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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => DIY Discussions ARCHIVE => Topic started by: kliclak on Fri, 06 February 2009, 21:31:55

Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Fri, 06 February 2009, 21:31:55: Hey all,

In advance of my set of black keys arriving for my Unicomp Customizer, I decided to change the green LEDs to blue ones.

I picked up some 3mm blue LEDs from the electronics shop and opened up the keyboard. I booted up the computer so the Num Lock was on (green LED was lit). I took the new blue LED and tried to just touch the existing solder points on the back of the pc board with it to see it light up.

It didn't light up. I tried switching the polarity, nothing, I then tried it on the caps lock and the scroll lock, the LED didn't light up when touched to the solder points of any of them.

I even tried a 5mm LED and it didn't light up either.

None of this hurt the board, the green LEDs never stayed lit...never even flickered. I'm just wondering if I desolder the original green LED and replace it with one of these blue ones, will it light up?

Did it not light up because the board will not light two LEDs in parallel?

Any ideas?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: Chloe on Fri, 06 February 2009, 21:35:19: Blue LEDs typically require more power to light up. You will have to remove or replace the series resistors. Do you have a multimeter?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Fri, 06 February 2009, 22:15:19: Yes I have a multimeter. So I assume I need to trace back and find the resistors?

Is there anything in particular I should look for on the board?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: bhtooefr on Fri, 06 February 2009, 23:12:14: I still vote for UV LEDs for a blackout Customizer.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: wellington1869 on Fri, 06 February 2009, 23:31:37: yea, if you're putting them in parallel, arent they drawing more current? more than it can supply maybe. So it may well work if you desolder one end of the green led and then try the blue one.

UV sounds even cooler than blue, but I wonder if the average electronics store would have those. They're kind of blue-ish, right?

Looking forward to your pics, kliclak!
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: bhtooefr on Fri, 06 February 2009, 23:51:18: UV LEDs are purple.

(Remember, V is Violet. ;))
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Sat, 07 February 2009, 07:31:57: Yeah I was originally trying for some UV ones, but of course the store didn't have any.

I do have a UV LED I put in one of my computers as a power indicator, it's not as bright as the blue ones. Maybe it doesn't draw as much.

I wonder if UV LEDs would work without modifications?

Of course the place I bought that LED is out of business, so I'll need to order some and wait for them to arrive...

In the meantime, I loaded up GIMP and made a new label for the keyboard with some laser printer labels...
(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/label.JPG)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Sat, 07 February 2009, 09:52:54: Ok, I took out the trusty multimeter and took some readings.

Hopefully this will provide enough info on what specifics I need to know before ordering LEDs.

This is a USB Customizer keyboard...I thought I'd mention it because the PS/2 version might have different voltages.

The voltage at the LED (when it is on of course) was 2.02 volts
The voltage before the resistor was 4.5 volts
The resistance I measured across each resistor was 323-324 ohms, but the bands were Orange, Orange, Brown then Gold, so I guess they are 330 ohm resistors with 5% tolerance.

Does that sound correct?

So am I correct in assuming I need LEDs that will work at 2 volts? Or resistors that change 4.5 volts to what makes the purple or blue LEDs happy?

The purple LEDs I am finding on Ebay seem to run at 3.2 to 3.8 volts (the blue ones too for that matter).

So the question is, what value of resistor do I need to step the 4.5 volts down to between the 3.2 and 3.8 volts that make the pretty purple LEDs work?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: xyzzy on Sat, 07 February 2009, 12:51:41: Is that a new keyboard? It has a white Unicomp logo, different from the blue one I've always seen.

And, I must admit, the white one is not as fugly as the blue one. Maybe Unicomp finally listened to us and hired a new designer? ;)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lal on Sat, 07 February 2009, 12:59:57: Quote from: xyzzy;21056
Is that a new keyboard? It has a white Unicomp logo, different from the blue one I've always seen.

