[Zippykid9]

I recently got the idea into my head that it would be cool to have a keyboard that lights up. i didnt really like any of the el-wire ideas because it lights up the entire keyboard all the time (some have a switch so you can turn it off) I thought that placing LEDs under each key and making them light up when you press it would be pretty cool. the only problem i've seen is that when i took apart my keyboard to see if it was possible, i realized that what makes the circuit when i press a key is just a triple layer contact sheet with conducting paint on it. i decided it would be difficult to use the power supplied by the keypress to light an led, so i thought about doing something completely seperate above that sheet. my first idea was to glue the led in under the key with one negative wire feeding all of them and a positive wire for each one that would get connected on a press to the negative. this was complex and sounded difficult, so i decided that i could also possibly use a seperate existing contact sheet to make the circuit and light an led. an existing keyboard makes an electronic signal whenever a key is pressed, and that signal is specific to each key. how hard would it be to route that signal to the leds instead of to the computer? i have no idea.

i suppose i wanted to post this in case anyone else had any input on the feasibility of this project, because i put the idea to some of my friends, and they couldnt really help me much.

Thanks a lot!

(it'll be real neat when its done!)

[NcBaller1985]

All I have to say is you got an arse load of wiring and soldering to do!!!! Hope it turns out good and be sure to post some pics too!!!

[SpaceRangerJoe]

that would be pretty neat (at first at least). personally, i think it would get a little annoying after a while. but it would definately be a neat mod. as far as using power from the signal the keys send, i dont think that would work. i dont know how much voltage goes through those, but i cant imagine it would be enough to power an led. i think it would take a lot of additional wiring. if i am correct, all keyboards (usb and ps2) have a 5V line that goes to them. you could tap into that, and use that as the + for all the lights, then use the ground for the keyboard as well. but im not sure exactly how a switching mechanism would work under all the keys. you would have to have some sort of terminal under all the keys, then a little wire or spring attached to the bottom of all the keys, so when you press them, they would complete the circuit. oh yeah, i guess all the keys would have to have another lead to connect the ground. i hope that makes a little sense. it would take a whole lot of little work, but im sure it is possible.

hope that helps a little. keep us updated on any ideas and/or progress. good luck.

[Zippykid9]

ok i've ordered everything i'll need including 50 feet of wire, 125 red LEDs, a soldering pen with solder, and a stand for my new soldering pen. total including shipping = $41 from www.allelectronics.com

[SpaceRangerJoe]

ok, i did it. i busted out some mad paint! heres what i had pictured in my head, and if you want to try to steal a part of it, go right ahead.

a little description. you can see the red led in the key, with 2 lines coming off of it. these would need to be some sort of wire, that isnt to stiff. the little orange line below those lines would be a very small piece of copper or something. the flexible wire would make contact with the copper square when the key is depressed. it would also give the wire a little bit of leeway, in case it ever got bent a little bit. it would be more surface area to make contact with.



just in case you havent thought about it, remember that you are going to want all of of the leds to be wired in parallel, that way you dont have to be pressing one key to get another to light up.

also, leds take very little power, but you might want to see how many amps they pull, then check to see how many the port your keyboard is plugged into is rated for. you dont want have it burn out if you ever got mad, and mashed 20 keys or something . hope that gives you some ideas.

edit: it might be nice if i post the picture too, right!

[DaveSauce]

ehhhh all I have to say is dont spill anything on the keyboard when you're done!!!

anyhow, that mod sounds incredible. I definatlely want to see this done, and I DEFINATELY want to see pics when it's finished!

[El-Scotto]

still going to attempt this?

[lennytiger]

fantastic idea, u could use a very low speed dril and cut a hole into each key, so that the led would be molded into the key itself.

I reallu would like to see this done, if u need any assistance do post here and we'll be able to help.

[El-Scotto]

i hope you do it and while your at it make a detailed tutorial how to do it cause id like to do this, im just not smart enough to do it myself :P

[KfistoRok]

Got me excited. Thought I was going to see pics.

