Keyboard help
Feel free to start a thread and send pictures of the top and bottom soldering as well, and I can take a look 👍
30 Replies
Unknown User•3y ago
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It’s likely not a diode thing. I think I still see some cold joints there. Do you mind cleaning the flux off with rubbing alcohol or something and then snapping as clear of a pic as you can?
Unknown User•3y ago
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It can be sticky…you can scrape with tweezers and then wipe.
Unknown User•3y ago
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Sweet! Okay. Those joints look pretty good -- do you mind also snapping a close pic of the top?
I think we will want to check continuity next, if possible
Unknown User•3y ago
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I see a few joints that could use a touch up or two but honestly they’re not on pins that would control the parts of the board you’re having issues with. I think we’re going to want to poke at it with a multimeter and see what’s going on!
Unknown User•3y ago
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Did you get ahold of a multimeter?
Unknown User•3y ago
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Yeah, you can use the big_led.c/h code in this branch to set the brightness from 0-15: https://github.com/jaygreco/qmk_firmware/blob/nibble_big_rgb/keyboards/nullbitsco/nibble/big_led.h
GitHub
qmk_firmware/big_led.h at nibble_big_rgb · jaygreco/qmk_firmware
Open-source keyboard firmware for Atmel AVR and Arm USB families - qmk_firmware/big_led.h at nibble_big_rgb · jaygreco/qmk_firmware
Unknown User•3y ago
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Wrong thread! I’ll brush up on this and get back to you tonight 😊
Unknown User•3y ago
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Okay! First thing first, since it's been a minute -- what is the current state of the board? I just want to make sure it's still behaving the same way as the last time we talked.
Unknown User•3y ago
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Got it got it. Lets tackle the keys that don’t work first. You’ll want to use the diode key in #diagrams-etc to match each non working switch with a diode. Then using continuity mode on the multimeter with the board unplugged, measure continuity from the south pin (the one closest to the switches) of the diode to both pins on the switch. One of them should register as connected.
You can practice with a few working switches nearby to get a feel for how it should look if it’s connected.
Unknown User•3y ago
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Elaborate?
Unknown User•3y ago
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Each switch in the layout picture has a set of numbers on it. Match those with the last number in the list of diodes.
Example: left shift is 3,1, which is diode 9
Unknown User•3y ago
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Okay, so, knowing what you know about continuity mode, what does that tell us?
Unknown User•3y ago
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Bingo! The connection is broke. Either the soldering between the diode and the pad is not good, or if the soldering is good, that connection was broken during assembly. You can bypass it and wire it directly with a thin wire on the top/bottom of the board and see if it works then.
Unknown User•3y ago
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Exactly. I’d recommend adding solder to both sides of the diodes, just to be sure it’s making good contact. Same with the switches. If that doesn’t work, wires are the perfect backup plan
Unknown User•3y ago
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Odds are you have the same issue: a poor connection from the MCU to each of those. There aren’t too many places for things to go wrong. The connection is just about the only one.
I’d focus on getting the switches working before moving on since both of those are extras.