Awesome tutorial. This is how it should be done. Lots of good visuals, good explanation, explaining the "why I do this" which very useful for adapting to other models and situations, and even throwing in some bits of humor like "there is no spoon" -- all without extra fluff. Plus your voice is very relaxing and calming. Thumbs up and subscribed. Thanks for uploading this. :)
Thank you so much for the feedback! This is one of my first videos and I cringe at it a bit looking back, but I really appreciate the kind words and encouragement! Thank you!!
@@hightech-lowlife You're quite welcome! And yeah, I definitelyknow what that feeling is like, looking back at old creations. Still, you did good, man. :)
Thank you, yes ~ definitely not a 'budget' solution. If you're looking for wireless on the cheap, it's more cost effective to just get a cheap wireless keyboard 😎
Mine actually does have a lot of room in the case despite having foams. The two keyboards I use are actually both stripped down version of their wireless counterparts. So both of them have a slot in the case for a switch and battery pack, and you can actually see the battery and switch labels in the pcb. There's also an led for charging which I can't really use since mine is wired only. Anyways, great video bro! I'm quite busy atm but I'll save this for Future use.
you could ideally 3d print a case for the three components + cable and attach it somehow to the back of your keyboard. The design could have a hole for plugging the charger to the power bank. if you don't have the possibility, or the hability, for soldering, this can be a possible solution that doesn't necessarily void the warranty
ngl this is more effort than i was willing to put in for this so I've given up - but you deserve my comment, like and subscribe for the video because you've done a great job explaining and also added in some personality. Great job mate!
Thanks so much man, I appreciate that. It is quite a bit of work I'll admit, I think if you break it up into smaller digestible chunks it's a bit easier to tackle over time as it can feel overwhelming all at once. This is one of my earlier videos and it is hard for me to watch as there are so many things I would have changed to make it better and more watchable, so I really appreciate the kind words. I will probably remake and revise this video in the future that is a bit more condensed and better delivery 👍Thank you for watching!
@@hightech-lowlife Frankly if could find the USB to BT adapter (I'm assuming that's what it is) in your initial 'joke' example around my parts of the world I would be very much inclined to go with that solution. There are NO devices of it's kind sold at any vendor *in* or that will deliver *to* Bulgaria. I've been looking all day cause I bought a Marvo KG962 by mistake instead of the wireless version and I was hoping to find a less expensive solution than just buying the correct model on top of the one I got. Ultimately that's what I did and I didn't even bother returning the wired one - it's a good KB and the hassle is not worth the money I'll get back.
Yes it will do that out of the box, I know that handheld scientific does ship worldwide so most likely they will ship direct to you. If you're just looking for any wireless keyboard, then you're better off just buying a new board that has the features you want @@RoninBlackwing
One of the best video that I have seen recently. I am starting with my engineering classes and this might be a great project for me to try lol!! Liked and subbed
You got yourself a subscriber, and after I finished doing what you've done in the tutorial, I thought why not build the transceiver myself using ESP32. If I manage to do it I'll share the final PCB and the firmware here. Thanks man Keep it High Tech Low Life
That would be awesome man, please do share that as I know a lot of people would be interested, including myself. I have a few ESP32 boards laying around doing nothing 😎Thank you!
The idea is pretty neat and well thought through. The biggest block to me is the fact that the Bluetooth adapter costs more than the keyboard itself. I guess if you have a really expensive/custom made keyboard it might be worth it to mod. But as for me with a 2017 Blackwidow Chroma V2, it's not really feasible
Yes, this mod is definitely not as a means of saving money or doing this cheaply, that would be an entirely different video. A lot of viewers seem to think this video was made as a means to make a wired keyboard wirelessly for free (or close to that) which it's not at all. The keyboard I installed this on is 3x the price of the adapter and this model is not offered with a wireless option, which is the use case for this modification. If you have a keyboard you really like and it's not offered wirelessly, then this is the solution. While for some people "just buy a cheap wireless keyboard" will work for them, they don't seem to be able to understand "what if they want this specific keyboard to be wireless?" they don't have an answer for that. There are a lot of options for wireless keyboards in the $50-70 range now (also keep in mind this video was made 3-4 years ago). But this assumes you like those keyboards, or you're not as particular about that as opposed to your budget. I don't think any amount of money (reasonably) is too much for a tool you will use for hours a day every single day. This would be an item you will far more than you will any other item you own by a huge degree (only matched with your mattress). If this keyboard setup runs you 10 years, you can take the initial cost and average that per year. Even if you spent 1000 on your keyboard, that is 100 a year, which is $8.30 a month. More people spend that at starbucks in a single day than they would feel justified spending that much on a tool they use every single day that is closely tied to their ability to produce income.
@@hightech-lowlife I actually did not think that far lol but I guess that's true. I just thought of this idea recently because of my new mini ITX I built and wanted to go wireless. Picked up a really cheap mechanical keyboard in pristine condition. I was, and still am, a bit baffled why a conversion like this is not more commonplace. Guess I do know now. The dream is not fully dead yet though 👍
@@qaywsx583 I personally don't even like wireless keyboards, I think the concept itself is largely nonsensical. Sure there are some edge use cases, where you're typing on your couch or using a keyboard for anything other than what they're really designed for (to sit on your desktop). It's not good ergonomically to type in any position that isn't naturally comfortable for your body and can lead to injuries down the road, and I think wireless keyboards actually encourage that or at least make bad decisions more accessible. For most people, they only desire wireless for the "aesthetics" and not the functionality, because functionally they are objectively worse than a wired counterpart. Plus they do have to be wired for at least some portion of the time because you have to charge the batteries which eventually need to be replaced. Connectivity issues, input lag, charging, all that just to hide one wire? I'd rather mod my desk, cut a hole in it to hide the wire than go wireless. I don't subscribe to this ultra minimalist aesthetic anyway, seeing how things connect mechanically is a feature to me, not an eyesore. Plus you can make the cable aesthetically pleasing if it's aesthetics one is after. Wireless keyboards are really just a novelty in my opinion, but having everything be wireless seems to be the trend these days.
@@hightech-lowlife Honestly now that you put it that way, you do have a point. I used to be full wired for like 11 years now, and it's usually been a no brainer for me to use wired peripherals. Only a year or two ago, I started to get absolutely furious when my mouse/keyboard cable gets stuck somewhere while playing, but even then I just worked around it with bungees. Just very recently I'm playing with the idea of just ditching all wires to have more freedom while whipping my mouse around my desk. I guess the wires are just a part of my issue feeling restricted by my desk space. Still kinda torn
@@qaywsx583 A wireless mouse makes more sense to me, this is something that moves, although it's still within a very small confined area, if you're having to move your hand too much you might want to look into DPI scaling. I also use a wired mouse for the same reasons why I use a wired keyboard and if you have your wires routed correctly and unobstructed then you shouldn't have issues with wires (IMHO). Everyone is free to use their computers as to what suits them best and for a lot of people they tend to like wireless, just for me it doesn't make as much sense as wired. Good luck on your setup though man 🍻
Awesome video and enjoyed watching! I have a wireless keyboard that charges via USB-C but I was going to add a wireless charger to it so I didn't have to plug it in. Should be a fun little project.
Thanks so much! That's awesome man, you should take it a step further and embed the charger in your desk and never have to stop typing 😂! I might actually try this someday 👍👍👍
Very cool, would you consider making a video on battery upgrades for wireless mechanical keyboards? For example, something like the Nuphy Air or Keychronic keyboards are great but the batteries are on the small side. There is definitely room with little modification to fit batteries that would take these from needing weekly recharges to months. Plus it acts to extend the products life as the battery will eventually give out. This way you can highjack the led indicators, charging circuits and switches from the board. I only suggest a tutorial like this because a battery swap is more accessible than building from scratch (I hope). I do hope you'll consider a video like this.