Answer:

Quote from: kliclak;21034
In the meantime, I loaded up GIMP and made a new label for the keyboard with some laser printer labels...
Show Image
(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/label.JPG)

Looks great! But I think it'll be impossible for Unicomp to use this font because of trademarks and stuff. :(
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lal on Sat, 07 February 2009, 13:02:59: Klicklak, would you share the .xcf for this label with us?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: xyzzy on Sat, 07 February 2009, 13:05:24: Thanks, I missed that bit... I was too excited seeing a different logo. :eek:

Ok, back to reality now :(
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: wellington1869 on Sat, 07 February 2009, 13:13:47: Quote from: kliclak;21043

So the question is, what value of resistor do I need to step the 4.5 volts down to between the 3.2 and 3.8 volts that make the pretty purple LEDs work?

good question, its been too long since my EE classes, but I believe V=IR. :)

I would think though that a standard LED should work fine (it just might not be as bright, or might be too bright, but it should work I think). Did you try desoldering a green one and putting in the blue one? I think it wouldnt work in parallel but might work if you substitute.

Nice logo by the way.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Sun, 08 February 2009, 11:18:36: The blue one will not light up...not enough voltage. After looking around elsewhere, and found that I most likely need to use 50 ohm resistors.

Unfortunately the "local" electronics shop is 50km away and closed on Sundays.

If I go to Radio Shack (or the abomination that Circuit City transformed them into up in Canada) all they have are assorted packs of resistors (2 ea) of 50 different values that cost $6.99. So I'd need to buy 2 'assorted' packs for $14 just to get the 3 resistors I'll need, and then have 197 resistors that I don't need. Wow, what a useless store!

I may just order a pile of UV LEDs with included resistors from Ebay straight from Hong Kong.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: Chloe on Sun, 08 February 2009, 11:58:16: It's best to use a series resistor. Too much power will reduce the life if it does not burn out the LED.

To calculate series resistor:

Resistor value = (Supply voltage - LED voltage)/Current

You might find the blue LED is too bright so I would experiment with resistor values upward of 68 ohms. I think purple looks better than UV unless you specifically want UV lighting effect.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Mon, 09 February 2009, 17:54:02: Well,

Good news and bad news.

I got the blue leds installed and they work fine...good.

AND

The black keys arrived today...really good...BUT...

There was a small mistake in the package, basically I got one less letter key than I need, and one extra "+" or "Enter" key for the keypad.

I'm sure Unicomp will straighten it out, but for now the keyboard is "almost" done.

I guess I could do a number of things in the meantime (take an extra model M keycap and paint it black or red for the esc key), or even take one of the clear keycaps I have and do something with it, but I'd really rather just have all black keys no painted ones.

Once it's fully done I'll post some better, higher res pictures.

(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/allbutone.jpg)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 09 February 2009, 17:57:08: Alright, I think I know what I need to do.

Black Customizer 104 + blacked out LED cluster + UV LEDs + black keys + blank white key for escape, dyed red.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lowpoly on Mon, 09 February 2009, 18:02:44: Good work on the LED cluster, kliclak.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Mon, 09 February 2009, 19:01:58: I just got word from Jim at Unicomp, he is sending out black key for me tomorrow. Excellent service as always.

Quote from: bhtooefr;21259
Alright, I think I know what I need to do.

Black Customizer 104 + blacked out LED cluster + UV LEDs + black keys + blank white key for escape, dyed red.

Anything that sells more Unicomp 'boards is a good thing.

I actually do have a package of UV leds on their way. I may change these if I like the colour better, I'll see what they look like when they arrive.

Quote from: lowpoly;21260
Good work on the LED cluster, kliclak.

Thanks for the kind word...I guess it was bound to happen. They do call it the Customizer after all.

Oh yeah, one last thing, how can I post the .xcf file of the label for people to use? I know how to post pictures (obviously) but is there a place that will host a file like this? Is there even enough demand for it?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 09 February 2009, 19:05:42: If you can't attach it to your post, I can host it for you.

Edit: Doesn't look like you can attach .xcf files... shoot me an e-mail... my username @gmail.com... and I'll put it on my own server.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Mon, 09 February 2009, 19:37:35: Quote from: bhtooefr;21266
If you can't attach it to your post, I can host it for you.

Ok, will do.

I just took a couple other photos to post. It really looks better than the photos show.

Unicomp really needs to market these aggressively. The funny thing is, I would never have even searched out Unicomp (or even found out about the model M) if the Das Keyboard website had not praised the model M so highly. They say their keyboard "compares" with the model M. This one "compares" somewhat more faithfully though...the EXACT same key mechanism to be precise.

I just may make an all black Endurapro (with a bit of grease to quiet it down for use at work) my next project.

(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/label2.jpg)

(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/keyboard1.jpg)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: ozar on Mon, 09 February 2009, 19:52:46: Nice job! :cool:

That makes me want to work over one of my own customizers.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 09 February 2009, 20:33:25: Here's the file: http://bhtooefr.ath.cx/files/keyboard%20label%204.xcf

You'll also need the Men In Blue font, http://bhtooefr.ath.cx/files/MIB.ttf
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: wellington1869 on Tue, 10 February 2009, 00:00:27: dude, thats *sweet*. I want to eat it.
The blue really looks very, very nice.

red RIT on the escape key?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: D-EJ915 on Tue, 10 February 2009, 09:36:03: I like that IBM-styled logo, nice job.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Thu, 12 February 2009, 21:57:44: Quote from: wellington1869;21279
dude, thats *sweet*. I want to eat it.
The blue really looks very, very nice.

red RIT on the escape key?

I don't know about dying the escape key. If I use a model M key, they are too dark already to come out bright red, and I don't know what red dye would do to the metallic grey key that originally came with the keyboard.

Does anyone think paint would work well enough? After all, the ESC key doesn't get anywhere near the same amount of use as the letter keys.

Quote from: D-EJ915;21304
I like that IBM-styled logo, nice job.

Thanks. I think it suits it well. It's a tip of the hat to the company that designed the keyboard, and it also shows Unicomp's name off a bit more than even their own label does. I could have gone a lot flashier with it, but I think less is more in this case.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Sun, 08 March 2009, 09:52:15: Ok, this is a look at the finished (for now) project.

The final black key arrived from Unicomp (thanks to Jim Owens), and now with UV leds.

The purple of the leds is VERY difficult to capture with a digital camera. It always seems to turn out blue. This is the best I could do to show the purple colour.

Also, anyone that has seen these leds will know, you can't really focus your eye on them. They always look a bit blurry. It's hard to explain, but like I said, if you've seem them...well, you know.(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/uvleds.JPG)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lal on Sun, 08 March 2009, 10:15:32: This rocks. You gotta send Jim a link to show them what could be done.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: wheel83 on Sun, 08 March 2009, 10:30:01: If Unicomp did their marketing like DAS, and updated their logos and made an all black product line as well as a real space saver, they could maybe make it through this recession.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: D-EJ915 on Sun, 08 March 2009, 12:52:07: Unicomp needs to sell that.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: itlnstln on Mon, 09 March 2009, 06:40:58: I'd buy that, especially if it were a spacesaver. I would like to see one with black keys and black legends. You know, for us people that need those kind of crutches.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: CX23882 on Mon, 09 March 2009, 09:37:31: That looks awesome. Great job! I don't like the metallic grey/silver keys that come as standard with the black Customizer. When I see that type of plastic (shiny with silver flecks) it always reminds me of cheap plastic toys from China. I'm aware that there are issues with getting white lettering to stay on the black keys but does anyone else think the keyboard would look much better with "plain" dark-ish grey keys and black lettering? (I mean compared to the silver keys, not compared to your beautiful device)

I think all-black keys look great, but the general public don't want that, even if we think they're cool. :) I saw a piece on The Gadget Show where they had a Das III and I think it was under a list of silly gadgets. :rolleyes:

I wonder how many international sales Unicomp are getting right now. A year ago I'd have no problem buying another Unicomp Customizer and having it posted to the UK, but right now the exchange rate is terrible.

