Pinebook 14" keyboard misses keypresses UPDATE

[MarkHaysHarris777]

          


In the left pic I have used my soldering station on very low heat with a round copper tip to "heat-squish" the styrene rivets holding the keyboard replacement module to the bottom case top bezel.  The right pic shows the abominable Microsoft Windows menu key !  um,  yes,  that will be swapped out upon completion !!  


          


The shield retainer plate dropped right into place ( fits like a glove, left pic ) while the right pic shows the aluminum tapes that I used to hold it in place;  the tapes are meant for commercial duct work, but they work very well to seal things you don't want unstuck -- btw, make sure you get them where you want them cause they ain't coming off any time soon !!

[MarkHaysHarris777]

                


Center pic, the jokes on me, the scissor jack for the menu key on the original keyboard module runs horizontal;  the jack on the replacement keyboard module runs vertical -- rats;  can't swap out the two keytops -- mechanically impossible !  

Its all good.  The unit went back together without any snags;  didn't even lose a fastener !  Power-up and initial keyboard checkout ran smooth, no problema, and things seem to be working.  

The best part, I can type lickety-split !  ... no keypress misses what-so-ever !  


   Future Pinebooks need the old style keyboard !   ( hint hint )



Note:   Now to do a full functional test and checkup;  that will take a while longer.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

Greetings,

This is a footnote to this keyboard nightmare;

... I have discovered why the Alt keys on my keyboard are dead;  one corner pin on the control chip is bent and suffers one of three distinct possibilities:

1)  the pin missed getting soldered at all

2)  the pin is soldered but is so skewed to the left that its a cold solder joint at best , or

3) the pin is actually shorted against the pin-pad next door !

Using a microscope the defect on the board is very clearly evident. I am sorely temped to try and correct the defect;  on the other hand,  the keyboard has been remapped and the pinebook functions, so I may just leave this little anomaly alone (gives the device character).  I haven't fully decided yet.  The pin is a corner pin and fairly easy to get to with a very fine point.  I will probably wait for the verification from the schematic that the pin in question is the line on the matrix affecting both Alt keys.

Note:  
  From the schematic:  the pin in question is pin(12)  labeled in red (C3) and labeled in blue|green (P01).

  so, pin(12) is either loose, poorly connected, or shorted to pin(11).



PS.  don't remove that shield|heatsink over the main board without a damned good reason !  That thin metal can is virtually impossible to replace ( many small clips have to be lined up ( and three heat transfer pads ) not to mention the eMMC module is double sided taped to the shield !

( words to the wise )

[MarkHaysHarris777]

   

The replacement keyboard modules present a possible danger to the LCD panel,  because of the larger key-travel;  the keys stand up higher and might therefore bump into the LCD panel when the lid is closed;  although, the LCD panel face is recessed into the top bezel and mostly protected.

Possible damage to the LCD panel face can be mitigated by using self-adhesive silicone bumper pads;  the ones shown in the pic above are 10mm across and 2mm in thickness.  The bumper pads are transparent, and hold the case open just enough that the clearance between the keyboard key-tops and the LCD panel face is more than sufficient.

   

Pictured above are the installed silicone pads standing in the gap!  This gap serves two purposes:  1) protecting the LCD panel face, and 2) facilitating opening the Pinebook!   Some of you may have noticed that opening the Pinebook is difficult due to the thin front lip;  the silicone bumper pads mitigate this annoyance as well.

   

In the pic above the silicone pads are shown with the unit open;  the clear bumpers are virtually invisible (mostly attractive) and out of the way;  the pads come in a variety of sizes, and colors;  I found them in black, and also in felt!  

[MarkHaysHarris777]

          


In the pics above we're looking at the pin(1 -- 12) edge of the Pinebook 8051 MCU responsible for reading the keyboard matrix.  The left pic shows the bent pin(12) , and the pic at the right shows the re-soldered pin(12) !

In 3D the pin(12) never got soldered at all ( because the P&P robot bent the pin! );  pin(12) was shorted against pin(11) which prevented the 8051 from detecting Alt_L and Alt_R (both alt keys were effectively dead).

I used a microscope and surgical scalpel to straighten the pin, then coated the junction with a thin film of rosin flux gel.  I then applied one very quick stroke of a very sharp lite-tinned immaculate soldering tip along the outside edge of the pad|pin;  if this had been any other pin except the corner pin it might not have been possible!

          


Output(s) from the xev tests above show the Alt_L and Alt_R keypress and keyrelease. The entire keyboard checked out;  the good news is that the shorted pin(11) & pin(12)  did not damage the 8051, and all is good!

[AbeFroman]

So the conclusion is that there is nothing to do about the crappy keyboard other than learn to hit the keys harder?

[tllim]

So the conclusion is that there is nothing to do about the crappy keyboard other than learn to hit the keys harder?

The new Pinebook build use different keyboard manufacturer.

[Wizzard]

I see that not all the 14" Pinebooks are the same. I got another Pinebook and the keyboard is much better, so I use this one for Linux and the another for Android

[debaser]

I see that not all the 14" Pinebooks are the same. I got another Pinebook and the keyboard is much better, so I use this one for Linux and the another for Android

Can this be confirmed by anyone else? My spacebar key is the real issue for me. If the newer pinebooks have better keyboards I will snatch up another.

[Wizzard]

I see that not all the 14" Pinebooks are the same. I got another Pinebook and the keyboard is much better, so I use this one for Linux and the another for Android

Can this be confirmed by anyone else? My spacebar key is the real issue for me. If the newer pinebooks have better keyboards I will snatch up another.

I am not sure which Pinebook is newer. I would like to find it out, but do not know how. The second one was a second hand.