Thanks! Yeah for sure I can do a video like that - I'll check out a suitable board for larger battery mods 👍 It should be fairly straightforward though, lipo batts are 3.7v typically so as long as your battery voltage is the same you can 1:1 swap without any other modifications. Thanks!
Hello, can you confirm with their support team? According to their site they do ship international: "$9.95 to international addresses by USPS airmail." 👍
OK, I'm going to write to them. One question, if the battery runs out and I need to use the keyboard immediately, can I connect it via USB cable and use it, or should I wait for it to charge?
@@AngelSing-Zepol You have to look at my wiring diagrams shown in the video, I also explain in the video there is more than one way to wire it up. Either way it will work directly plugged in because the battery will be charging while you're using it if you'd like, you can also just have a direct wired connection if you want to wire it up that way. I show in the video wiring it either only wireless or both wired/wireless switched connections. 👍
@@hightech-lowlife yes, i saw your plans and they are great, but i have a question, when does the switch from wireless to usb happen? when you press the switch button? Or do I have to enter some command on the pc? the manufacturer talks about switching through the mode button or shortcuts, it is not very clear to me where you switch from BT to USB and vice versa. As I understand the mode button or shortcuts is the button that comes with the adapter, right? if so, you should extend it with cables and another button so you can press it whenever you want without opening the keyboard, right? or control everything from the same power switch button? like a double switch or something, I'm a bit confused at this point.
@@AngelSing-Zepol At the end of the video I explain the two different ways I recommend to wire it up and the pros and cons of both. One is to use the BT module hotkey to do the wired/wireless switching. This is a lot easier to wire in, very simple wiring. _[The only drawback with this method is that the connection to the computer is not native, so your computer sees your keyboard through the BT module "bridge" which is fine for most things, but if you want to do something like flash firmware to your board, you won't be able to because the computer is not seeing your actual keyboard, merely a bridge to it. ]_ The second method I am using my charge circuit flashlight LED switch (double tap the power button) to trigger a set of relays that swap both power and data pins from the BT module to the USB cable. This will allow you to achieve a native USB connection to your computer because the wires from the USB port are directly connected, the BT module is no longer in the circuit at all. The relays are essentially "unplugging" the BT module and then "plugging in" the keyboard port. I hope that makes sense for you. You can wire this up many *many* ways though, I'm just showing you a few. If you're ok with adding another physical switch to your keyboard, then just add it to toggle between the BT and wired modes, that's all my relays are doing - I'm just using them because I can control everything off of one physical button. If you watch my videos on my custom dual battery keyboard I wire it up using a physical switch to toggle between bluetooth and wired modes. 👍
Unfortunately, the cost of the BT unit and a battery bank added to even the cheapest mech kb is going to be more than a decent budget mech that is already wireless. You could do this a lot cheaper using a cheap microcontroller and low profile LiI battery, but it takes more work and some coding. I think a project that makes more sense is an external unit you can plug any kb into that acts like the BT dongle, but also includes a rotary knob and some media buttons and maybe even a small LCD for dedicated media control, since many boards either lack a knob (the best way to control volume) or have their media controls on another layer. You could make a nice case for it and short cable and then the BT dongle would be a feature and not an eyesore (the battery could be smaller and incorporated) and you wouldn't have to hack the kb at all and could use it with other kbs.
100% agree, I have a blurb in the description and on my site that states that if you're just looking for a cheap way to make a keyboard wireless, this is not the method nor tutorial for you. This is for people that want to convert a keyboard that is simply not offered wirelessly. If you just want a cheap wireless keyboard, there are many out there premade. It's an interesting thought, you could also do this with the BT-500, you don't have to put it in the case, I actually use it like this in the beginning of the video, you could just hot glue it to the top of a battery bank and there it's a portable unit as you have described. The BT-500 is a bit more expensive than even the Adafruit BLE offerings, but if you factor in how much time you will spend writing code and debugging, also taking into account the extra feature set that is built in to the BT-500 firmware (it can do a lot, including mouse control) it could end up being cheaper, depending on how much you value your time. Volume knobs are pretty cool, but I have found for my personal use that just setting up an AHK script and utilizing hotkeys is faster and my hand is already in the right position to manipulate media controls without having to lift to search for a hardware knob. If I couldn't do this, then AltDrag also has a feature where a hotkey turns your mouse wheel into the volume knob, which is even more intuitive. I know people love their rotary encoders these days though. Thank you for your input and feedback, I appreciate it.
@@hightech-lowlife Hey! Sorry I missed this reply when you posted it, you provided info on something I've been looking for for a while - that ability to use mouse wheel for volume. I had previously tried various hot-key and binding remapping software to do that to no avail, so cheers!
well I'll be damned, i was expecting some little cheap box you could buy off amazon and just plug n play. Little did I know. Now I gotta learn how to solder.
You don't actually, if you look at the beginning of the video you can just plug the components in 👍The rest of the video is if you want to integrate everything inside of a keyboard case.
You can fill the LED lights with some gluestick to diffuse the lights. And also adding a small USB Hub would be great when you're plugged in and wanted to connect a flash drive to your pc.
It's a good idea! I also thought of doing some ambient diffusion by using some acrylic, I will try it. It would be cool to add a hub, but I don't think this module supports the use of a hub over bluetooth unfortunately. Unless you're talking about just a separate wired hub 👍I will be making more custom keyboard cases in the future and I will stuff in a hub.
Hello how are you? excellent video and thank you very much for this great contribution, I wanted to ask you if you managed to find the 3P3T slider switch?
I am well, thank you so much. I have searched high and low for one suitable for this application and I still have not found one. There are some in larger packages and toggles, but for something this small they don't seem to make them - which is unfortunate because that's the best solution to not have to use relays. I did put a 3P3T toggle in my more recent "dual battery" build and it works great, if you have the room or can use a toggle that is one way to do it. 👍
@@yaendiaz165 Yes, unfortunately for 3 way switches, the options are limited for smaller sizes. If you can use the relays (1 or 2) you can get more switch options (pins) off of one slider 👍
@@hightech-lowlife I could glue 2 2P2T switches and bridge them with a jumper on the slider head. I have seen some quite slim models or it could also be put to the side.
Interesting video. I remember when I modded Varmillo VB87M, I wondered if it's possible to make it work not only through Bluetooth, but also with wire instead of just charging from it. From a perspective of an electronics rookie, it seems quite complicated (especially if you use built in Bluetooth chip), but it's quite possible.
Awesome, yes it's totally possible! If you follow my two recommended schematics you'll have both wired and wireless on a switch - just depends on how you want to wire it up. Thanks!
@@hightech-lowlife After inspecting the board's PCB, I don't think it's possible after all. The plastic connector hubs have two positive and negative pins for only a charge, while the separate mini USB PCB has five solder pads. It seems, the manufacturer had in mind the idea of making both wireless and wired product, but on the last moment gave up on it.
@@guessit5036 This is an only wireless keyboard? I thought this was a wired board you're talking about. Even if it's only wireless and only has power from the USB port, you can just run lines from the PCB to add the data lines, and if the connector doesn't support it just put in a different connector. I have a video on how to add a connector to any keyboard, so if the one currently doesn't support data, you can add your own. As long as you can get to the mini USB leads, you can make it wired as well. You may have to throw in an inline switch to turn off the data pins while charging and using as wireless as keyboards don't usually like being plugged in directly + trying to connect wireless, it will probably flip flop between the two connections as shown in my video. Trust me, it's possible 👍
This was a great tutorial! However, with the battery you used, how long does the battery last considering the keyboard would not be optimized for being power saving?
Thank you! It depends on a lot of factors, backlight LEDs being the biggest. For this particular keyboard and battery (3000mAh) On medium brightness about 27 hours on a charge, backlighting off 80+ hours on a charge. Again, this will vary greatly depending on how big your keyboard is, how big your battery is, what brightness or if you are using backlighting at all. I have a lot more information on my site about batteries, run times, etc: hightech-lowlife.github.io/projects/004_wireless_keyboard/004_wireless_keyboard Scroll down to the part about 'runtimes'. Cheers
@@hightech-lowlife Thank you for the reply! The keyboard I had in mind was a 3-keyed macro keyboard that I could try and make wireless and mount to my arm to control music with while in VR.
What an educational video! I've been looking for this in months. However, I was wondering if it can be done with a 2.4GHz transmitter and receiver for better latency. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you! I don't have any experience using 2.4GHz, only bluetooth. If you want to go this route, I think the best would be to get a cheaper keyboard and salvage those parts from it like this: th-cam.com/video/22MFteWbMIw/w-d-xo.html I have seen some other conversions like this from donor boards also, you will need to do a lot more investment in time and research though. You have to dig pretty far on google to find useful examples or instructions, as not many people have done it. Another option is to use Arduino or ESP32 board for a wifi/2.4 connection, but again will take a lot of experimenting and writing code. Bluetooth has an advantage which is why most wireless keyboards and devices are now BT, a lot of devices such as laptops, desktops and phones will already have a built-in bluetooth receiver, so you don't need to plug in any USB dongle. Even though the BT-500 is more expensive, to me it is worth it regarding the time it will save you writing code or figuring out how to convert other things. Of course if you want to put in the time, I know it is possible, also, to me if latency is a larger concern of yours then wireless in general may not be the best way to go. If you do make a 2.4GHz version, please let us see! Thank you.
Thanks for watching! Since this video launched I have built my own (crazy) custom *dual battery* wireless keyboard and I documented the process from start to finish in this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLGIzSUqaQbL6SKxZdtGoUFnYM7-L23BXh.html check it out if you're interested!
Thanks for the video! I learned about this adapter recently but was a little confused on exactly how it worked. Didn't realize how simple it was lol I mostly game on my bedroom TV using a Roccat Sova (so I can play in bed while watching TV with my girlfriend on her laptop) but the cords were getting annoying, combined with the bulk of the Sova itself, I have just kind of stopped using it. I'm not technical enough to follow your tutorial but just seeing how it works from your "Easiest tutorial ever" section convinced me to go ahead and get everything. Just gonna fix all of the wires to the Sova itself and use a wireless mouse and it should be a great experience Thanks again!
omg dude i really really like this content !! making usb devices into a bluetooth this is insane .. plus i been looking for so long how to turn wired controllers into a bluetooth such as ds2 or nacon revolution 2 .. please keep up what you doing man i wish i could be as you in electronics
Thank you so much I really appreciate the feedback! This module should be able to work with controllers too! I'm pretty dense when it comes to electronics, I just research people that know a lot more than me and then experiment - you could know all that I know and more pretty easily 😂- Thank you for watching and commenting!
Awesome MOD! My keyboard case is a wireless version of the anne pro 2, plenty of room there and the usb-c connection is already hanging out, just perfect for this mod.
Thank you!! Yes, if your case already has provisions for wireless setups it will be a lot easier because they make room for the battery 👍My latest video I'm making my own case for this reason of allowing more space and I'm adding two batteries! Good luck with your mod!
Hi, I was wondering if this works on a keeb with a built in usb c plug. I have someone who wants me to build him a board, and he really wants a wireless Alice. If you have any suggestions for any wireless Alices that would be even better. It also has to be Mac compatible. Thanks!
Hello, yes it is totally possible, if you're trying to do the 'intercept' method it will be a lot harder, but still doable. If the connector is soldered to the PCB, I would just get a connector and then splice/intercept there and then come up with a solution for the case to move the charge port (or add another somewhere else). Pretty sure there are wireless alice-style boards out there already though: www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/enzgz1/wireless_alice/ and another: www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/occaw3/geulis_a_wireless_alice/ Keychron is coming out with an alice type board too, but I don't think it's wireless. Good luck man!
I'm about to watch this. I hope it works out. I have had some ideas, but couldn't find any guides. I stumbled across your video by accident. I was also looking for a bluetooth module like the one you use. I'm going to attempt to solder a usb adapter in series with a cable and a usbc female port. Wish me luck!
So I can’t find any blootoooth things on Amazon so u mind telling me what the adapter is called but like not the model name but what it would referred to for a search
Links are in the description 👍I'll do you one better and post it again here for you: handheldsci.com/kb/ It's called the BT-500, made by Handheld Scientific, I also labeled the parts in the intro where I go over all the components you'll need. This product is pretty niche, so it's not available on any large sites like Amazon. There is one other similar (not as good in my opinion) that is available on Amazon, but it costs over double and doesn't have as many features, so I don't recommend that one.
@@WClap It's actually a lot simpler than it seems, the BT-500 does a lot of the heavy lifting and makes this procedure much faster and easier to do. It's also possible to do this with an Ardiuno although you will have to load libraries and do a bit of coding. The BT-500 solves this for only about $10 more than going the Arduino route.
Yes it will, I'm not sure if you can program the LEDs using the software without a direct connection. But I have shown multiple ways to wire it up and one of those ways should be sufficient enough. If I had a keyboard with addressable RGB I would test it for you. I may make a follow up video to this answering the FAQ's from this video because a lot of people have asked this question 🍻
This is awesome, one day I hope to get to a point where I'll do a full conversion like you did. However for now, I'm just going to do the simple battery pack/inline BT/Keyboard setup because it's all going to go inside my Old Corsair 'Lapdog' - the old version of their lap board (couch PC gaming w/ mouse and keyboard). The old 'Lapdog/Lapboard' runs a 20+ft usb3 cable across my living room and it's not ideal. I will be able to stuff all the cables and battery bank inside the lapboard enclosure and call it a day and use my mechanical + bluetooth mouse. I'll have to position the battery bank to a spot where I can charge it easily though! Perhaps a cutout/mounting for access. We'll see! Thanks again!
My keyboard has a USB in port on it, would making the keyboard wireless still allow me to use that usb port? I've been watching your videos all night and they're all brilliant. I can't wait to see more uploads.
Yes, there are many ways you can wire it up, the way I have it set up you use the same port for charging + direct wired 👍 Thank you so much, I have a ton more projects in the queue!
@@nguyenthanhchuong9783 Yes, if you're going with a more budget keyboard it makes more sense just to buy a cheaper wireless keyboard that is already made :) This mod is more for changing a keyboard that you really love that is not available wirelessly. If you want to upgrade to mechanical wireless on the cheap; www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003051972220.html There are also cheaper modules that you can get but it will take a lot more work and code to set up: www.aliexpress.com/item/32808551116.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.b5d53c00vtAAd8&mp=1 I personally haven't done it, but I know there are some people that have.
excellent video, can ask what that "black hot glue" is? Is it just black as the only difference, or is really like potting compound glue/silastic or something ?
1:18 Is there any 'magic box' that transmits the signal to a USB receiver? I want to do the exact same thing you do, but with a mouse and a USB receiver.
I'm assuming you mean a 2.4Ghz receiver? There are only a few options for that, and they are older with limited stock and questionable reviews. I can't really recommend any as I haven't personally tried them myself.
@@hightech-lowlife Well, thanks anyway, you would help me a lot if you find something similar to what I described and let me know, and if I don't find it, I think I'm going to create a PCB that has those functions. Good video, I keep it in case I need it in the future.
@@williamschrodinger I think I may have found something, but I will test it first. If it works I will make a video on it as a lot of people seem to want 2.4 instead of bluetooth, not really sure why as a lot claim "latency" but if you are using a wireless keyboard then to me latency is not a high priority as you cannot get quicker than a wire.
Hello 🤖 - I don't feel any delay when using a computer normally, I haven't tried it with any games, but I don't see it being any different. I'm sure there is some input lag compared to a wired keyboard, but unless you are competitive gaming or doing something else beyond a normal keyboard usage I don't think you will notice 👍
I have taken apart my keyboard but it has a 5 pin connector, not a 4 pin. Is it fine to ignore one of the cables on the 5 cable connector. I'm fine with sacrificing rgb but I don't know what cable to ignore.
