UL30 Backlit Keyboard Mod

I'm assuming that those functions are probably the other two connector points on the backlit keyboard cable. It probably is a hardware limitation to get those to work... I think.

 

great work guys! Where did you wire the capacitor in your circuit? Ups to the both of you!

Also, asus is out of stock... where do you recommend obtaining keyboard from (shipping to US)

 

Hi Po$er the 10nf capacitor goes on leg 6 and leg 7 of the qt110 chip.

 

Ceolwulf posted this link to a world wide seller.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-ASUS-U80-...A_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item4839f02733&afsrc=1

 

thank you and thank you

 

My keyboard arrived today..I'm typing on it now with sunglasses!

I was ready to get a usb light until I happened on Soulsaber's mod.

I'm using the $20 keyboard listed by Ceolwulf. Delivery time from Hong Kong was 14 days to the states.

Thx!

 

The new keyboard is .030 thicker, base plate removed, than the original and will touch screen if notebook squeezed under arms or handling.

I use the sheet protector when doing long moves...rubber side bumpers will be added as the shiny black trim is worthless. My three week old laptop is showing wear marks from grit/dirt along out side areas that contact palm rest around keyboard.

 

so the keyboard off Ebay does not fit as well as the one from ASUS E-store? Also, my stock keyboard is getting unresponsive, and the keys raise off if I press slightly hard (when I type fast this becomes a huge problem). The new keyboard should make it more responsive and fix this right?

 

I just placed an order off ebay and look forward doing this to my UL80Vt as soon as I receive it.

Hopefully it'll replace these "mushy" keys...

 

What type of sticker is that Skyrise? Where did you get it? Impressive mod! I was thinking I could just wrap some wire around one of those strips in the vent for triggering the qt110. What do you think? Also, did you guys use a low soldering iron temp for this? I know how to solder but I'm no expert, and it is a bit concerning that I'm already planning on soldering onto my yet to arrive ul30vt!

 

This is my first post: I registered just to participate in this tread. I just want to make sure I get this right since I'd only like to tear my laptop apart once. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I bought the keyboard; it's on it's ways
I now need to get the Q110A chip from QT110A-ISG Atmel Microcontrollers (MCU)

I also need to pick up a 10nf part, I'm sure at radio shack

What do I need to get for the foil switch? I think the diagram outlined on page 9 is pretty straight forward, just solder those connections together and wire everything like shown. I am pretty excited to do this mod since it doesnt seem too tough. I just want to make sure I buy all the correct parts.

 

Hi, UL50 here too. How is the mod going? Which and where keyboard did u buy?

 

For the UL50, you would need this keyboard
KEYBOARD 348mm BACKLIGHT(US)

 

The foil sticker i used was just adhesive foil that i used a hole punch on to create a tiny disc.

 

Thank you guys for the great DIY instructions.

One question: If I get the backlit keyboard and can't connect the wires, will it still function normally?

Reason is I've just never done anything like this before and I spilled some gatorade on my keyboard and need a replacement anyways. The backlit & normal keyboard are the same price on the eStore.

 

Typing on the new keyboard on my UL80Vt right now...although I have yet made the backlight connection (still waiting for my tools)...I just wanted to say that I would NEVER go back to the old keyboard ever!

As others have noted, the backlight keyboard is of a much higher quality. I used to hate typing because I had so many typos and now it's an enjoyable experience (as it should be).

I highly recommend this mod along with the SGP wristpad for UL series owners out there.

Thanks guys...DIY'ers unite!

 

Do I need a soldering iron with this? or can I just use the wire glue? I have no experience doing these type of mods. Where can I find thin gauge wire?

TIA

 

Hey man, I'm on a UL80Vt and want to mod as well. Where did you order the keyboard from? It looks like yours shipped fairly quickly so I'd like to order from the same seller.

Let me know how the modding goes! Are you planning on trying the touch sensor or just leaving it on whenever the notebook is powered?

Good luck!

 

I bought mines on eBay like others have:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-ASUS-U80-Backlit-Keyboard-US-BLACK-04GNUS1KUS00-3-/310209685299?cmd=ViewItem&pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item4839f02733#ht_6430wt_960

As for the backlight, I don't mind leaving that on.

 

It seems like the backlit keyboard for the UL30 has been out of stock for a while... are there any alternatives on ebay that actually fit without the jutting screws that I'm reading about?

 

You can do either method. I chose wire glue because I don't trust myself with a soldering iron with that tiny of a connection, and also wire glue is reversible so no one will ever know you did it. I just had some random wire lying around and cut it up.

There doesn't seem to be the "original" style of backlit keyboard on ebay anymore... there was a while back though. I'm guessing you won't find it anymore since the ones with the screws on the back is probably the newer design for later laptops.

 

They just restocked the keyboards on the Asus Estore FYI. Just bought one.

 

hmm would this work on the u30jc or does it have a diff keyboard?

 

Does everybody get the rubbing on the screen with this backlit keyboard?