I hope Unicomp can keep going and I'm sure that business will pick up in the future even if it's quiet now.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: wheel83 on Wed, 11 March 2009, 17:10:23: Does this mean if I buy LEDs with a 2.0 voltage and a low amprage, i can directly switch the Unicomp LEDs with off white ones Ive purchased? Using no resistors as well.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: Hak Foo on Thu, 12 March 2009, 00:50:37: As I understand it, LEDs are more about current than voltage, within reason. The resistors usually seen in series with the LED are designed to restrict the current through the LED.

I think if the LED is designed to accomodate, say, 20mA, putting 5mA through will be safe, just dimmer.

I swapped the green LEDs on my 1391401 with some near-white LEDs that came off a $2.50 set of LED Christmas lights. Obviously, no specs whatsoever. They're so bright I had to tint-film them over.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Thu, 12 March 2009, 08:48:40: That's pretty awesome!

Is Unicomp pretty easy to order blank black keys from, or are they resistant to doing so?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lal on Thu, 12 March 2009, 08:51:05: They are *happy* to do so, FKSSR!
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Thu, 12 March 2009, 08:52:48: Nice! Thanks.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: o2dazone on Thu, 12 March 2009, 21:42:50: Wow that looks great. Been lurking this forum for about a week, and your project has definitely made me consider the M/Unicomp boards as my first mechanical (what can I say...I'm a sucker for form as well as the function)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Fri, 13 March 2009, 15:26:38: Is the logo on the front of the keyboard in this thread the old Unicomp one? I like it a lot better than the other ones I've seen (i.e. on the site (http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/pckeyboards_2041_47081)).
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: nerp on Fri, 13 March 2009, 16:30:01: Quote from: kliclak;21034
Yeah I was originally trying for some UV ones, but of course the store didn't have any.

I do have a UV LED I put in one of my computers as a power indicator, it's not as bright as the blue ones. Maybe it doesn't draw as much.

I wonder if UV LEDs would work without modifications?

Of course the place I bought that LED is out of business, so I'll need to order some and wait for them to arrive...

In the meantime, I loaded up GIMP and made a new label for the keyboard with some laser printer labels...
Show Image
(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/label.JPG)

DUDE.

Could you possibly e-mail me the image you made in gimp? I'd kill to do that. Brilliant! Also, what size label did you use? Avery size?

Love it!
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: nerp on Fri, 13 March 2009, 16:32:08: Quote from: bhtooefr;21272
Here's the file: http://bhtooefr.ath.cx/files/keyboard%20label%204.xcf

You'll also need the Men In Blue font, http://bhtooefr.ath.cx/files/MIB.ttf

Aha! Should have read the full thread.

Thanks.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Fri, 13 March 2009, 22:28:51: I actually thought I did read everything, but I definitely missed a couple things. Maybe I confused a couple threads. Sorry about that. :)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Mon, 16 March 2009, 19:38:49: Thanks for the comments guys. This is by most measures a mild mod that anyone can do so I think it appeals to a lot of people.

The purple leds I bought off Ebay worked without any modification, and yes they are BRIGHT!!! I needed to "tint" the leds with a black marker - a couple of coats to get them down to a brightness that doesn't sunburn my eyeballs.

The keyboard originally came with 3mm leds, but the ones I bought were 5mm, the spacing between the "leads" (the anode and cathode) is the same as a 3mm led, so they fit into the holes in the pc board just fine.

The new logo was something I whipped up on Gimp, which I then printed on a clear label on my laser printer. I used a clear label to let the light shine through the label, but you could use a white label and cut out the area over the lights with an exacto knife before putting the label on.

Like I said, it's a pretty easy thing to do. I hope this helps Unicomp sell more keyboards.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lam47 on Mon, 16 March 2009, 19:43:21: I might have missed it so sorry if it has been posted.
What voltage leds did you use in the end? And what ohm resistors?

looks amazing by the way.
I now have to get some LEDs for a couple of my boards :)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Mon, 16 March 2009, 20:13:41: Good question. I am going to buy some red leds for a couple boards of mine (including the Spacesaver I order next week).
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Mon, 16 March 2009, 21:53:51: In the end I wound up using the original resistors once I went with the purple leds (Wellington was correct about that after all).

Here is a link to the same leds I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-50-X-5mm-UV-LED-Ultra-Bright-Free-Resistors_W0QQitemZ220379103418QQihZ012QQcategoryZ66954QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-50-X-5mm-UV-LED-Ultra-Bright-Free-Resistors_W0QQitemZ220379103418QQihZ012QQcategoryZ66954QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

In reality they are purple, not blue like the picture shows.

Also, if you want to stay with 3mm leds, here are some as well:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-50-X-3mm-UV-LED-Ultra-Bright-Free-Resistors_W0QQitemZ220378890053QQihZ012QQcategoryZ66954QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-50-X-3mm-UV-LED-Ultra-Bright-Free-Resistors_W0QQitemZ220378890053QQihZ012QQcategoryZ66954QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

You'll have a few leftovers...47 to be exact.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: lam47 on Tue, 17 March 2009, 03:55:11: Thanks I appreciate it :)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Tue, 17 March 2009, 09:27:16: Are the LEDs in keyboards normally just 3mm?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: Chloe on Tue, 17 March 2009, 12:08:35: Some are surface mount and some are 5mm.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: FKSSR on Tue, 17 March 2009, 12:11:03: Thanks. I'm mainly just trying to decide which I should get. I don't want to be blinded. :)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: iMav on Fri, 27 March 2009, 02:28:41: I just wanted to chime in and say...GREAT JOB!! That keyboard is freakin' awesome looking.

What type of label did you use?? My blue Cherry tenkeyless Filco came with green LEDs...which I don't like nearly as much as the blues (which my cherry brown tenkeyless had) So may be modding mine as well.

**EDIT**
So, what size do you resize that .xcf file to (it's native size is HUGE). :)
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: kliclak on Fri, 03 April 2009, 22:24:45: Quote from: iMav;25694
I just wanted to chime in and say...GREAT JOB!! That keyboard is freakin' awesome looking.

What type of label did you use?? My blue Cherry tenkeyless Filco came with green LEDs...which I don't like nearly as much as the blues (which my cherry brown tenkeyless had) So may be modding mine as well.

**EDIT**
So, what size do you resize that .xcf file to (it's native size is HUGE). :)

Thanks for the kind words. As far as which label I used, it was just a standard Avery clear label for laser printers. I used a clear one so the light would shine through the "windows" I drew in it.

To make the lettering show up white, I some small peices of this white vinyl sheet stuff they use in RC hobbies called Monocoat on the sticky side of the label where the lettering shows through. I guess a few small, strategically placed bits of paper would do the same thing.

Of course you could probably just use some white labels and cut out the windows where the LEDs are with an exacto knife or something.

To resize the label (I drew it actual size in Gimp), if you are using Gimp, when you go to print it, click the Image Settings tab in the Print dialog box, and there you can dial in the exact size (in millimeters) that you want to print the label out.

This is my primary keyboard now. It looks so cool on my desk I don't want to use anything else. The only thing I noticed is an all black keyboard with the light texture finish on the plastic that this one has really shows the dust. A small price to pay though...
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Wed, 28 October 2009, 12:24:45: Quote from: kliclak;77968
Ok, will do.

I just took a couple other photos to post. It really looks better than the photos show.

Unicomp really needs to market these aggressively. The funny thing is, I would never have even searched out Unicomp (or even found out about the model M) if the Das Keyboard website had not praised the model M so highly. They say their keyboard "compares" with the model M. This one "compares" somewhat more faithfully though...the EXACT same key mechanism to be precise.

I just may make an all black Endurapro (with a bit of grease to quiet it down for use at work) my next project.

Show Image
(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/label2.jpg)

Show Image
(http://home.cogeco.ca/~docovich/keyboard1.jpg)

Is the grease injected directly into the "switch" ?
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 28 October 2009, 12:32:50: It's applied directly to the spring.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Wed, 28 October 2009, 12:40:51: Thanks. I will try that and also the washer trick from Wellington.
Title: Blue LEDS on a Unicomp Customizer
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Wed, 28 October 2009, 15:12:30: Quote from: ripster;128849
I never did the washer one. Couldn't find the right size.

That the most difficult part.