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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Sup on Tue, 26 June 2018, 05:11:26
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Hello i just bought a Mistel Barroco non RGB from a other user. I looked at a review and he disassembled the keyboard showing the PCB. I noticed it has holes and the solder points for RGB SMD leds. Does anyone know if i can solder SMD RGB leds to it and it will just work? I am thinking that the RGB and the NON RGB use the same firmware and PCB. Expect that the NON RGB doesn't have the SMD leds solderd to the board.
Also what kind of SMD RGB leds do i need "part number"? I searched on the internet but i got a lot of variety.
(https://i.imgur.com/XqNkLH6.png)
Maybe you guys could help me with this. This is probably the first time this is being tried since i haven't found anything on the internet about modding a non RGB Mistel Barroco to RGB.
EDIT: I found out its 4 Feet 3W RGB led. If i am wrong correct me please
(https://i.imgur.com/0QSOCda.png)
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RGB leds uses 4 legs. The component is called SMD5050
Non RGB uses two legs and is called SMD3528
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RGB leds uses 4 legs. The component is called SMD5050
Non RGB uses two legs and is called SMD3528
Thanks for the information the only thing i wonder now is if i solder to it if it works or not because the firmware could be different.
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You got to ask the manufacturer. I wouldn't see a point of not using the same firmware. Do you get voltage over the pins?
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The manufacturer might tell you, they may not even respond at all, in my experience, a lot hate to discuss specifics.
Hard to tell on the pics, but it looks like there is some resistors missing and probably some other components. It may even require swapping all of the LED resistors, removing some bits and adding new ones. In low volume it's far cheaper to make one universal pcb than to have two different ones, then just populate it differently.
That said, be careful, on the Magicforce, I found missing parts which indicated backlighting could be added, however it was found that the PCB for non-backlit was still not the same as the backlit pcb. I managed to bypass it and get backlights working but could not control them. Even if you swap the parts needed and install what is needed, there is no guarantee it will work because you never know what happened behind the scenes, in the case of Magicforce, it's possible they planned to make a single pcb, but found it was faulty, but they could still sell it as it was, then ordered a new batch with it working. The same could have happened on yours, you don't know. It may even require a different chip with the same mounting or other changes before it worked.
As for firmware, it may be the same firmware, but with something removed or disabled. Having two firmware is easy and costs nothing once initial development is done, just remove what is no longer need, you can script the changes so it compiles properly each time with little to no input. Unfortunately, that still doesn't mean it will be easy to alter if needed.
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The manufacturer might tell you, they may not even respond at all, in my experience, a lot hate to discuss specifics.
Hard to tell on the pics, but it looks like there is some resistors missing and probably some other components. It may even require swapping all of the LED resistors, removing some bits and adding new ones. In low volume it's far cheaper to make one universal pcb than to have two different ones, then just populate it differently.
That said, be careful, on the Magicforce, I found missing parts which indicated backlighting could be added, however it was found that the PCB for non-backlit was still not the same as the backlit pcb. I managed to bypass it and get backlights working but could not control them. Even if you swap the parts needed and install what is needed, there is no guarantee it will work because you never know what happened behind the scenes, in the case of Magicforce, it's possible they planned to make a single pcb, but found it was faulty, but they could still sell it as it was, then ordered a new batch with it working. The same could have happened on yours, you don't know. It may even require a different chip with the same mounting or other changes before it worked. You got to ask the manufacturer. I wouldn't see a point of not using the same firmware. Do you get voltage over the pins?
As for firmware, it may be the same firmware, but with something removed or disabled. Having two firmware is easy and costs nothing once initial development is done, just remove what is no longer need, you can script the changes so it compiles properly each time with little to no input. Unfortunately, that still doesn't mean it will be easy to alter if needed.
Yeah i emailed the manufacturer they used to be on Geekhack aswell but they are not active anymore. What i am hoping for is that everything is the same as the RGB version expect that it doesn't have the SMD RGB Leds solderd. I will wait for a answer if i don't get any i will just test it my self. And for the testing i think i am gonna order 5 RGB SMD leds and just press it against the 4 points and see if there is any reaction if not it was a nice try i guess.
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There may or may not be any juice to it until other components are added or removed.
I would start with a multimeter first, and not just check for voltage, but how much. You also may need to follow the traces, don't be surprised I they reused some of the same traces for two functions since getting that many traces to each socket can be a challenge with only one or two layers. It's pretty easy to branch off at the nearest resistor rather than running a whole new trace.