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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: joneslee85 on Mon, 13 January 2014, 03:58:55

Title: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: joneslee85 on Mon, 13 January 2014, 03:58:55
I have been a fan of reversible connector like the Lightning connector on the iPhone 5. Whilst the USB type C will see no light till next year, I am thinking of getting parts from the iPhone 5 port to see if I could swap the mini-USB with lightning. Before doing so, I would like to ask experts here if there are anything I should be aware of
Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: moogle on Mon, 13 January 2014, 04:06:08
i'd imagine it be impossible; seeing as the lightning connector is proprietary to apple products and there's probably a lack of support for such compatibility on the poker pcb
Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: pexon on Mon, 13 January 2014, 04:06:58
You'll have lots of fun trying to get 9 pins to sit flush on the PCB and matching them up to the 4-5 solder points on the PCB of the board. It will involve some cutting and bending of the pins on the female connector to get it to sit in the correct position for soldering. Weird that you like the lightning connector, I hate them, exposed contacts are a silly idea, IMO.
Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: joneslee85 on Mon, 13 January 2014, 04:32:58
You'll have lots of fun trying to get 9 pins to sit flush on the PCB and matching them up to the 4-5 solder points on the PCB of the board. It will involve some cutting and bending of the pins on the female connector to get it to sit in the correct position for soldering. Weird that you like the lightning connector, I hate them, exposed contacts are a silly idea, IMO.

I foresee such difficulty yet I see the gain in convenience and learning.

IMHO plugging cable should be done easily with closed eyes

Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: joneslee85 on Mon, 13 January 2014, 04:39:18
Maybe I should wait for USB Type C

http://www.datapro.net/news/usb-group-announces-usb-3-1-type-c.html
Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: tp4tissue on Mon, 13 January 2014, 05:24:15
not impossible..

but.. ah... WHY go through all that work?
Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: daerid on Mon, 13 January 2014, 10:48:33
The lightning connector is not just the connector. There's a proprietary chip with custom firmware in the iPhone that detects the orientation of the connector and re-routes the pins to go where they need to so the phone can be powered and data transferred.

You'd have to replicate that in the firmware of the keyboard, which means you'd need a custom PCB at the very least.
Title: Re: Plan to mod my Poker 2 with Lightning connector
Post by: joneslee85 on Mon, 13 January 2014, 14:58:16
The lightning connector is not just the connector. There's a proprietary chip with custom firmware in the iPhone that detects the orientation of the connector and re-routes the pins to go where they need to so the phone can be powered and data transferred.

You'd have to replicate that in the firmware of the keyboard, which means you'd need a custom PCB at the very least.

The lightning connector is not just the connector. There's a proprietary chip with custom firmware in the iPhone that detects the orientation of the connector and re-routes the pins to go where they need to so the phone can be powered and data transferred.

You'd have to replicate that in the firmware of the keyboard, which means you'd need a custom PCB at the very least.

The lightning connector is not just the connector. There's a proprietary chip with custom firmware in the iPhone that detects the orientation of the connector and re-routes the pins to go where they need to so the phone can be powered and data transferred.

You'd have to replicate that in the firmware of the keyboard, which means you'd need a custom PCB at the very least.

I'm aware of that too. Apple seems to have a special part to do orientation on the fly. There is no documentation on the net, more likely I have to reverse-engineer every pin