@@amaanwaseem6817 What do you mean for some reason? You can tell based on the color. Should be WHITE, GREEN, RED, BLACK and then another BLACK if you have 5 pins. *It doesn't have to be in that specific order, just that you have those colors present.* I already answered your question in my first response: "5 Pin should just have extra ground (black wire), you can connect it to ground, or leave it and it should work either way." You can connect the two blacks together, or only connect one of them, try one state, try both, see how it affects your connection. Most likely it will not make a difference as it will probably work the same whether only one ground is connected or both, but there might be a combination that works better than others.
I was looking at doing something like this with an old apple iiGS alps board. There's a bit of room in the head of the board, and I think some under the plate (I don't have the board in front of me), I'm pretty humbled to know I was kind of on the right track with my thought process. :) When I get the board, I'll post some shots. Thanks for the video and I love your thinkpad! Instant subscribe. Also, was than an old panasonic toughbook in the back? Nostalgia wave. :)
Thank you! Yeah that would be a cool build for sure, please send links to pics after you're done as I'm curious as to how you'll package it inside the case 👍 It's actually a Dell XFR! I have a video in the queue for that build, it's the coolest (looking) laptop ever made (IMHO)! Thanks for the comment, views and sub!!!
According to their marketing, it would appear so, however the reviews on amazon are not great and it's very large so wouldn't make a good candidate for embedding within a keyboard unless you have a very large keyboard 👍
@@hightech-lowlife Yeah, thank you. I found one more on aliexpress but it seems that it don't have a switch for on/off . So i'm afraid that i'll have problem with my battery life cause this will always be on.
@@pmakosyo I'm sure you can wire in an on/off toggle (that's essentially what I have done here). I believe in further iterations of the BT-500 they will have a sleep timeout function to save battery life, I did let them know that this feature would be very helpful 👍
Wow after so many years someone actually made a serious video on this topic. Good stuff.
Thanks so much!!
@@hightech-lowlife you have a big brain !!
🧠💪
@@helpmetooreach100kintwoyears Thank you so much! I don't think so though, average at best 😂
How many years? I dont understand the references to?
How many years? I dont understand the references to?
after hours of searching a good diy wired keyboard to wireless video finally found it haha. thanks alot man
Thanks so much man! I'm glad it could help you out - thank you so much for the comment too!
same
Awesome tutorial. This is how it should be done. Lots of good visuals, good explanation, explaining the "why I do this" which very useful for adapting to other models and situations, and even throwing in some bits of humor like "there is no spoon" -- all without extra fluff. Plus your voice is very relaxing and calming. Thumbs up and subscribed. Thanks for uploading this. :)
Thank you so much for the feedback! This is one of my first videos and I cringe at it a bit looking back, but I really appreciate the kind words and encouragement! Thank you!!
@@hightech-lowlife You're quite welcome! And yeah, I definitelyknow what that feeling is like, looking back at old creations. Still, you did good, man. :)
@@Bandrik Thanks a lot man, much appreciated 🙌
I was searching this topic every few months for a long time. So glad someone finally did this! Subscribed.
Thanks so much man!
Dude, this was awesome in depth tutorial that convinced me that I m not able to pull this off. Am impressed by your skills. Great job.
Thanks so much man, I appreciate it!
You can do it.
This is a very educational video, I appreciate the fact you showed us your trials and errors.
Thank you so much for watching and the feedback!
The cost of this modification is more than the wireless keyboard we get in market. But for education purpose i will recommend this to others.
Thank you, yes ~ definitely not a 'budget' solution. If you're looking for wireless on the cheap, it's more cost effective to just get a cheap wireless keyboard 😎
There is no wireles steelseries APEX
My keyboard plus keys and switches is 275 usd, no way I'm getting rid of it just because I want wireless
But if you have a $300 keyboard this wireless conversion method makes more sense
I appreciate the troll at the start of the video lol
Mine actually does have a lot of room in the case despite having foams. The two keyboards I use are actually both stripped down version of their wireless counterparts. So both of them have a slot in the case for a switch and battery pack, and you can actually see the battery and switch labels in the pcb. There's also an led for charging which I can't really use since mine is wired only.
Anyways, great video bro! I'm quite busy atm but I'll save this for Future use.
Awesome, should be easy to implement down the line then - thanks for the watch, comment and feedback!
@@hightech-lowlife I'll give a sub too, keep it up!
@@HonkForLife098 Thanks! I will do my best, much appreciated ⚡⚡⚡
manufacturers laziness turned godsend
I love this guide! So detailed and I can't wait to try it on my board.
Thank you so much!
this is the best turorial yet! thankyou so much bro!
Thank you so much! I have 60% series coming next week!
Soo detailed... I understood each and everything. Thanks buddy!
Thanks so much for watching!
This was very nice of you to share this to your viewers.
Thanks so much man!
you could ideally 3d print a case for the three components + cable and attach it somehow to the back of your keyboard. The design could have a hole for plugging the charger to the power bank. if you don't have the possibility, or the hability, for soldering, this can be a possible solution that doesn't necessarily void the warranty
100%! You could even just buy a cheap small case that roughly fits the dimensions, and double stick tape the components inside 👍
@@hightech-lowlife Try to make this one :D
This guy is so knowledgeable It is awsome to see him work out all his ideas.
Thanks man!
ngl this is more effort than i was willing to put in for this so I've given up - but you deserve my comment, like and subscribe for the video because you've done a great job explaining and also added in some personality. Great job mate!
Thanks so much man, I appreciate that. It is quite a bit of work I'll admit, I think if you break it up into smaller digestible chunks it's a bit easier to tackle over time as it can feel overwhelming all at once.
This is one of my earlier videos and it is hard for me to watch as there are so many things I would have changed to make it better and more watchable, so I really appreciate the kind words. I will probably remake and revise this video in the future that is a bit more condensed and better delivery 👍Thank you for watching!
@@hightech-lowlife Frankly if could find the USB to BT adapter (I'm assuming that's what it is) in your initial 'joke' example around my parts of the world I would be very much inclined to go with that solution. There are NO devices of it's kind sold at any vendor *in* or that will deliver *to* Bulgaria. I've been looking all day cause I bought a Marvo KG962 by mistake instead of the wireless version and I was hoping to find a less expensive solution than just buying the correct model on top of the one I got. Ultimately that's what I did and I didn't even bother returning the wired one - it's a good KB and the hassle is not worth the money I'll get back.
Yes it will do that out of the box, I know that handheld scientific does ship worldwide so most likely they will ship direct to you. If you're just looking for any wireless keyboard, then you're better off just buying a new board that has the features you want @@RoninBlackwing
One of the best video that I have seen recently. I am starting with my engineering classes and this might be a great project for me to try lol!! Liked and subbed
Thanks so much man! Definitely try it out! I'm sure it will be very easy for you 👍
"There is no spoon" haha great neo.
"You are the one" !!! 🤖
@@hightech-lowlife lol
Thanks, very inspiring. When I get more confidence in my tech DIY skills I will attempt this.
Do it! Thanks man 🍻
Very useful video with clear instructions. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
You got yourself a subscriber, and after I finished doing what you've done in the tutorial, I thought why not build the transceiver myself using ESP32. If I manage to do it I'll share the final PCB and the firmware here. Thanks man Keep it High Tech Low Life
That would be awesome man, please do share that as I know a lot of people would be interested, including myself. I have a few ESP32 boards laying around doing nothing 😎Thank you!
The idea is pretty neat and well thought through. The biggest block to me is the fact that the Bluetooth adapter costs more than the keyboard itself.
I guess if you have a really expensive/custom made keyboard it might be worth it to mod. But as for me with a 2017 Blackwidow Chroma V2, it's not really feasible
Yes, this mod is definitely not as a means of saving money or doing this cheaply, that would be an entirely different video. A lot of viewers seem to think this video was made as a means to make a wired keyboard wirelessly for free (or close to that) which it's not at all.
