Author Topic: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)  (Read 235833 times)

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Offline child

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #950 on: Mon, 25 February 2019, 08:55:10 »
I flashed my CA66 with QMK and didn't have issues for a week or so (apart from non-functional LEDs), but then one time at bootup BOOM! - some LEDs come up, some USB devices malfunction... So while the problems are less frequent they weren't gone completely - CA66 goes to the shelf again waiting for replacement PCB :(

Offline donut_sauce

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #951 on: Mon, 25 February 2019, 09:52:57 »
I've been running qmk on both my ca66 pcb's since i got them, so at least for me, this is not firmware related. i have a feeling this is related to weak solder joints and will test mine out with the a mutlimeter when i have the time. would be great to hear from playkeyboard what the issue is.

Offline Jaxxstatic

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #952 on: Mon, 25 February 2019, 11:55:38 »
QMK works on mine, but my "up" arrow key is the bottom right macro and vice versa on the configurator. Also, I the only media key that actually flashed is "mute"

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #953 on: Mon, 25 February 2019, 12:12:39 »
QMK works on mine, but my "up" arrow key is the bottom right macro and vice versa on the configurator.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who had this issue. I thought I was going crazy, especially after they told me there was nothing wrong in the repo, well obviously something is wrong somewhere...

Offline donut_sauce

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #954 on: Sun, 17 March 2019, 14:17:34 »
**PCB FIXED**

Hey y'all.  I was able to find a solution to fix my ca66 PCB. My PCB issues followed a pattern that a lot of other folks are reporting which begins with the right most column failing and getting "Power surge on USB" errors.

After testing the right column with a voltmeter and determining that everything was working correctly (solder joints, diodes,etc..), I turned my attention to the MCU and checked the pinout. The right most column uses pin E6 which is right next to VCC. On a hunch that there maybe a trace routing/solder issue around there (this would explain the "Power surge" errors if it hits VCC) I decided to remap the right column from E6 to an available empty pin (D0) and rebuilt the column. And presto it works.

Typing this on it right now. Hope this helps anyone else having this issue! :thumb:
« Last Edit: Tue, 02 April 2019, 18:48:55 by donut_sauce »

Offline child

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #955 on: Sun, 17 March 2019, 15:58:15 »
That sounds great, but could you please share some more details (possibly screenshots) with those of us who are less acquainted with the matter in hand? For me "rebuilding the column" does not tell much.

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #956 on: Sun, 17 March 2019, 17:49:58 »
That sounds great, but could you please share some more details (possibly screenshots) with those of us who are less acquainted with the matter in hand? For me "rebuilding the column" does not tell much.

Not sure what “rebuilding” the column is, but if it is a short between E6 and VCC, then physically cutting the trace from the right column to the uC (mcu), then running a jumper wire from the column to the new pin (D0 in this case), would create a new path without a short. You would need to run QMK though, because it would allow you to change the pins used by the firmware (change E6 to D0).

You shouldn’t need to cut all the traces at each switch footprint and literally, physically rebuild the column (like run jumpers to/from each footprint like you were handwiring).

Though before I went cutting traces and soldering jumpers, I’d inspect the uC pins and pads, and the traces for the column that’s acting up and see if I could physically see any shorts or bad joints, and then clean them up/fix them, and see if that solves the problem. If there is a short between E6 and VCC, I would suspect solder bridging the gap between the pins/pads as the culprit, and cleaning up that area could solve the issue. (Assuming that’s what the problem actually is) and that would be a lot less damaging to the pcb than cutting and jumping traces (and also would allow you to still use the ymdk config tool).

Offline donut_sauce

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #957 on: Sun, 17 March 2019, 18:22:42 »
Yes, what jrfhoutx said is correct. Although I didn't cut the trace and did actually rewire the column since I didn't feel like cutting into the PCB. And yes you would have to be comfortable updating the config file in QMK to change the pins to use this solution.

