Thanks for your input!
Every step has been a learning experience so far, I'm almost impressed I didn't break anything else. :D
Regarding diodes, I feel like I've tested every single one of them more than I care to count, so it doesn't appear to be the source of the issue (unless I'm awfully incompetent :eek:).
I did some research on the microcontroller, which turns out to be an HT32F1655 from Holtek.
Luckily, its datasheet is public and it contains detailed schematics (most of it goes way over my ahead though, but page 22 looks interesting): https://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/download/1013860/HOLTEK/HT32F1655.html
Here's the bad boy:
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/75Uoyrb.jpg)
Nothing looks out of the ordinary in the area, but it could be something internal.
I'll probably sit down and solder everything back to conduct more tests when I got time, though at that point I'm wondering if I shouldn't just make it hot swappable. :rolleyes:
Ducky support was my first stop on this long journey, but I got ghosted.
Last time I contacted them for a spare part of this model, they did answer but said they were out of it, so I wouldn't hold my breath for a spare PCB.
Guess I could always look for a donor from this era, but I don't know if standard editions share the same board.
In any case, I'll keep updating. I may not be able to repair it, but maybe it'll help someone else down the line. :thumb:
It sucks that stuff just gets thrown out as e-waste all the time. Kudos to you for trying to diagnose and fix it.
If the pcb traces are fine, diodes and switches are all fine then it'll most likely be a faulty microcontroller. There's also a bunch of capacitors, resistors and stuff on that PCB. You may want to test those too.
The real problem lies in the proprietary firmware installed on the controller. If ducky can't send you a replacement with pre-installed firmware then you'll need find a way to get a copy of it and flash it onto the controller yourself.
On that topic, apparently the pok3r keyboard uses the same controller. There's been some interest in flashing custom firmware onto the controller here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=72262.0 but it seems like progress has stalled.
There's also talk of flashing QMK firmware onto the pok3r here: https://github.com/pok3r-custom/pok3r_re_firmware/issues/23
It seems like ChaoticEnigma is very knowledgeable of Holtek controllers as seen here: https://github.com/pok3r-custom/pok3r_re_firmware/issues/4
You could try to get in touch with them or check that github repo for anything useful.
Due to the proprietary nature of the whole system, it'll take a while and quite a bit of testing to know how the circuit's logic is setup. Finding or creating a circuit diagram would be a good start.
If its too much of a hassle, perhaps you could try buying a second hand ducky keyboard for parts.
All in all, best of luck with your efforts.
Time for updates!
On the upside, I got the frame powder coated and it turned out pretty good!
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/OYVRqmI.jpg)
On the downside, after carefully inspecting and cleaning every thing I could, I soldered everything back together and… it shows the exact same faulty behavior. :(
I can only assume the microcontroller is the issue as others suggested, which at this point makes me feel I might as well swap the whole board if I can find one. I have zero hope of finding a YOTG board, but I know some models have similar boards in them (the Shine 5 if my memory serves me right—if you know of other compatible boards, let me know!), so I could always give that a try. I'm sad to know that the board's number won't match that of the frame anymore, but I just want to be able to use my keyboard again (being stuck with a spare K200 for a year sucks :D).
I did get in touch with Ducky again in the meantime, and I must say I'm wholly unimpressed by their support. My model isn't even 10 years old and Ducky themselves don't have the firmware anymore! No wonder they didn't answer at all when I asked for spare parts. :rolleyes: I did end up finding the firmware for my layout on some obscure website and managed to update it, but that did not help either.
Sorry the outcome wasn't the one we hoped for, but I learned a couple of things on the way and I'm not quite giving up yet. :thumb:
Good luck on repairing it, hope it all goes well :)