The keyboard I installed this on is 3x the price of the adapter and this model is not offered with a wireless option, which is the use case for this modification. If you have a keyboard you really like and it's not offered wirelessly, then this is the solution. While for some people "just buy a cheap wireless keyboard" will work for them, they don't seem to be able to understand "what if they want this specific keyboard to be wireless?" they don't have an answer for that.
There are a lot of options for wireless keyboards in the $50-70 range now (also keep in mind this video was made 3-4 years ago). But this assumes you like those keyboards, or you're not as particular about that as opposed to your budget.
I don't think any amount of money (reasonably) is too much for a tool you will use for hours a day every single day. This would be an item you will far more than you will any other item you own by a huge degree (only matched with your mattress). If this keyboard setup runs you 10 years, you can take the initial cost and average that per year. Even if you spent 1000 on your keyboard, that is 100 a year, which is $8.30 a month. More people spend that at starbucks in a single day than they would feel justified spending that much on a tool they use every single day that is closely tied to their ability to produce income.
@@hightech-lowlife I actually did not think that far lol but I guess that's true. I just thought of this idea recently because of my new mini ITX I built and wanted to go wireless. Picked up a really cheap mechanical keyboard in pristine condition. I was, and still am, a bit baffled why a conversion like this is not more commonplace.
Guess I do know now. The dream is not fully dead yet though 👍
@@qaywsx583 I personally don't even like wireless keyboards, I think the concept itself is largely nonsensical. Sure there are some edge use cases, where you're typing on your couch or using a keyboard for anything other than what they're really designed for (to sit on your desktop). It's not good ergonomically to type in any position that isn't naturally comfortable for your body and can lead to injuries down the road, and I think wireless keyboards actually encourage that or at least make bad decisions more accessible.
For most people, they only desire wireless for the "aesthetics" and not the functionality, because functionally they are objectively worse than a wired counterpart. Plus they do have to be wired for at least some portion of the time because you have to charge the batteries which eventually need to be replaced. Connectivity issues, input lag, charging, all that just to hide one wire? I'd rather mod my desk, cut a hole in it to hide the wire than go wireless. I don't subscribe to this ultra minimalist aesthetic anyway, seeing how things connect mechanically is a feature to me, not an eyesore. Plus you can make the cable aesthetically pleasing if it's aesthetics one is after.
Wireless keyboards are really just a novelty in my opinion, but having everything be wireless seems to be the trend these days.
@@hightech-lowlife Honestly now that you put it that way, you do have a point.
I used to be full wired for like 11 years now, and it's usually been a no brainer for me to use wired peripherals.
Only a year or two ago, I started to get absolutely furious when my mouse/keyboard cable gets stuck somewhere while playing, but even then I just worked around it with bungees.
Just very recently I'm playing with the idea of just ditching all wires to have more freedom while whipping my mouse around my desk.
I guess the wires are just a part of my issue feeling restricted by my desk space. Still kinda torn
@@qaywsx583 A wireless mouse makes more sense to me, this is something that moves, although it's still within a very small confined area, if you're having to move your hand too much you might want to look into DPI scaling. I also use a wired mouse for the same reasons why I use a wired keyboard and if you have your wires routed correctly and unobstructed then you shouldn't have issues with wires (IMHO).
Everyone is free to use their computers as to what suits them best and for a lot of people they tend to like wireless, just for me it doesn't make as much sense as wired. Good luck on your setup though man 🍻
Awesome video and enjoyed watching! I have a wireless keyboard that charges via USB-C but I was going to add a wireless charger to it so I didn't have to plug it in. Should be a fun little project.
Thanks so much! That's awesome man, you should take it a step further and embed the charger in your desk and never have to stop typing 😂! I might actually try this someday 👍👍👍
This was very pleasing to watch. Great video!
Thanks man! 🍻
Very cool, would you consider making a video on battery upgrades for wireless mechanical keyboards? For example, something like the Nuphy Air or Keychronic keyboards are great but the batteries are on the small side. There is definitely room with little modification to fit batteries that would take these from needing weekly recharges to months. Plus it acts to extend the products life as the battery will eventually give out. This way you can highjack the led indicators, charging circuits and switches from the board. I only suggest a tutorial like this because a battery swap is more accessible than building from scratch (I hope). I do hope you'll consider a video like this.
Thanks! Yeah for sure I can do a video like that - I'll check out a suitable board for larger battery mods 👍 It should be fairly straightforward though, lipo batts are 3.7v typically so as long as your battery voltage is the same you can 1:1 swap without any other modifications. Thanks!
@@hightech-lowlife yeah a mod of the popular Keychron Q1 would be legendary!
@@limebulls As long as the case has space for bigger/more batteries 👍
Just what I was looking for, great video!
Thanks so much! 🙌
Hello, The official site does not send the adapter to Colombia, where can I buy it to be sent to Colombia?
Hello, can you confirm with their support team? According to their site they do ship international: "$9.95 to international addresses by USPS airmail." 👍
OK, I'm going to write to them. One question, if the battery runs out and I need to use the keyboard immediately, can I connect it via USB cable and use it, or should I wait for it to charge?
@@AngelSing-Zepol You have to look at my wiring diagrams shown in the video, I also explain in the video there is more than one way to wire it up. Either way it will work directly plugged in because the battery will be charging while you're using it if you'd like, you can also just have a direct wired connection if you want to wire it up that way. I show in the video wiring it either only wireless or both wired/wireless switched connections. 👍
@@hightech-lowlife yes, i saw your plans and they are great, but i have a question, when does the switch from wireless to usb happen? when you press the switch button? Or do I have to enter some command on the pc? the manufacturer talks about switching through the mode button or shortcuts, it is not very clear to me where you switch from BT to USB and vice versa. As I understand the mode button or shortcuts is the button that comes with the adapter, right? if so, you should extend it with cables and another button so you can press it whenever you want without opening the keyboard, right? or control everything from the same power switch button? like a double switch or something, I'm a bit confused at this point.
@@AngelSing-Zepol At the end of the video I explain the two different ways I recommend to wire it up and the pros and cons of both.
One is to use the BT module hotkey to do the wired/wireless switching. This is a lot easier to wire in, very simple wiring. _[The only drawback with this method is that the connection to the computer is not native, so your computer sees your keyboard through the BT module "bridge" which is fine for most things, but if you want to do something like flash firmware to your board, you won't be able to because the computer is not seeing your actual keyboard, merely a bridge to it. ]_
The second method I am using my charge circuit flashlight LED switch (double tap the power button) to trigger a set of relays that swap both power and data pins from the BT module to the USB cable. This will allow you to achieve a native USB connection to your computer because the wires from the USB port are directly connected, the BT module is no longer in the circuit at all. The relays are essentially "unplugging" the BT module and then "plugging in" the keyboard port.
I hope that makes sense for you.
You can wire this up many *many* ways though, I'm just showing you a few. If you're ok with adding another physical switch to your keyboard, then just add it to toggle between the BT and wired modes, that's all my relays are doing - I'm just using them because I can control everything off of one physical button.
If you watch my videos on my custom dual battery keyboard I wire it up using a physical switch to toggle between bluetooth and wired modes. 👍
That Decal on your Laptop is futuristic, Amazing
Thanks man! I have a few laptop painting videos on my channel if you're interested in how I did it 👍 My next video will be my latest painted one 🍻
Unfortunately, the cost of the BT unit and a battery bank added to even the cheapest mech kb is going to be more than a decent budget mech that is already wireless. You could do this a lot cheaper using a cheap microcontroller and low profile LiI battery, but it takes more work and some coding. I think a project that makes more sense is an external unit you can plug any kb into that acts like the BT dongle, but also includes a rotary knob and some media buttons and maybe even a small LCD for dedicated media control, since many boards either lack a knob (the best way to control volume) or have their media controls on another layer. You could make a nice case for it and short cable and then the BT dongle would be a feature and not an eyesore (the battery could be smaller and incorporated) and you wouldn't have to hack the kb at all and could use it with other kbs.
100% agree, I have a blurb in the description and on my site that states that if you're just looking for a cheap way to make a keyboard wireless, this is not the method nor tutorial for you. This is for people that want to convert a keyboard that is simply not offered wirelessly. If you just want a cheap wireless keyboard, there are many out there premade.
It's an interesting thought, you could also do this with the BT-500, you don't have to put it in the case, I actually use it like this in the beginning of the video, you could just hot glue it to the top of a battery bank and there it's a portable unit as you have described. The BT-500 is a bit more expensive than even the Adafruit BLE offerings, but if you factor in how much time you will spend writing code and debugging, also taking into account the extra feature set that is built in to the BT-500 firmware (it can do a lot, including mouse control) it could end up being cheaper, depending on how much you value your time.
Volume knobs are pretty cool, but I have found for my personal use that just setting up an AHK script and utilizing hotkeys is faster and my hand is already in the right position to manipulate media controls without having to lift to search for a hardware knob. If I couldn't do this, then AltDrag also has a feature where a hotkey turns your mouse wheel into the volume knob, which is even more intuitive. I know people love their rotary encoders these days though.
Thank you for your input and feedback, I appreciate it.
@@hightech-lowlife Hey! Sorry I missed this reply when you posted it, you provided info on something I've been looking for for a while - that ability to use mouse wheel for volume. I had previously tried various hot-key and binding remapping software to do that to no avail, so cheers!
@@PinataOblongata No problem man! Yes AHK and AltDrag are vital to me, I will be making a video on both of these apps!
Ho Ho.. HTLO mentioned that in the video... I'd be very mucj interested to know more :)
@@tmbarral664 Thanks! I have both AHK and AltDrag videos coming at some point, I have so many projects going on at the same time right now 😂
well I'll be damned, i was expecting some little cheap box you could buy off amazon and just plug n play. Little did I know. Now I gotta learn how to solder.
You don't actually, if you look at the beginning of the video you can just plug the components in 👍The rest of the video is if you want to integrate everything inside of a keyboard case.
You can fill the LED lights with some gluestick to diffuse the lights.
And also adding a small USB Hub would be great when you're plugged in and wanted to connect a flash drive to your pc.
It's a good idea! I also thought of doing some ambient diffusion by using some acrylic, I will try it. It would be cool to add a hub, but I don't think this module supports the use of a hub over bluetooth unfortunately. Unless you're talking about just a separate wired hub 👍I will be making more custom keyboard cases in the future and I will stuff in a hub.
Bluetooth doesn't have the bandwidth needed for flash drives
@@matyi1656 I know, that's why i said 'when plugged in.' And i meant plugged in on a PC
@@nehemz432 Yes this would be a cool addition to when you are wired you can have the optional hub! 👍
@@matyi1656 Yes this is probably the reason it is not supported, thank you for the insight 👍
1:00 - Honestly... This is exactly what I'm looking for xD
Thanks man 👍
Hello how are you? excellent video and thank you very much for this great contribution, I wanted to ask you if you managed to find the 3P3T slider switch?
I am well, thank you so much. I have searched high and low for one suitable for this application and I still have not found one. There are some in larger packages and toggles, but for something this small they don't seem to make them - which is unfortunate because that's the best solution to not have to use relays. I did put a 3P3T toggle in my more recent "dual battery" build and it works great, if you have the room or can use a toggle that is one way to do it. 👍
@@hightech-lowlife I did see the dual battery video, but my keyboard is pretty small for that toggle switch. I'll have to use 2P2T.
@@yaendiaz165 Yes, unfortunately for 3 way switches, the options are limited for smaller sizes. If you can use the relays (1 or 2) you can get more switch options (pins) off of one slider 👍
@@hightech-lowlife I could glue 2 2P2T switches and bridge them with a jumper on the slider head. I have seen some quite slim models or it could also be put to the side.
I HAVE CONNECTED MY KEYBOARD TO IPAD! YEEY, THANKS!
Awesome man 👍!
Interesting video. I remember when I modded Varmillo VB87M, I wondered if it's possible to make it work not only through Bluetooth, but also with wire instead of just charging from it. From a perspective of an electronics rookie, it seems quite complicated (especially if you use built in Bluetooth chip), but it's quite possible.
Awesome, yes it's totally possible! If you follow my two recommended schematics you'll have both wired and wireless on a switch - just depends on how you want to wire it up. Thanks!
@@hightech-lowlife After inspecting the board's PCB, I don't think it's possible after all. The plastic connector hubs have two positive and negative pins for only a charge, while the separate mini USB PCB has five solder pads. It seems, the manufacturer had in mind the idea of making both wireless and wired product, but on the last moment gave up on it.
@@guessit5036 This is an only wireless keyboard? I thought this was a wired board you're talking about. Even if it's only wireless and only has power from the USB port, you can just run lines from the PCB to add the data lines, and if the connector doesn't support it just put in a different connector. I have a video on how to add a connector to any keyboard, so if the one currently doesn't support data, you can add your own. As long as you can get to the mini USB leads, you can make it wired as well.
You may have to throw in an inline switch to turn off the data pins while charging and using as wireless as keyboards don't usually like being plugged in directly + trying to connect wireless, it will probably flip flop between the two connections as shown in my video.
Trust me, it's possible 👍
frll this is an underated channel I really love the final result and I will prrobably try a similar thing on a tartarus v2
Thanks so much man, I really appreciate that! You should totally try it out!
Great video, it was really interesting to see you go through all the iterations of what worked and what didn't.
Thank you so much for watching and for the comment! I really appreciate the feedback, thank you!
You bought me with: ..there is no spoon xD hahahaha had a chukle
Wake up Neo 🍻
This vid was awesome- really detailed and put together really well!
You need more subs…
Oh you can have one right here! 👍🏼
Thank you for the feedback and for the sub! I really appreciate it!
i love that u incorporated the usb c i was hesitant with that charger
Thank you!
This was a great tutorial! However, with the battery you used, how long does the battery last considering the keyboard would not be optimized for being power saving?
Thank you!
It depends on a lot of factors, backlight LEDs being the biggest. For this particular keyboard and battery (3000mAh) On medium brightness about 27 hours on a charge, backlighting off 80+ hours on a charge. Again, this will vary greatly depending on how big your keyboard is, how big your battery is, what brightness or if you are using backlighting at all.
I have a lot more information on my site about batteries, run times, etc: hightech-lowlife.github.io/projects/004_wireless_keyboard/004_wireless_keyboard
Scroll down to the part about 'runtimes'.
Cheers
@@hightech-lowlife Thank you for the reply! The keyboard I had in mind was a 3-keyed macro keyboard that I could try and make wireless and mount to my arm to control music with while in VR.
@@ItsJust_Nick With 3000mAh, it would last a /very/ long time between charges.
@@hightech-lowlife Good to know thank you!
@@ItsJust_Nick You got it! Thanks
Nice matrix reference. Made me happy with that.
Wake up, Neo 🤖
What an educational video! I've been looking for this in months. However, I was wondering if it can be done with a 2.4GHz transmitter and receiver for better latency. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you! I don't have any experience using 2.4GHz, only bluetooth. If you want to go this route, I think the best would be to get a cheaper keyboard and salvage those parts from it like this: th-cam.com/video/22MFteWbMIw/w-d-xo.html
I have seen some other conversions like this from donor boards also, you will need to do a lot more investment in time and research though. You have to dig pretty far on google to find useful examples or instructions, as not many people have done it. Another option is to use Arduino or ESP32 board for a wifi/2.4 connection, but again will take a lot of experimenting and writing code.
Bluetooth has an advantage which is why most wireless keyboards and devices are now BT, a lot of devices such as laptops, desktops and phones will already have a built-in bluetooth receiver, so you don't need to plug in any USB dongle.
Even though the BT-500 is more expensive, to me it is worth it regarding the time it will save you writing code or figuring out how to convert other things. Of course if you want to put in the time, I know it is possible, also, to me if latency is a larger concern of yours then wireless in general may not be the best way to go.
If you do make a 2.4GHz version, please let us see! Thank you.
@@hightech-lowlife I am thinking of trying out a 2.4 ghz soon so i may let you know soon!
@@wahidkamruddin1594 Awesome, good luck!
@@wahidkamruddin1594 Have you tried it yet, I am also thinking about doing this too.
Looks so clean bro! Awesome!!!!
Thanks man!!
Wireless charging... I WANNA MAKE A KEYBOARD WITH WIRELESS CHARGING
It would be pretty easy to do 👍 You could also put a wireless charger in your desk right below your keyboard and it would always be fully charged.
How about solar, like a big calculator?
Such a nice build! I really like it.
Thank you!
fun fact: you can buy a good wireless keyboard and it will cost less than the total cost of this project!
Funner fact, you can go outside and not use a computer at all and it will be 100% less cost than your idea.
Some people have just a wired keyboard and buying the usb adapter and power bank is wayyy cheaper to do this project
10/10 hardware mod bud. great work on the video
Thanks man!
Thanks for watching! Since this video launched I have built my own (crazy) custom *dual battery* wireless keyboard and I documented the process from start to finish in this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLGIzSUqaQbL6SKxZdtGoUFnYM7-L23BXh.html check it out if you're interested!
How interested would you be in helping mod a das keyboard pro 4 into a wireless Bluetooth board?
Thanks for the video! I learned about this adapter recently but was a little confused on exactly how it worked. Didn't realize how simple it was lol I mostly game on my bedroom TV using a Roccat Sova (so I can play in bed while watching TV with my girlfriend on her laptop) but the cords were getting annoying, combined with the bulk of the Sova itself, I have just kind of stopped using it. I'm not technical enough to follow your tutorial but just seeing how it works from your "Easiest tutorial ever" section convinced me to go ahead and get everything. Just gonna fix all of the wires to the Sova itself and use a wireless mouse and it should be a great experience
Thanks again!
Thanks man! Yes, you don't need to do anything other than connect all the components via USB, it will be very easy for you 👍Good luck!
omg dude i really really like this content !! making usb devices into a bluetooth this is insane .. plus i been looking for so long how to turn wired controllers into a bluetooth such as ds2 or nacon revolution 2 .. please keep up what you doing man i wish i could be as you in electronics
Thank you so much I really appreciate the feedback! This module should be able to work with controllers too! I'm pretty dense when it comes to electronics, I just research people that know a lot more than me and then experiment - you could know all that I know and more pretty easily 😂- Thank you for watching and commenting!
Awesome MOD! My keyboard case is a wireless version of the anne pro 2, plenty of room there and the usb-c connection is already hanging out, just perfect for this mod.
Thank you!! Yes, if your case already has provisions for wireless setups it will be a lot easier because they make room for the battery 👍My latest video I'm making my own case for this reason of allowing more space and I'm adding two batteries! Good luck with your mod!
Great video, everything you said was understandable and well explained, here is a sub!
Thanks so much man!
This is just fantastic. Great job. Well done! 👍👍
Thank you so much!!
What is the method to do this with a PS/2. Keyboard please, thanks
Just use a PS/2 to USB adapter, and same steps apply 👍
Awesome and useful video, good sense of humour and extra bonus points for using my favourite Matrix reference. :-)
Thanks so much for watching and for the feedback!
kudo homie, lots of work put into this and it's beautiful
Thanks so much man! 🍻
There are cheap $7 to $10 usd Bluetooth keyboards I can buy but if you have a $300+ premium keyboard then this modification definitely makes sense
Yes, if you're just looking for a wireless keyboard period, this isn't really the mod 🍻
Good timing! I was just thinking about converting one of my favorite keyboards to wireless, you some new stuff to consider. Thanks.
Thank you so much!
This was a very cool video! I enjoyed watching it !!
Thank you so much, I appreciate the feedback!
Hi, I was wondering if this works on a keeb with a built in usb c plug. I have someone who wants me to build him a board, and he really wants a wireless Alice. If you have any suggestions for any wireless Alices that would be even better. It also has to be Mac compatible. Thanks!
Hello, yes it is totally possible, if you're trying to do the 'intercept' method it will be a lot harder, but still doable. If the connector is soldered to the PCB, I would just get a connector and then splice/intercept there and then come up with a solution for the case to move the charge port (or add another somewhere else).
Pretty sure there are wireless alice-style boards out there already though: www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/enzgz1/wireless_alice/
and another: www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/occaw3/geulis_a_wireless_alice/
Keychron is coming out with an alice type board too, but I don't think it's wireless.
Good luck man!
Thank you so much man, you earned a sub.
@@griffy8576 Thanks a lot man! Much appreciated 🍻
I can't say anything but awesome, it's really an inspiring video and I like watching it.
Thanks so much, I appreciate the feedback!
a real one Finally !!
It works 👍
I can say how techy you are just seeing your glamorous B-roll. I mean you are more into tech than video editing skills
Thanks man 🙌
I have evo fox Katana pro mechanical keyboard. I will trt this for sure. Need to watch this video couple more times though. Awesome stuff
Go for it! Thanks man 🍻
This is epic. Great work!
Thanks so much! 🍻
buen video amigo saludos desde PERU !!
Thanks man!
so it cant be wired anymore? i mean if i wanted to use simultaneouslyu
Yes, you can have both wired/wireless switched - check the rest/end of the video 👍
I'm about to watch this. I hope it works out. I have had some ideas, but couldn't find any guides. I stumbled across your video by accident.
I was also looking for a bluetooth module like the one you use. I'm going to attempt to solder a usb adapter in series with a cable and a usbc female port. Wish me luck!
Good luck man!
Nice, will try to do that with my old Logitech keyboard. You have new subscriber man.
Awesome, good luck man! And thank you!!
amazing tutorial. you tried many circuit scenario and provide us the best. thank you!
Thanks so much man, I tried to cover all the bases!
you just nailed it bro
Thanks man!
This is perfect! I will use this knowledge to convert to wireless a Logitech G910 keyboard. I really hope I can manage this
Thank you so much! I know you can do it!!! 👍👍👍
4:32 - 4:34 pry me a river, LOL! Chocolaty center, lol
😎
Thank you man, i^ve been looking this for years ❤
💯🍻🚀
So I can’t find any blootoooth things on Amazon so u mind telling me what the adapter is called but like not the model name but what it would referred to for a search
My dad said If I were to make this nice and smooth keyboard wireless he said he would trade me his keyboard which I like so thanks for the vid man
I need a name
Pls
Links are in the description 👍I'll do you one better and post it again here for you: handheldsci.com/kb/
It's called the BT-500, made by Handheld Scientific, I also labeled the parts in the intro where I go over all the components you'll need.
This product is pretty niche, so it's not available on any large sites like Amazon. There is one other similar (not as good in my opinion) that is available on Amazon, but it costs over double and doesn't have as many features, so I don't recommend that one.
@@hightech-lowlife thanks
This video is amazing 👏 thank you!
Thanks so much for watching!
Wasnt expecting to find a video like this
👍👍
@@hightech-lowlife how tf did you come up with this?
@@WClap It's actually a lot simpler than it seems, the BT-500 does a lot of the heavy lifting and makes this procedure much faster and easier to do. It's also possible to do this with an Ardiuno although you will have to load libraries and do a bit of coding. The BT-500 solves this for only about $10 more than going the Arduino route.
Thanks a lot for the tutorial, does this work with a keyboard with a customizable led?
