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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: SashaGrey on Sat, 01 December 2012, 12:53:23

Title: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Sat, 01 December 2012, 12:53:23

Hy geeks, my noppoo choc mini is broken  :'(
Yesterday night I've dropped something on it, it wasn't actually an heavy thing but it slammed on the keyboard, there aren't any physical damage.
5, T, G, B, and space does not work anymore, all the other keys works great.
I've opened it, I can't spot anything down here but I've found this:
(http://i.imgur.com/dRgqC.jpg)
It's right under the G key, does it mean something ?
Help me plz  :( my filco is not with me at the moment, I'm using the click-click windows on-screen one :'(

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: longweight on Sat, 01 December 2012, 12:55:01

Have you checked the pins on the controller? If one of those is loose then it could cause a group of keys to drop out.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Sat, 01 December 2012, 13:17:27

they look fine
(http://i.imgur.com/CMeIu.jpg)
sorry for bad quality

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: Batmann on Sat, 01 December 2012, 14:16:58

I have the same, it's weird because it's built like a tank o.O
I crash tested it once but it successfully passed the test

I remember ruining one switch though, nothing obvious when you looked at it but one switch leg was broken
maybe you can try to solder a new one and see if it works


PS: that's a hot name you got here! ^^

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: WhiteFireDragon on Sat, 01 December 2012, 14:27:52

5, T, G, B are perfectly lined up keys, so my guess is that one trace in the matrix that connects all these keys are bad. Check for cold joints. They can be hard to spot.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: longweight on Sat, 01 December 2012, 14:51:47

I meant the pins on the controller not the connector.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Sat, 01 December 2012, 14:58:10

Sorry.
The pins on the controller are really small :(
I'm scouting

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: MMB on Sat, 01 December 2012, 17:15:49

Quote from: SashaGrey on Sat, 01 December 2012, 13:17:27

they look fine

Show Image

(http://i.imgur.com/CMeIu.jpg)

sorry for bad quality

Looks almost like a burn mark on the top pin going into the connector. You can see a black mark on the actual connector itself. Hard to tell with the potato pic, though.


Even the PCB itself looks blackened around the solder joint.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: Soarer on Sat, 01 December 2012, 17:23:26

A pic of the whole PCB would be useful, then we could point you at areas to zoom in on :)

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Sun, 16 December 2012, 06:44:58

Here we go. http://imgur.com/a/yqjya
It looks pretty dirty, but thats how I've found it.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: firebt on Sun, 16 December 2012, 08:42:11

[attachimg=1]

Check the routing for these switches, including under as one of the metal pins may have snapped during the shock which may have affected the whole column of keys, depending on how Noppoo Choc designs their keyboards.  Otherwise, it may be an internal chip issue, possibly only factory repairable.  :( I hope not, good luck.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: Soarer on Sun, 16 December 2012, 08:56:05

Seeing that, I'd guess that F5 doesn't work either...?

Follow this trace looking for breaks, or bad solder where it connects to the controller chip:

[attachimg=1]

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: iri on Sun, 16 December 2012, 09:05:34

nice nickname, OP!

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: tp4tissue on Sun, 16 December 2012, 09:12:22

PCB cracked FOR SURE:.....  The crack is likely some where around those keys, LOOK for common trace areas...

Under Bright lights, use hand to put a VERY gentle flex to the PCB, and look for the crack...

It's fixable, but the reliability would depend on how AWESOME your skills are.


The damage is not visible enough for Low resolution Photos.



ALSO, wow, and here I thought iONE soldering was bad......  Guess I'm not every gonna get a vortex either.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Sun, 16 December 2012, 10:06:57

Thanks geeks, I'm scouting hard, the enemy is hiding.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Sun, 16 December 2012, 10:37:55

HERE SHE IS!

(http://i.imgur.com/W3KGg.jpg)

Now, How to weld right this baby?

(http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ehow/images/a07/h5/68/weld-fire-pit-800x800.jpg)

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: firebt on Sun, 16 December 2012, 15:48:07

Quote from: SashaGrey on Sun, 16 December 2012, 10:37:55

HERE SHE IS!

Show Image

(http://i.imgur.com/W3KGg.jpg)

Now, How to weld right this baby?

Show Image

(http://img.ehowcdn.com/article-new/ehow/images/a07/h5/68/weld-fire-pit-800x800.jpg)

....welding?  Okay, use a MIG with at least 120 amps, I mean, I guess you could get by with 100 amps.  No, in all seriousness, be really careful.  Those pins are very, very thin and one wrong move can have the solder run all over 2+ pins which is detrimental.  If anything, try an electronics specialist who can get that done for you, I'm sure it will be very cheap. 

Honestly, earlier I was looking at your chip, and I think I saw that...but I was like nah....he couldn't have missed that...it must be a pin issue...

Plus, the pins on the left look similar, but they aren't broken either lol.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: SashaGrey on Tue, 29 January 2013, 04:42:13

I've finally welded it.
Everything works fine now :) The problem was that loose pin on the controller.
Thanks geeks.

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: tp4tissue on Tue, 29 January 2013, 05:41:13

weld?

Title: Re: 5, T, G, B and Space does not work anymore
Post by: rootwyrm on Tue, 29 January 2013, 15:02:00

Talk about a **** solder job on that one.. I see overheat and bad flow there. Wouldn't be surprised if more legs break. :/