I had some ruined pads on a pcb not too long ago
my fix is detailed here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=95766
I had some ruined pads on a pcb not too long ago
my fix is detailed here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=95766
Thanks, your pictures raise a question: are the traces the light green strips between the dark green lines, or are they the dark green lines themselves?
I think a big issue with this is going to be stabilizing the switch and getting it straight since that was the whole problem to begin with.
I had some ruined pads on a pcb not too long ago
my fix is detailed here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=95766
Thanks, your pictures raise a question: are the traces the light green strips between the dark green lines, or are they the dark green lines themselves?
I think a big issue with this is going to be stabilizing the switch and getting it straight since that was the whole problem to begin with.
the light green strips cover copper traces, the dark green sections separate those traces
because your pad is gone, you'll have to carefully scrape away the top layer on the trace that the pad used to connect to, like i did in my photo here:Show Image(https://geekhack.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=95766.0;attach=196351;image)
ie you need to scrape away this red part to reveal the copper underneath, then put some solder on it
(Attachment Link)
then after the clean the switch and put it back, you'll need to build up a big glob of solder that eventually latches itself onto the trace's solder and connects them up
(Attachment Link)
just a heads up tho, this **** is pretty difficult, and will be even more difficult without the proper tools (iron, heat setting, tip, etc)
Something you can also try is to use a silver PCB repair pen, though this will depend on the damage how effective it is.
I had some ruined pads on a pcb not too long ago
my fix is detailed here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=95766
Thanks, your pictures raise a question: are the traces the light green strips between the dark green lines, or are they the dark green lines themselves?
I think a big issue with this is going to be stabilizing the switch and getting it straight since that was the whole problem to begin with.
the light green strips cover copper traces, the dark green sections separate those traces
because your pad is gone, you'll have to carefully scrape away the top layer on the trace that the pad used to connect to, like i did in my photo here:Show Image(https://geekhack.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=95766.0;attach=196351;image)
ie you need to scrape away this red part to reveal the copper underneath, then put some solder on it
(Attachment Link)
then after the clean the switch and put it back, you'll need to build up a big glob of solder that eventually latches itself onto the trace's solder and connects them up
(Attachment Link)
just a heads up tho, this **** is pretty difficult, and will be even more difficult without the proper tools (iron, heat setting, tip, etc)
excellent! it's a good feeling lolI had some ruined pads on a pcb not too long ago
my fix is detailed here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=95766
Thanks, your pictures raise a question: are the traces the light green strips between the dark green lines, or are they the dark green lines themselves?
I think a big issue with this is going to be stabilizing the switch and getting it straight since that was the whole problem to begin with.
the light green strips cover copper traces, the dark green sections separate those traces
because your pad is gone, you'll have to carefully scrape away the top layer on the trace that the pad used to connect to, like i did in my photo here:Show Image(https://geekhack.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=95766.0;attach=196351;image)
ie you need to scrape away this red part to reveal the copper underneath, then put some solder on it
(Attachment Link)
then after the clean the switch and put it back, you'll need to build up a big glob of solder that eventually latches itself onto the trace's solder and connects them up
(Attachment Link)
just a heads up tho, this **** is pretty difficult, and will be even more difficult without the proper tools (iron, heat setting, tip, etc)
Nmur, thank you!!! I just did this successfully. It actually wasn't all that difficult. I just scraped the trace with a pocket knife until I saw silver, bent the switch pin as close as I could get it, and soldered to it. The only tricky part was heating up the trace enough that solder would stick to it. You saved me $55 on a new PCB and the huge pain of desoldering all the switches.
Possibly a dumb idea, but can you just connect a piece of solder wire from the broken switch to a key that you don't use?
I lifted the pad on my space bar on a wkl build and I was thinking of just connecting it to the key to the immediate right which I never use and have that programmed as the spacebar.
Possibly a dumb idea, but can you just connect a piece of solder wire from the broken switch to a key that you don't use?
I lifted the pad on my space bar on a wkl build and I was thinking of just connecting it to the key to the immediate right which I never use and have that programmed as the spacebar.
Cool, thanks for the tips, I'll give the scratch method a try.
@Blaise170, basically after some solder is melted leave the strand of solder right there then do the same to the other side.
Ok, guys, I have finally fixed it for good (I hope).
As mentioned earlier, I snipped two sections of a Molex-to-SATA power cable and soldered them to the BACKSLASH switch and soldered the other end to unused key's pads. At first, I connected them to the unused pads next to ENTER, but the QMK Configurator did not allow me to access that spot on the PCB separately from the main ENTER. I probably could have figured out a way to set up a QMK environment and make it work, but I am dumb and lazy and would rather just use the configurator. I noticed that the configurator does allow for a split backspace, so I desoldered the wires from ENTER and connected them to the outermost BACKSPACE spot. Then I remapped BACKSPACE to BACKSLASH. On the keymap it's basically the reverse of what a split backspace layout would look like (BACKSPACE on the left and BACKSLASH on the right), which still works since I'm using a regular ANSI layout. I put some electrical tape around the wires and at the solder point since a stabilizer screw goes right on top of one of them.
Crisis averted (for now).
Thanks for all the help, everyone. This was a pain in the butt, but I wouldn't have been able to fix it without your suggestions.
Ok, guys, I have finally fixed it for good (I hope).
As mentioned earlier, I snipped two sections of a Molex-to-SATA power cable and soldered them to the BACKSLASH switch and soldered the other end to unused key's pads. At first, I connected them to the unused pads next to ENTER, but the QMK Configurator did not allow me to access that spot on the PCB separately from the main ENTER. I probably could have figured out a way to set up a QMK environment and make it work, but I am dumb and lazy and would rather just use the configurator. I noticed that the configurator does allow for a split backspace, so I desoldered the wires from ENTER and connected them to the outermost BACKSPACE spot. Then I remapped BACKSPACE to BACKSLASH. On the keymap it's basically the reverse of what a split backspace layout would look like (BACKSPACE on the left and BACKSLASH on the right), which still works since I'm using a regular ANSI layout. I put some electrical tape around the wires and at the solder point since a stabilizer screw goes right on top of one of them.
Crisis averted (for now).
Thanks for all the help, everyone. This was a pain in the butt, but I wouldn't have been able to fix it without your suggestions.
WTH kavik, we did not tell you to do that at all.. hahahaha
For whatever reason, scratching the trace open and soldering directly to it only worked for an hour or so, and then the switch stopped responding reliably.
Aren't there support legs on the bottom of the switch that fit into the PCB? If these are intact the switch should be sturdy.
For whatever reason, scratching the trace open and soldering directly to it only worked for an hour or so, and then the switch stopped responding reliably.
Hrrrrmm.. it could be a few things.
If the switch isn't inserted all the way, then the misalignment would cause the joint to fail when pressed.
The scratched trace contact isn't 100% clean (not fully scratched).
There might not be enough surface area scratched open for the solder to properly bond.
DID you rub the scratched contact with rosin.. you gotta rub it down with alcohol, then rosin.