 

New ASUS U80 Backlit Keyboard US BLACK 04GNUS1KUS00-3 - eBay (item 310209685299 end time May-25-10 03:50:37 PDT)

Picked one of these up for my UL30VT and it just arrived. However there are 2 screw holes on the bottom. Are people removing the plate completely, or dremelling them off?

 

I am curious about the bottom screw posts as well. Skyline, you mentioned that you have used the same keyboard. How did you remove the bottom plate? On my keyboard the ribbon wires coming out of it are attached with glue or something to the base plate. Can you heat those up and peel them off the metal bottom? They do not simple slip through the slots on the bottom.

Also, for those of you who removed the silver spacing plate on the original keyboard, how did you pry that off? I want my keyboard to have the same silver lining that the original keyboard has on my silver Asus.

 

The ribbon cable will just peel back and you remove the entire base plate it is not needed so no dremelling required. Soulsaber removed the silver top plate on his its only held on by plastic welded blobs on the back so just go careful and it should come off quite easy.

 

well I just pulled off the ribbon that is attached to the back of the new keyboard. If any of you decide to do this mod, be careful as I thought I was going to rip the ribbon at any time but it does come off eventually which lets you take off the back plate completely.

As for changing out the black keyboard inlay, I did have to snap it off at about 30 points which made me think I was going to break it at any point. However it did come off after I figured out how to pop the plastic anchors. However, now I"m worried that the silver one will not pop back in place. Did you have to super glue the original inlay back on the new backlit keyboard? It seems popping them off breaks the connections.

 

Also how in the world are you guys making these connections work? I still have the normal hard drive so I had to scrap the touch pad idea because there is no room under this keyboard to house the circuit.

I bought the wire glue but I cannot get it to form a small enough bubble on the tip of anything to keep it small enough to not hit any other contacts. It also dries really slowly.

Is there a larger 5v connection somewhere that I can use? I'm starting to worry I'm going to mess something up because I cannot get the connection precise enough. My solder tip is way too big for this sort of thing as well. Any suggestions before I scrap the whole swap out?

 

@Soulsabre , @Skyrise...

well I have got my backlit keyboard via asus estore, my q110 and I will pick up the cap at the lock "shack" (maybe they have some adhesive foil too???), just a couple of quick questions.

1. Soulsabre, did you pop the anchors keeping the silver overlay in place... and if so, how did you attach it to the backlit module?

2. Skyrise, I too have an intel SSD, so I am going to use the same mount point. Quick question about the circuit. Did you heatshrink the q110 & cap together (that seems that would cause a dead short...) I love the touch mod and think it makes this a no-brainer... also which 5v point did you use for power.

Also, legs 3, 4 & 5 of the qt110 are bridged and grounded correct?

Thanks guys... very much looking forward to this mod.

 

i got the New ASUS U80 Backlit Keyboard from the ebay post above. had to take out the back plate as mentioned. you also have to bend the keyboard ribbon cable. I have yet to perform the soldering to light up the LEDs. waiting for my engineering friend to do the messy parts

i spent over an hour switching the face plates, most of the anchors broke off so the face plate was uneven. I superglued it and now it is perfect. i might add some to the corners though. after using the superglue, avoid pressing on the keys but do hold the frame into place for the glue to dry and stick to the board. Also, superglue the actual board and not the frame as you will probably hit the frame on some keys while putting it into place if you don't.

hope this helps!

 

Hi Po$er,
Heatshrink is not conductive so it will not cause a dead short its good practice to heatshrink small circuits like this when leaving them in an area where they could ground out. you just need to heatshrink the finished chip and cap so that you only see the wires coming out of the heatshrink.

If you look at Soulsabres pictures in the first post i used the 5v pad next to where it says DVM.

The legs grounded are 3-4 and 8 pin 5 is opposite pin 4 pin 8 is opposite pin 1.

The diagram is on page 9 just to confirm.

Hope this helps.

 

thanks skyrise! I was actually worried about the pins of the cap shorting inside the heatshrink. Is a .01 uF polyester PC mount cap usable?

Also has anyone managed to remove the faceplate without destroying the anchors?

 

hey guys, about the qt110 IC. i found many models on website. can someone give the exact part number? i don't know anything about the IC, i know how to solder and i'm just going to follow the diagram on page 9 of this thread. when i tried searching for it, i got more than one qt110 in the results. ( i live in canada by the way, so searched the canadian store)

Interface - Sensor and Detector Interfaces | Digi-Key

is the IC discontinued? don't manufacturers recommend a new IC when one dies?

atmel (the manufacturer of the qt110) provides free samples, maybe we can get it from there, but if it is discontinued we might need to get another IC.


and if anyone has the product sheet for the LED keybaord (P/N 04GNUS1KUS00-3) that would be useful too.

thanks in advance!

 

Thanks for the tutorial! Works wonderfully on my UL30VT.

 

Thank you skyrise for this wonderful mod. I bought the ebay u80 keyboard and it works perfectly. The back plate literally unscrews and its all good from there removing the ribbon cable from the back plate is a bit hard but manageable. The ribbon cable must be bent but this is the easiest part.

