Hacking The Right Side Of A Keyboard Completely Off

hacking-the-right-side-of-your-keyboard

The form factor of this keyboard just doesn’t look right. What’s missing? Oh, the numpad has been completely removed! We use our numpad almost exclusively (especially when coding) so it’s a little hard to figure out why [Ludw] did this. His only mention of motive is that he wanted the mouse closer to the main part of the keyboard and that he didn’t use the numpad. No matter what the reason, we still think he did an amazing job of giving new life to the older keyboard.

It started out as a plain old beige Cherry G80-3000 keyboard. After cracking open the case [Ludw] carefully traced out the connections between the key matrix and the PCB which provides the USB connection. This is because the controller is mounted over on the part of the PCB he his about to remove. Before making the cuts he desoldered all seventeen switches (these can be reused to fabricate a new keyboard, or add switches to various projects). He then lopped off the depopulated substrate and used point-to-point soldering to reconnect the controller. A bit of case alteration removed the extra space while also reusing the nicely molded edges. A clean and tidy paint job finishes the hack.

[via Reddit]

12 thoughts on “Hacking The Right Side Of A Keyboard Completely Off

  1. I was looking at an HP laptop with a 17 inch screen seriously considering a purchase. That was until I noticed that the function keys were missing.

    Apparently, some bean counter convinced an ignorant decision maker that people do not use function keys.

    Never let an ignorant bean counter tell you what your tech should have in it. You will loose sales.

  2. HAD: We use our numpad almost exclusively (especially when coding) so it’s a little hard to figure out why [Ludw] did this

    What kind of coding do you guys do that allows you to use the numpad exclusively?? Even if you code in machine language, you’ll have to use A to F..

  3. Man, you guys use your number pads? I don’t think I’ve even touched one in about ten years. In fact, a keyboard without one is a big plus for me. I hate not having my hands directly centered under the monitor!

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