Hi Guys,
I’m a natural born master complainer so the first thing I noticed with my new Deck is the Status LEDs so dark I can barely see them. I found the
Status LED issue pretty ironic for a product like that. Anyway, after exchanging a couple of emails with Adam at deckkeyboards.com I noticed a 3rd thing. The email technical support is PERFECT. If Adam’s boss is reading, give Adam an award and a big raise ;-)
Unfortunately,
the Status LEDs are bleak by design. The good news is if this is something you don’t like about your Deck then here is a very very easy way to fix it:
What you need:-drill bit 3/16
-Semi rigid nylon tubing with inside diameter ~3/16 (4.70mm)
The outside is up to you. Mine is about 6.50mm and I wouldn’t recommend going much thicker. Increasing the outside diameter will reduce elasticity and make the insertion on the LEDs much harder.
-Anything able to punch a round hole in the Deck sticker large enough to allow the tubes to go thru.
-A sharp wire cutter. To make nice round even edges when you will cut the tube.
What you do:1-Cut 3 x 1 inch pieces of the nylon tubing
2-Take the keyboard cover off
3-Stretch one end of the nylon pieces by forcing the dull side of the drill bit a quarter inch in. Remove the drill bit from the tube
4-Insert the pieces over each Status LED, with the stretched end over the LEDs.
5-Remove the Deck sticker (gently push under, it will come off)
6-Punch holes in the Deck sticker. Use the Status LED “letters” to guide you. Make sure the tubes can easily fit in.
7-Put back the sticker in place on the cover
8-Put the cover back on the keyboard with the tube sleeves sticking out of each holes. I used a precision screw driver to align the sleeves in the holes.I recommend not screwing the cover yet. You want to test if everything fits nicely first.
9-Make sure the cover is properly in place and cut the tubes sleeves at a height you like. I did few tests on my own and 2mm did the trick for me. Once you are happy, screw back the cover
10-Enjoy your
BRIGHT STATUS LEDSVOILA!!!
The real thing is much brighter then the pictures below shot with my cheap camera.
Just with the tubes out:
with red pegs in
With clear pegs in
Here's what a Deck guy said about it:
“Wow fantastic mod! Did you ever get to register on our forums? If so you should post that under the Mods section, I bet other Deck users would like to see your ingenuity! Keep up the good work!”Another shot with a different camera setup... this time it is
brighter then the real thing. I'm starting to understand what they mean when they say it is not easy to take "realistic" pictures.
