Convert a DasKeyboard to removable USB?

[Ch0nG]

I have a DasKeyboard (Model S Ultimate/DASK3ULTMS1-CO) that, as far as I can tell, has a short in the USB cord. This renders a great keyboard almost unusable. Unfortunately, my Das has been out of warranty for a while so I'm asking for advice on how to repair it.

I'm interested in changing it to a removable USB so that the cable can be easily replaced if it breaks in the future. Of course, this may not be the best option as it does introduce another point of failure. What would the community recommend? Just fixing the USB cable, or converting it to a removable USB?

Also, if anyone has pictures of a repair process that would be very helpful. I can probably figure it out without pictures but they would be greatly appreciated.

[oTurtlez]

Simple. find a cable with a USB Mini-B Female end, cut your das cable, cut the end off (leaving a good 3 inches of cable to work with) from the mini-b cable, splice it with the das' cable, heatshrink, and voila! Detachable cable.

[esoomenona]

That won't work. There is another set of cables running through there for the USB hub. You would need to wire up two cables and two ports, I would imagine...

[oTurtlez]

That won't work. There is another set of cables running through there for the USB hub. You would need to wire up two cables and two ports, I would imagine...

I didn't know the Das had a hub. I should stop giving people advice before they listen... *cough* MY *cough*

[Leslieann]

You could wire up one or two normal USB cables.

Alternatively, you could block off one of the USB hub ports, and direct wire the keyboard itself to just that port, internally. This would leave the keyboard essentially untouched externally. It means your keyboard would go through a hub, but that shouldn't really be an issue.

Other options:
Wire up two usb ports on back and use two usb cables to connect the keyboard.
Just use one cable and eliminate the hub (or use the hubs cable, just change where it connects inside

Remember, it's just wires, you could get a Filco replacement cable from one of the sleevers here and just cut the Filco end off if you wanted.

[Ch0nG]

Thank you for the replies and assistance, everyone.

Alternatively, you could block off one of the USB hub ports, and direct wire the keyboard itself to just that port, internally. This would leave the keyboard essentially untouched externally. It means your keyboard would go through a hub, but that shouldn't really be an issue.

This piqued my interest. I haven't opened the keyboard yet but that sounds like a interesting idea. Is it fairly easy to do? Unless I am misunderstanding, with that mod I would use a A-male-to-A-male USB cable to run the keyboard, plugging one end into the appropriate hub port and the other end into the PC USB (which makes cable replacement easy).

Remember, it's just wires, you could get a Filco replacement cable from one of the sleevers here and just cut the Filco end off if you wanted.

Gotcha. I am guessing I just have to find a USB cable, match the wires (by color?) and solder them together. If that's the case, I found a cable on Amazon that is a "Mini-B Male to 2 USB A Male Y-Cable" that may work. According to reviews the second part of the Y-Cable is just for power, which I assume is what the "Hub" end does on the existing cable.

Code: [Select]

http://www.amazon.com/C2G-Cables-28107-Mini-B-Y-Cable/dp/B0013LQD7Y
If that cable works would I basically cut the Mini-B end off, splice into the DasKeyboard cable and solder color-to-color? If that's the case then I would have no problem doing that. As I mentioned I am a bit more interested in the hub idea, though, depending on how it is implemented.

[Topre]

The hub wire of the keyboard is for the hub only. The keyboard wire is only for the keyboard. The hub wire is not only for power, or else it won't transmit data when you connect the keyboard to a PS/2 port. To only use one wire, you will need to attach the keyboard wire to one of the USB ports. You should not use that USB port after attaching the keyboard wire to it.

[Leslieann]

This piqued my interest. I haven't opened the keyboard yet but that sounds like a interesting idea. Is it fairly easy to do? Unless I am misunderstanding, with that mod I would use a A-male-to-A-male USB cable to run the keyboard, plugging one end into the appropriate hub port and the other end into the PC USB (which makes cable replacement easy).

No, doing that would still use your existing cable.
I'm saying desolder the keyboard cable inside, and run wires inside from those points to the solder points of one of the usb ports, then block off that usb port.

[Ch0nG]

No, doing that would still use your existing cable.
I'm saying desolder the keyboard cable inside, and run wires inside from those points to the solder points of one of the usb ports, then block off that usb port.

So, does the single cable that powers and pushes data from the USB port also run the keyboard in this situation? If that's the case would the repair/modification go something like this?:

1) Desolder the existing keyboard cable.
2) Wire/Solder a new cable from the keyboard points to the solder points for one of the USBs. From then onward that specific port is not used.
3) Solder another wire to the data/hub points (not soldered to one of the USBs). This USB cable would be plugged into the PC and run both the keyboard and the unused USB port.

Is that correct? If not, I am getting tripped up in that I don't see how the keyboard (once it's wired internally) is connected to the PC, since the keyboard-wired USB port isn't used.

Thanks for your time and patience. 

[divito]

For anyone interested, this is what it looks like:



The connector at the top left portion of the controller is the one and only cable, so it also runs the hub.

[Leslieann]

The connector is a bi-level connector, looking from the top down (like in the picture), the upper level is the USB hub (based on the labeling and a quick tracing of the paths), the lower set is the keyboard connection.

My advice, don't cut any wires inside, at least not yet.
Flip the pcb over and connect a set of wires to the first row of pins (the keyboard wire connection), then run those over to the USB port and solder them in place, all on the underside. Connect only the USB hub cable and see if things work, so long as only one cable is ever connected, you shouldn't do any harm or confuse the computer.

Once you have it working, you can decide how to deal with the cord so you can't accidentally plug it in. You can either clip it internally near the connector (leave a tail), cut the USB connector off the end of the external cable or simply tape up the connector.


The upper half looks identical to a stock Filco connector (which is a Molex connector), so a custom sleeved Filco cable will probably plug right into the hub half.

[Ch0nG]

So I bought a cable from tjcaustin and it looks pretty nice. 

The cable I ordered makes the USB hub work but I want to rewire the cable so it makes the keyboard work instead.

I was going to just cut the wires on the Das connector and wire-up the cable I ordered from MiMiC to it, then plug it back into the daughterboard. However, I'm not sure what color does what.

Here's a potato pic of the keyboard side of the original (Das) cable:


TJ's picture of the cable I bought:

[Leslieann]

You should probably be able to just remove the connector from TJ and put the Das connector on, looks like they use the same pin system. You shouldn't need to cut it. Take pics of both sides and store them somewhere safe.

As for colors, odds are they follow the same wiring order, which is standard USB., and looking at the wires leads me to think that to be the case here. Being low voltage and amperage, odds of damaging something are pretty slim as well even if you are incorrect (been there, done that).


Looking closer, I wonder if you can just shave off the offending tabs/plastic on the connector TJ sent and plug it right in.

[Ch0nG]

I forgot to take pics of the entire process but I took a little DIY route:

- I cut the Das cord ends off and soldered them to the Mimic cable. The cables fit securely in the molex connector this way.
- I also pulled out the Dremel and carved notches in the mini-USB end as well as the Das housing so it fits snug and secure. The end product looks like this: