This is how i modded some cool lighting into my keyboard and generally made it look a whole lot swankier.

First off, this is what i started with, a Thermaltake multimedia keyboard and some Sunbeam EL wire.





So, diving in, i removed every screw from the back cover and put it aside.



I also put the circuit board aside and removed all the little plastic dongles from the keys and put them somewhere safe, trust me you do not want to drop them, they're a pain to find.

Next i popped out the keys from the top half of the housing to allow me access to the recess under the keys, as this is where i wanted to lay my EL wire:



I then drilled a small hole to allow me to pass the EL wire through to the front of the housing.





Having passed the EL wire through to the front, i postioned the EL wire around the key housings and made sure it was all firmly in place, then taped it down to make sure it stayed in position.



Having put the EL wire where i wanted it and taped it down, i pushed all the keys back in their holes, flipped it over and painstakingly put all the little plastic bits back in the keys...this part look the longest.

Finally i put the circuit board in place and screwed the back of the housing back on.



At first when i plugged it in, it didnt work. I nearly cried. Then i realised that id plugged it into the PS2 mouse port....it was dark ok?

Rebooted and it worked first time. My camera doest do night scenes very well, but im sure you'll get the gist.

i'm loven it, i should do something like that, only in red(to match everything else i have).

I like it.


Question: How is the EL wires powered? I can only find solutions that use a molex connector, are you runnung it back to your case? Did you make an extension for it yourself?

Quote: Originally Posted by Human Traffic I like it. Question: How is the EL wires powered? I can only find solutions that use a molex connector, are you runnung it back to your case? Did you make an extension for it yourself?

The EL wire simply plugs into a mini inverter, which is powered by a normal molex. I simply removed the molex head, threaded the wires through the back of my case and reconnected it.

Simple.

I'm lazy i just bought clear glow (glows blue) in the dark paint and painted mine.

this is sooo nice!!! i'm goin g to do this to!!!! thanks for the idea!!!

I still like the Saitek Eclipse more... that keyboard is g0dly.... but gotta respect you for not rewarding Fry's Electronics 50 bucks for poor service like I did.

lol its pretty sad i have the EL wire for the mod but i dont have a keyboard. how sad right? I have this weird plastic jeyboard thats all flexible and you cant take apart... unlesss i cut it open... (mod project brainstomr in process)

thanks man i was wondering if i should do it (well drill through my keyboard) i did this to one of my old keyboard but that one had a very clear back so i ddint have todrill thanks bump

Simple and clean man, looking good.

Check out metku.net. The guy has a pretty cool version of that.

how can i get my keys toto light i want the leeters and crap to glow so i can type in the dark and show off more know where i can get the keys?

Quote: Originally Posted by bmwproboi05 how can i get my keys toto light i want the leeters and crap to glow so i can type in the dark and show off more know where i can get the keys?

UHHHH, wow, why not just learn the keysets? Then again, you could wait for the Optimus keyboard. Or check this Illuminated Keyboards

i kno most of it and im not the only one useing my comp my cousin uses it and she is 8
so yeah.... sometimes i use the symbols and brackets and forget and like i said its for sho

Nice, I believe i will be trying this in the near future. By any chance do you know where i can purchase the Sunbeam EL wire.

Thanks

You can get the el wire at a few different online stores.

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Thanks alot coweater58, I can now get to work on my keyboard

makes my keyboard look so plain! nice work

Glad you're enjoying all our lovely guides here at PCApex, when I just logged on I was about to ban you back to last week, thought you were a spammer!

Welcome aboard bro.