Replace cut cable on keyboard?

itzmeluigi · 18 Mar 2016, 17:10

I got a MCK 860 recently and the cable has been cut, the connector inside the keyboard is still there though. I was planning to wire a PS/2 cable to it but im not able to use a mulitmeter to trace the continuity of the pins to the wire since the original cable is gone. I used this diagram to converter my other keyboard from AT to PS/2 but i dont know where to connect the wires since the original AT connector is gone. I used this diagram for my other keyboard:

Is there a way i can find out which wires are which on the cut cable instead of guessing and connecting random cables? Is it possible to find out where the power and ground is? That way i can guess the rest once i find the power and ground.

keycap · 19 Mar 2016, 16:15

I've done it before. I usually match up the wire colors, which isn't too good of a method at all and I do not recommend it, but it worked for me with my Silitek board

Chyros · 19 Mar 2016, 16:23

Rule number one.

NEVER TRUST COLOURS.

keycap · 19 Mar 2016, 16:32

Chyros wrote: ↑Rule number one.

NEVER TRUST COLOURS.

It worked for me... Luckily. I'm glad that I found out about the colors not being indicative shortly after, but yeah, I got the cable from a newer rubber dome board by Silitek, so it makes sense why it'd work.

Redmaus · 19 Mar 2016, 16:34

Yes, manufacturers use all kinds of different colors to designate cables. Only see colors as a way to tell the wires apart.

Chyros · 19 Mar 2016, 16:35

keycap wrote: ↑
Chyros wrote: ↑Rule number one.

NEVER TRUST COLOURS.
It worked for me... Luckily. I'm glad that I found out about the colors not being indicative shortly after, but yeah, I got the cable from a newer rubber dome board by Silitek, so it makes sense why it'd work.

Well you have to be careful, if you switch +5V and ground you kill the board stone dead apparently Oo .

keycap · 19 Mar 2016, 16:42

Well you have to be careful, if you switch +5V and ground you kill the board stone dead apparently Oo .

Even if I did kill the board, it wouldn't have been too much of a loss. It wasn't a shiny, new Blue Alps board or anything, really. It was just some older Lite-On keyboard that was manufactured by Silitek (guessing by its model number "SK-0002-1U". It had Alps SKCM White switches, generic double-shot ABS keycaps, and a Focus layout. And I bought it for a cheaper price than a new rubber dome board. It sure would've been sad to see it die off by foolish wiring, but at least I would still have the Alps and the keycaps! I wasn't even expecting it to work, anyways, it was in really bad condition

itzmeluigi · 19 Mar 2016, 16:55

All my boards seem to have different color wires so i dont think im going to chance trusting the colors, although i may have to end up guessing.

If only there was a way to identify the power and ground pins. I dont think anyway exists to find out the pinouts so im most likely going to have to guess the wires anyway right?

keycap · 19 Mar 2016, 17:02

The ground wire was really obvious for my Silitek board. It was black and it had a ring on the end that was screwed into the metal mounting plate. Not sure if your keyboard has this same implementation, but it was worth noting.

EDIT: I also recommend looking at the plug that's soldered onto the PCB. Sometimes, the manufacturer is decent enough that they label which wires go where.