Author Topic: [help] QWERTY row no longer working after swapping switches  (Read 1637 times)

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Offline the-slunk

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[help] QWERTY row no longer working after swapping switches
« on: Sun, 03 June 2018, 15:06:08 »
Hello! So I soldered in some new switches last night, and nothing in the QWERTY row is registering now. I'd like to diagnose it ASAP but not sure where to start.

Would a messed up pad cause the entire row to stop functioning?

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Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: [help] QWERTY row no longer working after swapping switches
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 04 June 2018, 04:41:47 »
Yes one pad could take out an entire row if you're very unlucky and it's the worst place to damage for this very reason - anywhere else you can connect to a nearby switch/diode but not here.

Please post a pic of the back of the board with the traces visible in the shine, this should help someone see where the damage is and how to fix it.
120/100g linear Zealio R1  
GMK Hyperfuse
'Split everything' perfection  
MX Clear
SA Hack'd by Geeks     
EasyAVR mod

Offline the-slunk

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Re: [help] QWERTY row no longer working after swapping switches
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 04 June 2018, 19:05:19 »
Yes one pad could take out an entire row if you're very unlucky and it's the worst place to damage for this very reason - anywhere else you can connect to a nearby switch/diode but not here.

Please post a pic of the back of the board with the traces visible in the shine, this should help someone see where the damage is and how to fix it.
Thank you for the response and pretty much (inadvertently?) resolving the issue. I was gonna take a picture but then noticed 2 pads/joints that didn't look right. I used the finest tip I had and re-soldered it while sort of... Digging in? Some solder with the fine tip. I'm sure it's completely sacrilegious to do this but this is literally my first baord I've put together and I needed to get it working for work :/

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Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: [help] QWERTY row no longer working after swapping switches
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 05 June 2018, 04:10:19 »
Glad you got it sorted - that's a very double sided PCB and guessing what goes where would have been a nightmare!

As a genearal comment quite a few of those switch joints look like they could use a bit more solder.  It might just be the angle and if they work no need to do anything now but if they stop working or start chattering (registering multiple times) just reheat the joints on the affected switch and add a bit more solder and it will probably start behaving again.

Enjoy your first board and don't forget to post pics of the pretty side when it's done :thumb:
120/100g linear Zealio R1  
GMK Hyperfuse
'Split everything' perfection  
MX Clear
SA Hack'd by Geeks     
EasyAVR mod

Offline the-slunk

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  • Posts: 47
  • Location: Florida
Re: [help] QWERTY row no longer working after swapping switches
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 05 June 2018, 05:46:04 »
Glad you got it sorted - that's a very double sided PCB and guessing what goes where would have been a nightmare!

As a genearal comment quite a few of those switch joints look like they could use a bit more solder.  It might just be the angle and if they work no need to do anything now but if they stop working or start chattering (registering multiple times) just reheat the joints on the affected switch and add a bit more solder and it will probably start behaving again.

Enjoy your first board and don't forget to post pics of the pretty side when it's done :thumb:
You're definitely right about the joints needing more solder but being inexperienced I figured I'd go light rather than heavy on my first to. The logic was it would be easier to go back and add more solder if I had to than try to remove some from each joint with wick .

It's not much to look at to be honest, I'm just getting into the modding and soldering boards so what I did was lube a set of box royals, desolder old gateron browns from my Anne pro, and clip/grease/Band-Aid the stabs. Figured I'd rather potentially ruin a $65 board than a $500 custom first time around.

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