is one near my thumb.


Step 6. Start work on releasing the four front case clips


Step7. Front case clip location shown


Step 8. Teh top should be pretty well off now.


Step 9. Remove the top


Step10. If you are removing the keyboard out of the bottom case, you will have to remove the USB PCB connector. (Shown) It's sort-of hard to remove, and you'll have to be careful or you'll break it off like I did and have to solder it with wires. you can see some of these here.

(Hey kids! remember what this looks like so you'll know the circulatory system of the left hand for anatomy class!)

Offline esoomenona

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 01 May 2013, 00:22:31 »
A wonderful write-up, dorkvader. And beauties of veins and arteries they be.

Offline Lightsource

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #11 on: Thu, 02 May 2013, 14:51:22 »
WAY Cool, that's great!
Thanks, I appreciate your time. I'll definitely be painting this a metallic red to go with my Iron Man theme. Yeah, I know, it's not "Gamelike behavior" but it's always been my fave comic...

Offline sor

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  • Location: Malaysia
Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #12 on: Sat, 24 August 2013, 01:05:01 »
There are screws in the bottom. Three I believe (one is under the QC OK sticker, the other two under the feet, I think). After that you can pry the case apart with a butterknife or with your hands. Once you've popped the lid, be very careful to not stress the PCB USB connector on the keyboard's mainboard (I broke mine off from opening it too many times). Unplug it carefully. I can post pictures of this process if you like.

Hey, DV, I'd like to see that if you could swing it - I kind of have a candy apple red theme going on on my desktop, and I'm considering popping the top and repainting it.
Sorry for the late reply. Here it is:

Step 1. Locate the one screw holding it together (under the white sticker)
Show Image


Step 2. Remove screw with a screwdriver
Show Image


Step 3. You should get something to pry with. I can open these using my fingers, but I do this sort of thing every day for a living. I have shown a butter knife, though a nylon stick (or spudger) will work too. Your mileage may vary
Show Image


Step 4. Push the casing away from the clip using the butter knife. I have the knife inserted near the first of the four case clips (locations shown later). Specifically, you want to insert your object and pry the outer case away from the case bottom. You should not have to pry hard or very far (only a few mm or so). The case should "pop out" slightly meaning you won't have to hold it from popping back in. This makes it easy, because now you only have to focus on simply popping the clips in succession. Thanks CM!
Show Image

(note, my veins are not sticking out through great effort or anything. They just do that normally.)

Step 5. Release the other three clips in the back. It's hard to see in my quick photo, but the middle tow are visible and there is one near my thumb.
Show Image


Step 6. Start work on releasing the four front case clips
Show Image


Step7. Front case clip location shown
Show Image


Step 8. Teh top should be pretty well off now.
Show Image


Step 9. Remove the top
Show Image


Step10. If you are removing the keyboard out of the bottom case, you will have to remove the USB PCB connector. (Shown) It's sort-of hard to remove, and you'll have to be careful or you'll break it off like I did and have to solder it with wires. you can see some of these here.
Show Image

(Hey kids! remember what this looks like so you'll know the circulatory system of the left hand for anatomy class!)

hows ur qfr rubber coating holding up? how long u had it?
ESPORTS!

Offline Lightsource

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 29 August 2013, 09:56:22 »
I actually painted the bezel to match the mouse in the pic above - I ordered a replacement bezel to practice on (yeah, covering the rubberized factory coating was a challenge). I ended up with wet sanding to 400 grit, then 2 light coats of Duplicolor automotive primer to get a paintable surface, followed by silver, candy red, and clear. Came out decent, and the paint bond is good.

I've had the keyboard about a year now and other than being a dust magnet, I still love it. The switches are holding up great and once I replaced the cable the connection is rock solid.

Offline beyic

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Re: Quickfire Rapid USB connector issue
« Reply #14 on: Fri, 15 November 2013, 16:57:51 »
@Lightsource: I think this occurs not only because of the micro USB connector of your CMStorm Quickfire rapid keyboard but it may due to the faulty USB cable. So, first of all, you should try to test the connecter with the new USB cable and if it still doesn’t work then you have to solder the joints of the USB connector that are loose to get the rid from this problem.