I managed to kill my Keyrah! :[

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Don't Panic. Please wash hands.

    Hello all,


    I am devastated. My pride and joy is no more. Some years ago I discovered the project to put a Raspberry in a C64 case and of course the special ingredient that made it all possible: the Keyrah.


    So after getting one back in 2017, I built my Commodore and was happily using it up until recently. However, because I couldn’t find a USB pin header where I lived, I soldered the USB wires directly to the usb header on the board. Due to my bad soldering skills, the solder joint came loose recently and may have touched the other wires, as the keyboard simply stopped working one day.


    I took the keyrah out, removed all the wires and made it all even worse, as I managed to destroy the header contacts. All that was left were the holes. To make a long story short, I was eventually forced to connect directly to the pins on the underside of the USB B port, trying to get the USB cable to work with the Pi.

    I made sure to connect the correct wires to the correct pins, but still, the keyboard will not work and the LED light will not turn on. ;(


    I know that the Pi is ok, as when I connect another usb keyboard it works right away.


    In a nutshell, I think I probably have killed my keyrah board. Now I am devastated because I realize that you cannot buy the board ANYWHERE at all and there are no real alternatives.


    So my question to the amazing people who created the keyrah board: would it be possible to send you the board and repair it? If yes, what would the cost estimation be?

    Normally I would just look for a replacement but these things are now rare as gold. ||


    I would be so thankful for any help I can get here... Without the Keyrah, my Commodore is unusable and I feel like such an idiot for killing the one vital part that made it all possible, especially when it turns out that it is irreplaceable! :(:(:(

    Repair of a mechanically damages circuit board is mostly way beyond "economical". We've just started beta-testing the Keyrah V3, which comes with numerous improvements over V2:


    Keyrah V3: Betatest startet


    So far, we've only been looking for existing Keyrah V1 or V2(b) owners in Germany, as it's still possible that the beta units need to be returned to Germany for service before general sales can start. After two currently-known issues have been worked out, I may accept the first EU-based testers. Where on the planet are you?

    Hi Jens,


    Thank you very much for your response. I currently reside in Greece (still within the EU despite the local politicians’ best efforts to kick the country out) ^^


    At the moment I am looking to get the keyboard working again using a Raspberry Pi Pico thanks to the amazing project cbm2usb at GitHub.


    It is by no means a replacement for what a Keyrah can do, but if it works I may need to make do for now. Do you have an estimation cost for v3 or when it will be out approximately?

    Quote from User64

    cbm2usb at GitHub.


    It is by no means a replacement for what a Keyrah can do,

    I just checked this for the first time: You're right, that's only implementing a little less than what Keyrah V1 and V2 did (not even joystick ports!).


    Keyrah V3 is a major improvement on all fronts, taking everything into account that we've learned since 2006 (whoops - that's 17 years!).


    My personal favourite new feature is that Keyrah V3 makes a difference between the left shift key and the shift-lock key. This is especially handy when entering a password: Modern operating systems will warn you if caps is engaged during password entry, and this will now also come up if the shift lock key is pressed when prompted for a password.

    AHHHHH.. I did the same thing. Had to re-solder directly to the board, and I think it shorted over. Keyrah V2b. Now my Keyboard isn't recognized. Is it dead? I actually just got it working after having it for about 3 years... grrrr..


    Clint from the USA

    Am I stuck having to get a new one?

    Please take a picture of your soldering - you may be able to fix it if it's just a short. However, if it's been connected the wrong way round, it may be dead. We should be able to find out with a few good pictures.


    Jens

    I take a look and see if I can find someone localy that can do that. Is the RP2024 a part that can be purchsed here in the USA or do I need to order from a certin place?


    Thank you for your help. I finally get it up and running and then kill it.. lol