Author Topic: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard  (Read 1434 times)

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Offline springery

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Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 05:32:53 »
Hello everyone, I'm having trouble with my keyboard and would like to ask for help, I hope this is the correct section to post in. Thanks for for any help in advance.

I'm not sure if the keyboard is fubar, software problem or problem between keyboard and chair ! (Me).

I have a Pure Pro 60% keyboard (MX Blues) and my right arrow is sending " bn/ " instead of whatever it supposed to. Its a UK keyboard layout.

I have home modded it by replacing the leds from magenta/pink to green all seem to work ok, I cant see that I have damaged the board anywhere,  I checked the small signal diode on the switch it seems good.  re soldered it as well, made no difference.

Tried it on another machine still the same.

The circuit board says " IKBC -POKERPRO-K67A-2-01-06 "

I have all the DIP Switches set to OFF and have run the reset procedure with no luck.

Any ideas or help would be very greatfully received.

Hopeing its not FUBAR as I love it now I have a Mechanical KB


Offline rowdy

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Re: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 05:40:21 »
I'm not familiar with the specifics of that PCB, however others might like a nice closeup (in focus!) picture of the area on the PCB around the suspect key :)
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

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Offline springery

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Re: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 05:56:23 »
will try and get some pictures up soon.
« Last Edit: Wed, 30 July 2014, 06:47:41 by springery »

Offline springery

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Re: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 06:34:36 »
Here is some pictures:













I'm  sure as I can be that the soldering is sound !

Offline Oobly

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Re: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 07:13:54 »
I'm sure the problem isn't there at the arrow switch itself, but rather somewhere else where a track has been scratched, broken or bridged by something conductive or a component is faulty / incorrectly mounted.

What is all that gumph around the soldered LED contacts? Clean up the board and take another high resolution shot of the whole board and maybe we can help find the problem. Follow the traces that connect to the right arrow, B, N and / keys and see if you can spot anything odd (scratch, solder residue, etc). It could also be a faulty diode or that one of them is facing the wrong way. The black line should be on the same side as the thin line of the solder mask diagram, the unmarked side should be on the side of the base of the triangle.

Can't see the drawing under it clearly from the pictures, but is diode 53 the right way round?
Buying more keycaps,
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Offline springery

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Re: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 08:32:44 »
I'm sure the problem isn't there at the arrow switch itself, but rather somewhere else where a track has been scratched, broken or bridged by something conductive or a component is faulty / incorrectly mounted.

What is all that gumph around the soldered LED contacts? Clean up the board and take another high resolution shot of the whole board and maybe we can help find the problem. Follow the traces that connect to the right arrow, B, N and / keys and see if you can spot anything odd (scratch, solder residue, etc). It could also be a faulty diode or that one of them is facing the wrong way. The black line should be on the same side as the thin line of the solder mask diagram, the unmarked side should be on the side of the base of the triangle.

Can't see the drawing under it clearly from the pictures, but is diode 53 the right way round?

thank you for your reply Oobly, D53 is facing the other way , but it is correct by the solder mask print, which on this board has the black line on the diode nearest to the thick line on the mask.

Here is two pictures as best I can get at the moment.

I can't see any damage like cut traces or bad joints, my eyes are not the best using a loupe though.

There was solder flux residue on the joints I have cleaned it off with isoprpanol alcohol , still sending "bn/" in note pad.

If I have the Leds on and press the right arrow key fast it will start to increase the brightness level of the Leds to full which is strange, makes me think the firmware maybe corupted or something like that.

We have had storms here recently, maybe it picked up an impulse or something ?






Offline springery

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Re: Help needed not sure whats wrong with my keyboard
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 30 July 2014, 11:06:53 »
Found The Problem

After looking at the board for 20 minuits solid with a loupe, I just noticed a slight bend in a pin on the surface mount IC, It was touching the next one.

They are very close normally, gently pushed apart with a sharp craft knife and It Works !

I'm so glad I don't have to buy another.

Thanks Oobly, for your help, you was right, a short at the chip pin.

I must of knocked it when working on the Leds, may have been intermittent fault as well.


Fuzzy picture but you can get the idea here: