Hey guys, I am relatively new to the geekhack community -this is my first thread- and would like your input on an idea I have for a mod:
I own a Ducky Shine III board and, being that the spacebar has two non-addressable RGB LEDs, I was wondering if it would be possible to mod the rest of the keys for RGB. My plan so far is modding each(?) key with RGB LEDs (CA or CC?), resistors, and, if necessary, drivers and connecting the RGB leads to the color control keys for the spacebar. Has anyone attempted something like this before? Again, I am new here so any links to previous projects and threads would be greatly appreciated!
RGB LEDs have at least 4 leads (I believe surface mount ones have 6 typically?), while single-colour LEDs like the Shine III only have two leads. Typical through-hole RGB LEDs don't fit well in Cherry switches, as they are too large for the LED hole in the switch. I believe one or two users made some effort towards filing LEDs down and modifying switch housings to make them fit, but I don't have a link for that.
Cherry RGB switches use surface-mount LEDs under a switch with a clear housing that distributes the light. This design requires PCB support, which the Shine III does not have.
I would imagine that even if you got through-hole LEDs into the switches, you would have a very difficult time wiring everything up, as the PCB only has two leads for each LED. When I did an LED mod on my QFR, I had a hard time getting a couple of leads wired properly, trying to cram more wires in there will only complicate things.
I think the best way to go about this would be to design a new PCB, either for surface mount LEDs and RGB switches, or through-hole LEDs and modded LEDs/switches to get RGB LEDs into the standard switches.
Alternatively, if you aren't attached to having the colours programmable, and are happy to have them just cycle, there are two-lead RGB LEDs that have been successfully put in switches before. Note that the LEDs won't necessarily all cycle in time, so the board would be just a rainbow. See:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=71364.0
