My Poker needs an exorcism

[Sagii]

Okey, so, I've been toying a bit around with soldering, and ended up desoldering my poker 2 with clears, and modding it with 62g springs. I got it all back in one piece, except my V key didn't work. Realised I had been an idiot, and managed to pull a small part of the ciruitry off. Managed to get it back to working condition by holding the thread down and putting a small blob of solder on top of it.
Long story short: Everything was working fine for a couple of days, until the keyboard got posessed by some demon. Trust me, I've seen Supernatural, I know my sh**.
Whenever I plug it in, my computer goes nuts. Opened notepad, and it keeps typing "ASDFJK" or something like that over and over, plus obviously some other keys too, becuase my mouse gets screwed up as well, and some other stuff won't work either.

So, I'm guessing there's something wrong with my soldering job, but can't figure out what. Everything looks fine (solder joints, etc.), except at the V key, where I had to do some shady fixing. But, the V key wouldn't have anything to do with the rest of the keyboard, would it? So why does it type ASDFJK over and over? O_o I seriously need some help here.

PS: I won't be able to get any pictures of the PCB until I get home on friday/saturday, but was hoping someone might know if there is anything else wrong, even though it's quite likely it's the PCB. Might also be smart to mention I got absolutely no experience with anything electrical or fancy like that, so pardon me if I'm being really stupid about something.

[Defect]

Hi Sagii,

Glad you got into soldering, but sorry to hear about this misfortune.  It will be easier to diagnose after seeing photos but it sounds like a soldering issue.  You can ask some of the talented guys around here to show you how to jump the connection with a but of wire (if the pad is damaged beyond repair)

Send photos of all the contacts.  Might not just be the V key.

Hope it works out.

[Signature]

Hi Sagii,

Glad you got into soldering, but sorry to hear about this misfortune.  It will be easier to diagnose after seeing photos but it sounds like a soldering issue.  You can ask some of the talented guys around here to show you how to jump the connection with a but of wire (if the pad is damaged beyond repair)

Send photos of all the contacts.  Might not just be the V key.

Hope it works out.

It seems like the keyboard is "defect", heh...

nah but fo real it sounds like you have shorted a connector or made a weird macro setting

[Sagii]

Yeah, it defo sounds like a soldering problem, so I'll post pictures in a couple days
Was just hoping it might've been something else!
Woulda been a hell of a macro though !

EDIT: @Defect: soldering was a LOT of fun.. only burned myself bout three times too ) I'm praising the ergo clears from now on, that's for sure!

[Hellcatz]

Do you have a metal case by any chance?

[Sagii]

Do you have a metal case by any chance?

Nope, I don't

[Sagii]

Okey, so I just took the keyboard apart, and took some pictures. They are as potato'y as it's possible to get, but I figured someone might be able to see something anyway.

First one's of the area where asdf etc. are, and the next one is a closeup of the stupidly ugly fix I did to the V key. I took some more photos of other areas, but figured I'd let someone say which part they want a closeup of, before I post it.

[iAmAhab]

There is probably a short circuit somewhere on the board based on the behavior you are describing. The culprit does not necessary have to be the work on the V key even though it does not look good. Would try to desolder one switch at a time making sure that there is no solder shorting any pads. Another possibility is that you heated up the circuit to much when you were trying to fix the V key. As the controller is quite near it might have been fried.

[Sagii]

There is probably a short circuit somewhere on the board based on the behavior you are describing. The culprit does not necessary have to be the work on the V key even though it does not look good. Would try to desolder one switch at a time making sure that there is no solder shorting any pads. Another possibility is that you heated up the circuit to much when you were trying to fix the V key. As the controller is quite near it might have been fried.

Ah, your last reasoning there sounds VERY likely... I got frustrated when desoldering the damn thing, and I probably had the iron there for way too long (I know that I used way more time on that particular switch than any other switch). Rookie mistake, I guess.
Is there any way to check wether the controller is fried or nah? Or if it is a short circuit somewhere, how would I go about checking for it? Is the best way to simply desolder and check at every switch?

Sorry if these questions get repetetive or stupid, but I really know nothing about PCBs/similar stuff.

[iAmAhab]

Desolder one and check. Rinse and repeat. I forgot to add that part. As for the controller being fried I think it is unlikely but it is a possibility. They are usually quite robust and can take some abuse. It can be very hard to verify without desoldering it and placing it in a controlled environment for testing.

