Keyboard Leds Possible Mod ?

[paddy]

I searched this already but didn't find anything in regards to it ,tho i find searching forums
a nightmare ,mabe just me ..

Ok so i thought about this as i imagine my self using the pandora in bed at nite ,and realising
that the keys will be hard to see so typing would not be easy ,anyway i really want to know
how hard it would be to make a mod for the keymat to be lit up via a software switch and some LEDS
to light the mat up ,i guess as we have not seen the keymat for ourselfs we don't know exactly
how transparent the rubber is so mabe no light would even get through.

I also wonder what OP's plans if any would be in the future for a lit keymat ,i think it's a
great idea ,i am sure some of you have already thought about this but hey .. may as well ask.

Paddy

 

[WizardStan]

Good news!
MWeston added a KeyPad BackLight pad to the board, connected to a PWM for brightness control.
The only hold up would be getting a keymat that allows light through. As I recall, it is a pretty solid black, so you might have difficulty getting it thin enough to shine through.
My suggestion: instead of making the keys backlit, perhaps take that KPBL line and run it to an LED or three in the top of the hinge which points downward onto the keys. That may work better and be easier to implement.

 

[paddy]

That IS good news WizardStan ,and i see where you are coming from with the 2 top LEDS at the hinges
but there is also a facility on the main board to give light around the keymat, are LEDS included
on the main board for this and does the brightness control work currently ,sounds great and would
i be right in thinking that only a keymat redesign is needed ?

Paddy

 

[WizardStan]

It doesn't include the LEDs, just the pad for you to solder them on yourself(unless it was changed in a recent revision, but I don't think he'd do that)
If you want a backlight, all that should be needed is a new, translucent keymat, and some 42ish LEDs (depending on which keys you want lit)
And figure out how to turn on that pad, but that's just a software thing. If you work on the hardware, I'm sure someone else will gladly find the magic string of code that'll make it work.

 

[paddy]

I recon i will be ordering new LED's ,and may look to options for remoulding the keymat ,the kaymat
looks to be very functional ,i have saw and read that it's actuly very nice to use but i hate the
shiny look of the mat so other options would already be good to me ,with that in mind it may
as well be smoke/gray transparent in colour and non shiny/glossy finish sounds very nice all lit
up in the nite sky ,awww..

ps ,thanks again WizardStan

 

[WizardStan]

Remember one other thing, there's only a limited current available (I think it was 85ma) so you need LEDs that will still light up at about 2ma. The bigger round ones may require too much draw, but the little surface mount style ones should work great.

 

[Jourdy288]

Sounds brilliant, although I type without løøking at the keys, that could come in real handy…

 

[paddy]

Hey Jourdy288 , i don't use bebo but i had a look and you have access to some awsome Pandora skins
the atari one would be sooo good ,can someone make these ?

 

[droneb]

hmm, now that this topic goes live again, i was wondering how much current can i directly draw from PWM, or ill have to add some transistor in order to support the led load?

 

[Jourdy288]

Hey Jourdy288 , i don't use bebo but i had a look and you have access to some awsome Pandora skins
the atari one would be sooo good ,can someone make these ?

You may want to ask (naw)mcx, he made it, lol.

EDIT: I thought you mean't the page skin, those Pandora skins aren't real.. they're photoshopped in very well. Asmo is the one to contact.

 

[Prometheus]

Wasn't it Asmo, Jourdy?

 

[zhasha]

Remember one other thing, there's only a limited current available (I think it was 85ma) so you need LEDs that will still light up at about 2ma. The bigger round ones may require too much draw, but the little surface mount style ones should work great.

Alternatively you can get one of them magical semiconductors known as a transistor and pull the power from the battery directly. Of course it will drain your battery faster but I'm unable to find any SMD LEDs with less than a 20mA rating @ 5V

 

[mali]

I'm unable to find any SMD LEDs with less than a 20mA rating @ 5V

They can be powered with less current and are still extremely bright.

 

[kingoddball]

The LCD will illuminate the keypad in darkness anyhow.

 

[kagato]

If you want a backlight, all that should be needed is a new, translucent keymat, and some 42ish LEDs (depending on which keys you want lit)

If you used a translucent (as opposed to transparent) keymat, you'd probably only need 2 or 3 LEDs. The light would diffuse through the plastic and illuminate all the keys, especially in a very dark environment. Lighting a second colour for the alt-keys would be tricky.

 

[gruso]

There's always the Thinkpad approach - a single white LED above the display, shining down on the keypad. l loved that thing on my old laptop. And assuming nothing has changed, there is actually a spare GPIO line in the lid which can be used for a button or an LED:

http://www.gp32x.de...39&#entry709939

 

[peca]

The LCD will illuminate the keypad in darkness anyhow.

No, it doesn't.

I don't understand how somebody can say this. I use laptop few years, and till my new ThinkPad with LED lamp, I allways need external light source for key illumination. Normal laptop shining into my face, not on to keyboard. And on Pandora it will be even worse because lid have to widely opened.

 

[zhasha]

The LCD will illuminate the keypad in darkness anyhow.

No, it doesn't.

I don't understand how somebody can say this. I use laptop few years, and till my new ThinkPad with LED lamp, I allways need external light source for key illumination. Normal laptop shining into my face, not on to keyboard. And on Pandora it will be even worse because lid have to widely opened.

It's dark now, and my laptop's LCD is illuminating my keyboard. I don't mean it's barely visible, I mean I could read a book in this light.
Where is your god now?!

 

[Prometheus]

I quite like the ThinkLight (yep, that's what they call it ), though the one on my unit is the same sort of orangey-yellow as most street-lights over here tend to be, and it doesn't do as good a job as the light from the screen itself! :lol:

 

[MWeston]

I've pulled the LCD closer to the keyboard many times to see the keys when playing on the couch in the dark (a couple of late night N64 game sessions several months ago). It helps a lot.

Also, the KP_BL pads can sink 160mA and the source is the battery directly. The + side is the battery and the - side is the FET in the TPS65950 sinking the current with PWM control available. As you can tell, that means no current limiting so 160mA is the safe number but you have to use resistors to be sure you don't fry anything yourself.