Yes it will, I'm not sure if you can program the LEDs using the software without a direct connection. But I have shown multiple ways to wire it up and one of those ways should be sufficient enough. If I had a keyboard with addressable RGB I would test it for you. I may make a follow up video to this answering the FAQ's from this video because a lot of people have asked this question 🍻
@@hightech-lowlife oh okay, thanks bro 🤝🏽
@@CarlosAlberto-qp9uy Cheers brother 🍻
This is awesome, one day I hope to get to a point where I'll do a full conversion like you did.
However for now, I'm just going to do the simple battery pack/inline BT/Keyboard setup because it's all going to go inside my Old Corsair 'Lapdog' - the old version of their lap board (couch PC gaming w/ mouse and keyboard).
The old 'Lapdog/Lapboard' runs a 20+ft usb3 cable across my living room and it's not ideal.
I will be able to stuff all the cables and battery bank inside the lapboard enclosure and call it a day and use my mechanical + bluetooth mouse. I'll have to position the battery bank to a spot where I can charge it easily though! Perhaps a cutout/mounting for access. We'll see! Thanks again!
Running the components outside the case is certainly easier to set up, it should work just fine for your use case 👍Good luck and thank you!
Hell yeah, man. Thanks for uploading this Vid
🤘🤘
Nice work. Cover the LED holes with clear hot clue, and keep them clean. Also, maybe instead of removing the USB connectors, you make it dual USB/BT.
... lol. I'm still watching...
Thanks man!
Can you please recommend other bluetooth modules?
Yes, I will be making an updated video on this.
My keyboard has a USB in port on it, would making the keyboard wireless still allow me to use that usb port?
I've been watching your videos all night and they're all brilliant. I can't wait to see more uploads.
Yes, there are many ways you can wire it up, the way I have it set up you use the same port for charging + direct wired 👍 Thank you so much, I have a ton more projects in the queue!
this is so cool bro, gonna do it after I got my second mechanical keyboard, simply because I can't afford it if I lose the one that I use now.
Thanks man! Yes, always have a backup, a lot of people only have one keyboard and if it fails then you can't use your computer well 👍
Having searched for this for over a week, i finally found this video
Thank you for watching and for the feedback, much appreciated!
@@hightech-lowlife how can i buy that "magic box"
it costs lots of moneyy
my keyboard just costs ~$8 but that bluetooth is over $38$ :/
@@nguyenthanhchuong9783 Yes, if you're going with a more budget keyboard it makes more sense just to buy a cheaper wireless keyboard that is already made :) This mod is more for changing a keyboard that you really love that is not available wirelessly.
If you want to upgrade to mechanical wireless on the cheap; www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003051972220.html
There are also cheaper modules that you can get but it will take a lot more work and code to set up: www.aliexpress.com/item/32808551116.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.b5d53c00vtAAd8&mp=1 I personally haven't done it, but I know there are some people that have.
@@hightech-lowlife do you have other modules that the same at this one but much cheaper ??
Fantastic video, thank you.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
hey just wondering how much battery capacity i should get
One that will give you what you need 👍
Wow thats a great idea! Is there any ghosting issue with this module?
Thank you, I didn't experience anything like that when using this module but I wasn't doing any heavy gaming either. 👍
Finally i can have my fav keyboard and be it wireless
Yes you can
excellent video, can ask what that "black hot glue" is? Is it just black as the only difference, or is really like potting compound glue/silastic or something ?
Thanks man! It's just regular hot glue, only black in color 👍
1:18
Is there any 'magic box' that transmits the signal to a USB receiver?
I want to do the exact same thing you do, but with a mouse and a USB receiver.
I'm assuming you mean a 2.4Ghz receiver? There are only a few options for that, and they are older with limited stock and questionable reviews. I can't really recommend any as I haven't personally tried them myself.
@@hightech-lowlife
Well, thanks anyway, you would help me a lot if you find something similar to what I described and let me know, and if I don't find it, I think I'm going to create a PCB that has those functions. Good video, I keep it in case I need it in the future.
@@williamschrodinger I think I may have found something, but I will test it first. If it works I will make a video on it as a lot of people seem to want 2.4 instead of bluetooth, not really sure why as a lot claim "latency" but if you are using a wireless keyboard then to me latency is not a high priority as you cannot get quicker than a wire.
@@hightech-lowlife
You've earned a new subscriber, I'll be eagerly awaiting that video.
@@williamschrodinger Thanks man 🍻
Hi, arent there any delay since it is using bluetooth?
Hello 🤖 - I don't feel any delay when using a computer normally, I haven't tried it with any games, but I don't see it being any different. I'm sure there is some input lag compared to a wired keyboard, but unless you are competitive gaming or doing something else beyond a normal keyboard usage I don't think you will notice 👍
I have taken apart my keyboard but it has a 5 pin connector, not a 4 pin. Is it fine to ignore one of the cables on the 5 cable connector. I'm fine with sacrificing rgb but I don't know what cable to ignore.
5 Pin should just have extra ground (black wire), you can connect it to ground, or leave it and it should work either way.
@@hightech-lowlife how do i tell which wire is the extra ground wire? (Also ty for the reply 😊)
@@amaanwaseem6817 You can tell based on the color. Should be WHITE, GREEN, RED, BLACK and then another BLACK if you have 5 pins.
For some reason i have black,black,green,white,red. Should i ignore the first black?
@@amaanwaseem6817 What do you mean for some reason? You can tell based on the color. Should be WHITE, GREEN, RED, BLACK and then another BLACK if you have 5 pins. *It doesn't have to be in that specific order, just that you have those colors present.*
I already answered your question in my first response: "5 Pin should just have extra ground (black wire), you can connect it to ground, or leave it and it should work either way."
You can connect the two blacks together, or only connect one of them, try one state, try both, see how it affects your connection. Most likely it will not make a difference as it will probably work the same whether only one ground is connected or both, but there might be a combination that works better than others.
I was looking at doing something like this with an old apple iiGS alps board. There's a bit of room in the head of the board, and I think some under the plate (I don't have the board in front of me), I'm pretty humbled to know I was kind of on the right track with my thought process. :) When I get the board, I'll post some shots.
Thanks for the video and I love your thinkpad! Instant subscribe.
Also, was than an old panasonic toughbook in the back? Nostalgia wave. :)
Thank you! Yeah that would be a cool build for sure, please send links to pics after you're done as I'm curious as to how you'll package it inside the case 👍
It's actually a Dell XFR! I have a video in the queue for that build, it's the coolest (looking) laptop ever made (IMHO)! Thanks for the comment, views and sub!!!
Man I love your stuff. Thanks a million
Thank you so much, I appreciate it!
Great tutorial..! But wondering if I can plug the bluetooth adapter to a phone charger and plug that.. instead of using a powerbank..?
100% as long as you can get the adapter 5V it will work 👍
this is cool but also begging for a custom pcb, a long one to go against that back end.
100% I agree, custom PCB is on my list of things to do.
Does anybody know if ipega pg-9116 can do the same job as the bt-500 adapter that he used in this video?
According to their marketing, it would appear so, however the reviews on amazon are not great and it's very large so wouldn't make a good candidate for embedding within a keyboard unless you have a very large keyboard 👍
@@hightech-lowlife Yeah, thank you. I found one more on aliexpress but it seems that it don't have a switch for on/off . So i'm afraid that i'll have problem with my battery life cause this will always be on.
@@pmakosyo I'm sure you can wire in an on/off toggle (that's essentially what I have done here). I believe in further iterations of the BT-500 they will have a sleep timeout function to save battery life, I did let them know that this feature would be very helpful 👍
@@hightech-lowlife yeah I read your wireframe on GitHub page. I think I'll go this way.
@@pmakosyo Cool 👍
hi you did a great job sir thank you and I hope the best for you
Thanks so much, I wish you the best also 🍻👍
Really very interesting! Very clean work!
Thank you, I appreciate it!