Edit: soldering can require some practice to get right. Always try to keep the heating of the circuit to a minimum. If you don't get the desired result the first time it is better to back of and wait a little while before doing another attempt.

[Sagii]

Desolder one and check. Rinse and repeat. I forgot to add that part. As for the controller being fried I think it is unlikely but it is a possibility. They are usually quite robust and can take some abuse. It can be very hard to verify without desoldering it and placing it in a controlled environment for testing.

Edit: soldering can require some practice to get right. Always try to keep the heating of the circuit to a minimum. If you don't get the desired result the first time it is better to back of and wait a little while before doing another attempt.

Yepyep, I was very careful not overheating any places ) But as said, I got hella frustrated with that damn V key, so might've screwed up something there.. However, on the rest of the board I had no problems, and I doubt I damaged the PCB in any way. However, when I desolder the switches, what exactly am I supposed to check for ? O_o I never caught that part!

[Defect]

Desolder one and check. Rinse and repeat. I forgot to add that part. As for the controller being fried I think it is unlikely but it is a possibility. They are usually quite robust and can take some abuse. It can be very hard to verify without desoldering it and placing it in a controlled environment for testing.

Edit: soldering can require some practice to get right. Always try to keep the heating of the circuit to a minimum. If you don't get the desired result the first time it is better to back of and wait a little while before doing another attempt.

Yepyep, I was very careful not overheating any places ) But as said, I got hella frustrated with that damn V key, so might've screwed up something there.. However, on the rest of the board I had no problems, and I doubt I damaged the PCB in any way. However, when I desolder the switches, what exactly am I supposed to check for ? O_o I never caught that part!

Desolder the V switch entirely and connect your keyboard.  See if it is still behaving oddly.

On a side note, does your iron have some kind of temperature control?  Looks like either your heat was too high, or it was too low and you held it in place/on the PCB for too long.

Good news is that you are learning to solder!  If the poker doesn't survive...it'll at least work as a practice board.  You can also decorate it as a photo-op or novelty collecting board.  Put different switches on it and make it an offline switch tester (though i prefer switch testers to be in working condition--live feedback is important).

[Sagii]

Desolder one and check. Rinse and repeat. I forgot to add that part. As for the controller being fried I think it is unlikely but it is a possibility. They are usually quite robust and can take some abuse. It can be very hard to verify without desoldering it and placing it in a controlled environment for testing.

Edit: soldering can require some practice to get right. Always try to keep the heating of the circuit to a minimum. If you don't get the desired result the first time it is better to back of and wait a little while before doing another attempt.

Yepyep, I was very careful not overheating any places ) But as said, I got hella frustrated with that damn V key, so might've screwed up something there.. However, on the rest of the board I had no problems, and I doubt I damaged the PCB in any way. However, when I desolder the switches, what exactly am I supposed to check for ? O_o I never caught that part!

Desolder the V switch entirely and connect your keyboard.  See if it is still behaving oddly.

On a side note, does your iron have some kind of temperature control?  Looks like either your heat was too high, or it was too low and you held it in place/on the PCB for too long.

Good news is that you are learning to solder!  If the poker doesn't survive...it'll at least work as a practice board.  You can also decorate it as a photo-op or novelty collecting board.  Put different switches on it and make it an offline switch tester (though i prefer switch testers to be in working condition--live feedback is important).

Desoldering the V key is a good idea However, I'm scared I won't get the V back in working condition afterwards, given how it looks right now.. anyone got some tips for that?

And well, I'm won't be too heartbroken if the Poker PCB is screwed up, 'cause that means I can buy something else without having my GF roll her eyes ) I really got my eye on ergonomic DIY (ergodox, diverge, etc.) atm, so I'd like to try something like that out!

[berserkfan]

Poker is easy to program, but that also means it is easy to screw up. Have you gone through their manual first? It doesn't sound to me like a V key problem.

[Sagii]

Poker is easy to program, but that also means it is easy to screw up. Have you gone through their manual first? It doesn't sound to me like a V key problem.

It doesn't sound like a V key problem to me either, but I can't for my dear life understand how the hell I've managed to program it to press "ASDFJK" over and over and over again.

EDIT: And the thing is, no other keys work while it's writing that. So there's no way I can reset the macros or anything.. ._.

EDIT2: And btw, my right CTRL, which is used to program, is a broken switch that has no way of being activated, so there's literally NO WAY I could've been able to program anything.

