Desoldering and modding a backlit plate mounted keyboard

[berserkfan]

Hello, it's your resident barbarian planning his next assault on a keyboard.

I have a backlit keyboard. I am fed up looking at the color. I also detest the black switches.

I would like to desolder everything and do AGmurdercore's plate mod to make the plate capable of changing switches. I am working on jailhouse blues, and these guys require a lot of work. I have to take them out and put them in several times.

Being not highly competent in fine work, I am not sure what to do about the LEDs. I can take them out, but I'm not confident about putting LEDs back in.

My questions:

1) Can I start by changing the switches, and just take out the LEDs? IE it's become an LED keyboard with no LEDs. I dont' want to burn things out.

2) WHen I am happy with my jailhouse blues, can I put in the LEDs later just by sticking them into the switches, turning over the pcb and soldering?

3) After I solder the LEDs in, will I be prevented from changing stems in future because the LED flange gets in the way or something? I have to ask this question because as anyone who has worked on jailhouse blues knows, these things require a lot of tinkering and adjustment and sometimes the feel isn't consistent and must be redone.

[phx]

you cant open the switch without de-soldering the LED, the board doesnt need LED to function, pretty sure it wont burn out.

edit: also, before you de-solder it, make sure you note the orientation of the LED because it only lights up 1 way, you cant reverse it
if one stem isnt noticeably longer than the other you can look at the inside

[RabRhee]

There is always the SIP option, as seen here:

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=51792.0

Doing this for a fully lit board may be an extreme task, but it would also give you the flexibility you are after.

[tp4tissue]

an insane amount of labor ahead... 


You don't need the LEDs for the function of the board..


The only time there MAY be a problem is if one trace path is at a junction, and the surrounding has been damaged slightly by desoldering, and you need a large solder point in the middle to bridge it all to common ground.  _  this is extremely rare, so I wouldn't worry about it..


every thing should work as you've planned..

[jdcarpe]

Which keyboard is it? It would be much easier, but maybe a bit more costly (I don't know what value you put on your own labor time), to simply have a new plate fabricated from steel.


Also, you can cut or drill out the plastic from the switch housing tops where the LED is mounted, so that you can remove the top without desoldering the LED.