Author Topic: 7 Conesecutive keys on my mechanical keyboard I just built are not working....  (Read 2441 times)

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Offline afterthoughts

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I built a tg4x yesterday (https://github.com/MythosMann/tg4x)  , and other than the P key (which I will need to bridge but still works) From the left shift all the way to the b key nothing is registering and i cant find any bridges to get any of the keys to work. Is there anyone with a solution to this? I can share photos of the pins of the switches, diodes, controller, and anything else need be. I am stressing super hard because this was my one and only bday present and I am super worried that its completely broken   :(
« Last Edit: Tue, 27 July 2021, 17:41:52 by afterthoughts »

Offline suicidal_orange

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Left shift to B is 6 keys, plus P?  Or are you using split left shift plus the ISO key (which looks to be supported in the pic of the PCB but not in the firmware...)  Either way I guess you have a rev2 or rev21 board and the whole 'row' is dead.  If I'm reading the firmware correctly the diodes for that 'row' should be connected to pin F6 on the controller, so with the space bar near you looking at the back of the PCB shorting the top/left switch pin of a dead key to F6 should type that key.

If that makes no sense post a pic showing the affected keys and the controller and I'll add some coloured dots :)

The other option could be a shorted pin on the chip on the Pro Micro(?) so a close up pic of that would be good too.
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Offline afterthoughts

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Here is the pic: https://imgur.com/a/tym9l4R
 If you need a more clear one or I did not get what you needed in the pic than let me know. The p Key problem is likely unrelated and I plan just to bridge one of the pins on it to the O key which makes it work just fine. Another weird thing is that the bottom right 4 Keys all do not register either ( https://imgur.com/a/e8fM5Qg ) but at this point getting those to work is icing on the cake. Once I have 26 letters working, space, shift, and a backspace I dont need to mess with any more. Thanks so much for your help man it means more than you know! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Offline afterthoughts

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Left shift to B is 6 keys, plus P?  Or are you using split left shift plus the ISO key (which looks to be supported in the pic of the PCB but not in the firmware...)  Either way I guess you have a rev2 or rev21 board and the whole 'row' is dead.  If I'm reading the firmware correctly the diodes for that 'row' should be connected to pin F6 on the controller, so with the space bar near you looking at the back of the PCB shorting the top/left switch pin of a dead key to F6 should type that key.

If that makes no sense post a pic showing the affected keys and the controller and I'll add some coloured dots :)

The other option could be a shorted pin on the chip on the Pro Micro(?) so a close up pic of that would be good too.

Forgot to answer that it is left shift to N, not B. I misspoke

Offline suicidal_orange

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Damn black PCBs, so hard to see anything but it's a rev21 which has added hotswap pad and they kept the same pins connected to the diodes in the bit I can make out so hopefully it's consistent.

Reading the firmware again L Shift to N are in one 'row' so it is as I thought - short pink to orange and it should type that key.  Is the pin in the yellow circle soldered?  If not that could be the problem.  If it is solder a bridge between pink and blue and it should work good as new. 
273121-0

We're not stopping until all the keys work but need to check I'm reading the firmware correctly as this board has a strange layout so just this one for now :)
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Offline afterthoughts

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Ok so from the photo you sent, shorting the blue to the pink made it type z, and from 7 to the pin to the left of orange, but not orange made it work, which is awesome. The piece you asked about is soldered but it is just hard to see in the little amount of light against the black pcb. One little problem with the weird layout is that left shift is soldered UNDER the controller, so that might not be fixable. I can always change my keeb layout and get used to right shift though

Offline afterthoughts

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Also, is there some strategy I can use when bridging the 7 keys all to one pin where  i dont have to have 7 wires all connecting to this one pin, like some sort of daisy chain? Would it be a highway like this just running from that 7 pin (https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*gq0aeDYXPBMpDV9-WG2u9g.jpeg) ?
« Last Edit: Wed, 28 July 2021, 12:14:42 by afterthoughts »

Offline suicidal_orange

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Blue to pink types Z, what does pink to left of orange type?

