Right side - corne premium case 2 rows stopped working while it was charging
Ok... now the right side had two rows stop working on it the 1st row and 3rd row. I always discharge any static I have against a nearby object before using they keyboard, and it happened while it was charging.
5 Replies
It sounds like you're experiencing a common issue that often relates to hardware, specifically a soldering issue. Since the first and third rows on the right side of your Corne keyboard have stopped working, here are some steps to troubleshoot:
1. Check the Solder Joints: Each row is controlled by a pin on the nice!nano. It's possible that the pins for the affected rows are not soldered properly. Inspect the solder joints on both the nice!nano and the PCB side to ensure they are solid. You can refer to the Adafruit Soldering Guide for tips on making good solder joints.
2. Look for Shorts: A short circuit can occur if there is a solder bridge between two pins or if a pin is touching a nearby trace. Use a multimeter in continuity mode to check for shorts between the pins of the affected rows. Make sure the keyboard is powered off when doing this.
3. Inspect the Diodes: Each switch has a diode that could be causing the issue. Check to ensure that the diodes for the affected switches are oriented correctly, soldered properly, and not cracked.
4. Firmware Reset: If the hardware checks out, consider resetting the firmware on the nice!nano. Sometimes, a firmware issue can cause rows to stop responding.
If you've gone through these steps and the issue persists, it may be best to consult the troubleshooting guide for more detailed solutions or further assistance.
Adafruit Guide To Excellent Soldering
Solder at peak performance!
Row(s) or Column(s) Not Working | Typeractive.xyz Documentation
Fix row(s) or column(s) not working on your keyboard.
I’m banging my head against a wall at this point. @codafoo if I design a simple ring to add to your case to avoid any metal on metal while charging, can you give it a shot?
yep I can try it, i have a 3d printer i also have some TPU filament although i never tried printing anything with it yet was going to use it for wheels but it could print some nice bumpers to separate the metals i bet 🤣
never tried printing the tpu filament, 3d printer i printed a ton just for clarification 🤣
it’s most likely environmental static though we have 5 evaporative humidifiers in the house including in my office where the keyboard is but SoCal has santa ana winds in my area that make everything extremely dry i think even with the humidifiers running at full blast humidity dropped to mid 30s
when I’m back at the office in a week I’ll send you a new nano and this ring design
I’ve also got two possible leads on what the culprit of this is
So after speaking with an electrical engineer, here's what I've got:
- The nice!nano does not have a connection from Shield to Ground, this is likely most of the issue. Because we don't have this, ESD through the USB shield is finding the path of least resistance, which can sometimes be some poor GPIO
- The metal case acts as a capacitor and builds up a charge that seems to be let out on the USB shield path while plugging in, this is why the plastic case didn't have any issues.
- The reason only some people are having issues is likely due to both poor environmental conditions and also poor host devices/USB cables. If someone were using a shorter cable with a high quality device that has shield properly grounded the chances would be much lower
The course of action here is to upgrade the nice!nano to have a connection from shield to ground. This will likely fix the issue in the vast majority of cases. We may still have some issues and would have to visit grounding the case somehow if that were the case.
The plastic ring may also help, but the nice!nano fix seems paramount.
maybe it’s time for the nice nano pro with updated battery monitoring 🤣