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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Vox on Mon, 21 August 2017, 22:33:07
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So I have a Razer Blackwidow 2014 Ultimate and I I'm now working on making some improvements for it (Painted case, painted plate, new switches, new LEDs). I saw a post on Reddit where this guy put a USB C port on his Logitech G710+ (https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/6uvd6t/i_just_turned_my_g710_into_usbc_for_absolutely_no/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/6uvd6t/i_just_turned_my_g710_into_usbc_for_absolutely_no/) )and now I really want to do the same on my Blackwidow. However, there seems to be a problem. Razer implemented a USB, headphone, and mic passthrough on this keyboard so the connector between the PCB and the cable is more complicated than I can understand. I was thinking of cutting the connector on the side of the cable off and soldering them to the USB c breakout board but because all the passthroughs and the USB for the keyboard itself go through that one connector, how would I know which wire to solder what to? I had the idea of tracing the wires from the USB on the side that connects to my computer to the connector back to the connnector but that would mean that I would have to cut the cable open and deface it. If the project ended up not working, I couldn't use the original cable again. Are there any other ways I can identify which wires I should connect to what? Or maybe if anyone has some experience or knowledge on this sort of thing and could give me some tips? I don't think I explained my problem very well so here are some pictures of the connector and please ask for clarification or more info if it could be needed. Thanks, guys!
[attach=1][attach=2][attach=3]
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look at the pcb in the first picture, follow those traces, (lines from the connector) and you should be able to figure it out.
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ok, thanks for the tip!
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How did this project end up? Did it work?
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I haven't received the USB c breakout board yet so I can't tell you how that ended up but the rest of the project is going great. I've painted the top piece of plastic and the plate. I've soldered on the gateron blacks (I've never tried out a linear switch before so I'm very interested in how it will feel). And now I have got about half of the white LEDs on. I should have the LEDs on today so I'll probably post an update on those things soon. The breakout board is supposed to only come in 2 weeks (I chose the cheapest options). But I'll definitely post an update for that when I get that on.
How did this project end up? Did it work?
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yeah, this is not going well. I think I messed up which wires are what of the USB or something and it was a pain in the ass to get the wires from the USB C connector to the connector to the PCB joined. Well, I'll try again soon. It's kind of sad to see this once-great keyboard never turn on again.
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Damn that sucks dude, hopefully you can figure it out.
The other day I was desoldering switches and it killed one of my pads, then I had to scratch off the protective film on one of the traces to get it reconnect again.
Moral of the story is that took me 3 tries but I eventually got it, I'm pretty sure you can figure it out eventually.
Or hopefully there will be more expert on this matter that will chime in later. :)