You should only need 1 wire to fix all 7 as all the switches are connected like your pic, except the diodes are connected to the columns on your PCB.
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Offline afterthoughts

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Ok I went ahead and did it and I just connected them all via one wire to the 7 pin and they are all working perfect! If I could get your help on 2 more small things while you are here though that would be awesome because I dont know how to read schematics or really diagnose most of the problems I am having. First problem is that being the idiot that I am I, I soldered on the pro micro BEFORE I put in the left shift, and that is why it was not working. Now i have the pro micro already on there but have to solder the shift some way. Photo for reference of what the area for the switch would look like without the pro micro on the bottom: ( https://external-preview.redd.it/7gZ3mXsRZJyg0bxpDGrH8Jp97WThflLt42K9eq2YELM.jpg?auto=webp&s=7c790913a0a1ac642b4098ecdfd345005687759e ) . Here's a reddit thread where someone had the same issue but got only one response that I cannot understand: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/do0euh/soldering_switch_leads_underneath_promicro/ . I tried slipping a hotswap socket between the pro micro and the board but it wont work if it is not soldered down onto the PCB. is there any sort of material that acts as flux or solder but takes a little longer to solidify so I can apply it to the switch then place the switch into the socket without having to use the soldering iron?

Offline suicidal_orange

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Oh dear.  It is very strange that what appears to be a great first keyboard project has a soldered pro micro - they should have used soldered sockets on the main PCB and pins on the pro micro so you could pull it out :(

The reddit comment suggests you solder a really thin wire to the holes then poke that wire through the bottom of the switch and solder it to the leaf inside the switch.  As long as you have a plate to hold the switch in position this would work, but how do you get the wire through the switch without enlarging the holes and moving the leaf?

What switches are you using, I want to have a look inside them before making a suggestion.
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Offline afterthoughts

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I am using a set of Gateron Reds, here for more: (https://www.pcgamingrace.com/products/gateron-switches) . How would I fit the switch pins into their respective holes AND a wire soldered to them?

Offline suicidal_orange

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Looks like you aren't using the split space bar so here's a random idea.  Is your wire thin and bendy enough to solder to a long bit along both switch pins and bend it at right angles at the end, then poke the wires through the holes and out the end of the pro micro pulling the wires as the switch moves into position?  If so you could roll up a bit of paper to insulate the holes (just in case it touches) and connect the wires to the pads for the right split space bar.

I can't think of any way to make the thin wire idea work without damaging the switch housing around the pins and that would mean the leaf could move and the switch will probably have problems.
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Offline afterthoughts

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I am using a split space bar so this will not work. I think that I'm just gonna call it here because it feels awesome to type on, I have all the necessities working, and ive put way too many hours into. Thank you so much for your help because I could not have fixed this without it. If you have any other keyboard kit/ PCB reccomendations that are beginner friendly I would love to hear them because I am not stopping with this keyboard  :thumb:

Offline suicidal_orange

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If your wire is thin you could still fix it you just need a diode, which costs next to nothing but you would have to wait for the postman to bring you 100.  Unless you're in the UK in which case I could just stick a couple in the post...

My time in the hobby is now spent fixing other people's boards, I've not bought or soldered one of my own for years :(
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Offline afterthoughts

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Not really sure what you mean if the wire is thin? And I have extra diodes so I could do it but I dont understand where I would put the diode, as I already have one soldered pcb for that key.
« Last Edit: Thu, 29 July 2021, 21:30:59 by afterthoughts »

Offline suicidal_orange

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Can you easily put the wire through the switch pin holes and get it to stick out the end of the pro micro?  If you can it's thin enough.  If you connect the diode in the same place in the circuit as the original you don't even have to worry about insulating the hole which makes it easier, I can add another dot where you need to solder it :)
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