[SOLVED] Keyboard mods?

[GregP74]

I love my Das Keyboard 4 Professional, especially with my recently added retro looking key caps.

The cord still bugs the bejesus out of me though. Has anyone modded one o these to give it a removable plug, and perhaps move it so it's not smack dab in the middle of the keyboard?

My original idea was to mount a female usb 3 plug about 6 inches to the left of the default cord, kind of behind the space between the escape and F1 keys. I'm afraid if I don't cut perfectly though it'd end up looking kind of unprofessional and it would be a heck of a lot more work than I want to do.

Now I'm thinking an easier idea might be to just get a usb type C female --> usb 3 A cord, snip it and splice and solder it into the original factory connections. I could get a nice rubber grommet to run it through to keep the hole from tearing it up. (Probably put a knot on it on the inside too so it can't get yanked through the opening and the wires pulled apart.) A nice little usb-C cable would be much nicer than the big dorky default cable.

Thoughts?

 

[Adam0ne]

Hi. I feel you. I understand when you have a favorite.

The plan is nice. But there is a risk of ruining a good keyboard. Are you ready when things go south?

If so, you have to determine if your plan is viable. Open the keyboard first and check the internals. Find out if there is space to re-route your cables internally before terminating it to the left or right side of the keyboard. Check the inside part of the case that there is nothing structurally critical like a base for screws, etc.

Note: I am not sure if there will be issues for the removable plug.

IMO: That is a great Keyboard. I would rather you don't mess with it and purchase a new custom keyboard- you'll have exactly what you wanted in the first place. Then you have 2 nice keebs.

 

[DSzymborski]

If you really want to go all-in on modding...

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/heixqe/das_keyboard_4_pro_hotswap_mod/

 

[Adam0ne]

If you really want to go all-in on modding...

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/heixqe/das_keyboard_4_pro_hotswap_mod/

Nice link D! Amazing build. Just as I expected, will take a lot of work to that level of mods. Gotta love what modders do out there.

Greg, it's a great guide to how it was done. You should reach out to the guy (BCSha).

 

[GregP74]

I took it apart just to look around in there but didn't go too far. Got the dozen screws off the back and that allowed me to take the front panel off part way. I was so interested in what I was doing that I completely forgot to take pictures.

The cord plugs into the circuit board over by the USB hub, and a ribbon cable goes from there to the multimedia controls and another single wire is screwed to the case (ground?)

I was going to unplug the cable from the plug but it was a little hard to do and it appeared there may have been some glue there to prevent just that from being done. I didn't want to go any further tonight so I screwed her back shut for now.

I'm going to have to do a little more research and what kind of connector is on the inside end of that usb cable. If it's something fairly standard it should be pretty easy just to make a short cable with one of those on one end and a usb-c female on the other end. (I don't think modifying the case to actually move the plug is in my future. I don't feel like doing that much to it.)

Hi. I feel you. I understand when you have a favorite.

The plan is nice. But there is a risk of ruining a good keyboard. Are you ready when things go south?

If so, you have to determine if your plan is viable. Open the keyboard first and check the internals. Find out if there is space to re-route your cables internally before terminating it to the left or right side of the keyboard. Check the inside part of the case that there is nothing structurally critical like a base for screws, etc.

Note: I am not sure if there will be issues for the removable plug.

IMO: That is a great Keyboard. I would rather you don't mess with it and purchase a new custom keyboard- you'll have exactly what you wanted in the first place. Then you have 2 nice keebs.

 

[GregP74]

If you really want to go all-in on modding...

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/heixqe/das_keyboard_4_pro_hotswap_mod/

That's amazing!

 

[GregP74]

It's actually funny. I "inherited" a DK 4 Pro at work a few years ago. It's the best keyboard I've ever used and I was going through withdrawal when they switched us to working remotely last spring.

I decided I needed a DK for my home office but the lighting here isn't great. I thought about getting one of those ones with the led keys but I wasn't impressed with them. I ended up getting the professional model like I have at the office and went with the low tech approach to being able to see it better -- lighter colored key caps.

I don't want to go all out modding it but if I can put a short female usb-c plug sticking out the back I may do that.

 

[GregP74]

So it appears the on the inside that usb cable is a standard usb micro B, and it's just glued in place. This is making me think something like this could be useful.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/adafruit-industries-llc/4056/9997694

 

[Adam0ne]

It's actually funny. I "inherited" a DK 4 Pro at work a few years ago. It's the best keyboard I've ever used and I was going through withdrawal when they switched us to working remotely last spring.

I decided I needed a DK for my home office but the lighting here isn't great. I thought about getting one of those ones with the led keys but I wasn't impressed with them. I ended up getting the professional model like I have at the office and went with the low tech approach to being able to see it better -- lighter colored key caps.

I don't want to go all out modding it but if I can put a short female usb-c plug sticking out the back I may do that.

I have to agree on you on that. I didnt see any custom keyboard close to the DAS. I have to settle with lesser Multimedia functions. I had to settle with what's available; what a pain. I tried the CTRL keyboard from drop. Its fine for my purposes. But the swappable switches and keys makes it so addicting. (Lol).

I think you could do that. It takes a lot of patience and care carving out the case.

I think that cable from Adafruit will work. That's the best one I've seen so far.

Keep us posted on your progress. I can't wait to see the finished mod.

 

[GregP74]

I have to agree on you on that. I didnt see any custom keyboard close to the DAS. I have to settle with lesser Multimedia functions. I had to settle with what's available; what a pain. I tried the CTRL keyboard from drop. Its fine for my purposes. But the swappable switches and keys makes it so addicting. (Lol).

I think you could do that. It takes a lot of patience and care carving out the case.

I think that cable from Adafruit will work. That's the best one I've seen so far.

Keep us posted on your progress. I can't wait to see the finished mod.

Ooh Adafruit has some interesting stuff! Reminds me of going into the old Radio Shack store down the street when I was a kid checking out stuff I had no use for that looked neat!

I have to keep in mind that the cable (and usb hub) on the DK are USB 3.0 so if I want to maintain that high speed I'm going to have to use the appropriate cables.