[berserkfan]

asdfjk are on the same row of the keyboard matrix. V is not on the same row.

I suggest you ignore V for now. This has something to do with your keyboard matrix/ controller for that row.

[Defect]

asdfjk are on the same row of the keyboard matrix. V is not on the same row.

I suggest you ignore V for now. This has something to do with your keyboard matrix/ controller for that row.

Listen to berserk over me.

EDIT2: And btw, my right CTRL, which is used to program, is a broken switch that has no way of being activated, so there's literally NO WAY I could've been able to program anything.

Desolder your "P" or something else and swap it with CTRL?

[Sagii]

Desolder your "P" or something else and swap it with CTRL?

Wait, why would I do that? So that I could check the macros? Well, I just friggin' realised I haven't even tried to reset the board to factory settings.. but as said earlier, no other keys work, so doubt I'll be able to do it. Worth a shot though.

If it has something to do with my controller, there really is no way of knowing, is there?

UPDATE: So, I actually managed to reset it to factory settings, and it seems like the ASDFJK actually stopped! However, I still have a problem with the shift key (forgot to mention that earlier). The shift key, whenever I connect the keyboard, will start being pressed rapidly over and over. If I disconnect the KB, it keeps going, and to make it stop I have to DC the KB and restart the computer. And yes, I've tried FN+Z to see if that was the problem... it ain't.

So... I guess I'll just have to desolder the SHIFT key, and see if that fixes it, right ?

[berserkfan]

Yes, it is starting to appear to be a problem of the electrical signals being transmitted nonstop/ aka keys being actuated when you are not touching them.

[Sagii]

Yes, it is starting to appear to be a problem of the electrical signals being transmitted nonstop/ aka keys being actuated when you are not touching them.

Yup.. Haven't got time to solder/desolder anything tonight, but I'll try and see if I got the time to desolder the SHIFT key tomorrow, and I'll see if that fixes it.

[Sagii]

So.. I realised I might as well try 'n desolder tonight, so I did. Desolder both shift keys, made sure there's nothing in dem holes that could activate them, and plugged it in. Guess what? The shift key is still being activated... .____. Does this mean its the controller's fault?
Oh, and btw... The repeated ASDFJK has stopped, HOWEVER, now it writes ASDFJK once, then stops, and keeps holding down the shift key. I'm so confused

[iAmAhab]

You are on the right trail. Just continue desoldering and checking board behavior. If you end up desoldering every switch and make sure there is no shorts anywhere due to "renegade" solder, you can be pretty sure it's the controllers fault.

[Sagii]

You are on the right trail. Just continue desoldering and checking board behavior. If you end up desoldering every switch and make sure there is no shorts anywhere due to "renegade" solder, you can be pretty sure it's the controllers fault.

Alright, fair 'nuff. Would I be right thinking if I desolder all switches being activated while plugged in, and it still activates, I can be quite sure it's the contoller? Assuming there's nothing extra activating them, that is.

[Sagii]

Sorry for necroing this thread, but figured it might be better than starting a whole new thread. Just wanted to say that I got it working after desoldering the switches that were going bananas, and then resoldering them. However, after one to two days later it started doing exactly the same thing once again. Tha hell is wrong with this board?
A lot has been happening at uni, so haven't really had time to troubleshoot any more (my equipment is back at my parents' house).

EDIT: But I'm going back this weekend, so wanted to see if someone had any ideas!

[rowdy]

Reopening this thread was the best choice - it is a continuation of the same problem.

Maybe there is a bad joint somewhere that you temporarily fixed, either by flexing the PCB or applying heat near it or something, and it magically started to work.  but after being left alone for a while just stopped again by itself.

[Sagii]

Reopening this thread was the best choice - it is a continuation of the same problem.

Maybe there is a bad joint somewhere that you temporarily fixed, either by flexing the PCB or applying heat near it or something, and it magically started to work.  but after being left alone for a while just stopped again by itself.

God knows.. I really got no idea. First I thought there were some leftover solder or something, that got fixed when I desoldered everything, but I guess that ain't it, considering the problem's still there (I made sure there was no bad soldering joints when resoldering it). Could it be that another switch is screwing with the switches that are actually screwing up? Only switches I fully desoldered were the ones that didn't work, so that might be it.

If I can't fix this however, I am planning to try 'n make a custom keyboard, something similar to what Oobly did. It's a win-win no matter what at this point