Well, as promissed here is how I modded my Noppoo Choc Mini to have a removable cable so it can be easily plugged in my two computers
Stuff Used:
- USB Cable;
- Crimp Pins and Header (didnt have a JST plug like the one from the original noppoo cable so I used this one instead);
- USB Breakout from sparkfun
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9966 (very easy to solder and perfect for this);
- Double sided tape;
My plan was to make a totally reversible (as much as possible at least) mod, so instead of just soldering directly to the noppoo connector, I built a cable with a crimp header in one end and the usb breakout in the other and glued it in the keyboard case with double sided tape (a lot easier to remove later if needed than, say, super glue for example).
In this pic you can see the USB cable already cut, stripped, crimped and with a heatshrink. If you dont have a crimp tool you can solder the cable directly to the pins (since this part is not going to be moved anymore after closing the keyboard case):
Here you can see the usb breakout board with the cables already soldered to it:
Had to cut (used an exacto blade for that) a bit of the case here. You can skip this if you want but them you will need to use more double sided tape on the breakout later (to fit the usb port a bit higher into the hole):
Here is the usb breakout board with double sided tape already applied to it. You can see that I used two layers of tape so that the usb port could be a bit higher and fit into the already existent hole:
Mod already glued inside the keyboard case. Had to use some masking tape into the crimp connector to create a tighter fit (not needed if you have a JST plug that mates with the original connector, of course):
Mod finished and keyboard closed. Had to cut just a bit of the top case for the usb plug of the external cable. Other than that, a perfect fit:
Side view:
After finishing I had even another idea. If you dont want to cut not even a small piece of the keyboard original case, you can cut the sides of the usb breakout pcb instead (with a dremel for example) and fit the usb port evenly on the keyboard case (like the usb port of a mobile phone). That would make the mod 100% "non destructible"
Also I know that double side tape is not the strongest thing on earth but since Im not planning to use the keyboard with an attached cable as a whip I think that will be enough for ages
And thats all, hope you guys like it