If there is a short between E6 and VCC, I would suspect solder bridging the gap between the pins/pads as the culprit, and cleaning up that area could solve the issue.
I very much expected that as well but couldn't  find any solder issues. The pads and pins on the MCU appeared fine. Might have missed something though.

« Last Edit: Sun, 17 March 2019, 18:31:14 by donut_sauce »

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #958 on: Sun, 17 March 2019, 23:15:00 »
Yes, what jrfhoutx said is correct. Although I didn't cut the trace and did actually rewire the column since I didn't feel like cutting into the PCB. And yes you would have to be comfortable updating the config file in QMK to change the pins to use this solution.

If there is a short between E6 and VCC, I would suspect solder bridging the gap between the pins/pads as the culprit, and cleaning up that area could solve the issue.
I very much expected that as well but couldn't  find any solder issues. The pads and pins on the MCU appeared fine. Might have missed something though.

Considering that it seems to be an intermittent issue (in that not all pcbs have the problem, only some) this is what I would think the issue would probably be, an extremely small solder bridge on a uC pin or something similar. unless there was a pcb revision mid production that fixed some issue like a bad trace route or something, but I would expect that if that were the case that all the pcbs prior to the revision would be discarded rather than sent out, but the only way to know that would be to collect data on what version pcb everyone has. but that info is on the plate side of the pcb, making it a little harder to find out. My unused pcb is version 2.0.3, not sure what version is in my board right now though.

Offline bcbishop

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #959 on: Thu, 18 April 2019, 08:01:26 »
Out of curiosity, has anyone on the thread received a replacement PCB from PlayKeyboardTW yet, or are replacements on hold until the new round ships out? (After many months of working great, my CA66 from the last round died yesterday.)

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #960 on: Thu, 18 April 2019, 08:52:15 »
Out of curiosity, has anyone on the thread received a replacement PCB from PlayKeyboardTW yet, or are replacements on hold until the new round ships out? (After many months of working great, my CA66 from the last round died yesterday.)

I don’t believe anyone has gotten any replacements yet.
They will most likely wait until after the group buy ships and then list them on their site.

Hi guys,

Sorry to hear those bricked situations happened to some PCBs. :(

Since it's been a while after the first round CA66s have been shipped we will have after-sale service for those PCBs (before 2019.1.1):
1. If you bought 2 pieces of PCBs, we will offer one for free for replacement
2. If you got 1, then it will be half price.

Thanks! :thumb:


Offline 5inn3d-

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #961 on: Wed, 24 April 2019, 05:48:13 »
any updates on when the board will ship??

Offline iEatPuppers

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #962 on: Wed, 24 April 2019, 06:40:20 »
This is for the initial gb.

Round 2 can be found here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=97035.450

Offline child

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #963 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 01:07:26 »
**PCB FIXED**

Hey y'all.  I was able to find a solution to fix my ca66 PCB. My PCB issues followed a pattern that a lot of other folks are reporting which begins with the right most column failing and getting "Power surge on USB" errors.

After testing the right column with a voltmeter and determining that everything was working correctly (solder joints, diodes,etc..), I turned my attention to the MCU and checked the pinout. The right most column uses pin E6 which is right next to VCC. On a hunch that there maybe a trace routing/solder issue around there (this would explain the "Power surge" errors if it hits VCC) I decided to remap the right column from E6 to an available empty pin (D0) and rebuilt the column. And presto it works.

Typing this on it right now. Hope this helps anyone else having this issue! :thumb:

I finally gave this approach a go - I used a jumper wire to connect D0 to E6 track (at the hole where it goes to the other side of the PCB), reconfigured column pins in QMK and rightmost column now works fine  :thumb:

However, I have one doubt - should I also cut the E6 track before the connection point? I'm not really too much into electronics, but my understanding is that if there is this short between VCC and E6 I can still experience power surges if I don't cut E6 track.

Offline Photoelectric

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #964 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 10:07:50 »
I've modified the thread title to lessen the confusion between the two separate threads for Round 1 and Round 2 group buys.
- Keyboards: LZ-GH (Jailhouse Blues)M65-a, MIRA SE, E8-V1, MOON TKL, CA66
- Keyboard Case Painting Tips -
- Join Mechanical Keyboards photography group on Flickr -

Offline donut_sauce

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Re: [GB] CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (Shipping done! New round IC posted)
« Reply #965 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 11:25:41 »
**PCB FIXED**

Hey y'all.  I was able to find a solution to fix my ca66 PCB. My PCB issues followed a pattern that a lot of other folks are reporting which begins with the right most column failing and getting "Power surge on USB" errors.

After testing the right column with a voltmeter and determining that everything was working correctly (solder joints, diodes,etc..), I turned my attention to the MCU and checked the pinout. The right most column uses pin E6 which is right next to VCC. On a hunch that there maybe a trace routing/solder issue around there (this would explain the "Power surge" errors if it hits VCC) I decided to remap the right column from E6 to an available empty pin (D0) and rebuilt the column. And presto it works.

Typing this on it right now. Hope this helps anyone else having this issue! :thumb:

I finally gave this approach a go - I used a jumper wire to connect D0 to E6 track (at the hole where it goes to the other side of the PCB), reconfigured column pins in QMK and rightmost column now works fine  :thumb:

However, I have one doubt - should I also cut the E6 track before the connection point? I'm not really too much into electronics, but my understanding is that if there is this short between VCC and E6 I can still experience power surges if I don't cut E6 track.

Glad to hear this helped.  I think that's helpful to know that this worked for you as well and this fix isn't just isolated to my PCB. Hope this gives other folks with non-function ca66 PCBs the encouragement to find a solution for their pcb.

It's clear that their is an issue with the trace but I'm not 100% convinced it's a short to VCC so that's why I didn't bother cutting it. And my PCB has been solid since then. But it might be a good idea to do that🤔



Offline child

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #966 on: Fri, 17 May 2019, 14:58:12 »
Ok, for the science I'll keep the track intact. If I don't run into issues it probably means it's not a VCC short.

Offline Makker4

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #967 on: Wed, 19 June 2019, 11:15:38 »
Does anyone know how to apply for a free replacement PCB from round 2? It was mentioned that round 1 buyers could get a free pcb when round 2 was over.

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #968 on: Wed, 19 June 2019, 19:17:18 »
Does anyone know how to apply for a free replacement PCB from round 2? It was mentioned that round 1 buyers could get a free pcb when round 2 was over.

Details on how haven’t been released yet, I’m sure they’ll let us know when they’re done taking care of all the round 2 issues.

Offline Lyle88

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #969 on: Wed, 02 October 2019, 05:57:05 »
Does anyone know how to apply for a free replacement PCB from round 2? It was mentioned that round 1 buyers could get a free pcb when round 2 was over.

Details on how haven’t been released yet, I’m sure they’ll let us know when they’re done taking care of all the round 2 issues.
Hopefully they have a replacement for you, but if not I'm probably going to sell my built non-bt PCB with lubed sakurios. Will be cheap as I had to file the plate. Decided I don't like linears thus the sale
Edit: spelling

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Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #970 on: Wed, 02 October 2019, 10:00:29 »
For anyone interested, I'm currently working on a replacement pcb for the CA66.

 Last round of prototypes should be ordered soon, and then I'll open a buy for them. probably sometime around Dec or Jan.

Offline Willhurt2008

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #971 on: Wed, 02 October 2019, 10:17:42 »
For anyone interested, I'm currently working on a replacement pcb for the CA66.

 Last round of prototypes should be ordered soon, and then I'll open a buy for them. probably sometime around Dec or Jan.