I used the same soldering point as you skyrise and the backlight is on while charging (not too bad)and sleep mode (not hibernate) [really bad]. would anyone by chance know of other solder points (including the other in that picture by skyrise) that could solve this? I would prefer to know before I take out my keyboard, which might not survive another removal.

I have swapped the bezels of the keyboard to make it silver, it looks nice but I had to break over 30 pins in the process. The pins are best described at plastic rivets scattered through out the keyboard. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this to anyone as my bezel will no longer stay 100% flat/attached as there is nothing holding it together except may be 30% of the rivets that snapped in a bit. This is the case because in the process of removing the rivets they are all damaged regardless of method.

Regarding thickness, I have no issues with it being thicker. It does not touch my screen.

I can post pictures (external) if requested by 3 people.
I have noticed a battery life decrease, but nothing to concern me.
The only issue is now I'm stuck on hibernate because leaving the backlight on in sleep is ludicrous.

 

Micmal, how did you actually solder the wire to the board? I bought the wire glue but that stuff seems useless. These points are so small that I do not know how you can get solder on them or if there is a method I'm missing. I'm scared of getting too much of that glue on other joints and the solder doesn't seem to want to melt onto the PC board contact points circled in the post. Any tips?

 

Hi Bluesdeluxe,
you may need to scratch the surface of the pad you want to solder to as sometimes there is a thin laquer on the boards, just use a small blade to scratch at the surface of the pad not around it and be gentle.
then put the solder onto the wire that you will be putting onto the pad if you do it this way you will only have to hold the wire onto the pad and then put the the tip of your solering iron onto the wire on top of the pad this method takes away the possibility of getting solder onto other parts of the board as you are only applying solder to the wire not the pad the solder will spread from the wire and bond to the pad and makes for a neater finish.
i hope you understand what im trying to explain.

 

Has anyone contacted the Asus estore to know if they will have their backlit keyboards in stock again? I sent an e-mail but received no response.

 

Which exact point did you use? My backlight doesn't stay on when I put it to sleep or hibernate. Also for changing the frame to silver... I used some glue/epoxy on those pin things to stick it back together, works like a charm.

It seems like they haven't restocked in a while... or people keep buying them haha...
You could always go with eBay.

 

123.....9 10

 

thanks for the soldering tips. I think my problem was that I did not scratch the contact point and the solder was never touching the actual metal. Thanks

 

Wooooooo! My daily refreshing of the estore page has paid off. KEYBOARD 302mm BACKLIGHT (US) Was shocked a few minutes ago to see it was IN STOCK! Checked the page again after I submitted my order and it says out of stock again. So either I got really lucky or there was some error and they don't actually have it. Guess I will find out soon enough. I'm surprised that they show it as in stock and then only have 1 of them though.

 

Currently says out of stock for me.

EDIT: Decided to just buy one off eBay. Also bought the SGP palm rest and 3d carbon fibre style decal too.

 

Bought the SGP palm rest too. Does it add enough thickness for the keyboard to not touch the screen? Can't wait to mod and install everything!

 

To Hydra:

Yes, I agree the battery life is not worth concern if left on in sleep, but what I am concerned about is the LED life. More specifically, I am saying that the LEDs might die out early from being left (in my case) on 24/7. And I mean 24/7 for me as I use sleep mode and then charge it everyday meaning the lights will be on forever. Could someone before soldering, do a quick test? You can even use a multimeter to see if the leads are powered just remove the keyboard (not an option for me, due to my bezel).

 

LEDs have a general life expectancy of 50 000 hrs. If you use your lights for 10 hours a day, this should be 13.7 yrs. For you, 10 years...how long were you planning to keep the UL30? Opps, you said 24 hours so 5 years or so?

 

to make things clear for me since i'm clueless to any of this circuit stuff:
1. you solder a 5v source AND the + lead to position 1?
2. you solder the ground wire to positions 3, 4 and 5 to a ground?
3. and the touch sensor is just a regular exposed wire?

sorry for being pretty clueless in this area...

 

1. Yes, +5 comes from source to lead 1 then to + side of keyboard LED. It helps to determine which keyboard LED ribbon side is +, if possible, before attaching wires.

2. Yes, but ground is simply pinning, one end of wire under screw washer shown in picture, not soldered.

3. skyrise used a foil pad for wire termination and surface contact, but yes, you are simply extending lead 6 out to a convenient area of your choice. The wire is exposed only on the contact ends, not whole length if you meant that.

 

Guys, by the questions asked, it may be to your benefit to lay your project out. Gather all tools and wire. Soldering is not hard but takes practice, right tip, heat and 60/40 solder. Using wire glue; good time to test it.

Lay all on table, with laptop safely out of the way.

Hook all up using - as ground and + on batt or 5vdc xformer. Did everything work and did you mark + side of keyboard LED ribbon? Mark your wires and plan on wire runs and length. The idea is keep it neat and not have keyboard pushed up by wires or other. You can use a BIC lighter instead of a heat gun to shrink your clear heat shrink, again, practice

This way you get to practice, you know your LEDs work and your laptop was not harmed or killed

Note what skyrise said abut cleaning contact/solder points!!! on 5vdc laptop (+) pad.