[SniperXX]

Sounds awesome, I may want to try this sometime, I just hope you write an article! Cant waite to see the picts and info about it.

[Fushyuguru]

I have $5 riding on the fact that the keyboard uses TTL logic loads to drive its I/O signals. That means the voltage MAY be high enough (3-5V), but there will be almost NO current draw what so ever.

In that case you would need a switching tansistor to kick an LED on and off at every keypress. Thats alot of wiring and circuitry.

Id be willing to help though if you find out more about the kayboard.

[Zippykid9]

i did get the shipment of supplies i need, so im closer to being able to do the mod. Unfortunately a few problems have arisen. First, the LEDs arent bright enough to glow around the sides of the keys on my keyboard which are black and not transparent. I have decided that i will have to either buy brighter LEDs or get a different keyboard that has transparent keys. I think i can get a broken black apple pro keyboard from school that is fixable, and then use that because its transparent and has transparent keys. (perfect for glow mods) Second, i need a conducting plate below each key that a wire coming off the led can run into to make a circuit. I dont have a sheet of copper thin enough though, and i dont know where to get one. (any conductive metal would do, copper would probably be best)

I'll give a diagram of what it is i'm doing so that anyone else can do this mod in case i cant, or if they want to have a really nifty keyboard too.
....(key).................O= LED..............
................/-|O|-\..............................
....................^-----------(negative)...
...................~---------- (positive)......
.....(copper plate).............................


(edit: periods were added for proper spacing)

ok if anyone can make sense of that, congratulations! i have a single positive wire running through the whole keyboard, serving all the copper contacts, but i have seperate negative wires going to each LED. They all have two wires coming out of the bottom, so i will route one out the side of the key and one down and it'll be arranged so that when i press, it touches the copper and makes a circuit, but when i dont press, it doesnt. i hope that makes sense, if i doesnt ask me any questions you might have. (or look inside your own keyboard and keys. usually they pop off with a butter knife or a screwdriver)

[El-Scotto]

wow i actually understand...i think lol :P

[lennytiger]

Keep working at it if you need any help on the technical side, give us a shout i'm sure we can help together.

It'll be great to see this work!

[Zippykid9]

i do have a line on a black apple pro keyboard. (it helps to be friends with the tech person at your school) so, i expect to have it after thanksgiving break. then i can get started. (yay!)

[dreadlord79]

If you have a very small detailing bit, a dremel, a steady hand and a LOT of patience; you could always drill out the letters and number on your keys and then fill them with some clear resin of some kind. If you can get exact deminsions for each key, you could also buy some kind of form putty and make the keys out of clear resin and then apply a black coat of paint to the keys with only your stylized #'s and letters being clear. Just a few thoughts.

[Zippykid9]

your idea for making a mold for the keys is very interesting. it would be possible to make one (similar to how one makes a mold for a key) but i dont think i have the resources to do it. if i did, i would probably just make transparent keys and find black stickers for the letters/numbers.

other thoughts:
my keyboard has all kinds of cool little extra features such as marking hotkeys such as ctrl+c and stuff, and it has alternate functions for the f-keys. that is one of the reasons why i wont use it for the mod. i want to keep those keys. (its damn near impossible to make a glow around the key using an led inside of it, and have that glow somewhat even.)

thats why im using the apple keyboard. clearish keys will be even more fun to play with.

[bubba gump]

Did you think of trying aluminum foil? As we all know, its really thin. I don't think you would ahve to worry about it actually resistingt he electrical current...and even if it does a bit, then it probably won't be all too much to keep the LED's from lighting up.

The only thing I can see bad about this, is in the event that the foil rips while your typing, it may not be all too easy to get some more foil...

Keep us posted

Fold and Frag on
Brian

[Baltimoron]

Sounds awesome! Do write an article on this, very fascinating!
And post some pics!