Very interested! Please, keep us updated. Will it be BT or non-BT? Hotswap maybe? Would love BT + Hotswap.


Offline child

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #972 on: Wed, 02 October 2019, 13:12:30 »
I am interested in alternative PCB as well.

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #973 on: Wed, 02 October 2019, 17:34:16 »
For anyone interested, I'm currently working on a replacement pcb for the CA66.

 Last round of prototypes should be ordered soon, and then I'll open a buy for them. probably sometime around Dec or Jan.

Very interested! Please, keep us updated. Will it be BT or non-BT? Hotswap maybe? Would love BT + Hotswap.

Will definitely keep everyone updated. It will not be BT, maybe once QMK has better BT support I’ll do a BT version, but not right now. Also no hotswap. I’m not a big fan of hotswap tbh. I don’t plan on this being something that isn’t supported or available after the initial buy.

Offline sysfury

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #974 on: Mon, 04 November 2019, 08:44:03 »
Does anyone know how to apply for a free replacement PCB from round 2? It was mentioned that round 1 buyers could get a free pcb when round 2 was over.
I contacted them on Facebook Messenger and they sent me a Round 2 PCB for free.

http://m.me/playkeyboard

I referred to this message:

https://geekhack.org/index.php...ic=93542.msg2712253#msg2712253

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Offline j0hn3h

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #975 on: Wed, 13 November 2019, 01:27:39 »
For anyone interested, I'm currently working on a replacement pcb for the CA66.

 Last round of prototypes should be ordered soon, and then I'll open a buy for them. probably sometime around Dec or Jan.

Very interested! Please, keep us updated. Will it be BT or non-BT? Hotswap maybe? Would love BT + Hotswap.

Will definitely keep everyone updated. It will not be BT, maybe once QMK has better BT support I’ll do a BT version, but not right now. Also no hotswap. I’m not a big fan of hotswap tbh. I don’t plan on this being something that isn’t supported or available after the initial buy.

Thank you so much for working this! I'll purchase these the day they're announced.

Offline jrfhoutx

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #976 on: Wed, 13 November 2019, 16:28:28 »
Lastest round of prototypes are in, will assemble a few and send them to my testers on my next day off of work (Monday).

Offline phinix

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #977 on: Thu, 14 November 2019, 02:36:31 »
This is one beautiful keyboard - if my brain wasn't that stubborn and needed that insert cluster in place, I would buy one or two...:)
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Offline j0hn3h

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #978 on: Mon, 25 November 2019, 20:49:26 »
Lastest round of prototypes are in, will assemble a few and send them to my testers on my next day off of work (Monday).

Any updates to testing the proto PCB's?

Offline Argan12345

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #979 on: Tue, 01 December 2020, 15:51:02 »
I have a question about the guide for the BT version, I don't know what it means by this: "From the front side, make sure you solder the BT switch we provide in the part bag (red If you have the plan to install a 4x RGB LED board as well, please trim exceed legs of connector (red square). Or you might have problem put 4x RGB LED board in ESC position."



Offline pixelpusher

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #980 on: Tue, 01 December 2020, 15:55:11 »
Just means to solder the switch onto the FRONT of the PCB.  There is a 4x4 led square that some people put around the Escape key.  I don't think it was part of the kit.  If you plan to add that, you need to trim the component outlined with the red rectagle to ensure it doesn't make contact.

Offline Argan12345

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Re: [GB] Round 1: CA66 Custom Keyboard Kit (CLOSED)
« Reply #981 on: Tue, 01 December 2020, 16:00:41 »
Just means to solder the switch onto the FRONT of the PCB.  There is a 4x4 led square that some people put around the Escape key.  I don't think it was part of the kit.  If you plan to add that, you need to trim the component outlined with the red rectagle to ensure it doesn't make contact.
Ah alright. I don't have plans to add that 4x4 led square so other than installing the switch at the front of the PCB, I'll just ignore this whole part then.

Thanks!