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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: typo on Tue, 02 July 2019, 22:54:31
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One TOPRE RGB LED is bad. Can someone please link me the part? Is it SMD? How do you take it apart and retain all the springs in place? So I do not have to put every one back if possible. I see no reason to buy a R2(same exact board) for $300 when I am perfectly capable of replacing the LED. f someone is kind enough to answer those few questions. Maybe I can fix the LED though? On White it is Pink and on Green it is out. So I am assuming the Green segment is dead. I am kind of doubting it is just solder. It must be a bad LED. Thank you
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Could not wait. It is already repaired. With a donor LED from another board. It is fine.
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I have a friend that I'm trying to help (online) with somewhat of the same issue. Can you please provide some more info on the fix so I can try to help him out.
It seems that one of his blue LEDs is out and is making others next to it stay on even when the PC is off.
What kind of LED does the Topre RGB use and how easy was it to change (I'm not sure how comfortable he is with electronics, soldering, and taking a Topre board apart)
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Sorry, I missed this. It was very difficult. Skill level 5 out of 5. So now the controller went bad. I cannot fix it without a schematic which Topre will not supply me. I purchased another board. since I have so much money into this board and it is my favorite one. I have a one of a kind anodized titanium case, paracord,silencers,GMK caps from 3 sets. It is just a bummer that the same board is twice the price now. They are now asking even more for the original(Seasonic). Ridiculous. However, with the silencers and GMK's it Thwacks instead of Pings like a right proper Topre should. Plus the more rigid case and it's acoustic properties may have something to do with it too. I am not sure. My back plate is also painted black so with the GMK's on high there is very little light out the sides and none out the top. I like it this way. Of course I would not recommend anyone spend the(undisclosed) amount I have. I am sure you can do all this for much less. If these boards only last a few years though that kind of sucks. I am kind of "locked" into it now, it being my favorite and after what I have spent. It is by far my most expensive board right now. No pictures right now as it is currently in many pieces. Plus I am not sure if this site hosts pics any longer?
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Well, I just managed to fix the controller! I never fail to impress myself even :)
Unfortunately now I have 2 of them. I guess all I have into it I have a backup. I bought with no returns Since the place had free overnight shipping. Duh.
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One of my LED's colors went out on the 6 key awhile back, so I have the same problem. I just left it alone though. Love the keyboard too.
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FYI, to replace broken LEDs on the Topre REALFORCE RGB these should work (Cree PLCC4 3528 SMD RGB LED):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000540354284.html
Couldn't find them in smaller lots. I ordered this and will check them as soon as they arrive to confirm. All the parameters seem to match, same package (PLCC4) and size (3528), voltage, common anode on the marked pin and same order for the RGB pins.
I also found another LED that will likely work, but I was unable to find a place to order them for a reasonable price:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/american-bright-optoelectronics-corporation/BL-HJXGXBX32M-D/9678116
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LEDs arrived, they look the same. I verified the pinout is the same. Going to try to replace the broken ones now.
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The LEDs are a perfect match, I can not spot any difference in brightness or color. I have now successfully repaired all the LEDs, however only some LEDs were broken, others were simply not connected. Next to each LED you will find a set of 3 vias that connect the red green and blue signal to the other side of the board. There is also a fourth via that connects the common anode to power. For me it turns out that several of the RGB signals were not connecting to the other side of the board. I suspect getting a bit of water into the board and not removing power corroded away the via plating. I fixed this using jumper wires. I used 0.1mm enamelled wire which is small enough to fit through the ground plane vias on the board. Took some good tweezers, flux and a steady hand but I was able to do it. You'll have to make sure the enamelled wire is actually connected, sometimes it sticks but doesn't connect. I used 400 degree on the soldering iron to burn away the insulation and some small tweezers to get away the solder mask from the via on the bottom of the board. On the top side of the board I just soldered the wire directly to the LED. After this I put some solder mask on it and UV cured it.