Installation and Testing

Once you're removed the PCB, locate the power and ground wire. You can do this using a multimeter or just by plugging the keyboard in and connecting the wires from the inverter to the wires on the keyboard PCB. I know this is not the right way so if you screwed up your keyboard doing this, it's your fault! :O) For those of you having the same keyboard as I have, the 5V line is the redish/pinkish wire and the Ground is the black wire next to it. Remember, Microsoft OEM Internet Keyboard! You can clearly see both wires in the picture below. Once I got the right wires connected, the EL cable lights up. I'm a little disappointed though a my choice of colour. It turns out to be a little more to the green side than blue. :O( Anyway, it works so that's all that matters for now. ;^)

 

 

Now you will have to find a good spot on the keyboard internals to place the inverter. You have to make sure that the two keyboard parts will not be obstructed by the inverter when you're putting them back together. I found a suitable spot but as I have suspected, the wires are to short to reach the PCB. I had to extend the wires by soldering extra cables to it so that it could reach the keyboards' PCB. Nothing major, just would love to see longer cables provided. If it's too long, you can cut it no problem. Took me just a few minutes to modify it and its' ready to go. I slowly removed the 5V and Ground from their connections on the PCB, wound the wires from the inverter around them and put on a little solder to ensure proper conection and slide them back into their respective positions.

 

 

Now it's time to route the EL cable to the front of the keyboard. You first have to remove all the keys from the main section. Why only the main section of the keyboard is simply because the 4' of EL cable is not enough to cover everything. I would love to be able to pull it over to the numeric keypad and the "F" buttons on top. Anyway, once the keys are removed, drill a small hole (2.5mm or slightly larger) at the location where the EL Cable will enter the front portion of the keyboard. Once you've done that, put the top cover back on and make sure it goes on without any obstructions. It's a good idea to plug the keyboard in at this moment and test the EL cable again. This step ensures that no contacts have come loose from the previous steps.

  

I basically have the EL cables go from one end of a row and then back down over the other row until there's no more cable to route. I used the same method as Thor had used in his Keyboard EL Guide, holding the EL cable in place with the crocodile clips. Using the supplied tube of SuperGlue, use a few drops in between the keyboard and the EL and use the clips to hold it in place till the SuperGlue dries up. It doesn't take long for you to do this and the EL cable will stay in place after the glue has dried and the clips removed. Overall, it took me roughly 10 minutes to route and glue the cable in place.

  

Now that the cables are in place, I tested the kit on last time to ensure that it lights up and put the keys back in place. You can see from the pictures below that the EL kit adds a really cool touch to the keyboard and makes it glow in the dark! It's quite bright as well and the I can use the keyboard keys as normal wthout any obstruction from the EL cable below it.

 

 

Conclusion

Having no prior experience with an EL cable kit, I find that the NeonTrim Keyboard EL Kit is a nice and cool addition to all the mods I've done so far. It spices up your boring keyboard and gives it a nice glow, not forgetting that little brag factor you have when your buddies sees your keyboard lights up! :O) But it's not without it's quirks though. First of all, I would recomend some kind of protection for the inverter and also the bare wire leads. Heatshrink does the job pretty well and I would recommend NeonTrim to implement it. The other thing that needs to be rectified is the short wires from the inverter. Some might not find it a problem for their keyboards but not everyone uses the same brands/models of keyboards and longer wires are definitely welcomed. Price wise, for US$34.95, the above should have definitely been included/looked into.

Pros

• Complete kit.
• Small inverter, suitable for most keyboards.
• 5V power, no need for external power adapters, unsightly wires.
• A nice and cool addition to all your mods.

Cons

• Price US$34.95 (might be a litte expensive for some)
• Inverter wires not protected/heatshrinked
• Wires from inverter might be too short for some keyboard brand/model
• 4' might not be enough to cover whole keyboard
• Some soldering needed

I would like to thank Francine from Neontrim for the opportunity given to VH to check out their Keyboard EL Kit. They've also got a 10' LineLight Computer Kit that you can use for lighting up the inside of your case or the edges of your window, etc. so you might want to check that out as well. And thanks to you too for reading and enjoy the site! Cheers all!

 

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